Netflix has announced that it will change the name of its DVD by mail service to Qwikster in a few weeks time, while also adding the option to rent video games via the service.
The company is separating its online video streaming and DVD rental services, with the streaming service keeping the original Netflix name.
Once Qwikster launches, users of the DVD by rental service will be able to upgrade their package to include video games, and order Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games for rent.
Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix,
explained in a blog post, "Members have been asking for video games for many years, and now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done."
He noted that Qwikster is not a brand new service, but rather, "merely a renamed version of the Netflix DVD website, but with the addition of video games."
The Netflix video streaming service is available on various games consoles, and currently
half of Netflix users stream content through a home video game console.
In fact,
nearly 20 percent of peak hour downstream traffic in North America is used for streaming video over Netflix through a home video game console, representing the most usage of any source.
