Video game rentals are more affordable than ever thanks to the Internet. Instead of driving to the store and spending $4 or $5 for each game you rent you can now rent unlimited games for a low monthly fee and have them sent directly to your home. When the Star Reviews team decided to tackle this growing market and compare video game rental websites, GameFly was one of the first sites we hopped on. They were, after all, one of the first game rental sites to hit the scene. Here's what we found out...
What's New?
- 10-Day Free Trial
- 14 Free Issues of Sports Illustrated or Entertainment Weekly w/ Subscription
- More Shipping Centers Added For Faster Delivery Times
Star Reviews' Favorite Feature:
We really like the fact that GameFly has a parental control option. Some of today's video games just aren't appropriate for kids. If you want your children to be able to order game rentals online without your supervision, parental controls can really come in handy.
The GameFly Experience:
The GameFly website is well laid out and the pages load quickly. When you hit the landing page you'll immediately see the sign-up link. When you go to sign up for your GameFly account you'll need to decide whether you want to take advantage of the 10-day free trial or get a 40-percent discount off of your first month. If you bypass the trial, your first month is cheaper, but it works out to be about the same in the end.
Sign-up is fast and easy. We had to fill out a couple of pages with details about our shipping address and billing information. And yes, the company wanted our credit card details even though we opted for the 10-day trial. When it comes to online game rentals, each and every website doing it is going to require credit card info before they send you a game, whether there's a free trial or not.
Once you're signed up and ready to go it's a matter of browsing the GameFly website for the titles you want. Start out by clicking on the tab that correlates with the type of game system you have. GameFly seems to have rentals available for all of them. The sheer vastness of the selection began to overwhelm us. There are literally thousands of video games to choose from. We were able to find everything from classics like PacMan to newer releases like Ninja Gaiden 2.
If you rent a game you really like and you just don't want to part with it, GameFly has a "keep it" feature that allows you to purchase the game at a discounted price. When you do decide to exercise this option, GameFly sends you the original packaging and instruction manuals at no additional charge.
GameFly also gives its members rewards. You're credited $5 in GameFly dollars for each 3 months you're a member. These "dollars" can then be used to purchase games from the GameFly website, so not only does your membership get you as many game rentals as you can handle each month, it buys you free games too.
GameFly Features:
- Over 5,000 titles to choose from.
- Free shipping.
- "Keep It" option for games you want to buy.
- $5 in GameFly dollars for every three months of membership.
Game Systems Supported:
| • PS3 |
• Wii |
| • PS2 |
• GameCube |
| • PSP |
• Nintendo DS |
| • XBOX 360 |
• GameBoy Advance |
| • XBOX |
|
GameFly Pricing:
- Unlimited - 2 games out at a time - $22.95 per month.
- Unlimited - 1 game out at a time - $15.95 per month.
GameFly Customer Service:
GameFly customer service is available only via email. This was a bit disappointing since we like to be able to reach live phone support if we need it when we're paying for a service. We were even more disappointed when we saw that GameFly only answers emails during business hours. No 24/7 support here. That being said, they did get back to us promptly when we submitted an email support inquiry. We had our answer the next business day and while it did seem a bit "canned" it addressed our question adequately.
Upside:
Huge selection, free rewards dollars, discounted purchase opportunities.
Downside:
No phone support.