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Redbox Looking to Rent Video Games

controllerWould you like to pick up a copy of Modern Warfare 2 along with your movie the next time you visit a Redbox? That may soon become an option, according to Reuters. Mitch Lowe, CEO of Redbox, has stated that his company is in talks with video game developers, with an eye towards offering games at Redbox rental kiosks.

In his comments, which took place at the Reuters Global Media Summit, Lowe declined to say which developers Redbox has been speaking with, but did say that two video game rental trials have been in effect at Redbox kiosks since August of this year. The two markets the trials are taking place in are Reno, Nevada and Wilmington, N.C., and games are priced at $2 per day in both areas. Regarding the possible expansion of video game rentals, Lowe had the following to say:

“We are talking early and often with the content providers of games so that we start out with a much better understanding of what we’re doing,”

Brian Farrell, CEO of game studio THQ (Saints Row series, Red Faction series), stated that his company might be amenable to its games being rented by Redbox. Said Farrell:

“If you look at movies and music in some ways, resisting new business models has not been a great formula for success, so one of the things I like about our industry is we tend to think, ‘We have to adapt to this change.’ So it’s part of our DNA,”

Lowe also discussed Redbox’s ongoing struggles with the Hollywood Three, and was a little more forthcoming about his company’s difficulties obtaining new releases than he has been in the past. Said Lowe:

“If you’re the kind of person that needs it on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, there’s going to be a very limited supply. Because we’re buying at retail it does take us several days, we have to package them, we have to prep them and then distribute them out to the kiosk,”

This is a fascinating idea, but with today’s average video game taking at least six or seven hours to complete (much more for role-playing games, etc.) $2 per day can add up quickly. Perhaps Redbox is after the “try before you buy” crowd that would only rent games for one night.

How ’bout it, Insiders: would you rent games from Redbox if you had the option?
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Also, weren’t Farrell’s comments about the futility of resisting change refreshing?
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[via Reuters]

15 Responses to “Redbox Looking to Rent Video Games”

  1. Visitor [Join Now]
    Josh [visitor]

    @ $2/day, no thx.

  2. Visitor [Join Now]
    Brian D [visitor]

    Ya… considering blockbusters price is i think $7-$8 for about a week… $2 a day is a little much.

  3. Visitor [Join Now]
    DANIEL [visitor]

    I think this would be a great “try before you buy” option, but to compete with Blockbuster or even Hollywood Video maybe the $2 price point should be lower because for 5 days thats $10, slightly more than the competition. How about lowering the price point to about $1.25 or even $1.50? That would bring it closer to the same price as the competition……………………………………. Where are the Blu-Rays? I don’t have any in the Redbox locations in my area.

  4. Visitor [Join Now]
    james lopez [visitor]

    i dont think is going to work! too expensive for 5 days!!! =(

  5. Visitor [Join Now]
    1st timer [visitor]

    I think $2/day is cheap considering that if I buy a video game for $50 and I don’t like it, I’ve wasted $50. I could easily judge to see if I like a game within 24 hours and then confidently buy it. It’d be great if Rebox could apply a portion the rental fee towards to purchase. Then I’d be willing to keep it longer.

    I think this is a great market to tap and would be a great move for Redbox since game stores are not as ubiquitous as video stores are (or were) and the lifespan of a game is much shorter than that of a movie so you customers will clamor for the latest game more so than the latest movie. I’d never play a game that was 5 years old, but I’d be willing to watch a 5 year old movie that I missed.

  6. Visitor [Join Now]
    DJAikou [visitor]

    I’d love to rent games from redbox, but with games you need more than 1 day to play it. (unless you don’t have a job) In this case I think $2 a day is a little overboard. With the $1.50 suggestion; It would even it out with other rental services, but if they do $1 like they do with movies, they would again rake in the sales! One more thing, Why do they give away so many free rental codes? I think they’d make more money if they’d cut down on that.

  7. Visitor [Join Now]
    Kyle [visitor]

    I think they should do it it sounds like a good idea to me. I would never buy another game… Would it be like the movies after 20 days the game is yours to keep???

  8. Member [Join Now]
    mouthsmasher [mouthsmasher-2]

    I think the idea of renting out video games is a great idea, from which I could benefit a lot. When I first read the headline my initial thought was that this would be a great way to test out a game to see if i want to buy it. I’m extremely timid to purchase a brand new game without having tried it first. $60 is a lot to throw down on chance that you’ll like it. If I could rent a game for $2 for just one day, it would give me enough time to see if it was worth the purchase.

    I also tend to agree with some of the others who suggest that $2 is a little much. For the “try before you buy” crowd I think it’s alright, but with the amount of time it can take to get through a whole video game, It’s not worth renting for that purpose.

  9. Member [Join Now]
    wayne383

    yes as long as it didnt take up movie space in the machine.

  10. Visitor [Join Now]
    Video Games [visitor]

    I agree at the above person he is very right about games.
    wow great stuff dude.a++ to this work.great man.

  11. Member [Join Now]
    buck wherry [buck-wherry]

    well games would be nice but2$ a day no and not to cut movie space how about a add on to the kosh

  12. Visitor [Join Now]
    Albert Einstein [visitor]

    HOLD ON!

    You are willing to rent a movie for $1 which gives you at best 2.5 hours of entertainment if you watch all the dvd extras and the chances are you never would buy it anyway but you are complaining about paying $2 dollars to test drive a new game for up to 24 hours and that may be the key decision for spending $50-60 dollars to own it?

    Come on people. THINK!

    Redbox is offering you options. They are your friends. They are also the friends of the game makers who believe they have the best game and want people to try it.

    This is about getting the best product in your hands at the lowest cost.

    That is capitalism at its best, my friends.

    Let’s try to think positive.

    $2 is less than a large cup of coffee at Starbucks!

    $2 is less than that last beer at the bar which you shouldn’t have drank!

    Ok, now that we are sober, let’s thank Redbox for offering us these options.

  13. Visitor [Join Now]
    Bob The Builder [visitor]

    I got it. $2 for the first day, normal redbox price for every day after that. That way people just trying it would pay a little more and you would get more value if you rent it for longer.

    Win win win.