As gamer Insiders already know, Redbox recently added video game rentals to the majority of its kiosks. But is renting a Wii, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 game from Redbox a better value than getting the same game from Gamefly, the by-mail game rental leader? Gaming site Warp Zoned has put together an interesting head-to-head comparison of Gamefly and its new kiosk rival. The winner might just surprise you…
Warp Zones compared five different aspects of each service: price, selection availability, convenience and used games. Here’s a brief recap of their findings in each category:
Price
Gamefly is obviously cheaper on the surface, as the “1 Game” plan [$15.95 per month] costs the same as an eight-day Redbox rental [$2 per night0. But Gamefly’s turnaround time (about four days) is also something to consider. If you rent and return three games a month from Gamefly, there’s a very real chance you’ll spend at least 12 days without a game at all.
Selection
… a good portion of [Gamefly’s selection] is made up of titles from retired systems such as the PS2, GameCube, Xbox and Game Boy Advance. The number of current generation selections is still much greater at Gamefly than at Redbox . . . but Redbox has done a good job of selecting the best of the best for their initial rollout.
Availability
Gamefly users are at the mercy of their GameQ, the list of titles they would like to rent. Ultimately, Gamefly has the final say in what the postman will deliver in that white-and-orange envelope. The user can only make their list and hope Gamefly chooses to send them the game they really want (even if it’s the top game on their list). Meanwhile, Redbox offers real-time inventory tracking for all of their kiosks online.
Convenience
… what could be more convenient than having your rentals delivered right to your door? How about walking over to the grocery store on your lunch hour and coming away with the exact game you wanted without enduring Gamefly’s ridiculous turnaround times and sometimes baffling GameQ selection process?
Used Games
With so many Redbox kiosks out there, the one thing they’ll do is increase the number of used games out there. If history is any guide, Redbox will sell their older games back to the distributor who will then turn around and offer these titles for sale in the same grocery stores that house the Redbox kiosks.
While not the most scientific process, the site’s comparison nonetheless brings up some interesting observations. For gamers looking for less mainstream games and a wider selection, Gamefly comes out ahead, according to Warp Zoned. For those who stick to the major releases on the current generation of consoles, Redbox is the superior choice. As far as the overall winner, Warp Zoned says that the choice is not clear-cut, but if it had to choose one, it would be Redbox.
What do you think, Insiders? Does Gamefly have something to fear from the new kid in town? If you have used one or both of these video game rental options, let us know your thoughts in the comments.
(via Warp Zoned)
Was wondering the same thing. Redbox is even better, if like me, you just want to try out a game before buying or want to play through a short campaign and then get another.
I am going with redbox. i like to try out games before i buy them. Yes it does cost more but at the same time i save time in getting another title. Example i was looking to get Brink. Thanks to redbox it only cost me $2 to realize it wasnt the game for me and i went back and got another game where as If i still had game fly it would have been 5 or more days to get my next title.
It sounds to me more like the two services are different, than one is better than the other.
Gamefly is for people who want to play a lot of games and don’t really care which (out of a group they select) they get next. Kinda like Netflix and movies.
Redbox Games is for people who want to test a game out before buying, or play a very specific game (assuming it’s available at all) for a short time.
That said, I assume the more established Gamefly considers Redbox competition.
I would say gamefly, redbox is nice and all but the selection of games available isnt worth it. Stop wasting room and put some movies worth watching. Winner is Gamefly.
I used Redbox this weekend for my 8 year old and I to try out the new Transformers game. Which service is better depends on how serious a gamer you are. I only have a very few titles and genres that I like so gamefly would probably be a waste for me. For a game here and there Redbox is ideal.
Gamefly was terrible. It took weeks(in some games cases monthes) just to get new releases. While Redbox is not that great as of right now. This is something new to them. They will most likely get better as time goes by. But I wonder why the article did not mention Blockbuster online. They also do game rentals also.
And another thing. The PS2 is not yet retired. They still have a game or 2 to come out. So it has a little life in it. Plus Sony will support till they can suck every last penny they can from it. The PS2 still sells better then the PS3. If Sony had kept the backwards compatablity then the PS3 would probably sell more. But PS2 has a die hard fanbase that will prefer the games on that system over PS3, 360 or Wii. For Redbox it would probably be smart to add a few high selling PS2 games.
Blockbuster by mail delays game new releases for 90 days, which is absurd.
Gamefly can be real good at times, other times not so much. If Redbox can increase the amount of titles it makes available at any one time I think they can put a dent in Gamefly’s market. But 2 bucks plus tax a night can get costly if you have a long game like LA Noire to complete not to mention the DLC available for the title. I just spent 17 dollars on that title from a Redbox and I didn’t even come close to finishing it.
Since I tend to do gaming on the weekends in prolonged sessions and mainly want to play new releases, Redbox is far better than Gamefly. I played all the way through L.A. Noire, starting at 12:01 a.m. and finishing around 8:30 p.m. the following day (with breaks for sleep and such in between), and only spent $1.05.
I then played inFamous 2 to my heart’s content over July 4th weekend and only spent $3.15. In each case, promo codes game me some breathing room, but even if I added back the $1.05 discount, such savings top Gamefly’s outrageous $17.95 a month (don’t forget taxes) hands down! Furthermore, GF’s service was awful in my experience, with terrible turnaround time, shipping issues, and lousy availability of in-demand games.
I may have to wait a while for restocking and RB selection is limited, but I’m sold.