Last month Netflix announced a price raise for their content and split the charges between the online streaming service and the disc-by-mail service. Fans were NOT happy (duh!) and now Netflix has officially apologized for the price hike AND has made some HUGE announcements for the companies future. It can be a little confusing and all the official details and not available just yet so bare with me. Here are some of the main changes:
-Netflix will now be a streaming service ONLY.
-Netflix has spun itself off into a brand new company called Qwikster that will be handling the disc-by-mail services you have come to love.
-The two companies NETFLIX and QWIKSTER are both owned by Netflix but will run off two completely different sites AND you will be charged via credit card to them SEPARATELY.
-If you have an account on Qwikster, you will now be able to rent video games by mail for the Nintendo Wii, X-Box 360 and the PS3. There will be a video game upgrades option much like the option to upgrade to Blu-Ray discs. No pricing on the upgrade just yet.
-Since there was just a price hike, the prices for all the services are remaining the same…for now.
-The two sites are NOT linked, therefor your reviews and rating will be completely separate on each page.
You can visit the official Qwikster website HERE even though it is not fully up and running yet. I will post more details soon as they become available including official star dates, prices, and upgrade options.
So there you have it folks. Big changes are abound for Netflix fans! I realize most of you are probably angry with this news and just can’t wait to start bitching. Well, have fun with that. I am going to stay on and support BOTH of these companies because I love movies and video games and it is quite frankly still the best service around. If this is going to be that big of a deal to you, just cancel your subscriptions and leave it be. I think this is a wise move for the company and it will allow it to survive in our ever-changing digital era.
Goodluck NETFLIX and QWIKSTER!