I didn't buy an Xbox 360 in order to watch Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, or any other app on my television. In fact, when I bought my console, none of that was on any gaming console at the time.
I'm more than happy spending $5 a month for the Xbox Live Gold membership solely for the online play. I'm apparently not alone in this stance, as online games sales for the Xbox have consistently been greater than online games sales for the PS3, as well as have sales for game cards which include money/points for online purchases:
So PS3 has a free online network on which you can watch movies via apps; good for them. Most people who buy a
gaming console don't really care about that. It's just an added benefit. I could save myself money and buy a
BluRay player with those apps on it if that's all I wanted.
But that's not all I want. I bought a gaming console because I wanted to play games, and I bought the online service because I wanted to play games online. Everything else is just gravy.
So why do I pay for the online service instead of getting a free online service with PS3? Quality and features. I won't go into a long "wiki-rant" about why the Xbox's online services are of better quality and have more features, as any Joe Schmoe with access to Google can learn that within minutes.
If free access to a Netflix or Hulu app gets your tractor cranked, then great for you. Personally, it's not what I bought the system for.