Slashdot Mirror
Best Netflix-Like Videogame Rental Service?
Duncan the Wuss asks: "So, almost everyone I know loves the DVD-rental-by-mail service Netflix. But what about the videogame rental market? I normally beat a game in about a week, and that can get expensive. I've checked out sites like GameFly and NumbThumb, and they seem reasonable. Geek.com even had a post about a site called TriggerFingers, but I can't seem to get anything to work on it. What I really need to know is, what's a high-quality site of this type that's worth renting from? Netflix is reputable and responds to customer complaints in a timely manner, but are there any video game rental sites with the same level of service? I mean, I don't want to give out my credit card numbers to just anyone."
Dvdbarn.com does video game rentals by mail. I've always been happy with the service, but they mostly stock Xbox games.
Had an account for a few months, never had any problems with my credit card or otherwise. They do a good job of shipping games fast.
I've been VERY happy with Gamefly's selection and service. Granted, they're only in California so if you live on the east coast (like I do) prepare for a wait for the USMail to do their thing - although it's rarely more than a week turnaround total for me.
I've kept games out for two months and they haven't said a word. It's a great service. Although I haven't had to talk to their CS department, I know someone who has and he said it was a good experience.
The thing I like about Gamefly is that if you REALLY like the game, you can "buy it now" and they'll send you the box and the instruction booklet, and you keep the CD.
Gamefly also carries GBA games, which is cool now that Blockbuster doesn't carry them anymore. And their selection is a LOT better than Blockbuster - you can even get a bunch of obscure titles there, on all the systems.
BlockBuster, at least my local store, is trying to do a NetFlix style rental program for video games.
On the positive side: You can drop by your local branch and swap one game for another immediately, without waiting on the mail.
On the major negative side: Being individual stores, not one centralized distribution center, they've had horrible problems with access to particular games. As everyone else has the keep a game for as long as you want membership, the three copies of [whatever the latest game is] immediately disappear, not to be returned for six weeks (at which point someone else takes them for six weeks). Plus, while you can survive a slightly scratched rental DVD movie, a scratched game disc is next to useless.
For me, the negatives massively outweighed the positives (only getting to rent games no one else wants just isn't fun) and I quit my membership after the first month. On the other hand, if you work at BlockBuster or have a friend that does, so you can get one of those three copies before they're on the shelf, it could be a great program.
For those who don't want to navigate each site mentioned to see prices, here's a breakdown I compiled:
Gamefly.com
Plan 1 (1 game at a time) - $13.95 per month)
Plan 2 (2 games at a time) - $21.95 per month)
NumbThumb.com
Plan 1 (1 game at a time) - $13.95 per month
Plan 2 (2 games at a time) - $21.95 per month
TriggerFingers.com
Mini Plan (2 games at a time) - $14.95 per month
Economy Plan (3 games at a time) - $19.95 per month
Mid-Sized Plan (4 games at a time) - $24.95 per month
Luxury Plan (5 games at a time) - $29.95 per month
I've never tried those services but I do know that PennyArcade recommends it (scroll a little down to read Gabe's post about it). Considering how many games they play and how they like to complain about shitty service it must be a testament to Gamefly's reliability that they haven't bashed it yet.
my book
I got both from a place called "DVD Avenue". Been mostly happy; I took the games off my list, though, because they don't send the manuals with them, and I don't play enough games to be able to intuit the controls. YMMV. I don't know if they ship popular titles any faster than NetFlix, though, as I've never used NetFlix.
--
$tar -xvf
I did the free trial for GameFly, and then a month of service... but I gave up. They only have a distribution center in California, and since I'm on the east coast, it took 3+ days for the games to make their way to me, and then back to GF. For me, it's simply cheaper to go to my local video store and rent games, and I'd get more games for the same price.
If they get a distribution center on the east coast, or at least within 2 days of me like Netflix is, then I'd reactivate my account immediately. In fact, I asked them to email me when/if they ever get that setup.
If you're nearer their distribution center than I am, try it out. It's just like Netflix, and my experience was just as good.
Gabriel Ricard
I've been using GameFly for a few months now, and I love it! I've never had a problem getting a game, and they let you keep the game for a decent price if you like it. I tend to "buy" games through here instead of buying them at stores. If you queue up a game right when it comes out, you are obviously going to get a new copy of the game. If you like the game, keep it at the reduced price, and you are all set! If you don't, you just saved yourself the price of the game!
