In defense of Gamefly

Gamefly is perfect for me, and all I had to do was give up pretty much all control over what game I'm playing next.  
 
My game habit has been picking up, but one thing I learned playing Too Human was that even though I want to play every single game that comes out, I don't necessary want to *buy* all of them. The Blockbuster Videos that rent games have all pretty much shut down around here, and I really can't bring myself to become a regular customer at GameStop. Gamefly was the answer, but it took some getting used to. 
 
There's something powerful about clicking the Rent button on their website. The selection is huge, and clicking around and saying, "Yeah, I really should try out Halo 3 at some point," is pretty satisfying. The problem lies in expectation. I clicked on that Halo 3 button right around the time Mass Effect 2 was coming out, and I *really* wanted to play Mass Effect 2. That was at the top of my list, and I was due a game when that was available. I eagerly awaited the text message saying that they'd shipped it. They shipped something alright, but it wasn't Mass Effect, and it wasn't Bayonetta, and it wasn't God of War 3, or a half dozen other games on my list. It was selection 10  out of 10 available games, Halo 3, and they had to ship it from the East Coast because it wasn't available around here.  
 
Then it happened again when Red Dead Redemption came out and they shipped me Bayonetta. Not a bad game by any stretch. I loved it in fact, but I needed some Red Dead right here and now.
 
There are some Gamefly-fu techniques for getting those first run games as they come out. Having a game on your list for a long time seems to help. Only having that one available game on your list, and then waiting for it to be available, always works, but how long do you want to wait? Not long.
 
The answer, unfortunately, is to learn how to wait. The games on my list are there because I want to play them, and if they send me something besides the exact same game that everyone else on the service wants to play, I'll play that other game, and I bet I'll like it, because I do pretty much like them all. Not enough to buy them, but enough to play and see what it's about. 
 
Just to be safe though, I'm putting Dead Rising 2 at the bottom of my list. I think I've got the Gamefly system figured out. Don't fall for that Kane & Lynch 2 in the top position. It's a decoy. Send me the Dead Rising at the bottom of my list and all will be well. Waiting, it turns out, really sucks.

Gamefly is perfect for me, and all I had to do was give up pretty much all control over what game I'm playing next.  
 
My game habit has been picking up, but one thing I learned playing Too Human was that even though I want to play every single game that comes out, I don't necessary want to *buy* all of them. The Blockbuster Videos that rent games have all pretty much shut down around here, and I really can't bring myself to become a regular customer at GameStop. Gamefly was the answer, but it took some getting used to. 
 
There's something powerful about clicking the Rent button on their website. The selection is huge, and clicking around and saying, "Yeah, I really should try out Halo 3 at some point," is pretty satisfying. The problem lies in expectation. I clicked on that Halo 3 button right around the time Mass Effect 2 was coming out, and I *really* wanted to play Mass Effect 2. That was at the top of my list, and I was due a game when that was available. I eagerly awaited the text message saying that they'd shipped it. They shipped something alright, but it wasn't Mass Effect, and it wasn't Bayonetta, and it wasn't God of War 3, or a half dozen other games on my list. It was selection 10  out of 10 available games, Halo 3, and they had to ship it from the East Coast because it wasn't available around here.  
 
Then it happened again when Red Dead Redemption came out and they shipped me Bayonetta. Not a bad game by any stretch. I loved it in fact, but I needed some Red Dead right here and now.
 
There are some Gamefly-fu techniques for getting those first run games as they come out. Having a game on your list for a long time seems to help. Only having that one available game on your list, and then waiting for it to be available, always works, but how long do you want to wait? Not long.
 
The answer, unfortunately, is to learn how to wait. The games on my list are there because I want to play them, and if they send me something besides the exact same game that everyone else on the service wants to play, I'll play that other game, and I bet I'll like it, because I do pretty much like them all. Not enough to buy them, but enough to play and see what it's about. 
 
Just to be safe though, I'm putting Dead Rising 2 at the bottom of my list. I think I've got the Gamefly system figured out. Don't fall for that Kane & Lynch 2 in the top position. It's a decoy. Send me the Dead Rising at the bottom of my list and all will be well. Waiting, it turns out, really sucks.

No, Gamefly is terrible.

Some games deserve to be bought. Redemption, for example, is an own.

If GameFly ever reaches Netflix quality then maybe it might be good.

Renting games is all well and good, but 27 years of playing games has left me with a good idea of what's a "buy" and what's a "rent"... mind you, I don't rent anything, if I don't want to buy it, I'll never play it.
 
We all know most movie licensed games suck ass (Spiderman 2 is a good exception), and boutique studios can drop jewels like shitty robbers. Chances are you'll catch a good game from a Canadian dev, and sometimes a Euro studio will have amazing, evolving storylines. What I'm trying to say (if I'm actually trying to say anything) is we pretty much know what to expect from games now-a-days. That, and I want to OWN things I like. I haven't bought a game in the past 3 years that I haven't liked and kept. All it takes is a pseudo-intelligent understanding of the industry, and an internet connection... Giant Bomb has made buying games a lot easier, thanks to QL's, and a good review crew.

I just remember the games taking a god forsaken amount of time between my sending it out and receiving the next one...you have to get the two game plan to make that tolerable so you can play one while the other is sent out.
Also you could only put 50 games in yer cue...my list should be unlimited so i can put every curiosity on there and forget about it until i update it with new releases...it's a bitch looking through all the games and picking obscurities you would not have thought of searching for and then yer list fills up too quickly if you go about it that way.
I played a few games on Gamefly before i gave it up.
....i hope one day consoles figure out digitally distributed game rentals.

I'm worried that digital distribution will be the end of all rentals, unless a subscription service of some sort becomes viable. I love downloading my XBLA and PSN games, but if and when I can't rent anything I'll end up playing fewer games for sure. 
 
The turnaround time can be long, but I use that time to sleep... or read a book. It forces me not to binge too much. The delay actually helps me. Funny.

I had gamefly a few years ago when all I had was a psp, and the whole thing was pretty horrible. I picked it up again this year, and used in conjunction with buying a couple new games a year, it's been pretty good to me. 
 
I'm going to take Spike's point, and go a step further. If gamefly could get even a half-step closer to Netflix levels of service, it would be a no-brainer for a huge number of people.

It takes fooooooooooooooorever to actually get your games in the mail. 
 
I just rent my games from a local Family Video. Great stock, it's available immediately, and has new releases when I want them.

I don't know why the hostility towards Gamefly. Been using them for about 2 years now and no complaints yet. Sure the amount of games they hold isn't hug but its great for me when I want to play a game that isn't a 'own' type of game :P

Here in Canada I've been a Canflix.ca member for over 1300 days according to their counter, and I recommend them. Though I'm canceling this month now that I'm back to a broke-ass student budget and I'm just not a big movie buff. Also their catalogue has always been much larger than their actual inventory, so that's a bit frustrating. And of course the game selection doesn't come near Gamefly (no PSP or DS for instance) but all the console hits are there, going back to the Gamecube.
 
Anyway, unlike Netflix and Gamefly which only do what they do, Canflix treats game titles exactly the same as movies. I can have 4 games at once if I want, or any combination. And my monthly plan has always worked out to $0.22 per disc per day.  At the end of this month I'll have kept Halo ODST for six weeks for $9. Very hard to argue with a deal like that. I hope they stay in business.