Video games are expensive. At $60 for a game on the 360 or PS3, it’s costly to buy a game that you are not 100% sure will blow your mind. Blockbuster restricts you to only 5 days and is around 10 bucks for a game at that time frame.
That’s why Gamefly exists and is able to continue to exist. At $24.99, a subscriber is able to have two games out for as long as he or she wants as long as the subscription is paid. It’s a brilliant concept on paper, and it works pretty well in practice, too. Not only does the subscription allow the user to hold on to the game as long he or she wants, the option is available to pay much less than retail to “keep it” and have GameFly send the case and manual. It is not without its flaws, however.
Unlike other online distributors, GameFly only has 4 shipping centers. They have made strives to get more out and strategically placing them. However, the fact still remains that if you live outside the general range of a shipping center, you can look at a ship time of over a week for a game you potentially could only play for a day or two. Also, their stock of games is questionable sometimes. If you don’t “camp” a game on your GameQ, it is highly likely you won’t have an opportunity to get a game until months after it’s out.
Most of those issues are practical ones, and it really doesn’t have any design issues.
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