By Chris Scott Barr

I’ve been enjoying being able to stream Netflix to my 360 for a while now. What I don’t enjoy is paying for a Gold subscription in order to use it. One could argue that most 360 gamers already keep themselves at Gold status so they can play games online. That’s great for them, but I rarely play anything on my 360 with people online (I do most of my online gaming with my PC). I have both a PS3 and a Wii as well, and I’ve been hoping to hear something about getting Netflix on one of those, since neither charge for their online experience. Well finally we’ve heard something.

It seems that Microsoft has managed to sign an exclusive deal with Netflix, making them the only ones with a console that streams movies from the service. There’s no word on just how long the exclusive deal is, but I’m guessing it’s no less than a year or two. I’ll give Microsoft one thing, it does add more value to a Gold subscription. It’s one more thing for them to cite when people complain about Sony offering online play for free.

On a related note, PlayOn seems to be an interesting alternative that lets you stream Netflix (along with Hulu, YouTube and several others) to your TV with a PS3, Xbox 360 (without paying for a Gold Membership) and soon a Wii. I haven’t had a chance to test it out myself, but I’ll let you guys know when I do.

[ Microsoft ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Shane McGlaun

One of my favorite Need for Speed games back in the day was Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. I liked being able to play the cop and give people tickets and I liked running from the police as well. I guess EA tried to go all “PC” with Need for Speed ProStreet and took the racing off the streets. The game was cool, but I wanted police chases.

The latest title in the franchise, Need for Speed Undercover, gave me my wish and EA has announced that new DLC for the game is available for the PS3 and coming soon for the PC and Xbox 360. One of the DLC packs is a free offering called the Challenge Series and adds 60 events to the game. Along with new events called Highway Wars and Highway checkpoint races.

Players can also win three new cars in the Challenge Series. A premium content pack is also available for $5 or 400 MS points called the Boss Car Pack. The pack gives all of the cars the level bosses drive in the entire game. I am glad to see EA offering some free DLC for fans of Undercover.

[ Need for Speed ]

By Shane McGlaun

I am a huge UFC fan and have been watching the events since they first started back in the late 90’s. I still have fond memories of one of the early events where the boxer came in with one glove thinking he was going to beat the other guy down only to find himself on his back getting beat like a drum a few seconds later.

I have been waiting for the new UFC 2009 game to come out and it is almost here. The game is set to ship on May 19 for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Until then THQ has announced that a playable demo is available for download for both game consoles right now.

The demo allows players to fight a match between Chuck Liddell and Mauricio Rua and includes a portion of the full tutorial mode the game will have to teach players how to use the controls. Liddell fans still angry that the Ice Man was knocked out last weekend can get some payback.

[ UFC Undisputed ]