Xbox To Remove Gold Requirement For Netflix & Hulu
As has been rumored for some time, Xbox is going to remove the paywall for streaming media services on the gaming device. Xbox 360 and Xbox One users will no longer need a paid subscription to Xbox Live Gold to get to Netflix, Hulu, and others. Apparently Xbox will put some other services behind the paywall to make up for it, perhaps content like the new TV series that have been promised for months now. That said, this move is a clear concession to the fact that Xbox wants users to stay on their device while streaming in the living room, and having a paywall between a service that is free to use on other devices only served to drive consumers away. Free access to Netflix and Hulu means that Xbox is officially competing with both Nintendo and Sony for consumer access to games and streaming content, as well as against the host of media boxes that have begun to infiltrate more and more living rooms.