Do you think it is a good idea to rent?

[Armadillo-002]

Do you think it is a good idea to rent games from blockbuster as it gives the gamer a good idea about the games and gives them a new genre to venture in to without spending their hard earned money on games they end up selling/ trading because it's not for them.

I for one think it's a idea thats should be given a shot as a lot of really good games don't get picked up and normally get ignored by most, except the most hyped/ advertised ones. As always there is a downside, and that is that renting can get quite expensive depending on how many days you rent and can't always finish the game on time. It's not that well ventured in the UK as I know.

[Fake Vencar]

I've never tried renting before but know a few people who would recommend it for all the ideas you said. After you've played the game for the time limit, what's to stop you buying the actual game? Seems a cheap way of getting the full game as a 'demo'

[Talysia]

Originally Posted by Fake Vencar

After you've played the game for the time limit, what's to stop you buying the actual game? Seems a cheap way of getting the full game as a 'demo'

This is what I used to do. I'd rent a game first, and if I liked it I bought it. I don't rent games these days, though. My local rental shop is quite small, and they tend to have favourites and new releases on the shelves rather than the lesser known titles that I prefer (obscure RPGs, mostly).

Still, I would recommend it.

[Happy Joe]

Its what I do for movies (keeps me from spending money on the bad ones).
If they had PC games (or if I had a console) I would definitely do it with games too.

Enjoy!

[Commonmind]

If you enjoy renting, as I often do, you should look into services like Gamefly and other Netflix-styled online rental stores. If you're patient and don't mind waiting a little while longer for some of the more popular titles (which is often the case with a brick-and-mortar store as well) you can't go wrong.

For me it's not so much a matter of financial restriction as it is keeping my collection minimal and filled with titles which I will revisit from time to time.

[Lucien21]

Has anyone tried any of the UK based game rental services like ILOVEFILM.COM.

You can keep them as long as you like no limits. Send them back when you are finished.

Obviously you might have to wait for the newer releases.

Wondered if they are worth the money.

[Joel007]

I just borrow games and films from my friends... for free!

[McMurphy]

I haven't rented a game for years, but I do think it may be a wise course of action if someone is just not sure about whether or not he/she should plop down a wade of cash on a game. Recently, I had purchased the Wii's Mario Party 8, due to a friend's recommendation, only to quickly return it the next day. I sure wished I had rented a copy (or borrowed from a friend) rather than take the chance that the store would not take back the game.

Growing up, I rented games all the time. Of course, those were the Original Nintendo (NES) days, and it felt worth it. Since so many of the games were built around repetition (even more so than today's standards), a weekend playing a particular choice was plenty.

[Overread]

Important point Murphy - because of copying and CD re=writers - many games cannot be returned to a store - so if you cannot get a demo of hte game, renting at least lets you try the game out

[Armadillo-002]

Alot of casual gamers seem to miss out on decent titles because they don't know about the games, or games shop don't stock enough of them and end up placing them at the end of the shelves. By borrowing or renting it gives the casual gamer a chance to see what other titles are out there, other than GTA, Fifa, Need for speed and countless other yearly up-dates which end up making more sales. These games actually take up space on the pre-owned section because the gamer is feed up or has finished the game and has done everything on it. By renting it makes the more obscure games more accessible to find and free's up space on the shelves to put more decent titles on the shelves when they wish to purchase the game (supply & demand).

It may feel like am attacking the casual gamers, but am not, just pointing out the benefits that renting/ borrowing can bring.

[Commonmind]

Originally Posted by Armadillo-002

Alot of casual gamers seem to miss out on decent titles because they don't know about the games, or games shop don't stock enough of them and end up placing them at the end of the shelves. By borrowing or renting it gives the casual gamer a chance to see what other titles are out there, other than GTA, Fifa, Need for speed and countless other yearly up-dates which end up making more sales. These games actually take up space on the pre-owned section because the gamer is feed up or has finished the game and has done everything on it. By renting it makes the more obscure games more accessible to find and free's up space on the shelves to put more decent titles on the shelves when they wish to purchase the game (supply & demand).

It may feel like am attacking the casual gamers, but am not, just pointing out the benefits that renting/ borrowing can bring.

I understand your point, but isn't it the very nature of the casual gamer to not concern himself with finding these titles? The term "casual" sort of insinuates a certain level of obliviousness to the full range of entertainment available to him. Especially in this case.

Casual, by definition, is exactly that. Some of these types of gamers will buy one title a year and find themselves completely content. I know a few casual RPG fans that merely pick up Final Fantasies as they launch and end up playing that respective title for the lifespan of the hardware it was released for.

And I'm not sure which rental store you're shopping at, but obscure titles simply don't make it to the shelves of the places I generally frequent, both on and off-line. These companies make investments every time they put a game on their shelves and a good investment is made with some measurable assumption of return. There are certain individuals who, believe it or not, are somewhat up-and-up with the industry and they generally know which titles are going to move (translation: which are mass-market) and which will likely go unnoticed (ironically enough, because they're obscure or have little to no appeal to the casual gamer) and it's their jobs to help direct these companies in making smart business choices. This is the reason why you never found Ikaruga, Rez or MTV Music Generator 2 at your local Blockbuster - despite how great they were to play.

[Armadillo-002]

True, about shelf advertising for companies making measurable returns. A classic case of what can happen when borrowing or renting games.

When Metal Gear Solid first came out for the PSone, my younger brother got in it like everyone else, he played and enjoyed it. However when a friend lent him his copy of Final Fantasy VII. Ever since then he buys RPGs and at times plays FPS and racing games.