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Gamefly: Worthwhile?

ChaosHatChaosHat Hop, hop, hop, HA!Trick of the lightRegistered User regular
edited September 2010 in Games and Technology
I searched around a bit to see if there was a thread about this before, but came up with nothing.

I've been thinking about getting a Gamefly subscription since it sounds like a pretty good way for me to save money on gaming while still getting to play a lot of stuff. My concerns are mostly about new releases, especially big stuff like CoD:BLOPS or Reach. Do they usually get enough copies to meet demand? How soon after release do copies arrive?

I'm also curious to see how discounted the keep price is, and how rapidly that ends up falling, or if there are just any overall bad experiences with the service.

So, Gamefly subscribers, tell me why I should or shouldn't sign up.

ChaosHat on
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Posts

  • JoolanderJoolander Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    If you leave near a distribution center, its pretty good

    I had to wait about 3 days for Mafia II, and I live in the same city as a distribution center

    Joolander on
  • enderjsvenderjsv Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    No. I use gamefly during the summer when new releases are scarce to play the games I may have missed earlier. Its good for that. But if your major concern is new releases, they're not really very good at getting the game to you when the game first comes out. It can actually take quite awhile, and since there's no way to enforce the order in which they send you games, you'll often get a game lower down on your queue when you would rather just wait for the one at the top. I wouldn't use Gamefly if you really needed to get the new releases right away.

    enderjsv on
  • ChaosHatChaosHat Hop, hop, hop, HA! Trick of the lightRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    enderjsv wrote: »
    No. I use gamefly during the summer when new releases are scarce to play the games I may have missed earlier. Its good for that. But if your major concern is new releases, they're not really very good at getting the game to you when the game first comes out. It can actually take quite awhile, and since there's no way to enforce the order in which they send you games, you'll often get a game lower down on your queue when you would rather just wait for the one at the top. I wouldn't use Gamefly if you really needed to get the new releases right away.

    If that's the case I don't mind deleting shit off the queue to make sure that it ships out faster, I'm mostly concerned with quantity. Is there a case where a super popular new release (like Reach) "sells" out?

    ChaosHat on
  • enderjsvenderjsv Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    ChaosHat wrote: »
    enderjsv wrote: »
    No. I use gamefly during the summer when new releases are scarce to play the games I may have missed earlier. Its good for that. But if your major concern is new releases, they're not really very good at getting the game to you when the game first comes out. It can actually take quite awhile, and since there's no way to enforce the order in which they send you games, you'll often get a game lower down on your queue when you would rather just wait for the one at the top. I wouldn't use Gamefly if you really needed to get the new releases right away.

    If that's the case I don't mind deleting shit off the queue to make sure that it ships out faster, I'm mostly concerned with quantity. Is there a case where a super popular new release (like Reach) "sells" out?

    I'm not sure what you mean. Are you looking to buy new releases from gamefly, or rent? If you're looking to buy, then gamefly is definitely NOT what you're looking for. They often don't even sell the new releases until weeks or months after the game has come out.

    As for renting, they often don't purchase enough copies to meet the demand, probably because they don't think they can sell all the copies later. So if you mean that they run out of copies to rent when you say "sells out", then yes, this happens all the time with the newer releases.

    enderjsv on
  • ChaosHatChaosHat Hop, hop, hop, HA! Trick of the lightRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    No no, just renting. I put "sells" in quotes because I wasn't sure if "rents out" would translate right.

    ChaosHat on
  • FuriousJodoFuriousJodo Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I've turned it on and off a few times, sometimes it is worth it when there are a lot of games to play. I also really like the ability to keep/buy games at a discounted price. If you see yourself renting a lot of games it's well worth it.

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  • PotatoNinjaPotatoNinja Fake Gamer Goat Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I'm not a big fan of Gamefly. I dislike having the feeling of "I need to play this game in two weeks or I'm losing money" that comes with a rental service, and the turnaround times are pretty long. The used game prices tend to be pretty good. Waiting for new releases was a huge problem when I subscribed (3-5 days extra wait on major releases), YMMV.

