Background on GameFly:

GameFly is currently the biggest online video game rental company in the US, and they have been doing business since 2002. They offer new members a ten day free trial for a two games at a time plan ($22.95/mo thereafter), or the chance of getting the first month's membership at $8.95 for one game at a time or $12.95 for two games at a time. The prices after the free trial incentive ends are:

• $15.95 per month for one game at a time
• $22.95 per month for two games at a time
• $29.95 per month for three games at a time (although this option requires the member to have an active account of good standing for sixty days or more)
• $36.95 per month for four games at a time (as above)

There is no long-term commitment and can cancel, upgrade or downgrade any time you want – no questions asked. Just go into “My Account” on your membership page, choose “Change My Membership Plan,” and you are good to go.

GameQ

No late fees are ever applied to your account, meaning that you can keep each game for as long as you want. When you do finally decide it’s time for something new, just pop the game into the pre-paid envelope supplied and once received by the company, the new game on your GameQ list will be mailed to you.

I initially decided to try my luck with the ten day free trial that was offered, so I registered, signed in and created an account for myself. Once that was done I found the site really easy to navigate and loaded up my GameQ.

The GameQ is basically a list of the games that you have chosen that will ultimately be mailed out to you at the appropriate times. Obviously the games at the head of the list are sent first, but you can rearrange the list anytime, and in anyway, you want. It’s just a case of typing in which position you want the game moved to and hitting the “Update My GameQ” button. Once this is done all the other games that are then listed below it will obviously have move one place lower on the list. You can do this for as few or as many choices on the list if you want.

But your GameQ is not only about lists of games. It will give you all the information you need about which games were sent to you, when they were sent to you and pricing information should you decide that the game is so good that you just have to keep it forever!

Game Selection

GameFly has well over 6000 game titles for rent and the interface on the site makes it really simple to locate them. You will also find a handy navigation bar at the top of the main interface that lists all the different game consoles. At the moment this includes PSP, PS2, PS3, XBOX, XBOX360, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Game Boy Advance and Wii, and it then just filter results by your interests. I found this feature really helps to find what I'm looking for, with a load of choices to choose from; everything from “Most Popular” and “New Releases”, to “Coming Soon” and “See All”. The default with these was fifteen titles per page, which was less than I expected, but you can view 45 or even 75 games per page. You can also change the format of the page if you wish, changing from thumbnails of the games to just text titles, or vice-versa.

Once you have a list of games up on your screen, you will notice that not only does it have a “Rent” button underneath it, but also some other pertinent information. This includes the title of the game, its ESRB rating (this is the perceived Entertainment Software Rating Board), the release date of the game in question and also the games platform. Then, if you click on the title or image you will find an even larger list of details for you. Although quite a long list, these include genre, publisher, price to buy the game should you wish to keep it, if it is online enabled, the number of players who can play, if the game is available on other platforms, an alert for when/if the game becomes available for sale, trade button, “rate this” button for that particular game, and there is even an option to write a review for it.

When you add games to your GameQ, you will notice that some are marked by the following tags:

• High Availability meant there was a 75% or higher chance of the game being shipped out
• Medium meant a 50*-74% chance of shipping
• Low meant a 25%-49% chance of shipping
• Very Low meant less than a 25% chance of shipping

Underneath all the descriptions, Gamefly includes this text:

“We get a large volume of discs returned daily, so a copy of your requested game may become available during the day, even if it is not listed as Available Now. We'll always attempt to ship you the first available game in your GameQ. If your first choice is not available, we'll send the next available title in your GameQ, so we don't leave you without a game.”

GameFly and Shipping

When it comes to shipping, GameFly always forwards an email to you when a game has been sent out, as well as doing the same when they receive a game back from you, which I guess is good for your own peace of mind. An added advantage which I found out is the fact that you can also get these messages sent to you via SMS to your cell phone. When I ordered my first games, I received an email letting me know they had been shipped, and I actually received them through my mail box the very next day. When I had finished with them I just placed them into the envelope supplied and popped them back into the mail. A couple of days later I received my confirmation email telling me that GameFly had received the games back and that they had actually shipped out the next game on my list already.

