GameFly opens distribution center in Austin, Texas

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 8th 2008 at 10:00PM }

GameFly has opened a new distribution center in Austin, Texas, and will begin sending out its first shipments tomorrow. Over the coming months, the new location will ramp up support for Texas and surrounding states slowly (just like other centers) while GameFly works out the kinks.

We first got word of the Austin site last summer, and a couple of months later we also got tipped off to the Tampa distribution center, which has since opened. With any luck, the opening of this fourth distribution center will cut down on the wait times for customers around the country.

Tags: gamefly

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

tim @ May 8th 2008 10:17PM

Now I can actually consider using this. Since if it will be coming from Austin and I live in Dallas, it should get here really quick :)

h0lic @ May 8th 2008 10:18PM

THERE IS A GOD AFTER ALL!

Draken Stark @ May 8th 2008 10:21PM

Where were they distributing games in the US before?
(Obviously not a subscriber.)

DemonGSides @ May 8th 2008 10:44PM

There's one in Cali, i believe, One in Pennsylvania, one in florida, and now one in Texas.

xFenixKnightx @ May 8th 2008 10:22PM

w00000t!! So my games should be here quick then eh? H-Town baby!

Brian @ May 8th 2008 10:38PM

Even though I haven't rented games since 1999, for some reason that Gamefly ad makes me laugh every time. I love the costumes, and the drab color scheme. Plus, whoever is in charge of updating the actual game covers at the end of the commercial has their shniz together. It's constantly a fresh plucking of games, and the mouse always clicks on whatever's the hottest game ATM. Someone's sleeping with someone powerful at Gamefly's Marketing company.

Zack11190 @ May 8th 2008 11:00PM

There still isn't a center in the Midwest.

Neon Jebus @ May 8th 2008 11:05PM

Somehow I still bet you could live just outside Austin and mailing the game in it will still take 8 business days to get your next title. I've been with GF for about two years now but at no point has it ever been quicker to get a title. It takes the same amount of time to get something from Penn as it did from Cali.

Oddly I have to wonder about the express return options. I have friends on Netflix which I hear has a similar option. They return stuff the same time I do, for some reason they ALWAYS seem to get confirmation of the express scan return while my GF gets that treatment about once out of every 20 returns.

The more centers the better, as the wait time for new releases is still a bit longer than I would like. As it is now a major release will take you about 7 weeks to grab hold of. That is unless you manage to check the sun dial and time a return JUST right.

No matter how ticked off I get from time to time it's still a better option than the Blockbuster down the block.

Mykalson @ May 9th 2008 12:09AM

7 weeks for a new title? Where do you live? I am in rural Kansas, and have been a very happy GameFly customer for over two years. As long as you manage your queue properly, you can easily get the new, popular titles. Just drop everything else from your queue, and only add the hard-to-get titles. Also, if you time your returns so that they will ship your next item the day of release, you'll usually get it on the first shipment.
Sure, it is a bit of a hassle, but you'll definitely get the titles you're looking for.

markhill66 @ May 8th 2008 11:07PM

I've had Gamefly for a couple months now, and I'm pretty happy with it. You get some good perks, like the opportunity to buy games at a discount, and soon they are going to start a trade-in program.

My only beef is how long the games take (compared to Netflix, which is a two-day turnaround). Hopefully this should expedite things a little.

Lars @ May 9th 2008 12:24PM

Ah, I was wondering about that. My wife has Netflix and I'm used to the fast shipping they provide. I just joined Gamefly over the weekend and still haven't gotten my first game (Friday). With Netflix I would have gotten it on Tuesday or Wednesday.

markhill66 @ May 9th 2008 5:03PM

The first game actually takes a little longer than the rest because it takes time to process the account. I called them when I didn't get my first game after about 6 days.

They do have pretty good customer service, though.

hornetscubsrule @ May 9th 2008 12:12AM

It'd still probably take forever to get up to me here in Des Moines, IA. I hate Gamefly.

Truegod @ May 9th 2008 12:33AM

They need a distribution center in the midwest. I live in Michigan and had their service a couple of years ago. Everything was great except the shipping times. I was averaging over a week for a one way trip! So getting a new game could be a three week ordeal (longer for holidays and when the post office loses your return disc). I would love to have their service again, but only when I can get a new game in under a week.

DeadPlasmaCell @ May 9th 2008 1:04AM

Awesome news, I'm in the Houston area so I'd think games would take a day or so instead of 4+ days.. Good times!!

Mr.ESC @ May 9th 2008 1:54AM

Okay I'm not as in touch with the pop culture as I used to be but what does that picture has to do with anything?

Mr.ESC @ May 9th 2008 1:56AM

Oh Shi-

What I meant is.

Is that picture related to anything? Seriously I don't know

Steve-o @ May 9th 2008 2:34AM

It's a screenshot from one of their commercials that has a guy dressed in a suit at the beginning explaining how awesome GameFly is, and periodically throughout the commercial they cut away from him and when they show him again he's dressed differently in an attempt to represent the variety of video games they offer. It's rather amusing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l8tIsINjmw

Philp Boosey @ May 9th 2008 6:06AM

i live in orlando florida and we have a center in tampa and it still takes a week one way for me to get games, i could drive their and back faster. so i wouldnt get your hopes up of faster times.

