Microsoft is bringing music content to Xbox Live with its announcement of a partnership with music provider last.fm. The last.fm service will be available freely to Xbox Live gold members later this year.

The company also announced upcoming changes to the Netflix Xbox Live service. The service will now allow users to queue up video directly from... Read more

The United States Postal Service has denied that it is providing preferential treatment to the competitors of videogame rental-by-mail service GameFly, and today filed a motion to partially dismiss the company's complaint.

"In short, the Complaint lacks merit and fails to articulate grounds for any relief," said the USPS in its 26-page response. "[GameFly] seems to believe that problems of its own making can somehow be solved by the Postal Service when, in fact, they cannot--at least not without incurring costs that would be a disservice to all other mailers."

GameFly, the parent company of Shacknews, filed a formal complaint against the USPS in late April. It alleges that the USPS "adopted a practice of manually culling out the DVD mailers" of Netflix and soon-to-be-rival Blockbuster, providing the "high-volume shippers" with "special processing" that reduces the amount of broken discs and supplies a "substantial cost advantage" in mailing-related expenses.

The Postal Service strongly denied that it is providing preferential ... Read more

Online game rental service and Shacknews parent company GameFly today filed a formal complaint against the United States Postal Service, alleging that the USPS provides competitor Blockbuster with preferential treatment to cut down on broken discs.

"GameFly is not the only mailer to experience significant DVD breakage rates on automated mail processing equipment," reads the filing. "In response...the Postal Service has adopted a practice of manually culling out the DVD mailers of two high-volume shippers of DVDs, Netflix and Blockbuster, for special processing."

The company said its request for manual processing "comparable" to that of the movie rental services was denied, which puts GameFly at a disadvantage as its "larger and longer established" rival Blockbuster plans to rent games by mail... Read more

A new Netflix job listing indicates that the online rental giant is looking to further expand in the game console space.

The posting, noticed by Gamasutra, seeks an "Engineering Leader" with "deep experience developing and testing media rich applications on current generation gaming consoles."

Netflix movie streaming is currently an exclusive feature on Microsoft's Xbox Live service. Microsoft announced in February that over one million Netflix users had activated their accounts for use on the Xbox 360 since the service's launch in November.

Rumors of Netflix plans to extend the service to the PlayStation 3 and Wii spread following the leak of several Netflix surveys, in which the company supposedly asked customers whether they would purchase a $10 disc to enable streaming on the consoles.

Following the addition of streaming Netflix support to Xbox Live last year, Microsoft today announced that over one million users have since activated accounts to watch movies and television using the service.

The Netflix streaming video service launched alongside the New Xbox Experience on November 19. The program offers 12,000 streaming standard definition and several hundred HD videos to Xbox Live gold and Netflix subscribers.

Last month, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicted that the service would hit one million users sometime in 2009, calling the initiative a "gold mine" for Netflix.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is predicting that the partnership between Microsoft and Netflix will lead to big subscriptions rates for the rental service amongst Xbox Live users.

Xbox Live gained the Netflix streaming video service on November 19. The service offers 12,000 streaming standard definition and several hundred HD videos to Xbox Live gold and Netflix subscribers.

Pacther estimates that 800,000 Xbox Live users were Netflix customers when the service launched on Xbox Live, and guesses that some 200,000 have joined Netflix in the last quarter, according to GameDaily.

"We believe that the Xbox Live Gold membership is a proverbial gold mine of potential members, and expect to see as many as 1 million join as Netflix members in the next year," said Pachter.

A week after they were removed, select films from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures are now once again viewable through the Xbox 360's streaming Netflix service.

"Almost everything, from Ghostbusters to The Karate Kid in your Netflix Instant Queue can now be streamed to the 360," reports Joystiq. Some notable movies, such as Superbad and Spider-Man 3, are still blocked from Xbox 360 streaming.

Last week, Netflix claimed that the blockage of these films was a license issue. However, the company later issued an updated statement on its blog, noting that the "temporary [Xbox 360-only] unavailability" was "not necessarily a license issue."

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... Read more

Come next Wednesday, November 19, Xbox 360 users around the globe will be greeted with the New Xbox Experience, which packs a new interface, new functionality, and those customizable player avatars.

One of those new functions is the ability to stream videos from online rent center Netflix, which has been my most-anticipated feature. I even subscribed to Netflix because of it. But now that I've had the chance to mess around with the Xbox 360's Netflix streaming in the comfort of my home, I have to admit I'm a little disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, the streaming works well. The quality is great, at least on my connection, and it tracks when you pause or stop a video so that you can restart from that point later on, even if you back out of the application. I even watched an episode of Friday Night Lights in high-def--one of the few HD videos currently available.

But while over 12,000 videos are promised, it's only possible to watch those in your Instant Queue--the list of movies and shows you maintain on Netflix.com... Read more

Netflix has begun including free 48-hour trials of its upcoming Xbox 360 streaming video service in new Xbox 360 titles.

