Netflix has finally announced its streaming service is coming to the PlayStation 3. During a press briefing at E3 2008, Microsoft broke the news that the rental subscription based service would come to the Xbox 360’s next big update, which happened in the fall of last year. Many figured Netflix would one day make its way to either the PlayStation 3 and/or the Nintendo Wii, but just not take this long.

Well today is the day, because both Netflix and Sony have revealed that the movie rental service is coming to the PlayStation 3 in November; however, no specific date has been mentioned other than the month. “The PlayStation 3 system has always been about more than just gaming, and it will soon be the only platform in the industry to offer consumers such a variety of convenient options for enjoying movies and TV shows,” said Jack Tretton, president of SCEA.

The technology will compete directly with Sony’s pay-to-watch movie collection service already available on the PlayStation Network. Some wondered if this was the reason why Sony didn’t jump on Netflix bandwagon sooner because they wanted to try their own method first, instead of using a third-party company.

Michael Pachter, who is an analyst for Wedbush Securities, believes PS3 owners would have to own a Blu-ray disc in order for Netflix to work with the system because of a clause Microsoft has with the rental company. “We believe that the exclusive arrangement limits Netflix’s ability to appear on the ‘dashboard’ for the PS3 or the Wii.” Thankfully Netflix confirmed on its website that the the disc is free. It’ll be interesting to see how that will unfold and how Microsoft will downplay Netflix coming to their competitor. It should also be noted that Pachter feels the Nintendo Wii owners will also have the ability to use Netflix within the next 12 months.