    Generally I find it hard to imagine a gamer who can afford a ~$25 - 35 per month subscription but can't afford to buy the games they want. If you have no videogame purchasing budget and very few videogames you could, for instance, buy a system and only use Gamefly for 2 or so years and probably come out alright.

    Its not a great way to supplement a normal game selection, so I'd recommend against Gamefly for most gamers. If you have a semi-limited budget and the idea of buying an XBox or PS3 and then only using Gamefly (or buying $10 games) for the system's lifespan is appealing, you can probably get a pretty wide variety of games played for a comparatively small amount of money.

    PotatoNinja on
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  • BillmaanBillmaan Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    If you get the timing down, it's surprisingly easy to get new releases: send a game back a few days before the release, and delete everything else from your queue. This has always worked for me.

    With that said, if getting new releases is your primary concern, Gamefly might not be for you. It's better-suited to people with a large backlog of games they never got around to buying or renting.

    Billmaan on
  • TylanthusTylanthus Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I have tried it twice. Both times I essentially lost money two ways:

    1) Keeping a game and not finishing it in a timely manner
    2) Buying new games anyway because I got impatient

    The service is just slow enough and runs out just often enough so you can barely complain about it but ultimately not be anywhere near "netflix level" satisfied.

    Tylanthus on
  • GrimthwackerGrimthwacker Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    As somebody who's been using it regularly for the past couple of years, canceling only recently because there's nothing I want to rent right now, I have to say it's been pretty good - provided you keep it to one or two games at a time. I like to focus on starting something and seeing it through, and Gamefly has let me play through quite a few games that I probably would've regretted purchasing (and keep two that I really liked); they're usually solid about sending out titles as soon as they're available, but you're gonna want to reserve big new releases nice and early in order to get them delivered soon after they hit.

    Overall, I'd say I've been very satisfied with them, and the next time a bunch of releases I'm interested in are on the horizon I'll just start my subscription back up again - just know that if you cancel after you've racked up some of the rewards for long-term subscription (discounts for buying and keeping games, the occasional coupon, etc.), you'll have to start re-accruing them all over again.

    Grimthwacker on
  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    It is nowhere near as good as Netflix.

    It is good enough to save yourself money on new releases. Just keep what you want next on the queue and a separate list somewhere else of games you want to rent.

    Quid on
  • yalborapyalborap Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I find it pretty good, but I'm pretty close to a distribution center. I also mostly use it for games that're only gonna get one or two playthroughs anyways: Basically, the stuff I rented the old-fashioned way when physical rental places still fucking existed.

    yalborap on
  • ArrathArrath Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Its alright, I don't think I'm too close to a distribution center, it took me 4 or 5 days to get my first game. But they have a system in place where once the returning disc is scanned into the postal system they ship the next one, so subsequent discs have been speedy.

    New releases can be a bit iffy I've found, I still haven't been able to get RDR.

    Arrath on
  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    ChaosHat wrote: »
    I searched around a bit to see if there was a thread about this before, but came up with nothing.

    I've been thinking about getting a Gamefly subscription since it sounds like a pretty good way for me to save money on gaming while still getting to play a lot of stuff. My concerns are mostly about new releases, especially big stuff like CoD:BLOPS or Reach. Do they usually get enough copies to meet demand? How soon after release do copies arrive?

    I'm also curious to see how discounted the keep price is, and how rapidly that ends up falling, or if there are just any overall bad experiences with the service.

    So, Gamefly subscribers, tell me why I should or shouldn't sign up.

    I've been a member for 3 years straight now and I love it to death. I get the new releases and the games I missed. It's saved me COUNTLESS amounts of dollars. Seriously instead of spending $60 a month to buy a game that I'll probably play once or twice, I pay $16 to get about 3 games a month (depending on how fast I beat the game) and if I decide to keep them they are discounted heavily.

    urahonky on
  • FuriousJodoFuriousJodo Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yeah, it really depends on how much you use it.

    FuriousJodo on
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  • ArrathArrath Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yeah, it really depends on how much you use it.

