Blockbuster to add video games to Web rental service

Coming soon to subscribers of Blockbuster Video's Total Access service are video game rentals. On Wednesday the company announced it would be adding gaming titles alongside movies to its movies-by-mail monthly service as part of a pilot program.

This program will start in the second quarter of this year, and will only be open to a limited number of subscribers. The company hopes to have it available for everyone else by the "second half of the year."

Worth noting is that Blockbuster is making a notable distinction between the value of films and video games in its brick-and-mortar stores. Subscribers of the Total Access service currently get a handful of free in-store movie rentals each month, whereas for game rentals the company will simply be offering them at half price. Such movie and video game rentals are subject to due dates and late fees however.

Regardless, this program is an important step for Blockbuster, which Yahoo Finance recently put on its list of "15 Companies That Might Not Survive 2009." By offering video games only in its stores it was getting direct competition from a number of other games-by-mail services like Gamefly, Numbthumb, Gottaplay, and user swap site Goozex. This move also gives it a wider content offering over rival Netflix, which has been receiving much attention for getting its streaming service in a slew of new consumer entertainment devices.

[umbrae]

I have been waiting for this since these services started. I want my movies and video games as part of one rental fee. I would definitely upgrade my account on BB to get more slots for games. I do not watch that many movies, but play lots of games. However, my family cannot justify a Gamefly account and a BB/Netflix account. This is great!

[atomD21]

Not to sound mean, but are you twelve? If you are old enough to work, why not just put in the money for the membership so you can do both Gamefly and Netflix, or ugrade the BB Membership?

[onebluephish]

The sooner Blockbuster is off the face of the planet the better. The only way the company is going to make more money is if they fix their bogus return/charge policy.

[noksucow]

I don't understand why it would take this long to implement this new feature. I've gone back and forth between the 2 services over the years and I would seriously consider switching back to BB. Finally BB is trying a new strategy. I hope they compete. To those that want BB to just disappear, why would you want that? Lack of competition is never a good thing.

[ywkhgqo]

because blockbuster's total access steadily lost value to me as the service went on. Not only did the plan become more and more expensive, but the functionality has come down. It used to be three at a time, and you could exchange those movies for either a new release (keep 2 days) or an old release (keep 7 days). That was awesome. Then every month, they sent you a coupon for a ee movie or game. Then they got rid of the free coupon. Then they limited the exchanges to only 5 a month. Then they changed it to only one night rentals for the exchanges. All while raising the price. Switched to netflix and haven't been happier. Already recovered the money i'll be spending on it watching full series of tv shows like the office. Also considering its cheaper. Blockbuster has always tried to nickle and dime people and netflix has never done that.

[TheTiredGuy]

I really like Blockbuster's online service. I think it's great to be able to return movies to the store, which causes the mailed ones to be mailed to me sooner. They also don't charge extra for Blu-Ray, which is one of the main reasons why I use their service.

[todd_]

ywkhgqo:

Blockbuster's online prices are actually pretty competitive. Sure, you don't get as much out of the service as you did two years ago when they were throwing free rentals at you left and right, but that was just to build a subscriber base.

1 at a time, 2 per month: $3.99 at bbi, $4.99 at nflx
1 at a time, unlimited: $8.99 at both
2 at a time, unlimited: $13.99 at both
3 at a time, unlimited: $15.99 at bbi, $16.99 at nflx

Those are Blockbuster's by mail options. You won't get free in-store exchanges, but each envelope will give you a discounted movie rental ($1.99) in the store. On the other hand, Netflix offers streaming content, which might give it a slight upper hand unless you don't use that. It's a shame people think they're getting such a better deal by switching to Netflix.

TheTiredGuy:

For the first few years, it used to be that when your mailer was scanned at the store, your next one would be sent to you (you didn't have to wait for it to reach their distribution center). They changed that, however, so now you must wait for it to get mailed back before your next one is sent. On top of that, to save on shipping costs, mailers are only mailed back on the mornings of Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

I would bet if you put them in a USPS post box, you'd get your next DVDs quicker than if you had returned them to the store.

[Joshgo]

I don't have a whole lot of faith in this playing out to their benefit. I hate to come off totally negative out of the gate but it smells a lot like a final attempt to save an already dying concept.

I really don't see what all the fuss about marrying Netflix and Gamefly is in the first place. The two services work great individually. It isn't as if the user needs to give any thought to their individual accounts. Both services are automatically billed and both offer a service catering specifically to each audience

Games and movies have been and always will be two unique forms of entertainment and as such, they differ on a variety of levels. Cost, demand, core audience... Gamers are a completely different customer base with their own unique set of needs and problems. Gamefly is the only online rental service out there that has been able to understand this and thrive in the process and kudos to them. It doesn't sound easy. Add to that that Netflix just recently announced 10 million subscribers and... well... I think both are doing just fine as they are.

I've used Gamefly for games pretty much from their inception and have grown with them over the years. I am completely satisfied with the service. It caters to the gamer and has steadily been tailoring that intention over its lifetime. When I log into my gamefly account and start playing around with my queue or searching for games I know exactly what I'm going to get and the added benefits of long-term membership only add to that.

In addition, I've used Netflix for movies for longer than I can remember. I'm not a huge movie watcher so I've been on the unlimited 1 at a time plan from the start and have never had a problem.

And therein lies the fundamental difference with this Blockbuster attempt. Blockbuster is by far and large, a movie rental outfit. This latest offering is not one made with the devoted gamer in mind. It's made for people who rent movies who want to rent a game once in a while. That's a totally different mindset.

I just don't think it's going to be enough to grab a significant portion of the market share.

[kasrhp1]

Here is the deal with Blockbuster....its better hands down. Blu ray is cheaper. Monthly plans are cheaper. You DO get in store exchanges FREE each month with the return of a mailed movie. You have the option of going into the store, returning to store, etc. Plus, the netflix movies you can stream are cool, I guess if you basically like watching black and white. The content for the streaming movies is weak. Why even bother. I like BB with all the options they have. Lets see if BB pulls it out because of the gaming option, and see how Netflix fares.

[Joshgo]

Again, I have to point out, most every argument here is slanted toward those who are serious movie watchers. Serious gamers need not apply. Gamefly more than has it covered.