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After a long wait and nearly a whole year lagging behind the XBox 360, the PlayStation 3 is finally getting some Netflix streaming love. Reading the official announcement for this new feature—which will begin implementation sometime in November—is a tug-of-war of emotions. Here are the ups and downs of my reaction to the press release.

Yes!—It's completely free for all PS3 owners, though of course you need a Netflix account. Take that, XBox Live Gold and your $40 a year shenanigans.

Boo—Instead of an automatic online update, you have to request a special Blu-ray disc from Netflix that would open up the Netflix interface on the PS3. Here's the page to do so.

Yes!—You don't need to add your desired movies to your instant queue first like some other inferior streaming devices, because you can browse Netflix's selection of movies and TV shows available for streaming from the disc, and Just Press Play (sorry, can't resist), although your queue is also accessible.

Boo—The Blu-ray disc needs to be in the PS3 for you to access Netflix, so no more being lazy and switching to a movie in the middle of a gaming session. You actually have to get up off your ass and swap discs first.

Yes!—This is probably the reason why it's on a special disc instead of just adding the capability to the PS3 internet browser: you can actually use the Dualshock's buttons to control the movie's playback, the same way as a DVD/Blu-ray.

Keep in mind, though, that for all the whiny boo moments, this is still great news anyway, especially as a simple and free alternative to purchasing PlayOn (or in the case of us Mac users, having to start up a Windows first just to use it).

Those of you outside the US who might be grumbling over spoiled Americans getting another perk, cheer up. Just a few days ago, Netflix announced their decision to allow streaming-only subscriptions for people outside the US, which will launch sometime in the second half of 2010 and theoretically allow non-US PS3 owners to also enjoy the service. Since it's unlikely that Netflix is going to ship these free Blu-ray installer discs all over the world, perhaps we'll see the move to a downloadable update on the PlayStation Network within the next year.