    Heh, holding onto Bad Company 2 for half a year: Not so smooth.

    Arrath on
  • FuriousJodoFuriousJodo Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yeah, I did that with a game and canceled when I realized there wasn't anything I really wanted to rent.

    FuriousJodo on
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  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I think the reason I like the service is because I'll take chances on games that I normally wouldn't. If I don't like them, I'll send them back immediately. If the service keeps me from buying one game a month, then it's done it's job.

    (But I also had the sickness in which I would buy a game even if I knew little to nothing about it. Needless to say I bought a lot of stupid games.)

    urahonky on
  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I no longer rent from GameFly, but I still buy used games from them every so often.

    Every once in a while they'll lower the price on a few games that didn't rent as well as they'd have liked or have been out for a while to clear out some stock and the prices are usually really good (they're offloading copies of Final Fantasy XIII for $20 on the website right now, for example). That, and the case and manual are always in perfect shape, since it is only the disc that is mailed out. I've never gotten a disc that was in bad shape from them.

    edit: God of War III is currently selling for $22 on their site as well.

    SmokeStacks on
  • IceBurnerIceBurner It's cold and there are penguins.Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    urahonky wrote: »
    I've been a member for 3 years straight now and I love it to death. I get the new releases and the games I missed. It's saved me COUNTLESS amounts of dollars. Seriously instead of spending $60 a month to buy a game that I'll probably play once or twice, I pay $16 to get about 3 games a month (depending on how fast I beat the game) and if I decide to keep them they are discounted heavily.
    I'm in this boat. I've been a member for about 5 years.

    If I want to guarantee a new release, I keep a separate list in a .txt file and queue only the game I want.

    I also like that I can play games I enjoy, but won't replay and keep them off my shelves. Of course, the occasional purchasing miscalculation is where using Goozex comes in.

    IceBurner on
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  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    ChaosHat wrote: »
    enderjsv wrote: »
    No. I use gamefly during the summer when new releases are scarce to play the games I may have missed earlier. Its good for that. But if your major concern is new releases, they're not really very good at getting the game to you when the game first comes out. It can actually take quite awhile, and since there's no way to enforce the order in which they send you games, you'll often get a game lower down on your queue when you would rather just wait for the one at the top. I wouldn't use Gamefly if you really needed to get the new releases right away.

    If that's the case I don't mind deleting shit off the queue to make sure that it ships out faster, I'm mostly concerned with quantity. Is there a case where a super popular new release (like Reach) "sells" out?

    I do this quite often and I can not recall a major game that I didn't get shipped out to me on the release date if I had a rental slot free.

    Gamefly is pretty good but last time I had to contact customer service, several years ago, it was a practical impossibility. I've made my peace with that fact but feel it is something you should be aware of.

    DevoutlyApathetic on
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  • Magus DarkstarMagus Darkstar Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I always work Gamefly into my budget as a this-lets-me-play-any-new-game-I-want fee to keep me from worrying that I'm screwing myself. In that regard, it's fuckin' great. Also my favorite way to buy used games.

    Magus Darkstar on
  • Mr_GrinchMr_Grinch Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    In the UK here, but we have similar services and I get the same feeling as I do with game piracy.

    I used to pirate games (Xbox1 era), download hundreds and then only play about 5 minutes of each. However when purchasing a game I seem to want to get my moneys worth and put far more time in.

    I tried renting and it felt the same to me as when I pirated games, all these games, so little time. I'd put a day or so in to a game and then send it back to see what I'd get next.

    Nowadays I tend to buy new and get much more enjoyment out of my purchase.

    But this is my mind set, if you have a big list of games, and aren't too bothered about what order you want to play them in then it's a great idea. Most here in the UK will rent you blurays too, which is a bonus.

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  • FawstFawst The road to awe.Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    After 4-5 months, I'm finally sending back MW2. The debate now is if I get Dead Rising 2, or Arkham Asylum. May just go with DR2, no major disposable income to buy that with. I love gamefly, but I don't use it as much as other people do. My friend is constantly playing something different every couple weeks, so you get out of it what you get out of it.

