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For the ever-decreasing population of Wii owners who pay attention to these sorts of things, Netflix is now available as a downloadable Channel for your Wii Menu. I imagine the sequence goes something like this: Wii owners, Wii owners who also have Netflix (or should that be reversed?), Wii owners who know the Wii “has the internet,” Wii owners who have used the Shop Channel, Wii owners who have the Netflix instant streaming disc, and now Wii owners who are aware that they no longer need the Netflix disc and can simply run the service off the Wii itself.

Now you won’t have to swap out the “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” game disc when you want to watch the “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” movie. Press release follows, which rather nicely reminds people that the Wii can go online. Reggie Fils-Aime says that over three million Wii systems are using Netflix, which, with over 35 million Wiis in the US alone, I’m not sure if that’s a good number or a bad number.

Netflix Now Available as a Download from the Wii Shop Channel
Watching Movies and TV Shows Streamed Instantly from Netflix is Now Just a Click Away

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Beginning today, Netflix members in the United States and Canada can stream content through their Wii™ consoles with Netflix installed on their Wii Menu. The Netflix disc that was used for instant streaming on the Wii console will no longer be required. Netflix members who have a plan starting at $8.99 a month ($7.99 in Canada), a Wii console and a broadband Internet connection can now instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed directly to their TVs by simply downloading Netflix from the Wii Shop Channel. This new channel is available at no extra cost. The new disc-free option installs Netflix on the Wii Menu, making it convenient for Wii owners to quickly access streaming movies and TV shows.

“At this time of year, consumers have a near-insatiable demand for family entertainment,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “And this simplified Netflix access will help bring families together more quickly, more easily and in more ways than ever before. More than 3 million Wii systems have already connected to Netflix, demonstrating how easy the service is to set up and use.”

“Wii is a consummate home entertainment platform and has quickly become one of the best and most popular ways to enjoy movies streamed from Netflix,” said Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix. “The availability of Netflix right on the Wii Menu adds significantly to the ease and convenience that attracts our members to the Netflix streaming experience and is an important step in our efforts to continuously improve the service.”

Wii offers consumers the most fun right out of the box. Precision motion controls, online access and great games are all included at no extra charge. For a suggested retail price of just $199.99 ($209.99 in Canada), Wii owners get:

- The Wii console, Wii Sports™, Wii Sports Resort™, a Wii Remote™ controller, a Wii MotionPlus™ accessory and a Nunchuk™ controller
- Access* to hundreds of downloadable games in the Wii Shop Channel, including original games like World of Goo and classic games from the NES™, Super NES™ and Nintendo 64™ eras
- Access* to a variety of entertainment and informational channels, including the Nintendo® Channel, which provides information about current and upcoming Wii and Nintendo DS™ games
- Access* to streaming Netflix movies and TV shows

The Netflix service has been available on the Wii console in the United States since April 12, 2010, and in Canada since Sept. 22, 2010. For more information about how to stream Netflix through a Wii console, visit http://www.netflix.com/wii or http://www.netflix.ca/wii.

Remember that Wii and Netflix feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://wii.com and http://www.netflix.com.

* Broadband Internet connection required. Netflix streaming requires Netflix subscription.