Thankfully Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings wasn’t just stirring up hype last week when he said the chances of Netflix on Nintendo were “excellent,” as the deal’s just been inked and will debut in early Spring.

Joining the PS3 and Xbox 360, Netflix will bring its streaming video service to the Wii, offering movies and TV shows to subscribers of the $9/month DVD mail-out service. You’ll need to grab a software disc from Netflix though in order to get streaming rights on your Wii, but it’s sent to your pad for free so you can’t quibble much about that.

Worth pointing out though is that the Wii can’t give you anything more than 480p video resolution, so don’t go thinking this Netflix deal is the best news ever. [NY Times]

1994. A good year for many reasons, but for gamers it’s best remembered as the year Sony shook things up in a big way with its original PlayStation game console (on this day in Japan, at least — the rest of us had to wait ’til the fall of 1995). While Sega got a slight head start with its Saturn, the Sony PlayStation’s lower price and strong launch line-up of games quickly vaulted it to the top of the pack, and helped bring in the slightly older audience that 3D0 and others tried and failed to capture. Of course, the original PlayStation was also just the beginning for Sony, and the company has taken this opportunity to reminisce a bit about the entire history of the PlayStation brand on a special 15th anniversary website (linked below).

 What does 15 years of PlayStation look like? Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has opened a brand new site celebrating the legacy of the PlayStation platform, featuring a timeline of Sony’s major gaming hardware releases, beginning with the launch of the original Japanese PlayStation on December 3rd, 1994. Sony’s handheld holds a majority of those dotted events, with every version of the PSP (from the 1000 to the Go) represented.

The “15″ year logo is a fun potpourri of various accessories released throughout the brand’s history. In addition to SingStar microphones and Buzz! controllers, you can see Sony playing homage to UMD, PocketStation and rubber ducks — stars of the initial tech demos for both PS2 and PS3.

[Thanks, tmacairjordan87]

When Sony isn’t busy adding Facebook functionality or potentially courting Firefox for its PS3, it likes nothing better than to dream of global all-encompassing online services and stores. A step toward that goal is the company’s recent introduction of the PS3 Video Delivery Service into the heart of Europe. PlayStation loyalists in Deustchland, España, France, and the United Kingdom can now use their beloved console (or the PSP) to grab movies from a selection that is set to grow at a consistent pace of 50 new films being added per week. Both SD and HD versions are available, with the cheaper variants going for €1.99 / £2.49 to rent or €7.99 / £6.99 to purchase, and you can see a trailer for the new service after the break.

Sony rolled out firmware v. 3.10 for the PS3 today, bringing Facebook integration to the system. Your boss will now know that you’ve been playing Pro Evo 2010 instead of writing your blog posts. Yay. Screw that, here’s something us PS3 owners can look forward to: a PlayStation Insider source who’s “very close to Sony” says that the company has been discussing the possibility of porting Mozilla’s increasingly bloated/ultra-versatile web browser on to their console. <— THIS, SONY. WE WANT THIS.

According to unconfirmed rumors, Sony is in talks with Mozilla over the possibility of porting FireFox over to the PS3. While this sounds promising, obviously there will be a whole lot of security issues to investigate if this browser ever found its way onto the PS3.

We recently received a tip from a source very close to Sony who says that they have been in talks with Mozilla lately about possibly porting firefox over to the PS3. That said, our source made sure to point out that they were unsure if any deal had actually been reached at this point, but it is great news none the less considering the complaints Sony has been getting about the lack of reliability with their current built in PS3 web browser. Throwing firefox into the mix would give PS3 the ultimate advantage when it came to internet functionality. I know I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for this one, and PSInsider will be sure to bring you any updates to this rumor as they become available.

Before we commit ourselves to this future, note how doubly frail this gossamer tip is – it’s a rumor about a possibility. So it may be as real as Duke Nukem Forever (or do kids nowadays refer to GT 5?). But a gamer can dream, can’t he?

Following the release of Microsoft’s improved Wireless N Networking Adapter for Xbox 360, Mad Catz has announced its own wireless adapter, which improves upon Microsoft’s device in a couple of ways. First, the adapter, essentially an Ethernet bridge, works with the PS3, allowing for the use of the 802.11n standard with Sony’s console.

Second, and most importantly, the Mad Catz adapter improves upon the most reviled feature of the Microsoft model: the price. At $79.99 (£49.99/€59.99 in the UK and Europe), the Mad Catz Wireless-N Gaming Adapter is no impulse buy, but it’s exactly twenty dollars better than Microsoft’s version. Mad Catz told Joystiq that its device is currently shipping to North American and European retailers and will be available in the company’s online store this week.

[Via Joystiq]

Let’s get this out of the way at the top: No, Sony’s Aino phone, which touts limited PS3 Remote Play functionality, can’t access any of the PSN or PSP games you may have hoped it would. However, a recent Playstation.Blog post revealed the crosstalk capabilities imbued within the mobile device (which hit store shelves today) — while it may lack ludo-logical punch, it’s packing some impressive multimedia tools.

After registering your Aino with your PS3, you’ll be able to use your phone to access the XMB, browse the internet, watch any non-DRM’d media on your console, send and receive PSN messages, shop in the PlayStation Store and watch TV shows using the PlayTV service. Best of all, you can use your phone to turn your PS3 on and off, which should prove handy when you attempt to convince your roommate that your entertainment center is haunted.

The official PlayStation website might have leaked information regarding firmware 2.53, but it was clearly very wrong about the date. The update didn’t drop on November 26th, as the website suggested, but is instead available right now. Honestly, it’s true. Go check for yourself.

The latest firmware adds full screen functionality to embedded Flash videos in the web browser, as well as generally “improving the way the Flash Player works with the internet browser.” Meaning more websites will now work. Overall, a nice, if slightly anemic, firmware update. It’s all free though, so we can’t complain. Go on commenters, prove us wrong.