I find renting expensive, and I also like owning games. Most ps3 games I own were:

- Bought using trade-in deals. I find cheap games for sale, mostly at b&m rental places, that qualify for promos and trade those in. This allows me to purchase a brand new game for $15-$30 depending on how much I spend purchasing crappy qualifying games to trade in.
- Bought used. 2 games for $40 is common promo at one rental place where I live.

What I dislike about renting is that if new content comes out for a game, or if I get a sudden impulse to play it, it will cost me another $9 for a brief rental period. Why bother with something so expensive when I can get used games for $20 a month or two after release and (most) new games for $30. I've paid full price for two retail games this generation: Uncharted($60) and Demon's Souls($75). Be creative and you can easily get games for less than $60.

You're not going to get a single consensus, but I'm going to say... no. I'd rather own my games.

I prefer buying to renting, as I typically take my time to beat a game (3-4 weeks), and tend to play them multiple times.

However, I am considering renting more PS3 single player games that I think I can beat in 1-2 weeks, as $60 is a lot of money for a game. Most my Wii games I'll keep on buying though, as first off they are $50, and second off, most of mine are multiplayer or Nintendo 1st party, which I like to own.

Renting is a good alternative to buying in some cases: You can thoroughly demo, and occasionally beat the game in a couple of weeks, thus giving you a good idea whether the game is worth going full monty or not. And since professional reviews are never completely reliable, trying the game yourself is probably the best way of knowing whether you'd like it or not.

Too bad there aren't any stores in Finland that offer rentals.

$9 per rental is ridiculous. I agree with you there. I assume you're referring to Blockbuster vs. Gamefly as Gamefly has a set monthly fee and you can cycle through unlimited games on it. I happen to use the 2 at a time plan with them and that's $22.95/mo. I figure in a year's time I probably go through about 40 games give or take a few and I spend a grand total of $275 for the year to do it. Now, if I were to buy that many games - be it used or new - I'd be looking at an investment in the $1000 range so I'm saving a considerable amount.

I do understand the desire to own games to some extent however I fail to find that many worthy of ownership. That said, when I do I've always had the chance to rent them and play them prior to making the commitment so I know exactly what I'm getting. Nice thing there is that I can buy them directly from gamefly at a discount. I probably do this 2, maybe 3 times a year tops. Case and point: I just bought Resident Evil 5 for $39. I had a $5 gamefly coupon and they'd listed their keep it price for $44.

Exactly my tactic. Rent first, then buy.

It's too bad you don't have that option in Finland. I presume there's nothing online for you either?

@runningonempty. My logic is basically that very few games are worth $60, but almost all games that I'm interested in are worth $20. Since $20 is about double a rental, and I am able to buy games for ~$20 quite frequently, I have no problem dropping that much for actual ownership, even if it means getting it a month or so after release.

I'm only aware of a single site in Finland: http://www.hubihubi.com/

I haven't really used it before since it has either insane pricing (11€ per week) or mandatory subscription and a monthly fee, but might as well try it eventually. The only accessible alternative in Finland seems to be pirating, and I prefer not to go down that road - at least, not all the time.

I'd rather buy a game at rental price.