Earlier this month Blockbuster (you know, that video rental chain that supposedly went bankrupt with the death of the VCR) announced that, in addition to renting movies by mail ala Netflix, they will begin making their video game catalog available for home delivery as well. As a long time Gamefly subscriber, I was excited to read the news. Not because I have any issue with Gamefly or its service, but because up until now they’ve held the monopoly on rent-by-mail video games and competition is always a good thing for the consumer. For the past month I’ve been a member of both services and I’ve decided to layout, round by round, the reason why I’m choosing one over the other.
Round 1: Price
For the past three years I’ve been paying $15.99 a month for a single game plan from Gamefly. This isn’t an unreasonable price. $15.99 times 3 years divided by the average retail price of a video games equates to purchasing 19 video games. Thanks to their service I’ve played much more than 19 videos games in the past 3 years. However, Blockbuster decided to come out swinging and offer their single game plan for half the price of Gamefly, $8.99. They’ve also structured there multi-game plans seemingly as value-added blow against Gamefly for those that might not be concerned about price. For only a dollar more than Gamefly’s single disk plan, $16.99, you can afford Blockbuster’s 3 disk plan.
Round 1: Blockbuster. Round one could be enough to convince most of a sure-win for Blockbuster, but I have never been one to confuse Price with Value, so I’ll continue.
Round 2: Selection
The selection catalog for me can be broken up into two portions. A) The quantity of catalog titles in stock to rent and B) the quantity of any give title available to distribute.
I did a side by side comparison of catalogs and this is what I’ve found: Blockbuster does not have the same amount of games available to rent — though, seeming rather strange, titles that can’t be rented are listed as being available for purchase. This isn’t a huge setback for gamers strictly interested in A-list titles — e.g., your Halos, Grand-theft Autos, Call of Duties, etc… Although, the wait time for these titles does seem longer than the wait time Gamefly had listed, leading to me to believe the quantity of titles is lacking in the Blockbuster catalog.
I also noticed that certain newly released titles in the Blockbuster queue — specifically Red Dead Redemption and Crackdown 2 — were listed as “Unavailable Until such-and-such a date”. Though I couldn’t find any information to confirm this, it appears that Gamefly may hold exclusive rights to new releases for x amount of time.
Round 2: Gamefly. Gamefly unequivocally takes round two. Though it is worth noting that these issues could be cleared up in the coming months. Blockbuster is new to the video game renting market and it is totally possible they are still working some of the kinks out of the system. Fingers crossed anyway.
Round 3: Turn Around / Shipping Speed
Blockbuster has a slight advantage over Gamefly in terms of turn around and shipping speed. As one game is returned, the next available game seems to be sent out at about the same pace between both companies; However, I have noticed with shipping that Blockbuster’s games arrive approximately in 2-3 days while Gamefly’s games can take as long as 5 days to be delivered. When you’re charging per-month for a service, every day counts. Furthermore, a consumer shouldn’t have to wait nearly 1/4 of the billable period for product delivery.
Round 3: Blockbuster.
Round 4: Website
There are pros and cons to each company’s website. Gamefly’s site features an easy to navigate catalog, user manuals, user reviews, and screen-shots of the game. The information supplied is very appropriate and tailored to the company’s purpose. On the other hand, Blockbuster’s site feels ‘thrown together’ and disjointed. The information about the games is often incomplete, to the point where most some titles don’t even display a cover image, and for some reasons they list games even if they aren’t available to rent. For example, Xbox Live Arcade games are impossible to rent. They are regulated and sold through the Xbox Live network, yet they are listed inside Blockbuster’s game catalog??
What I did like about Blockbuster’s site are the specifics about the title’s availability. While Gamefly’s site vaguely conveys how available a title is by listing it as having “poor availability” or ” high availability”, Blockbuster’s list dates when the title will become available. They take this a step farther by telling you what day the game should arrive in the mail once it’s been shipped. I am really impressed by the specificity of their system. Hopefully they can improve upon the rest of their website.
Round 4: Draw This round was too close to call.
And The Winner Is…
In the end, I decided to take my chances with Blockbuster and cancel my Gamefly account. Blockbuster hit the ground running with their game rental service and positioned it in the market with a price-point that was just too enticing for me pass on. Also, the fact that they are just starting will allow them to (hopefully) improve the few short comings in their operation model. If I’m being honest, I’d would have liked to stay with Gamefly. Gamefly’s level of service and quality of system is certainly worth the money I’ve paid throughout the years, I just can’t justify these strengths for twice the cost of a competitor.
