Renting?

[The_Donster]

So where is the best place to rent games? I know that Blockbuster is trying to generate revenue by competing with Gamefly, but I worry about them going out of business. Is Gamefly the clear winner, much like Netflix is for dvd's? If only they'd jump into the game arena, I'd be all over it Anyway, who do you guys rent from?

[DarkRedShadow]

So where is the best place to rent games? I know that Blockbuster is trying to generate revenue by competing with Gamefly, but I worry about them going out of business. Is Gamefly the clear winner, much like Netflix is for dvd's? If only they'd jump into the game arena, I'd be all over it Anyway, who do you guys rent from?

I have had no experience with gamefly so I will only be talking about blockbuster.My tips:Dont rent individually at blockbuster!Get the unlimited rentals for 1 month!its $30 and you get 1 game at a time unlimited for 1 month.way better than paying $50 a month in total for 5 games you only play for 1-3 days{if you rush}

Oh and BTW im going by canadian prices.

[bsrj22]

I used to use Gamefly, but they took forever to ship the games, and the only things they ever have in stock is old games or crappy stuff. Then I used Blockbuster, it was expensive, but they usually had copies of the game I wanted. Sometimes it would take a week for the new realeases to arrive in the store. Then my Blockbuster went out of business. Now I don't know what to do, Gamefly isn't worth it, and I don't know where else to go.

[dr baghead]

Have you tried just downloading the demos on PSN or XBox Live to see if you like that game?

That's what I started doing when my local Hollywood video closed down since I refuse to rent at Blockbusters ($10 for 3 days?! in this economy?!?! No, no good sirs, f**k YOU! And their 'unlimited' plans always seem to come with more strings attached then a marionette with guitars for hands) and don't play enough games to warrant a gamefly sub. (plus it'd end up like my Netflix sub, were in Mongel sits on my dresser for 3 months before I just send it back, it's still sitting in my Instant Queue now, someday I'll watch the first part of planned trilogy of the life of Genghis Khan... someday)

$30 for the unlimited plan is HALF the cost of the game (and for some Wii games it's almost full price), and you have to give it back in a month. Granted it you're a 'beat the game once, then move on, play as many games as possible in one month' type that's pretty good since you can beat a lot of games in 30 days, at least 10 if not 15, but once Blockbuster deems a game unshelf worthy you can NEVER play it again without having to hunt down a copy and spend ANOTHER $30 to buy it used.

Renting made sense back when a new game cost $50 but rentals were $5 and the only thing to do was beat the game (and with no saving in most games if you don't do it in one sitting it's not happening) but now with rentals being $10+ and games having multiple endings, multi-player modes, achievements, DLC/new mission packs, and various other replay options 3 days isn't enough to fully enjoy renting seems like an

so yeah, like I was originally saying: Demos

Most games will have downloadable demos that give a good feel for the game. If you like the game you can go buy it new, if it's just "okay for a quick play" you can buy a used copy later on (that way if say "oh the orginal games not so good but the 'zombies and handgrenades' add on pack is amazing!" you're only in the price of the used game purchase not the used game purchase + whatever mark up Blockbuster wants for a rental + "optional disc cleaning that if you don't buy you'll be heavily fined if the game stops working") and if the game sucks you can tell that from the demo and then you can just move on to the next demo instantly.

[Turtle]

I used Gamefly and enjoyed it. I recently cancelled my account, but that has more to do with my ever-shrinking free time than their quality of service. It was under $20/month. I never really noticed any significant delays in shipping and always got something pretty high in my queue even if they were new releases. It's got my recommendation. Demos are also a great way to go, and are pretty perfect for my free time allowance.

[The_Donster]

Well, if Netflix would just do games my life would be perfect. I've had the same experiences with them, as Turtle has with Gamefly. So if they work the same way, I might go that route on things that are low on my list. That or continue to do what I do now and just wait for the games to go on the cheap

[neolego]

There are a couple of good options, most have been mentioned.

Most modern libraries have a good selection of Movies and Games, I would check there. Also, RedBox has started renting games, however the closet one to me is about 18 miles so I haven't tried the service yet so I can't speak for the quality or ease. And the idea of Netflix carrying games almost makes my head explode, that would be ideal.

But, at the end of the day I don't think there is a better option available than GameFly. My biggest complaint, which again has been mentioned, is the lack of brand new released games. HOWEVER, it hasn't been enough of a problem for me to cancel, mainly because there is still stuff a few months old that I am looking to play. For instant, Spider-Man SD is on it's way. By the time I finish that, Fallout New Vegas will be more readily available, but if you want Fallout right now it's going to be hard to come by. But, at the end of the day, even if it takes you a week to beat 1 game, you are still looking at 4 quality games a month for the price of $15......and you can't beat that!

neo

[The_Donster]

I hear ya Neo. Sounds like GF is pretty much like NF, except for games I have stuff in my dvd que that don't even have a release date yet. The nice thing is, when they are released I usually have a short wait I do have RB's in my area at our local retailers and throughout the area. So I'll check them out, it will give me and my son something to do today. The sun actually decided to poke its head out