    Fawst on
  • SyphonBlueSyphonBlue The studying beaver That beaver sure loves studying!Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    enderjsv wrote: »
    No. I use gamefly during the summer when new releases are scarce to play the games I may have missed earlier. Its good for that. But if your major concern is new releases, they're not really very good at getting the game to you when the game first comes out. It can actually take quite awhile, and since there's no way to enforce the order in which they send you games, you'll often get a game lower down on your queue when you would rather just wait for the one at the top. I wouldn't use Gamefly if you really needed to get the new releases right away.

    This is partially true.

    If you want a new game, make sure it's the only thing on your queue on the day it comes out and they'll send it to you first-day. However, if you miss the first day you're gonna be waiting a few weeks, probably.

    Is Gamefly worth it? I'd say absolutely. It's saved me hundreds of dollars. Probably more like thousands at this point. I almost never buy a game anymore, I just Gamefly it. You've just gotta learn how to game their queue system.

    SyphonBlue on
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  • SyphonBlueSyphonBlue The studying beaver That beaver sure loves studying!Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Generally I find it hard to imagine a gamer who can afford a ~$25 - 35 per month subscription but can't afford to buy the games they want.

    This is a really stupid statement. I can afford a $25 subscription just as well as I can afford a $60 purchase, but why would I not want to save my money? It's really simple: Either I can spend $25 per month and can get 3 games (as an example), or I can spend $180 on those same three games. It has nothing to do with affording it, as I can afford $180, but that $180 would be much better spent in my savings account.

    Edit: Also, what sheep said

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  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2010
    When I get to work I'm gonna post you my GameFly queue. Cause it's huge.


    GameFly is a service that I find very very useful.

    Generally I find it hard to imagine a gamer who can afford a ~$25 - 35 per month subscription but can't afford to buy the games they want.

    Many games aren't worth 60$. I got tired of spending 60$ on a game, beating it within a few days, and then selling it on eBay for a loss of 20$. Even worse when I didn't like the game.

    Sheep on
  • GanluanGanluan Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yes, Gamefly is amazing. I live in AZ and get games 2 days after shipping like clockwork.

    I have rented 80 games through them in the 2.5 years I've been a member. That's a shitload of money that could have been spent on purchasing, as most of them have been new (i.e., been released a month or less when I rented them).

    Just recently, I got the following games on release (well, 2 days after release):

    Spider-Man:Shattered Dimensions
    Mafia 2
    Lego Harry Potter
    Red Dead Redemption
    Transformers: WFC
    Alan Wake
    Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (which I then kept for $30 and they sent me the VIP code you get when buying new copies)

    Ganluan on
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2010
    Mafia II is a good example.

    If you'd had asked me 50% of the way into Mafia II whether or not I thought it would be worth 60$ I probably would have told you yes.

    But then I beat it and it's pretty much an awful game due to the final two or three missions.

    I would have regretted it had I bought Mafia II.

    Sheep on
  • alabasteralabaster Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I love Gamefly. I pay for just one game at a time and I definately feel like I get my money's worth. I used to hate paying $60 for a game and beating it within a week. Nowadays the only games I actually buy are ones that have multiplayer that I know I'll play for a while.

    I also play a bigger variety of games than I used to because there's little consequence to trying out new games. Don't like it? Ship it back and get another.

    Also within the last year the shipping times have gotten better. I'm in New Orleans and my shipping center is in Austin. I think I get games two days after I get the shipment email.

    alabaster on
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  • JHunzJHunz Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Gamefly was fantastic when I had it, but I had the bad habit of buying a few new games as well as keeping down the subscription. It's something like two years after I unsubscribed, and I still haven't un-backlogged myself. It was a great service, though, and I'm glad I got to play some games that I had heard were awesome but had never bothered to buy.

    JHunz on
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  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I've been a subscriber for over two years now, probably close to three, and I love it. I get the one game plan which is like $16 a month. I generally just can't afford to buy new games, so Gamefly works out great for me. I also tend to keep games a while, so it's way cheaper than renting elsewhere. I live right next to a distribution center, so I have a very quick turnaround (3 days from putting it in the mail to getting the next one). I also use my rewards bucks to buy games from them when they're on sale.

