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Sorry, I overlooked this part the first time I read your reply:

If you want to rent games on PC you can sign up with Gamefly, but it would cost more.

From the front page of GameFly:

To enjoy GameFly, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Please click here to learn how.

Once I got past that barrier, all games listed on the All Games page appear to be either for consoles or for handhelds made by console makers, not for PC. This is because PC game rental infringes U.S. copyright, unlike console game rental.

Steam allows users to trial games and gives full refunds within a certain time, which is a good substitute for "renting."

Until Valve decides that you've abused the refund policy and takes away access to all games that use Steam authentication.

Yes, the library of PC games is not every single game every made. We unfortunatly don't have manditory licensing for games the way we do for music on the radio. That doesn't mean they don't have an all you can eat PC game rental. http://www.gamefly.com/download-games/browse/?pf=1100&cat=UnlimitedPlay#.UWeeQMrzlEY Bioshock Infinite may not be for rent on the PC yet, but the very first game shown for me is Bioshock.

No. You danced around the actual issue while missing it completely, and ended up blaming the wrong party as a result.

First off, Aspyr has no one by the balls. If anything, they're the one getting squeezed. None of these companies port to Mac through Aspyr. Rather, Aspyr (as well as Feral Interactive et al.) is licensing the rights for Mac versions of games from the original publisher. Historically, this was a gamble for the Mac publishers like Aspyr, since the Mac market was a lot smaller, purchasing those rights cost a lot of money, and even with porting AAA best-selling titles on Windows it wasn't a sure thing. Nowadays, however, the risk has decreased to the point that EA, Ubisoft, Blizzard-Activision, and the other big publishers are increasingly choosing to capitalize on the Mac market directly by offering their own ports, rather than only profiting indirectly via licensing fees. I'd say that only a fraction of Mac ports are actually done by third-party licensees these days, though admittedly they tend to be big-name AAA titles that attract a lot of attention.

But to get to the heart of things, the real reason a lot of Mac versions of games are missing from Steam is because all Steamplay (a.k.a. cross-platform) titles are packaged together as a single sale. That's not a problem when both versions have the same publisher (e.g. an in-house port), but it is a complete deal-breaker when the Mac version is created by a third-party Mac publisher, since only the original publisher gets paid. Without setting up a revenue sharing contract with the original publisher (which would be incredibly messy for reasons I'd be happy to elaborate if you can't think of them on your own), or else selling the rights to the Mac version back, they'd have no way to earn money from purchases on Steam. Thus, your grousing is entirely misplaced, since this is a problem with the way Steam is structured.

That's also why Aspyr, contrary to what you suggested, has no problems selling their games on other stores. For instance, Borderlands 2 was just ported to Mac by Aspyr about a month ago, and it's on the Mac App Store and GameFly (née Direct2Drive) in addition to their own store. All of those allow Aspyr to be paid specifically for the Mac version of the game, which is something that's not possible with Steam.

Now, none of this is to say that Steam should change in some way. Despite the fact that I think the blame for this issue lies with Steam's store model, I actually think it's better that all Steamplay titles are package deals, rather than allowing for stand-alone Mac purchases, that way you don't end up with a lot of Windows gamers accidentally purchasing Mac versions or other confusion of that sort. Just because I think they made the right decision does not mean they are blameless, however.

Generally people who pirate games can not afford more than 1 or 2 games a month. But if they pirate them they can try 10 a month.

If they can afford to buy one game a month, then they can get a membership at Gamefly or their local Blockbuster and play far more games for the same amount of dollars.

"Also, I do not have the £40 to spend on some wannabe game without testing... how am I suppose to see if I like that game? considering that these days, online reviews are less worthless..."

Gamefly

That is not necessary. Just don't give your kid EVERY game that comes out. Of course if you want to do the right thing and try games before your kids play them, might I suggest Gamefly? It only takes 5-10 minutes to get a feel for whether a game is appropriate or not, and the child can play the game for 10s of hours if the game is any good. Basically, it is dramatically easier to monitor a kids game playing than it is to monitor their movie and TV watching. Video games also are less likely than movies, to sneak inappropriate material into a movie that is advertised to children. Very few children's movies are free from sex and violence. My favorite example is Shrek 2, where the Musketeer is caught giving himself a hummer in the castle courtyard.

I am very liberal about what I will let my child play. Basically, I watch for games that he does not know is pretend, AND that have behavior he can mimic. Last year, when he was two, I would not let him play, and would not play in front of him, 'The Godfather'. I didn't worry about the bombs, or the shooting. I didn't want him watching the characters punch each other. At about 2 years old is when you really need to instill that punching is wrong. Now that he is three, I am much less worried about it. He has a firm grasp of what is real, and what is pretend, and he is learning that punching is "usually" wrong, but there are exceptions. Doom on the other had, I didn't worry about him seeing. If he got confused and started killing alien demons from that have been passing through some inter dimensional portal, I think I am ok with that.

http://www.gamefly.com/member/

GameFly thinks it's legal. I'm guessing their legal department made sure of it, first.

