Amazon Instant Video Heads To PS3

The PS3 will be the first game console to offer video streaming from Amazon's Instant Video platform, including both on-demand pay-per-view titles as well as Amazon Prime Instant Video. The move is a huge benefit both to Sony and Amazon as each is competing in its own way to dominate the streaming video market – Sony as a platform and Amazon as a content provider. On the other side of the spectrum, it's a bummer for Netflix as that competitor's differentiating qualities slide.

To kick off the launch, Amazon is giving a free TV show episode to PS3 users. The tough part will be choosing which one. There are more than 100 TV shows available through Amazon Instant Video, and the total number of pieces of content eclipses 25,000, including TV episodes and movies. The new PS3 app is fully optimized for the game console, letting users seamlessly link their Amazon account and start watching movies within a matter of second. The best part is that it includes Prime Instant Video support, so anyone who has Amazon Prime can stream hundreds of hours of content for no additional fee.

The world of game consoles is perhaps Netflix's biggest market, and it is one of the hugest things that differentiates Netflix from Amazon. That barrier, however, is starting to be torn down. Amazon Instant Video is already available on numerous TV devices, including smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes. Its presence on a game console was only a question of when, not one of if. The app joins the likes of Netflix, Vudu, and CinemaNow on the PS3's growing list of video streaming platforms.