It obviously depends where you live though regarding the next day delivery. As they only have distribution centers in Tampa, LA, Pittsburgh and Austin it could take two or three days to reach you if you live quite far from these places. I live in Tampa myself, so I am in a position to receive next day delivery, which is great.

When the games do arrive through your mail box, they are inside an envelope which is protected by a cardboard sleeve, designed to prevent any damage to the games. You can use this same prepaid envelope to send the games back as well. Another good thing about GameFly is that they have utilized a system called “Fast Return.” In a nutshell, they have developed this system in conjunction with the US Postal Service to not only improve on delivery times for the members of the site, but to also fast track the processing of the next game on your GameQ list. Basically, as soon as GameFly receives confirmation for the postal authorities that your returning game is in the postal system, they will then process the next game on your list.

Parental Controls

GameFly offers clients the ability to set parental controls for their games, which also gives the ability to set up what type of information is freely viewable when going through lists. So not only would children be restricted in what they could rent from your account, they would also be restricted in what they could see. There are parental control options for the reviews as well.
GameFly Incentives

Gamefly Incentives - Gamefly Dollars

GameFly offers their members incentives and rewards and these are tied in with the length of your current membership. The longer you are a member, the higher the reward level you will reach.

There are three types of reward level for you to aspire to:

• Level One – After three months as a member gives you five GameFly dollars every three months
• Level Two – After six months as a member you get 5% of all game purchases from the site as well as five GameFly dollars every three months
• Level Three – After twelve months as a member you get 10% off all game purchases from the site and five GameFly dollars every three months

Purchasing Pre-Played Games

These GameFly dollars can be used toward purchases of the pre-played games only, keeping games you have rented, or buying games at the GameFly store. The only drawback is that you have to use these “dollars” within ninety days or they will expire.

Both members and non-members can purchase used games from GameFly at the low pre-played prices offered. The only difference between members buying and non-members buying is that members get free shipping whereas non-members have to pay a $2.95 shipping cost. If anybody decides to use the “Keep” feature after renting a game, then GameFly will send all the relevant cases and manuals at no extra cost.

GameFly Tunes Each Month

As an added bonus, GameFly now offers all its members five MP3 tracks to download each and every month for free. There are established artists available as well as up-and-coming ones. Even non-members and visitors can download the free MP3’s – but only one per month.

Click Here To Take The Gamefly Free Trial

Gamemine.com is an up and coming service that continues to make improvements that make this a serious contender in the game rental market. Here's a breakdown of their service:

When you sign up with Gamemine, you are prompted to fill up your queue (which they call your "minelist") with your desired games. As a game becomes available it will be shipped to you and once you return it you receive the next game in your queue. Your very first game is sent with a delivery confirmation from USPS. Your card is charged when the game is sent out to you. Everyone’s game is tracked throughout the mail system until delivered.

In the past Gammine offered a 2x speed option for members who remained active for over 3 months. They have recently implemented the 2x speed option for everyone on the first day of service. 2x speed basically means that you can have your next game mailed out as soon as your last game is put in the mail. This significantly reduces your waiting time for games. Gamemine claims that their 2x speed delivery system is twice as fast as any other game rental service.

Gamemine's website is very user-friendly and games are broken out into browse-able categories that you can sort by things like console, game title, release date, publisher and more. They have a real decent selection of over 7000 titles and growing fast. At the top of each category page they feature the most popular games for that category and below each individual game you will see other recommendations i.e. "You Might Also Like". This is just a handy feature to stay on top of new releases or games that you might not have heard about. They also recently added a new filter system for searching for games of your choice such as Genres, Date Released, User Rating, Buy Price, Trade Price, Rent Availability, ESBR Ratings, and Coming Soon. For your trades, you can simply input the UPC or Title of the game to see how much it is worth. Although you initially pay for the shipping, the cost will be credited to your account once the game is received. All purchased games are shipped for free.

