Microsoft, Netflix and Social Networking

ABOUT DEVICE AND SOCIAL NETWORKING CONVERGENCE: Another step was taken today in device and social networking convergence when Microsoft announced that their Xbox 360 game console would stream movies from Netflix. According to pcmag.com, Microsoft announced details about updates to its Xbox 360 gaming console, including a partnership that will allow instant streaming from Netflix - including social network integration with the Live Party System. "We are creating a completely new social entertainment experience, and Xbox 360 will be the only video game system where you can access your library of instantly streamable movies from Netflix and turn any room into a virtual movie theater," John Schappert, corporate vice president of Interactive Entertainment LIVE, software and services business at Microsoft, said in a statement. "For Netflix, it represents an important step forward in making instantly streaming movies on the TV more broadly available to our members," said Reed Hastings, chairman and CEO of Netflix. On the social networking front, the Netflix partnership will also enable users to watch movies together through the Live Party System. Gamers can create "parties" of up to eight friends who can chat in the dashboard, follow one another from game to game, share slideshows of personal photos, or watch movies from the Netflix library. The console will also include Xbox Live Primetime, live gaming events broadcast simultaneously to the gamers' systems and the consoles of their friends.