August 18, 2010 at 8:54 am
There is one MAJOR feature that is not discusses that puts blockbuster WAY ahead of gamefly…
The instore exchange!!
After you get your by mail game, you take it directly to any blockbuster store and exchange it for the game you want! No turn around time, and most often the game you want is there…. No availability problems. Go on line or look up the availability of games in store…
The instore exchange is the tie breaker! Not only against gamefly, but netflix as well.
By the way, get the 3 disc plan and get movies and games… With instore exchanges…
Blockbuster is alive!
November 15, 2011 at 11:15 am
It’s only a tie breaker if you live close to a store. All of the blockbusters in my area are now gone…
November 15, 2011 at 11:21 am
Excelent point Max. That would certainly be a game changer (no pun intended) for some people on the fence.
November 27, 2011 at 1:26 am
Hey i tried to do an instore exchange, but blockbuster wouldnt let me..
August 18, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Blockbuster charges for in store exchange.
August 19, 2010 at 1:20 am
https://www.blockbuster.com/signup/m/plan/
The in store exchange is at a discounted rate by default, unless you opt to pay $3 more per month with a 5 swap limit per month. The only issue I have is that Netflix has instant streaming and we use it often on our 360. Still, $20 per month for three rentals at a time while also being able to swap games out for free? That’s one heck of a deal.
August 19, 2010 at 6:49 am
The in store trade in, in my humble opinion, isn’t worth the extra money for two reasons.
1. For me personally, I’m not exactly in excess of free time. Have the games come to me through the mail is a convenience I’ve been spoiled on. I don’t mind waiting 2 – 3 days for delivery.
2. Blockbuster, try as they might, don’t exactly have a whole lot of stores open anymore. The closest one to my house is 1/2 drive out of the way — and there is no saying how long that branch will remain open.
The single disk game deal was too good for me to pass up, but I think that’s the only offer I’ll be taking advantage of.
What I really want to know is, where were these services 10 years ago when I had NOTHING but free time. I really could have taken advantage then…
August 25, 2010 at 1:56 am
I was told about the the fee for the exchange while standing in front of the sign that said no extra fees for games. It’s time for this relic to roll up and die.
August 26, 2010 at 8:12 pm
I’ve seen some adds that claim “no additional fee” for the convenience of adding games to their normal video only catalog. On their website their pricing policies are very clear. I don’t know if Blockbuster is going away soon. I think the massive restructuring they’re doing right now stand a fairly good change of keeping them solvent.
September 5, 2010 at 3:05 am
I’ll give Blockbuster a try and I hope is does well for me
September 7, 2010 at 1:23 am
I have the bb, and instead of charging a fee, when i exchange it puts the movie I’ve taken from the brick and mortar store as my “at home” disc. If you do the total access (+$3) then it does not include that new disc as your at home, it just ships out the next item available on your queue. Its annoying to get 1 disc for every 2 or 3 my g/f gets from netflix, but I have almost exclusively games on my list so if I happen to drop mine in the mail (or even the store) at the same time she puts hers in the mail box, hers will be here 2-4 days faster everytime. Switching to the two disc plan should cancel this problem, either way, its a better deal from renting in stores or even at gamefly
September 16, 2010 at 8:17 am
Amazing writeup, Paul. What do you think of Blockbuster now that you’ve been using it?
I’ve got a site setup where you can grab a free trial of GameFly. I’m working on getting a free Blockbuster trial to offer as well. Check it out – I figure the best way to answer Blockbuster vs Gamefly is to try them both.
October 18, 2010 at 7:29 pm
I’d like to see an update to how this is going for you Paul. Have you stayed? How have the game choices turned out? New releases at all?
November 2, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Hey Bob,
I’ve been very pleased with Blockbuster’s service. Sadly, new releases aren’t readily available to me as a Blockbuster subscriber. This would definitely turn some people off to them, but for someone like me — who’s content to play one game at a time and doesn’t mind playing games months after they come out — it’s perfect. I would also add that Blockbuster blows Gamefly away when it comes to shipping speed. Often I was waiting 5+ days for Gamefly to even send out the next game in the queue; Blockbuster gets the game to my mailbox in a matter of days. That’s a huge plus. I highly recommend them.
