An update for Netflix on the Xbox 360 rolled out yesterday adding a new section that is “Just For Kids”.  This new update is perfect for a family with small children who are looking for more family friendly oriented television shows and movies.

The “Just For Kids” section not only seperates Netflix’s standard movie and television genres, but also allows the user to search by characters which can be found without having to type in the character’s name and is located on the main area of the new section.  This feature makes it easy for young children who cannot read yet to shout out the names of their favorite characters that they want to watch.  Case in point, my living room lit up like it was Christmas morning when my two year discovered the character icons that were for ”Thomas The Train”, “Spongebob Squarepants”, and “Dora The Explorer” would take him to his favorite shows without mommy and daddy having to choose for him allowing him to be feel a bit more independent.

David Watson, Director of Product Innovation for Netflix on the kids and family friend end stated on his blog that the ”Just For Kids” area of Netflix is very “popular” among their users on the PC, PS3, and various other devices so they “are sure it will also be a hit on Xbox 360″.

This update has been met with criticism with some Xbox 360 users saying they don’t need it and wish they could disable it, others wishing for back to back play features instead of a kid only section along with various other updates and the addition of new shows and their episodes, and there is also the simple fact that this feature has been available to PS3 users since March 2012 and Wii users since November of 2011.  Ouch!

What do you think?  Was this a necessary update that Netflix needed for families with young children or was this just a waste of time when Netflix should have been concentrating on refreshing their content and adding options to make it easier for the user to use the app?

Tweet This Post Post to Facebook

View the full article

My kids have been using this on the PS3 for the past week or so and absolutely love it. They actually prefer the layout on the PS3 to the 360, but I'm sure they will give this a shot.

For those of us with kids it was a great addition. For those without kids not so much, lol.

... Unless you like cartoons. :/

Looks cool but my kid got older so its not such a big deal now. One thing I don't like about the update is that it makes me select how I want to experience netflix every time I open it between normal and kid :/

I watch Phineas and Ferb. I'm not ashamed.

Ed,edd, and eddy for the win!

To this day I still love spongebob...

Pretty smart idea on their end, but it would get annoying having to pick every time.

Really guys? One extra push of a button is too much? Seriously?

Not too much just an oversight in programming. But, I think Netflix sucks anyway.

Ed,edd, and eddy for the win!

I LOVED that show when I was growing up. That, spongebob, and Dexter's Lab were probably my favorites(in fact i have the first season of Dexter's Lab on DVD).

Pretty smart idea on their end, but it would get annoying having to pick every time.

My TV does the same thing. Would be nice if you could save the setting.