I think we’re reaching a breaking point with video game prices. Sure we’ve always gotten $100 collectors’ editions of games, and other variations of this, but on average, games have maintained that $60 price point. Game companies have been toying with increasing this price for a while now, but no one wanted to pull the trigger. Nintendo charging $80 for Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza at $70 helped set the new standard. GTA 6’s release could push this even further. Xbox Game Pass, arguably the best deal in gaming, just raised the price of Game Pass Ultimate by 50% causing a mass exodus that crashed their cancellation page (maybe too conveniently). Gamers now have to scrutinize their game purchases more than ever, so perhaps it’s time we brought back Blockbuster.
Gamefly is a video game rental service similar to Netflix’s original incarnation. You add games you want to a queue, and Gamefly will ship a physical version in about three days, depending on how close you are to one of their distribution centers. The turnaround time and the scarcity of new titles make this service clunky and not worth the money. Depending on how long you keep a game for, due to shipping times, you may end up only renting about two to three games a month. They could reduce the shipping times with more distribution centers, but I’d rather go into a physical store.
As a young gamer, nothing brought me more happiness than going to a rental store to pick out some games. In the town where I grew up, we had a local rental store called Hometown Video. At one point, they had a crazy deal where you could rent five SNES games for five dollars. I’ve never played and beaten so many games in my life. My brother and I wouldn’t have to fight over the ONE game we were allowed to rent; we could get FIVE! Sometimes I didn’t want to play the 4th or 5th game, but you had to get 5. In a time when everyone is feeling increasingly isolated, we need to get back to physically interacting together. Here’s my pitch for a modern, brick-and-mortar, video game rental store.
First, we will eliminate movies and make it video games only. We want to cultivate a community and don’t want to muddy that up with movies. Next, we want stations for every console so that you can try games out before you buy them or hang out and play games for free with others. Maybe it can be a hybrid rental store and video game cafe/lounge? Also, since the used game market is a little broken, thanks to Gamestop, we can flip the script on that too. Give gamers a reasonable price for their used games instead of low-balling them and jacking up the resale price. Since this will become a place where gamers hang out, we could even encourage a trading market where Gamers can come and safely trade games with each other. If it were successful, you could even host gaming events there, host tournaments, game conferences, and game award show watch-alongs.
I’m sure someone with better business acumen can tell me why this is a terrible, non-sustainable idea. I think the solution to isolation and corporate price gouging is community. In an age where we’re being pulled apart and pitted against one another, we need more community-driven public spaces where we can come together. Gamers, especially, are isolated since it’s a hobby most people do alone in their own homes. Roughly 3 billion people play video games; it’s no longer a niche hobby or interest. Maybe we don’t need a Blockbuster revival, but we need more public spaces for gamers, arcades, video game bars, and lounges.