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twesterm on 01 April 2009
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runningonempty said:
twesterm said:
runningonempty said:
twesterm said:
runningonempty said:

I came across this article recently and pretty much have to agree with the guy. 
http://www.slapstic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161:why-theres-no-reason-to-purchase-a-60-single-player-only-game&catid=10:opinion-articles

I'll go a step further and say there aren't an overwhelming number of reasons to buy a $60 game period. Sure, once in a while there's something, but overall, there's just not a lot out there I can justify spending that kind of cash on. Particularly in a lousy economy.

I'm an avid gamefly'r and have been for a while. If I actually took the time to sit down and do the math I'm pretty sure my savings would be in the thousands. In the amount of time I've had gamefly I've cycled through at least that much from but my spending over the duration of my membership is only in the low hundreds. I find that pretty hard to argue with.

So what's the consensus? Is renting the better or more logical alternative to buying 99% of the time (small exceptions made for the truly exceptional)?

 

Actually there's one huge reason: if people start renting games more and buying games less then you will jsut get less games and less high quality AAA games.

Personally, I prefer buying because I like owning them and it generally takes me longer than a weekend to get through even a short game.

How do you figure? Gamefly buys huge quantities of games and has to continue buying them as stock wears out, gets damaged, stolen, or purchased by users. To stay on top of their business model they've got to keep investing in games so, if anything, they're actually helpful to the industry and renters benefit from the cost savings.

 

 

I doubt Gamefly would buy enough stock to cover every gamer.  That would be just plain silly.  It would be nice for the first week or two of the games release but then they would be stuck with an insane huge overstock.

Well no, I didn't mean to imply that. More just that they are continually having to replenish stock for a variety of reasons. I don't know what number is actually workable from a business standpoint. I'm just saying that there's an ongoing investment and, therefore, money going to the industry on the whole.

 

 

I completely agree that if more people rented then Gamefly would buy more copies but it's not logical that Gamefly would fund the majority of every major game.

For people on a budget and people that will beat a game every weekend, Gamefly is a great option but it's just one of those things that if people don't buy games, games don't get made and the ones that do don't have as large as budgets.