The Pros & Cons of Using Gamefly

Channel5
Tuesday, December 13, 2011

I've been a member of Gamefly since August 2009. In those two years I've been an overall satisfied customer. There have been a few hiccups here and there, but the service has been solid. A friend asked me if Gamefly was worth it? I put this list of pros and cons together to help you decide whether or not you should subscribe to Gamefly. If anybody who has a Gamefly account has anything to add feel free.


Huge Selection

Gamefly is the only place that allows me to rent Nintendo 3DS titles. $40 is a lot of money to put towards a game that I might not even like. It's not like Gamestop is going to give me a full refund on an opened 3DS game because I didn't like it. Whenever a 3DS game that interests me is released, I'm using Gamefly to play it. Gamefly also has a bunch of games that my local Blockbuster doesn't carry. Games include Catherine, Cursed Mountain, & Tony Hawk's Project 8.

 

 

Fast Shipping

It usually takes 2 days to receive a game after Gamefly sends me a confirmation email. They also ship out new games the day before they're released which means I usually have a new release the day after it hits stores.  An example I use is Uncharted 3. It was released on Tuesday November 1st. Gamefly shipped it Monday, October 31st, and I received it Wednesday, November 2nd. I have no problem waiting an extra day to play a new release. The shipping might slow down next year when the United States Postal Service slows down their next day mail service.

 

 

 


Game Availability 

One problem I've encountered is the availability of a new videogame after it's been released. You can almost guarantee a new release will have "Low Availability" for it's first month. I've had it take weeks to receive a confirmation email after a games been released. A game that comes to mind is Batman: Arkham Asylum. If I had been better about shipping the game I had back to Gamefly, I probably would've received one of the first copies of Arkham City they shipped out. I waited 2 weeks for an email that Gamefly shipped out Arkham City, but it never came. I gave up and put dibs on Uncharted 3. I'm current;y waiting to see how long it's going to take before Gamefly ships me a copy of Super Mario 3D Land.

Remembering to ship games back

I've ran into this problem more than a few times. I finish a video game, put it back in the packaging, and leave it in my car for over a week. Forgetting to ship a game back seems like a small problem until you miss the deadline on that new videogame you wanted to play so bad. Now you've got to wait for who knows how long until you get a confirmation email. Another word of advice would be not to ship a game back too close to the release of a new game. Best bet is to give yourself a week. The holiday rush of new games is pretty much over so I guess it's pretty much a game of waiting for a confirmation email. Remember to ship your games back when you're done.

 

 

 


Would I recommend Gamefly???

I absolutely recommend Gamefly if you're a Nintendo 3DS owner. That $40 price tag on videogames is expensive, and most 3DS titles at this point have not been getting great reviews. Save your money and use Gamefly. For everyone else I recommend giving Gamefly a try. They have a one month free trial where you could get a feel for how it works. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

 
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Comments (7)
Default_picture
December 13, 2011

Thanks for the piece.  I've been debating on whether or not I should pick up gamefly for titles I missed throughout the year like El Shaddai, Catherine, and Mortal Kombat.  So it sounds perfect for playing "catch up" with.

Dscn0568_-_copy
December 13, 2011

Your article had some formatting issues, so I did some quick cleanup. Hope you don't mind.

Lolface
December 14, 2011

I've had Gamefly for a few years now, and I have to say, turnaround time is kind of crappy. It takes about a week and a half from the time I send a game back until I receive another one. For some reason, it takes a couple of days for them to send me a new game after they receive one from me, even when some of the games on my queue say 'Available Now'. What's worse is that on my game queue page is a little banner saying, 'Games Delivered: 92% of games sent are in members' top 5 Q rank'. Apparently, I'm the 8% because I rarely get a game from my top 5.

On the other hand, one of the best thing about Gamefly is the ability to buy used games. After being a subscriber for a while, they give you a 10% discount on all used games, plus a $5 off coupon every month (it also expires every month). It's not a lot, but Gamefly regularly runs specials, and that's how I got Bulletstorm for $4 (on sale for $10 - 10% -$5 coupon = $4). They also give you free shipping, and every game includes the original box and instruction manual. Finally, the best part is that every used game bought from Gamefly also includes any DLC code that originally shipped with the game. So take that EA!

Default_picture
December 14, 2011

Yeah, it takes about a week for me as well. GameFly's not perfect in that regard, but it also has a wealth of older titles to rent, which is great because I like to catch up on games I might have missed years before. That alone is enough to keep me around despite its annoyances.

Default_picture
December 14, 2011

I've been using Gamefly for a while now, and it's been a mixed bag. Some games ship out right away (I was one of the lucky few that got Arkham City early), but others take their sweet, sweet time. I think I'm still waiting on Skyrim - and I've had it on my list since launch!

If they had a bigger selection, I'd gladly renew my subscription. But right now? That Redbox down the street looks mighty tempting.

100media_imag0065
December 17, 2011

I am a very satisfied Gamefly user. I have the 4 games out at a time plan, and I always...and I mean always, get shipped the game I want. Whenever a new title is released, I never have to worry about whether or not Gamefly will send it to me right away. They always do. They didn't when I was a 2 game out at a time member, but ever since I became a 4 games out at a time member I have been treated like royalty haha!

I love it. It saves a ton of cash. I still buy games new when I want to support a developer. For everything else, like Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, etc, I just use Gamefly.

Scott_pilgrim_avatar
December 19, 2011

I've been considering getting the trial for my Christmas break, but I don't think I'd keep it long term--I have so little time to play during the school year that I rarely play the games I buy. My main question would be how extensive is their catalogue? Can I get Pikmin 2 for GameCube? Metroid Fusion for GBA? That would be a real selling point for me.

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