Gamemine is one of the few services that does offer parental control features which enable parents to block unwanted games by rating or genre. With this feature it's really easy to keep your kids playing games appropriate for their age range. Gamemine also offers the you the ability to rent movies in PSP format. The selection of titles isn't massive but a number of the big ones.

They now offer live customer service allowing you to speak with a representative for any questions about your account. In addition Live chat and email customer service are available as well. The customer service hours are from Monday through Saturday from 11AM to 5PM. The customer service phone number is 561-450-5123.

User's are not required to opt-in to the rental service in order to sign up for gamemine.com. You can participate in purchasing and trading in games without having the rental service.

It's not surprising that this company is really growing their customer base as it delivers really decent service at a good price.

Gamerang Review:

There are many different video game rental sites out there, and Gamerang is yet another of them.  The company features distribution centers spread across the United States—California, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Minnesota, to be exact.  This means your games will ship from the closest distribution center to minimize shipping time.  There are no late fees or return dates.

There is no free trial or money-back guarantee, but your first month is only $14.95 for one game out.  It’s $17.95 for each additional month.  If you want two games a month, it’s $24.95.  Three games are $49.95, and four games are $59.95.  After that, you can add an addition game up to ten games for $9.95 a title.  The site currently has a two month special for $40.  They also give you a year’s subscription to Wired Magazine if you spend more than $9.95, which means you get the subscription no matter which monthly package you take.

The site offers games for all major systems, including handheld systems like the Nintendo DS and the PSP.  While older games are almost always in stock, games released in the past six months or so may not be readily available.  Almost half of them were marked as short wait.  It can be difficult getting a specific game if you want it right away, but you can put other games in your queue so you always have something to play—just don’t bet on getting the game you want right away.  You also have the option of outright buying or pre-ordering games from Gamerang.  These games will be shipped to you once they’re available.  To get the most out of Gamerang, you really need to have a good-sized list of games you want so you always get something.

Once you have a game from Gamerang, you have the option of keeping it.  Your rental fee will count as a discount on buying the game, although the discount isn’t as great as it is on some other rental sites.  Once you tell Gamerang you’re buying a game, they’ll send you your next rental.  On the downside, you most likely won’t get the game manual with your rental, which is not good.

If you need assistance at any time with your Gamerang account, you can call their toll free support number.  Their support staff is quite knowledgeable and ready to help.  There are some things, though that they can’t assist with, such as the slowness of the Gamerang website.

Overall, Gamerang isn’t a horrible video game rental site, but it’s not the best service out there, either.  It doesn’t have the free trial, money-back guarantee, or the stable website that services like GameFly offer.

Among GottaPlay’s most unequaled characteristics is their video game swapping programs. Rather than joining up a conventional game rental program, you can opt to trade your games with different players. Your membership comes with mailing envelopes, postal tracking and GottaPlay’s warrantee to have your swapped video games returned.

Upon signing for the game trading program, you create a trading list which contains your personal games, and then you select the games you want to receive and play. When another member elects to play one of your video games you simply mail them the video game (manual and cover art are optional) and then another member will send you the games that you requested.

GamePoints are used to manage the game trading system. Traders are awarded Gamepoints after they successfully mail games within a specific time frame. You need to have enough Gamepoints in your account to begin receiving games. For an additional $1.99 per trade, you are able to buy Gottaplay's insurance known as a "GameShield" which will ensure that your game will be replaced (by Gottaplay) in the event that your games are stolen, damages or lost during a trade.

