Why Every Gamer Needs Gamefly

RememberThe3576091d ago

I can't count how much money GameFly has saved me over the last two years. It really is a great service. Accept it can be pretty slow at tiems other times it's super fast. It took over a week for them to get Yakuza out to me, and two days to get Beyond Good and Evil out to me.

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billjimbob6091d ago

Absolutely right in that games can take a bit, but usually it's alright. New releases can take a bit if you don't have a space free as soon as it releases, but if you're looking for older games, it's super quick. (Which is what I have been doing lately, getting through all of last year's games that I didn't have time for.)

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Pandemic6091d ago

Sadly, it's only available in America..

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Syronicus6091d ago

Been with Netflix for years now and love it. The best plan is the 3 out at a time so you can have that open slot for when new games are released. Then, you can buy them for as low as 45 bucks new. It is a great deal if you are an avid gamer.

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Syronicus6091d ago

I ment GameFly, not Netflix. I am a user of both and they both are great.

TK4216091d ago (Edited 6091d ago )

I just run to Blockbuster at lunch time on the day the game comes out before all the snot nosed kids get home from school If I don't want to buy it.

If its a long game I don't want I just go ahead and buy it and then sell it on Ebay. The loss I take usually comes out to about the cost of a rental fee.

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The Lazy One6091d ago

Every 2-3 months they give you 5 bucks to spend in their store, and it expires right after you get the next one, so about every 4-6 months you can get a free cheap game. I got assassin's creed that way.

Nineball21126091d ago

signed up for Gamefly this month. There were a ton of older games that I wanted to play and it's difficult for me to justify buying games that I'll probably only play through once.

The first game I got was Sacred 2.... playing it now and while it's a decent game, I'm glad I rented it rather than bought it.

I'll have to see what the turnaround is on sending games back and receiving other games... Hopefully it won't be too bad, but I have other games that I haven't completed 100% that I can always play until the next one arrives.

I'm a bit worried about getting newer games that I want to play, but I figure if they are blockbuster games like UC2 or MW2, I'd buy them anyways...

So, since I'm using this service mainly to play games I never would buy in the first place, I think I'm going to be happy with it.

ThanatosDMC6091d ago

I'd rather own. Heck, i learned never to sell my games anymore in Gamestop since when i miss playing them, i'd have to buy another copy.

Faztkiller6091d ago

another thing that great u can buy new games at cheaper price for example right now i can keep NFS shift for $48

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teh-panda6091d ago

I love it.

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locos856091d ago

I had it but canceled. Games took to long to get to me. I would ship a game out and have to wait like 4 days for the next one to come. I'm used to waiting 2 days with netflix or blockbuster.com

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koehler836091d ago

Not every gamer lives in the US. In fact only an annoyingly vocal minority do.

Sarcasm6091d ago

Huh? Was that some nationalist comment or something?

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Poopface the 2nd6091d ago

america is the largest video game market.

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callahan096091d ago (Edited 6091d ago )

I have GameFly and I definitely don't rely on it for my gaming fix. It has its benefits, which is why I keep my subscription, but I can't sit there and say it'd ever be enough to satisfy my desires to play all of the latest games when they come out.

I have had Prototype and Red Faction Guerrilla at the top of my Q since the day they each came out and they STILL haven't come. The only way to actually get newer games to come is to dump your whole Q and wait, which sucks.

In my opinion, GameFly needs to order far more copies of each game when they come out because I know I'm not the only one who's had new releases sitting at the top of my Q and never coming for months on end.

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akiraburn6091d ago

I completely agree man, and it's for those same reasons that I canceled my subscription with Gamefly. I initially subscribed because I really wanted to try Sacred 2, Cross Edge, and a few other obscure games that they had listed (all of which the Blockbuster's in my area weren't carrying and didn't plan on it anytime in the future).

After pretty thoroughly reviewing GF's services contract, I agreed and signed up. Though I must have missed the portion that more thoroughly explained their "based on their availability" policy, because sure enough I ended up finding out that all the games I even remotely cared about had a "Low" or "Very Low" chance of shipping. Every new release was listed with the same availability as well, and seemed to stay that way for quite a while.

So as you said, I had to clear my entire list except for Sacred 2, and just wait till it shipped. I waited about 2 and a half weeks for a copy of Sacred 2 to ship (and even prior to those 2 weeks it was at the top of my list for a month, I just had other games in the queue that they would ship out instead), and then it took 4 more days to arrive. I feel that it was a pretty big rip-off, that out of the entire month I paid for, I was only able to actually use 1 week to actually play the game due to their stocking problems. They seriously need larger amounts of their games, because I'd bet that's the main reason they lose most of their customers.

In my opinion, if you want a good reliable rental service, the only option I've really seen that's both worth the money and has a decent selection (pending on the store) is Blockbuster's "Game Pass" ($20/month lets you rent any games you want for as long as you want). The only downside is, that you could run into the same problems I had, where a decent number of games you may be interested in, are games that the store either won't get in, or will only get one to two copies of, and someone can rent them out for weeks on end. If anyone else has any ideas, I'd be very interested to know what other options there are.

Golfcoachh6091d ago

You wait for so long to get a lot of the games, not even new releases, some of them are over a year old. Then theres the problem I had with Force unleashed. 3 xbox 360 versions, and 2 ps3 versions until I got one that worked, and it takes 2-5 days to get the game so it was over a month until I got one that worked. This service sucks and isn't even in the same class as netflix. Stay away from this service unless you want to wait weeks for the game you want. Not worth the price at all, if it were 8 bucks a month maybe, but after the first month it goes to 15 so don't do it.