Hey, I'm no Sony fan, but FUD is bad from any direction. Gamefly certainly think you can rent PS3 games.

Umm... http://www.gamefly.com/ the netflix of games though I haven't used them. If you rent a lot of games, and all it takes is something like 2 per month, then this might just be worth it for you.

I am not spending $30+ to try out a game. I will [pirate] it first, THEN decide if I want to buy it.

Given that you quoted a price in US currency, I'll assume that you're eligible for GameFly DS. Or for games published by Nintendo, you might want to go to a DS Download Station at your local Best Buy store.

My friends and I use gameflyhttp://www.gamefly.com/ for our newer rentals, xbox, ps2, ETC. The service is great, I get my games promptly, and I can keep them as long as I like.

I'm pretty happy with Gamefly. It's like Netflix for console games.

We have this already... for a while now. Check out GameFly for the exact experience you are looking for. -- I am not a monkey

My local Blockbuster has DS and Gameboy games..

And as long as you have some patience, a little bit of forthought, and the ability to plan ahead, theres always:

Gamefly! Though I never wanted to play enough games to justify 15-20 bucks a month.

As far as computer games go, in 1990 the US modified copyright law with the Computer Software Rental Amendments Act to prohibit software rental because it lead to piracy. Before the law, you could rent computer games. I used to rent computer games by mail back in the Commodore 64 days.
As for console video games, they are rented all over the place. And the used copies are sold as well. Blockbuster puts its used copies up for sale just the same as pre-viewed movies.
GameFly rents via mail and lets you keep the game if you decide you want to buy it. You just let them know you want to buy the game and they bill your credit card for it.
Gamefly also sells off their used copies when demand for the game goes down.

You can rent UMD movies from GameFly. It's a bit of a better deal, because you can keep them for as long as you like.

What, you mean like Gamefly?

if somebody could come up with a similar system for games, we gamers/geeks are fairly notorious about going after new tech/stuff.

Um. You mean, like GameFly?

well, im sure that you have something similar to gamefly: http://www.gamefly.com/ over there in whereever you are. works like netflix, you rent it but keep it til you want to rent something else.

for the times youre feeling hardcore, you can rent the latest and greatest; and when youre feeling casual, you dont have to feel guilty that you have a life since there are no late fees.

The main reason is that not only can I rent and play console games without the risk of purchasing a dud (or get stuck with something that was released as Beta), I can trade in used console games for a reasonable return. PC game rental isn't a possibility (as far as I know), and the most you can hope to receive in trade for a PC game is 2-5% of the original sale price most times.

Gamefly has saved me countless $$ on titles that I would have otherwise had to purchase for my PC. The only titles that I see worth purchasing for my PC are MMPORPGs and the occasional FPS, but if I ever see a console that offers up a wireless mouse/keyboard as a standard interface option, that could easily change.

I have had my Gamefly account now for about 6 months and I have been LOVING it. When a game comes out I am willing to try but am not willing to fork over $50 for, I simply rent it, and play until I get tired of it, then I send it back, no harm, no foul. They almost never are out of copies of games I want to rent (even the new ones). So really, a hike likely would not bother me much.

Same buisness model as netflix, except that most games you can buy dirt cheep. I got Beyond Good & Evil for $13, the box an manual were in mint condition too. Better then buying used games online, since I can see the condition of the media before I buy.

Netflix carries many TV show DVDs. In fact, a lot of people I know use them just to watch series they didn't see the first time. Much more affordable than buying a set you may only watch once or twice. For gamers, there's a similar service called GameFly.

The internet and the increased availability is going to drastically change the way software companies do business. Sure you and I probably don't want to mess with software as a subscription but think about the majority of users. If Microsoft, Sun and IBM can sell them on the idea of free hardware and updated software for a monthly/yearly fee, they'll take it. Look at Netflix and Gamefly now and then look at them in a couple of years. They're going to be doing well.

I refuse to pirate games. I really believe that unlike the music industry, games aren't really that over priced. I never understood until I started programming how long it takes to do even simple things sometimes. When I look at a game I see the millions of lines of code, the hours of artwork, and the sheer amount of time spent to get the sound right. For a really good game, $50 is not a bad price to pay. Unfortunately that price is a bit much for starving college students like myself. Is pirating tempting? You betcha. Is $50 too much for the majority of the games found at your local Wal-Mart? Definately. Consequently I think that instead of complaining about the price, we should all just be really selective about what we buy. I won't drop $50 for anything less than a HALO, Half Life 2, or Metroid Prime quality game. If anything else looks even remotely interesting I grab it from Gamefly. The point is stealing at any level is wrong. I also don't buy into the "Sampling a lot of games is expensive" bit. Not when I can go to Blockbuster or GameFly and rent as many games as I can handle in a month for $20. Every game out there has somebodys blood, sweat, and tears in it. The least I can do is show them a little respect and pay for their work if I play it.