Gottaplay has done a lot lately to improve the quality of the site including game pages with reviews, videos, ratings from 1up.com, game descriptions and screenshots. That said they are still in the process of making the website more complete and some games do lack complete info. In addition, we have noticed some strange discrepancies, like the fact that the 1up.com ratings on Gottaplay differed from the ratings on the actual 1up.com site.

There are no late fees or due dates for any of the games, and free shipping is provided on both rentals and trades. You can also rent PSP movies as a Gottaplay member, however the section is not that extensive. At this time there are no parental controls built into the system.

Game Inventory:
GottaPlay has an inventory of 4000 plus games covering all the major consoles including newer platforms such as PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. In addition Gottaplay also has rentals for the major handheld devices such as Nintendo DS, PSP & GameBoy Advance. They do a good job of keeping the inventory updated and you can usually find all the big new releases.

Searchability: 
Gottaplay has some powerful and user-friendlt ways to search for games. You can filter your searches by platform and genre or search for a specific title.
There are twelve total categories of games which include, shooter, fighting, sports & music, new releases, most wanted and coming soon. The only thing that is missing that would be nice is a way to search for all games for a given console.

Delivery Speed:
With 9 distribution centers around the US, Gottaplay covers the country pretty well. Gottaplay centers are located in Connecticut, Maryland, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, California. One unique feature is that Gottaplay allows you to track the status of a game that is on route to you. This really helps you keep track of games you are trading.
 
Monthly Plams: 
GottaPlay has 3 monthly pricing options. Each plan is based on how many games you have out at one time. If you want to go with the 3 game plan then you have pay a three month deposit

• 1 Game- $12.95
• 2 Games- $20.95
• 3 Games- $28.95

Trading games is a different situation. You are able to do trades at $1.99 per trade or for $9.99 per month you can do unlimited trades.

 Summary:  
Gottaplay continues to strengthen and refine their service and website and if you are into trading games my be the perfect option for you, Games are delivered in a timely manner and all in all this is a good service.

In order to make this determination we'll look at pricing structure, titles, and how the rental process actually works. After reading all the information you should be able to make an informed choice on your own. Keep in mind that all of this information was taken directly from Blockbuster's own promotional materials and may or may not be accurate at this time.

Pricing Structure

When the Blockbuster announced the addition of games to their online platform in 2009 they were adding them at no extra charge. Back then the monthly rate was $8.99; certainly not a bad deal for an unlimited number of movie and game rentals. In 2011 prices have increased somewhat. Not only that, Blockbuster offers a three-tiered pricing structure depending on how much renting you plan to do.

For $11.99/month you can get unlimited rentals - but only one disc at a time. $16.99/month gets you two discs at a time; three discs will cost you $19.99/month. All three tiers include no due dates and five in-store exchanges per month. For the more prolific gamers among us, the one disc plan hardly seems worth the cost; especially if you like to order movies along with your games. The three disc price seems much more reasonable.

Titles

Blockbuster advertises the fact that many of their new releases come a full 28 days before they reach Netflix or Redbox. How much this applies to games really can't be known, but a brief look through their menu reveals a sparse supply of titles for the major platforms.

For the Wii console, for example, Blockbuster carries on 12 titles including Tiger Woods Golf 2012, Mario's Sports Mix, and Cars. PS3 and Xbox have titles have a few more selections like Red Faction, Mortal Combat, and Homefront. If you're looking for new games, Blockbuster says NCAA Football 12, Madden 12, and Assassins Creed are on the way.

Rental Process

Like most online video game rental services, you order your games and wait for them to be delivered in the mail. Blockbuster doesn't provide any rental games on demand like some of their competitors do. Once you receive your games in the mail you can keep them as long as you like, but you're not allowed to get any new ones until the old ones are returned.

It's unclear whether or not you can return video games to a local store; we've read comments both ways. But if it turns out that you can't, you'll mail the games back in a postage-paid envelope so you can order new ones.

Perhaps the service will improve in future month's and we will be updating this as it does. We welcome your comments and feedback.