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roflmuffins86091d ago

Gamefly is useful when they actually ship the games at the top of your Queue, but most of the time they never do (regardless of the availability).

The service isn't very reliable and it pisses me off when it chooses some random game out of my queue instead of the ones at the top. I'm considering cancelling my subscription if this keeps up.

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sukru6091d ago (Edited 6091d ago )

I'm a current Netflix, and a then-GameFly subscriber. There are two basic differences between their services.

Netflix almost always ships whatever is on top my list. Yesterday I received X-Men Origins: Wolverine on release day (yes they shipped one day before), and with many other popular releases in the past (including The Dark Knight). However I don't remember receiving anything in top 25% from GameFly after my first trial month.

The second difference is shipping times. Netflix has a center almost everywhere, and regular movie round trip is two days (one day to netflix, one day back). On the other hand average GameFly round trip was two weeks.

The only good thing with GameFly was used games. They sell them for very cheap, and the case and the manual are literally new (they just store them away after getting the discs).

At the end of last year, I had to pause my membership. They said I could only cancel, but not pause (another difference). I canceled, and did not start again.

Goozex and eBay do all my trading now. I still wait for new releases, but at least for a little bit more effort I got more value for my Dollars.

xabmol6091d ago

But now I usually just rent from my local Blockbuster. $10 for 1 game that I can keep for a month and a week. Plenty of time to play it. Plus I usually buy a game every month. In Rocktober I'm buyin 3. GF would be a waste of money for me next month and prolly a few after (Uncharted 2).

KillerPwned6091d ago

I have gamefly and i have never had a problem with their service at all they have been great to me. I get my games within 2 days and their always my games at the top of my list.

sukru6091d ago

Good to hear that some people receive better service.

Can you tell where do you live, and how long have you been a subscriber?

maawdawg6091d ago

So far in 9 months of Gamefly service (about $160US total cost)I have had 35 games in to play through until I was "done with them". It has saved me tons of cash this year and also allowed me to catch up on my backlog of games that I never would have picked up even at used game prices. It also saves me from buying a game for $60 that has a really short campaign or that I just flat out don't enjoy only to take it back to Gamestop a week later and have them offer me $25 for it so they can resell it for $55. Now I only buy the games I know I will keep for a long time/permanently.

Anyone coming late to the console generation should get the service just to play through the GOTY candidates from the past years you can play thorugh tons of quality titles for a very low cost.

As long as you have a decent list of games you want to play and aren't waiting on a specific title you will really enjoy the service. If you are dead set on one specific game just go buy it as the service isn't reliable for getting a specific game in a short time frame. The onslaught of game releases this fall will repopulate my queue with high end games again.

LorD6091d ago (Edited 6091d ago )

I just canceled Gamefly for the second time in my life not too long ago. I had tried them last year, and thought they would have improved their service by now.

It would take upwards of an entire week in order to get a new game when I dropped off the old one in the mail. That means I'd drop them off on Monday, and not get a game back until the following Monday, or later.

Netflix has my new movies in 48hrs. Every. Single. Time.

I would never, EVER get the games at the top of my list. Ever. If I want to play old crap, I can buy it cheaper used.

If you don't count on playing the games for more than two weeks, renting at blockbuster is a cheaper alternative.

They do, occasionally have great prices on used games, but nothing you can't find locally at the game shops if you shop around.

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maawdawg6091d ago

I think it depends on how close you are to a shipping center. Netflix has tons of centers and Gamefly only has a handful. I get my Netflix back the day after I send one out, every time. Gamefly takes 2 days out, a day or so for processing (sometimes a bit longer), and 2 days back. If I send a game out on Monday morning I have one back by the weekend 90% of the time.

With the two game plan I just alternate games. I basically try to keep one in the mail and one at home all the times. When the rotation gets messed up and I don't have anything at home to play from them I go back to the games I have purchased and play those a bit more.

kingme716091d ago

I live in Orlando, FL and they have a center in Tampa (about an hour away). I mail out my game and no lie, the next morning I can check my queue and it has already arrived and they send out the next one that same day. I realize I'm geographically lucky, but I have the 3 game plan so usually I'm not waiting on one to arrive anyway.

I try and keep a game out for the kids, a console game and a portable game with my 3 game plan. I'd have to say Gamefly is a gamers dream. I rue the day digital download takes over and Gamefly is left out in the cold. I play tons of games I never would have otherwise. If it sucks, I send it back the next day. If it's great, I can keep it at a very reduced price, plus they offer very good prices on used games.

Right now from their used store, you can buy:
Far Cry 2 $13.49
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts $ Bolts $13.49
Tomb Raider Underworld $13.49
Godfather 2 $22.49
Prince of Persia $8.99
Gears of War 2 $25.19

It's hard to beat prices like that on games not even a year old.

Poopface the 2nd6091d ago

I used to live in orlando when I went to UCF and I now live in sarasota. Both are about 1 hour away from tampa. I have never tried gamefly but now taht I know theres a center close by in tampa it seems like a pretty good idea. Maybe ill give it a try next year when there will be alot of games coming out plus any taht I miss this year.

not to mention blockbuster keeps changing their policy on late fees/when they convert it to an automatic purchase. Too bad for them the credit card I gave them is close to maxed out so that they cant charge me for the games even if I kept if for weeks. BBV just changes their policy too much to keep up with.