New Xbox Experience Netflix Streaming Loses Sony-owned Movies

Update: Netflix has confirmed the loss of Xbox 360 owners' ability to stream movies from Columbia Pictures, a Sony subsidiary. Columbia's movies are not licensed to be streamed to 360 consoles.

"In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console," wrote Netflix VP Steve Swasey to MTV Multiplayer. "We hope they'll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly," he added.

Original Story:

Those anxious to try out Netflix movie streaming in the New Xbox Experience have just hit a stumbling block: a preview user has reported that streaming movies from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures are not playable on the Xbox 360.

A Joystiq reader noticed that their Instant Queue--the web-based list required to watch Netflix movies on the 360--suddenly included a slew of titles that showed "Not Available on Xbox" in red print where future release dates or other warnings are typically found.

The common thread among all those titles was Sony ownership. More specifically, the movies were all put out by Columbia Pictures, which was bought by Sony in 1989. The full list of Columbia Pictures movies on Netflix is viewable online; however, not all Netflix movies can be streamed to the Xbox.

Assuming the policy is left in place, films including Superbad, Casino Royale, Talladega Nights, and Memoirs of a Geisha will not be viewable from the Xbox 360.