This might save you some money for 2 teenage gamers :)

please note though, I have yet to try it this service so this is not an endorsement... but the idea seems like such a good one (basically netflix for games) I am really just waiting till my next game to sign up.

Perhaps there are a few titles like this. And maybe I haven't bought as many PC games in the last year as most.

I have a hunch the phenomenon may be a bit overblown, though, and inflated through the numbers of expansions and MMORPGs that are available for the PC that don't start at $50 because they're not a full game, or have a different pricing model that involves extracting $13.95/month from your wallet.

Besides, most decent X-Box games end up hitting the "Platinum" series ($19.95 retail) within 6-12 months. Same thing with PS2 - most games are discounted at retail within a few months, save the best-sellers.

Slightly off-topic, I decided I had enough of the pricing model for both sets of games. I no longer use my PC for gaming, and I simply rent my console games from GameFly.

I can't even tell you how much money it's saved me in bad game purchases. You know the ones - pay $50, play game for 3 hours, sell to GameStop for $15. Oof.

I read an article about 6 months ago where the Netflix guys said they weren't interested in the video game market. I'm glad they've wised up.

In the meantime, Gamefly is an excellent video game rental service. The pricing and service are almost identical to Netflix.

Your whole argument is predicated by the assumption that the media, the government, or the game makers FORCE, one way or another, a child to play a video game. That's not true. The child, just like any other person, has free will and can choose whether they're going to play it or not. For example, I rented Arc the Lad for the PS2 a couple weeks ago from Gamefly.com and I haven't even booted it up yet. You know why? I have other things to do. I know the graphics are cool, and I know the game is probably very good, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

It seems like you posted 2 differing opinions within the same post. The whole post up until the last paragraph is saying that the children aren't responsible for what they do because they're the unwitting victims of the media, the government, and the video game producers. The last paragraph completely contradicts that by saying that each person SHOULD take responsibility for what they've done.

The media is motivated by money. They run stories that make people watch so their ratings go up. They're also motivated by their personal political beliefs, which seems pretty evident, given that news anchors are people with opinions too. (Tony Snow substituted for Rush Limbaugh when Rush was off the air, for instance. On the other hand, just about all the anchors on CNN are biased the opposite way.)

The government, particularly individual politicians, want your votes. They'll tell you whatever they think you want to hear as long as you vote for them. If Little Johnny fights a lot at school, it isn't your fault for not teaching him that fighting is bad... it's Grand Theft Auto's fault for letting him play as a bad guy.

The video game producers are also motivated by money. They want to sell as many games as possible. Don't forget, it's a business. You so gleefully point out your example of some people playing a game for 18 hours a day and the executives being happy. Pardon my speech, but no shit. If someone spends 18 hours a day playing a game, ANY GAME, they're going to talk to other people and tell them why they like it so much. It's called "word of mouth" and it's raised movies from being no-name independent college films, to multi-million dollar money making machines (Blair Witch Project, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, etc.). It's one of the simplest laws of economics. When someone talks about your product, more people become aware of your product. When more people hear positive reviews of your product (particularly by people / magzines / website they trust), there's a higher chance they will buy your product.

As you seem to have missed the point, let me restate it. The parents are the ones that give the child the knowledge they will use to build everything else on. The parents teach the child to speak, walk, ride a bicycle, and hopefully, how to tell real-life from what appears on a TV (except the news). The parents are the ones that plop down the money for the child to spend... or the ones that drive the child to the mall to buy a game... or the ones that let the youngster rent a game with their card. Is it really too much to expect that they'll also be the ones to instruct the child what is morally acceptable and what is not?

The service you are thinking of is GameFly .

Its reasons like these that make me glad of GameFly for my Xbox, and the fact I seem to play more of those games than PC games, now-a-days...

Don't like it? Rent the games from Gamefly, the Netflix of the gaming world.

No, they're the GreenCine of the gaming world. I don't mean they're the also-ran: Gamefly and GreenCine operate out of the same building and share some infrastructure, iirc.

...only give a replacement copy for defective games. Honestly, it's not that hard. There's plenty of other examples of the retail world of this working just fine. Otherwise, yeah, it's pretty much a free rental place. Don't like it? Rent the games from Gamefly, the Netflix of the gaming world. Doesn't help with PC games, but for any console games, it's really cool. As seen on Penny Arcade.

=Brian

you might like this.

Gamefly I haven't tried them yet, but I like their rent-to-own policy. Anyone have any experience with them?

This might be what you're looking for.

Netflix for Games

Let me know how that works out for you. ;-)

If you have a console I highly recommend check out GameFly which is like Netflix for games.
For 20 bucks a month you can rent all the games you want ( having 2 out at a time ) for any of the 3 consoles. It's a great way to weed through the over hyped crap that comes out. And if you happen to like the game you can keep it "out" indefinitely, or even purchase it and GameFly will mail you the box, manuals, etc.

Note that I really don't recommend GoVoJo. They have awful turnaround times and their site isn't quite as nice to navigate.

Grinn.