The trial offer comes in the form of an insert card, which can now be found inside copies of the James Bond title Quantum of Solace, according to BusinessofVideo.

Netflix is planning to offer 12,000 streaming standard definition videos on the Xbox 360, as well as roughly 300 HD videos.

Xbox 360 users with an Xbox Live Gold membership and a Netflix subscription will be able to take advantage of the service on November 19 with the launch of the New Xbox Experience.

Come November 19, Xbox 360 users will be able to access more than Netflix's standard array of 12,000 low-def streaming videos. On that day, Netflix will premiere its long-awaited HD streaming video service, with Xbox 360 owners getting first dibs.

Engadget recently previewed Netflix's HD streaming with an episode of NBC's Heroes, reporting that "the quality was stunning." Roughly 300 HD videos will be available when the services launches, with Xbox 360 owners required to have an Xbox Live Gold account and Netflix subscription in order to access the content.

Netflix has yet to state when it will roll the streaming HD offerings into its other distribution avenues, such as the "Watch Instantly" portion of its own website.

To learn more the freesoftware update that's bringing Netflix streaming to the Xbox 360, check out our previous coverages and screenshots of the Netflix area.

Microsoft has supplied a pair of new screenshots from the New Xbox Experience--the dashboard refresh for the Xbox 360 due November 19--showing the console's new Netflix streaming capability in action.

"All Xbox Live Gold members with a Netflix subscription will be able to instantly watch more than 12,000 movies from the Netflix library at no extra charge," writes Microsoft's official Gamerscore Blog.

The blog post added that the Xbox Live Video Marketplace will be included in the overhaul, featuring hi-res box art and detailed information for all of the content available.

The ability to share those videos with online friends was recently delayed from the release of the update and is promised as "coming soon."

Netflix has "significantly" expanded the number of films and television shows that Xbox 360-owning subscribers will be able to stream through their console this fall.

Under an agreement with Starz Entertainment, Netflix will add roughly 2,500 movies "and other choices," along with a live feed of the Starz TV network, to its library of streaming media. This is done at no extra cost, with the first 1,000 or so additions already live at Netflix.com for PC-equipped subscribers.

Films covered under the deal include Spider-Man 3, Ratatouille, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Superbad, No Country for Old Men, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, along with an as-yet-unaired first full episode of the movie-inspired television drama Crash.

The Xbox 360 will gain Netflix steaming support as part of the fall software update, expected in November. Until then, Netflix subscribers are limited to watching streaming media through their internet browser or specialized set-top box.

Microsoft today announced that Netflix will exclusively come to the Xbox 360 this fall.

Those who are both Xbox Live Gold and Netflix subscribers will be able to stream over 10,000 movies and television shows at no additional cost. Gamers will be able to watch TV and movies with their Live party.

"From the Netflix Web site, members simply add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues. Those choices will be automatically displayed on the TV screen via Xbox 360 and available to watch instantly," Microsoft explained.

"Once selected, movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds. In addition to instantly streaming movies to the TV, Xbox LIVE Gold members can fast-forward, pause and rewind, all using either their Xbox 360 Controller or Media Remote. In all, the user interface creates a highly personalized experience that puts viewers in control."

Online movie rental house Netflix has issued a survey to subscribers gauging interest in streaming movies via Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, Reuters reports.

Netflix would not say if the survey signaled any plans for a partnership with Microsoft to deliver streaming movie content to the console, but noted that it wanted to deliver content by as many means as possible.

Speculation of such a deal had previously ramped up at last month's Game Developer's Conference, with rumors of an announcement surfacing after the distribution of a similar survey a week before. Microsoft would not comment on the rumor, asking press to simply "stay tuned."

The incorporation of Netflix into Microsoft's movie download service would fit the company's claims that digital downloads, rather than disc-based media, are the future of multimedia content for gaming consoles.

Speculation is flying over a possible announcement of Netflix on the Xbox 360 at this week's GDC, MSNBC reports.

Suspicions of a partnership arose last week when a survey, distributed by Netflix, asked clients if they would make use of streaming movies and television shows on their Xbox 360s if such a service was provided. Microsoft's history of making big announcements at the Game Developers Conference—like the Xbox and the Xbox 360—leads some to believe that the partnership will be officially announced this week.

The most compelling evidence for such a team-up is that it makes good sense for both parties involved; Netflix wants to be in every internet-capable device imaginable, and Microsoft wants the Xbox 360 to be the one-stop media machine in every household.

"A partnership with Netflix gives Microsoft a partner that already streams movies to over 7 million subscribers through their PCs, and encourages these subscribers to sign up for the Xbox Live service in order to stream movies to their TVs," says Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. Meanwhile, Netflix would have direct access to over 10 million Xbox Live subscribers—many potential new customers.

Microsoft would not comment on the rumor, telling MSNBC to simply "stay tuned". If the rumors turn out to be true, an announcement will likely come later this week, in the latter half of GDC.