Would you still rent a video game ?

[Angle Alastor 3,805]

So say if a video game rental store tries to make it in this digital age say for instance.....lets call it Armor Games Rental !

and for this idea to work you can rent the latest games for 7 days and for a late fee is 5$ on any system and the motto for the store will be ,  Got slow internet ? Dont have the time to wait for a big download ? well come to Armor Games rental store ! , all the latest games you can rent when they are available !

so my question is would it work in 2018 in rural areas ?

[GeekySonic 1,150]

In rural areas, I'm gonna take a guess and say yes, and here's why: I used to live in a small farming town in North Dakota, population of 1,200. In town there were two grocery stores, a pizza place, and a handful of bars. The nearest Wal-Mart in any direction was a 3-hour drive away.

 

My family owns a large collection of DVDs and Blu-Rays. Hundreds. While we lived there, people would regularly borrow from us. So much so that we had to start a catalogue of them to make sure we didn't lose track of them. Before we moved, my dad and I seriously planned on leasing a vacant building and starting a movie rental store.

 

In rural areas, a game rental store would be awfully convenient, because there are plenty of people who don't have the time/money to drive to the nearest GameStop for every title that's released. I think it would survive just fine.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,478]

I'll have to say no to this, sadly. Main reason is that the one rental place in my county shut down a while back, so renting something from a store would be wholly inconvenient for me. I miss the days of renting a game I had never played, but those days seem long gone. :c I suppose it is inevitable. 

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

Subscription services including games are a big thing on consoles aren't they? If it's sold, I presume it's because there is a market for it, so although the business model needs to be right it can work.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Brony Number 42 10,069]

Problem is even games on disc required a download for an update. A person could take their console to a place with internet and download. Redbox has game rentals.

[Ganondorf8 11,310]

I used to rent video games every weekend for years when I lived in Calgary, so I'm going to say yes to this question. I know it's impractical these days what with how games are so accessible in terms of being able to obtain but I'd never turn my back on wanting to rent one.

[Here No Longer 5,276]

Nope, not right now at least. I wouldn't be able to afford it, plus there's no such as a rental place around. This isn't even to mention I wouldn't have a console to play it on.

[Cash In 22,313]

Yeah. I'd do it for old-times sake. I used to rent games every Saturday for years, back when I used to visit my dad in the countryside. Being able to do that again would be strange, but it would be also be quite nostalgic.

[CypherHoof 26,483]

I am concerned that increasingly, games ARE rented, even if you think you bought them.  Bearing in mind the current iTunes thing (where people who thought they had bought movies have suddenly found them gone, as iTunes have lost the right to them) and that platforms like Steam can pull games off your machine without asking....

[joanro 247]

It's not really practical anymore because not only do most games have to be installed to the console's hard drive, but they also require updates that not on the disc. The Xbox One seems to be a little worse about this than the PS4 since you have to install every game on the Xbox One.

[DixonTheAdversary 1,632]

No. I never rented games anyways. We would just buy the games used from Hollywood Video before they closed.

[Guest]

I am actually going to say no because I actually prefer to own games and support developers as much as I can.

[SparklingSquirrels 21,341]

Yes, I’d digitally rent some PC games (if it was really cheap). Would be nice to try them before I buy the whole thing... some games have demos but those are usually pretty inaccurate to the game itself :/

Can’t have a console where I live so I wouldn’t go to a physical store though.

Edited February 12, 2019 by SparklingSwirls

[Megas 27,628]

If I actually had one near me, then yes, assuming they actually have a big selection to choose from and not a bullshit 10+ games they rotate every week like Redbox

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

I'd rather play a demo or just buy the game.

[Sonic Shimmer 4,132]

I don’t think so, games are just too long these days. Persona 5 took me over 100 hours to beat the main storyline.

[Vefka 1,499]

I don't think disks rental would work, but changing disks certainly would! For a lot of console gamers it's the only way to get a game. But with rental you can rent accounts (I believe that's illegal, but who cares)

[Splashee 28,564]

I would, if Blockbuster wasn't gone RIP

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,297]

On 2020-10-13 at 2:22 PM, Splashee said:

I would, if Blockbuster wasn't gone RIP

Agreed, I would buy a whole game  

[Retro*Derpy 3,185]

Meh I feel demos from online are good enough. Renting had the problem with scratched disks and the pain of bringing it back.

[Dreambiscuit 9,691]

If I was into video gaming I’d be fine with it. I always prefer going into a store and browsing around instead of downloading stuff from the internet. I’m old-fashioned that way. But thanks to the internet and the modern way of destroying brick and mortar businesses, physical stores are becoming a thing of the past, like me. As it is I can buy and download demos and games from my PS4 for widely varying prices. But since most games don’t even seem beta tested anymore it would be nice to have a rental service so I could scope out the bad games before I commit to buying them for the outrageous prices they often charge.

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,297]

Fine plan for games Dreamy  

[Cash In 22,313]

Depending on the game, yeah. Obviously I'm not gonna rent a 50 hour RPG for a weekend, but for shorter games or party games, I would.

[Megas 27,628]

Definitely would. It’s how I got to know some of my favorites, and obviously they go farther than demos

[StarburstRainbow 30]

Man... if BlockBuster was still around, I would. I HATE having these stupid Redboxes around