    New releases can be tricky. Like mentioned, if you manage your queue carefully, it's generally pretty good. I think I've always gotten those games where I did. If something sneaks up on you or you don't get it right at release, if it's popular you may be waiting 2 or 3 weeks, so keep that in mind. I don't mind it too much as there's always something else I want to play. I've never used Netflix, so I can't comment on it, but I love Gamefly and have no plans to cancel anytime soon.

    Edit: Just checked and I hit my 3 years on 8/24

    Sir Carcass on
  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The service is great, but of course it helps if you don't mind if they just send you a random game from the queue instead of one you want.

    For instance, I'm on the one game at a time plan, and I've had Sonic Chronicles on the top of my queue for a year now. It's never been less than "now available." Yet they've sent me SEVEN other games instead of that one. Baffling.

    cloudeagle on
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  • GanluanGanluan Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Remove the other games from queue, let them send you Sonic, and put them back on the queue - problem solved!

    Granted I don't know why they don't send you the first item if it is available...

    Ganluan on
  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Eh, I'm too lazy to do that, and I'm perfectly happy with other games. (I've heard Sonic Chronicles is crap, and I just want to play it out of morbid curiosity.) I just find it odd, that's all.

    cloudeagle on
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  • chamberlainchamberlain Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    It's all I use.

    And I play all the damn time. You just have to get used to not getting new releases right away.

    chamberlain on
  • AllforceAllforce Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yeah the trick is ignoring their "KEEP YOUR QUEUE FULL OF GAMES TO KEEP THE ACTION GOING!" line. I just put shit in order of when it's coming out on my queue. So basically a list of upcoming games in chronological order. It gets hairy in the fall when there's a glut of games but overall I've never missed out on a new release that I wanted to play the week it came out.

    For example I shipped back two games last week, Tuesday this week they shipped me NHL11. The next game in my queue is Reach and everything after that is shit that comes out afterwards (Dead Rising 2, Vanquish, etc).

    The prices on new releases are ridiculous too, for example I know Reach will be at the39.99 "Keep It" price next week the day it ships to me. Since I'm the first person renting it its basically a brand new game for 20 bucks off. They also send you all the codes and shit that comes with a brand new game since noone has touched the box. I bought Bad Company 2 months after it came out from them for like 30 bucks and got all the Premium DLC shit that comes with a new copy.

    Allforce on
  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Oh, to answer another of your questions, I'm pretty sure (correct me if I'm wrong) they start shipping the games on their release day, usually a Tuesday, so at best you'll get it the day after it comes out.

    Sir Carcass on
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2010
    cloudeagle wrote: »
    The service is great, but of course it helps if you don't mind if they just send you a random game from the queue instead of one you want.

    For instance, I'm on the one game at a time plan, and I've had Sonic Chronicles on the top of my queue for a year now. It's never been less than "now available." Yet they've sent me SEVEN other games instead of that one. Baffling.

    Then it's probably not available. I notice weird things like that from time to time as well. Like I almost bought SEGA All Stars Racing, and one day it would be available for purchase and then after that it wasn't.



    Also, whoever has the game on their queue longer gets the game first. They have told me this first hand.


    This is my GameFly queue from a few weeks ago.
    io1z0m.jpg
    ejfqsl.jpg

    I've added about 10 games to it since then.

    Sheep on
  • TaramoorTaramoor Storyteller Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    If Gamefly and Microsoft can get together and work out something similar to Netflix streaming, then I'll probably pick up a subscription.

    Example: If I have a Gamefly subscription, I can download a game straight to my Xbox' HDD, but only download another one if I delete the first. Something crazy like that. Then... well... that would be the best thing ever.

    As it is right now, I just don't have the gaming hours to really make enough use of a service like Gamefly to justify the cost. I'm considering cancelling my Netflix just because I don't use it nearly as often as I thought I would, but the streaming to my 360 is just so damned convenient.

    Taramoor on
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