John Z @ May 9th 2008 7:31AM

I have to admit that I'm glad for this. I rejoined GF after they launched the Pittsburgh center (literally the other side of town for me) and returns are now mostly a two-day process for me. (As an example: dropped Heavenly Sword in the mailbox in front of the post office Tuesday morning, No More Heroes was waiting in my mailbox last night.) Before, it would take upwards of a week each way; to everyone who's complaining, I really do feel your pain. Part of it is stupidness on the part of USPS, so I wouldn't go blaming GF for the delays. (As another example: I dropped Okami in the box the exact same time on Tuesday morning, and got the notice that Uncharted had shipped a couple of hours after the NMH notice (Wednesday afternoon), but it's still not in my hands yet. Probably because it might be coming from a different distribution center.)

The point is, even if you have a distribution center nearby, not every center has all the games on day one. You'll sometimes get games from centers on the other side of the country, but with a closer center week-long delivery times are becoming the exception and not the rule.

tl;dr You Austin folks should be going all

Loban @ May 9th 2008 8:37AM

COME ON CHICAGO!!! We need some midwest love!! Gamefly rocks, but it could be faster.

JumpMan @ May 9th 2008 9:07AM

Gamestop sucks.

JD @ May 9th 2008 12:33PM

Yes, you are correct. What that has to do with GameFly I have no idea. But I support your opinion.

Jesse @ May 9th 2008 9:10AM

Some others have mentioned this already, but it's worth stating again. I subscribe from time to time when I get their $10 for the first month emails when I'm in Atlanta. Before the Tampa distribution center it would take a little over a week before would get my next game. When the Tampa center opened it didn't change the time it took because they were still shipping games from other centers (in fact, they defaulted me on California until the Tampa one opened).

I called them and they told me that they were doing me the favor of sending the games I wanted faster from a different center. I would have much preferred to have gotten my next game from the closer center.

As for this being the post office's fault... Gamefly is using Media Mail, which is the cheapest and slowest of all shipping options offered by the USPS. If they would pay a little more, for 1st class or even if more post offices had the Fast Shipping option, it would have cut down shipping times.

Now I don't even bother with them. I use game trading sites where it costs me a few bucks a month to mail out my games and get different ones in return, plus I can just rotate out my games instead of having to rush through a game so I can get a new one to get my money's worth renting them.

kbomb1upc @ May 9th 2008 9:28AM

I just joined Gamefly a last week and got I COD4 and GT5P the day after I joined. Yes!!! Much better than that crappy Gameznflix website. I was with them for 7 months and they only sent me like 5 games.

Misfit Toy @ May 9th 2008 9:29AM

I'm still waiting on a game sent to me last week and I live in the midwest...hopefully this will help!

Misfit Toy @ May 9th 2008 9:30AM

BTW...I love the picture. What the heck...where did that come from?

kbomb1upc @ May 9th 2008 10:30AM

That picture is taking from Gamefly's commericals

Misfit Toy @ May 9th 2008 11:21AM

Thanks. I did a search afterwards to look for the video. Funny. Check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l8tIsINjmw&feature=related

Will @ May 9th 2008 10:33AM

I live in the Southeast. Now I get my games from Tampa, but it still takes about a week for me to get games.
Most of the games I want are unavailable so I wonder if they only go by which games are available from your nearest center. I'm sure that thing will get better in the future and more distribution centers is a good thing.

Ronshatmycarl @ May 9th 2008 11:14AM

Give us one in Seattle or somewhere up here.

MrBiggsndATX @ May 9th 2008 11:38AM

ATX BABY!! i work for AT&T now, im going to see if gamefly is hiring!! now if i could only figure out why they sent me the 18th game on my queue and not dark sector.

Odog4ever @ May 9th 2008 1:38PM

@markhill66:
I've bought games from GameFly as well as traded in games. Trade in values only go towards membership fees unfotunately. It's definitely a better value than going the Gamestop route IMO.

@Lars:
The shipping for Gamefly will never (not yet) be as fast as Netflix because Netflix has shipping centers in all 50 states. Not to mention the cost ratio of dvds compared to video games. There is always going to be a wait for hot titles unless you time it just right.

I guess I don't mind waiting a couple of days for a new game to arrive because I still purchase games from retail so I'm never without something to play. The quick return scanning by my post office does help. My old post office never did it and it was a pain.

Odog4ever @ May 9th 2008 1:39PM

Hmm, reply button malfunction???

dr99 @ May 11th 2008 11:35AM

i live in Texas and joined gamefly today, because of the shipping center that is supposed to open in Austin last Friday. when i checked my account information it said that my shipping center is Los Angeles. the only reason i joined is because i didn't want to wait a week both ways for the mail to arrive from California. Have i been cheated?