I highly recommend GameFly!
Redoctane didn't get mentioned, but for $18.95 you get 2 games at a time, and they have a number of import games for the fanatics who want to play the games everyone else will be playing next year, but don't want to pay the $50-$70+ or so to import them.
I haven't used them personally so I can't say how their service is.
From their description of their service, it looks like you put together a wish list, and they send you games from that list when(if) they become available. Browsing through their list, they only have import sections for the dreamcast, playstation, and playstation 2, and it looks like a number of imports have been "misplaced". Looking through the ps2 titles shows they really haven't been keeping up with the times. They probably discovered that its a lot more expensive when the import games keep "disappearing" in transit than the American versions. (You'd think they'd switch to some kind of certified mail, or at least shipping with delivery confirmation...) Not to mention the support hassles from idiots who don't understand whats needed to play an imported game.
I'd probably think about it if they started tracking shipments and smacking the people who screw them (and the rest of the service users) over, and if they got some imported game cube and xbox games in, as well as newer ps2 titles. Until then they don't have much over blockbusters, seeing as most of the import titles they haven't lost yet are out in the US in English.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
I've been fairly happy with game lender for the past few months that I've been having service with them. I think they're still the cheapest and have all the perks of the other services (like buying the game, etc). Also they carry a lot of legacy games (SNES, genesis, and NES) and GBA games. Turn around hasn't been *too* shabby (I live in the midwest) but the biggest problem that I've had so far has been them not having the good games in stock sometimes. As a result they ask you to put at least ten games in your queue at one time.
I rent from Gamefly and am for the most part happy with the service.
Game turnaround is about 6 days from when i drop it in the box, which isn't a big deal for me since I usually play the games for a week or more. About the time I get tired of one game, another is arriving in the mail. If you don't see yourself playing the rented game for more than a couple days on average, You would be better off with something on the order of a freedom pass from Blockbuster.
The biggest advantage I see with gamefly as opposed to renting from a local store, is that Gamefly typically gets all new releases within a day or two of release. My local Blcokbusters and Hollywood videos get big name titles quickly, but skip or wait on a lot of other lesser hyped games. They also usually only have one or two copies of the lesser titles which can make it near impossible to actually rent them. The "buy it" option isn't bad either. If you like the game you can keep it, they mail you the box and rest of the junk it came with. The price is usually right around what a used copy would run you in a store.
On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
I'll second the comments on Gamefly - I have actually had a problem with a game delivered (my copy of an XBox games was PAL, not NSTC! They don't even offer PAL games!). Customer service wasn't available, so I left a message. They returned the call in about an hour and shipped a replacement before I returned the bad disc! Great turnaround, great selection and very friendly & responsive customer service. I recommend this service to everyone I know.
I've had the Gamefly 1-Game plan for quite a while now (I think 6 months or more) and I've been very pleased. Their selection really is top-notch. They always have plenty of the big releases and never skip the smaller ones. They package well and I've always gotten the correct game.
I've talked with their customer service after a credit card problem at signup (it was a problem on my end that they helped me resolve). They were friendly and helpful. I've also emailed a few times with suggestions and questions and was responded to promptly and politely. One of my suggestions (instructions for games) is now being used on the site (although I obviously wasn't the only one, at least they listen to what the customers want).
The turnaround time is around 6 days to Cleveland, OH. For me, I'm ALWAYS getting late fees so the time doesn't bother me. It's still cheaper in the long run.
I've been using Gamefly for about 4 months or so. So far, the experience has been pretty good, with my only complaint being the turn-around time. Once I put a game in the mail, the result is sporadic, taking a range of 4-9 days to get a new one back. Spacing your mailings out can help a lot (keeping one game while the other one's in transit).
I've contacted gamefly 3 times since joining (always wondering what's taking so long for my games), and they always respond to me within 24 hours, and are very nice and helpful. I complained about the speed of delivery in comparison to Netflix, and Gamefly pointed out that Netflix has distributing centers all over the US, while Gamefly only has a California office, and that they're working on ways to speed things up. One method they have been considering is a "tell them when you've put a game in the mail, and they'll send you a new game immediately" policy, which of course would have zero tolerance for any abuse of the system.
Anyway, like I said, I've been pretty happy with it so far, though I'd still change over if I found something faster. In any case, while I buy a bunch of games myself, a rental service like this is the only way I can play all of the games that I'm interested in without going bankrupt.