February 10, 2011 at 8:29 pm
Paul
I decided to jump to Blockbuster not long after your post and I agree I don’t miss Gamefly. If they would match the price of blockbuster (not a first month only price) I may think about it. But I like the speed of mailings. Sometimes in 2 days, some in 3.
The only down side is that you have to wait for new releases a couple months before your allowed to rent them. It’s not a big deal since most of the time I couldn’t get a Gamefly new release . I timed my returns to get them but maybe 1 in 5 worked.
February 18, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Hey Bob. I’m glad your finding the service useable. I’ve been loving it aside from the lack of new releases, which you mentioned. Its not that you don’t get them… you just have to wait for them.
May 2, 2011 at 2:45 pm
One INCREDIBLE feature I didn’t see anyone put emphasis on, was the fact the new releases for Blockbuster don’t come out for 4-5 months after the release date. These newly, anticipated games come very quickly for gamefly compared to games such as Portal 2, Dragon Age 2, Mortal Kombat, etc. won’t be available to Blockbuster for several months afterwards.
May 5, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Hey Ryan,
VERY TRUE! Each service could tailor to a specific type of gamer. If you need the latest hit when they come out, Blockbuster isn’t for you. For someone like me, a busy dad who doesn’t get all that much time to game these days and therefore don’t mind being a little behind playing game releases, Blockbuster is a perfect option for me. It will still get those new releases eventually, but in the mean time I’ll be “catching up” on the last batch of Triple ‘A’ titles that I’ve missed.
Excellent point!
October 21, 2011 at 1:38 am
Again as covered above, it is true that you will very rarely get popular games even 2-3 months after they come out since everyone wants them. I had Portal 2, Dragon Age 2, Dead Island, Mortal Kombat all at the top of my game list before they were released and I finally got Portal 2 and Dragon Age 2 a few weeks ago. What strikes me as odd is whenever they are choosing games it seems that the titles in my top 5 are available, but they skip over those and instead send me ones whose availability is medium or high versus AVAILABLE NOW.
Blockbuster could be saving me around 9 dollars a month (23.92 versus 14.99 a month with same amount of discs, games OR movies in the case of blockbuster).
Also not mentioned is that the 30 day trial of Blockbuster.com is FREE, Gamefly’s trial may be free, but only for 10 days and only the first month of Gamefly comes at half price, anywhere close to Blockbuster pricing.
Also Gamefly’s benefits are negligible (to me) when it comes to buying games. Every 3 months you get a whopping $5 off a game, which expire just in time for the next one to come active so they can never be stacked. In addition you get 10% discount on games for being a year long member. I get 10% off used games at Gamestop and they have a used game guarantee (Gamefly does too, but it takes a long time for shipping). I’ve only bought one game since I’ve started Gamefly about a year and a half ago.
Bottom line: When I get done with the games I currently have, or when the next billing period rolls around, I am shipping the games back and cancelling my subscription and moving to Blockbuster.
September 29, 2011 at 1:51 am
Thanks for posting this, I was specifically hunting for an online accounting of how the two stacked up and I really think we are going to get rid of gmaefly and try blockbuster. @ half the price and with faster shipping between games it makes way more sense for us, plus like you, we don’t care about catching new releases as they come out, just variety and even the ability to grab an old favorite from time to time is just fine in our household.
October 2, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Hi Paul and others. I have to say this to update the discussionn, Gamefly never takes 5 days to ship now. It may have at one point in time, but they have gotten MUCH better with shipping. Now when you send back a game, the day it is picked up by a postal worker, it is scanned to Gamefly telling them it has been picked up. Gamefly immediately sends your next game, before they even recieve your last. With me, it takes 3 days from the day I put a previous game in the mail for me to get my next choice. I do not have Blockbuster service, but I am researching and comparing them to see if I should switch. The issue with Blockbuster not having new releases is a BIG set back for me. The two times I have tryed to recieve a game when it is released, I was able to. The next day after the games released I was told the it was on it’s way to my home. So I absolutelty love that. But then again its cheaper. Blockbuster’s 2-disk plan is the same price as Gamefly’s 1-disk plan. I am not sure if I will switch only to save $5 or be able to get 2 disks instead of one. But I will continue to research. Thanks Paul.