subject: Gamefly Review: Go Online Rent Video Games [print this page] The gaming industry is thrivingThe gaming industry is thriving. New competition has brought bigger players to the table and gaming companies are beginning to get cutthroat. With the evolution of the MMO(Massively Multiplayer Online games), the console companies are having to up the ante and produce more cutting edge content for gamers to enjoy and advance with. However, this does not spell good things for the wallet content of the average gamer. Video games have seen a massive price hike and every year it gets more and more expensive to play video games. Just this summer, all of the gaming giants have announced new peripheral hardware that must be bought to play all of the latest and greatest games. What is a console junkie to do?
Thankfully, someone came along with enough sense to bring the affordability back to gaming, and that someone decided to invent Gamefly. Gamefly is an online video game rental service that knocks the pants off of all of the competitors and seeks to bring ease and convenience to the video game rental world as Netflix was able to do for the DVD/Bluray industry. So how does it work you may ask? Well, almost exactly as Netflix works! But that is not really a fair comparison. Because of the software and security aspect of video games, they are not as massively produced as DVDs are, but that does not mean that you will not be playing your favorite games just as quick.
When you sign up for Gamefly, you are presented with some basic questions that help the site conform to your personal preferences. You give it such information like which systems you own, what your favorite games are and what genres of games you like to play most. This helps Gamefly make its system of serving you more efficient. Once the sign up and questions are completed, you are asked to start up a "GameQ"(similiar to the Netflix "Queue"). You do this by selecting your favorite games from all of the systems that you own, and ranking them in the order that you desire to play them.
All games have scored ranks that are updated by the users to help you determine if a game is worth playing for you. This goes above and beyond by also providing top-notch reviews from gaming authorities such as IGN, Gamespot, and more.
When selecting games, it is also something to note that each game has a separate rating associated with it that details the likelihood that you will receive that game next in your GameQ, based on the availability and popularity of the game. It was shown in the beginning that Gamefly originally had low stock of most of its games, and caused frustration by never sending out the games that were at the top of a gamer's GameQ, but that has since been addressed and now gamers generally receive games that are within their top 2 or 3 games, if it is not the first in line that is sent out.
The benefits are obvious at Gamefly: pay a low amount, play all the games you want, no contract, no hassle, right? Definitely, but the details are still important. Gamefly ships its games from local distribution centers that are located throughout the country. Once a game is shipped from a distribution center, it takes roughly 1-2 days to arrive at your home. The same goes for sending it back. This allows you to play about three games a week if you were to only play the game for a day. The best part is, that there is no penalty for this! I once played 10 games in one month because I could not find one that I really wanted to play!
The other nice thing about Gamefly is that you do not get the ultra-damaged games that you get when you are renting them from a retail rental store. The games are shipped in sturdy cardboard protectors that ensure safe travel to and from your living room. I have yet to receive a game that skips, let alone does not play.
So what is the best way to go about joining up with Gamefly? The simplest answer would be to just show up at their website with credit card in hand, but that wouldn't be the BEST way. Get a great deal, and go to a 3rd party website that is offering a discount! You can save a ton of money this way! Good luck and happy gaming!
