For more details on the service -- which Blockbuster is currently testing in Cleveland, Ohio "with plans to expand this nationwide before the end of the year" -- check out the company's FAQ page.
For more details on the service -- which Blockbuster is currently testing in Cleveland, Ohio "with plans to expand this nationwide before the end of the year" -- check out the company's FAQ page.
Reader Comments (59)
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:03PM matthugh said
That is terrible, no wonder my grand kids will be asking what a Blockbuster was...
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:04PM FraGNeM said
Why's this horrible?
My Blockbuster plan (1 DVD Unlimited + in-store swaps) is $10.99 + $8 for game rentals, coming to $19.
Getting the similar offering from Netflix would be $10.99 for 1 DVD, Unlimited rentals + Blu-Ray, and the cheapest Gamefly subscription of $16, would be $27 a month.
I'll take $19 over $27 for unlimited, 1 at a time, movie or game rentals, over $27 for movie & game rentals from Netflix/Gamefly.
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My Blockbuster plan (1 DVD Unlimited + in-store swaps) is $10.99 + $8 for game rentals, coming to $19.
Getting the similar offering from Netflix would be $10.99 for 1 DVD, Unlimited rentals + Blu-Ray, and the cheapest Gamefly subscription of $16, would be $27 a month.
I'll take $19 over $27 for unlimited, 1 at a time, movie or game rentals, over $27 for movie & game rentals from Netflix/Gamefly.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:35PM Chibi Chaingun said
Because it's just simply $8 to rent a game. I don't see a lot of incentive to do that when you can just rent one a a local Blockbuster store on your way home and get it immediately.
Netflix plan $10.99 + $8 game rental on a whim at Blockbuster brick and mortar is still $19 and I'd rather have Netflix's huge library of streaming service. Plus it doesn't use up your one disc for the month like BB's plan does.
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Netflix plan $10.99 + $8 game rental on a whim at Blockbuster brick and mortar is still $19 and I'd rather have Netflix's huge library of streaming service. Plus it doesn't use up your one disc for the month like BB's plan does.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 7:52PM TreyIM2 said
Uhh, u don't know what you're talking about and I seen another one of your silly posts. This is a GREAT deal. Now, I'm not sure of the cost of the in-store rentals, anymore, but I think they are $7.99 or $8.99 JUST FOR ONE GAME RENTAL. If I rent a game, which is rarely, now-a-days, I get them for $4.99 or $5.99 with my online movie rental trade in at the store. I forget that cost but, stil, that JUST FOR ONE GAME RENTAL. PLUS they WON'T charge u $7.99 for a month where u DON'T rent a game under this new program sounds like a GREAT deal.
Stop posting stupidity and ignorance because you obviously don't know how Blockbuster's rental system works. U make yourself look like a hating idiot. Ok?
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Stop posting stupidity and ignorance because you obviously don't know how Blockbuster's rental system works. U make yourself look like a hating idiot. Ok?
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 8:46PM Morisato13 said
I was paying about $25 a month for 1 out at a time dvd, brd, or game at the B&M @ BB.
The good thing about B&M is that you can go in multiple times per day, but I felt silly showing up every couple of hours when I had a free day to do whatever I wanted.
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The good thing about B&M is that you can go in multiple times per day, but I felt silly showing up every couple of hours when I had a free day to do whatever I wanted.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 9:10PM JamesHks said
has anyone ever tried blockbusters gamepass? cause what I've done a few times is let my games backlog for a while during school etc. Then when I get a break, get a gamepass for like $30. I'd go everyday and grab a new game (and its local so id literally try any game that caught my eye), take it home, play it till i'm bored, or if i like it play it a few days, then when i'm done, walk to the end of the street to my local bb. rinse repeat.
I'd get through like 15 or so games in a month for 30 bucks, and I didn't have to wait for the mail.
I know not everyones got a blockbuster down the street, but really talk about bang for your buck.
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I'd get through like 15 or so games in a month for 30 bucks, and I didn't have to wait for the mail.
I know not everyones got a blockbuster down the street, but really talk about bang for your buck.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 11:33PM Klitorisaurus said
I have 2 at a time unlimited at my B&M BB and I love it!! Waiting for discs sucks. The only downside to the B&M is that sometimes the game selection sucks and you've gotta get popular titles the day they drop or you're s.o.l. I'm currently playing Just Cause 2 and I plan to keep it for a couple weeks... sucks for everyone else though because my store only ordered 1 PS3 copy! The monkey is that's in charge of in-store game stock needs to be fired. Triple A titles get one copy, utter garbage gets half a dozen... Do they even pay attention to the industry?
Overall though, I'm pretty happy with the plan.
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Overall though, I'm pretty happy with the plan.
Posted: Apr 12th 2010 3:20PM VaultBoy said
8 bucks isn't bad considering it is almost ten to rent a game now. Secondly you get to flip it whenever you want save for a day or so turn around. They might even do store tie-ins like they do with their online movie pass. It is a good deal for me because there are a lot of sleepers and even better known titles that either don't make it into the store, or have so few copies that you can never get one. This will take care of that problem. 8 bucks a month beats ten bucks a pop any day.
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Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:05PM TSTLSOOM said
If they really want this to work, they should just add a service that lets you rent the games seperate like Gamefly. I'd even prefer the Blockbuster one since you can return games and pick them up in store, meaning you can get all of the day one goodies in the rental box!!
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:05PM adv2k169 said
I wonder if you can keep the game you rented if Blockbuster goes bankrupt
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:59PM AutobotIronhide said
Short story: I rented GTA 3, VC, SA, Halo 1 & 2, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, and Metroid Prime before a local Hollywood Video store went under. Best day ever.
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Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:44PM SoCoolCurt said
my local Hollywood Video closed and they had a sign on the door saying to take all rentals to the Movie Gallery in the next town. i think they sold all the games in the GameCrazy like a month before the Hollywood Video closed anyway so you really lucked out.
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Posted: Apr 14th 2010 4:57PM AutobotIronhide said
Nah, I got those like 2 years ago. Besides, I just predicted that they would go under. They didn't call my number for those games anyway. We don't have movie gallery.
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Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:06PM RustyJack said
I'm still sticking with GameFly
Posted: Apr 12th 2010 2:22AM NinjaJesus said
Yeah, I may have to wait until the day after a game comes out to get it in my mailbox but so far it's been worth it. I haven't missed a new game yet.
They're shipping Conviction tomorrow morning. Can't wait.
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They're shipping Conviction tomorrow morning. Can't wait.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:12PM Dr Blight said
It's comparable to GameFly, plus there's the option of in store trades and movies.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:52PM aristokrat said
Yeah, I had Blockbuster total access (which allowed me 1 free game rental a month too) until all 3 local stores closed down, at which point I romptly cancelled my subscription. This is too little, too late from Blockbuster.
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Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:14PM Otimus said
If I can't do this without having to use their movie service, forget it.
I have netflix, and Blockbuster is no netflix.
I have netflix, and Blockbuster is no netflix.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:15PM Puertoricarious said
so i'm effectively paying them 8 extra dollars to substitute one of my movies with a game?
and this is done per billing period, so if i decide to rent a game the right before the billing period ends, i'll have been charged the 8 dollars to get the game for just a day or two?
blockbuster, please tell me: if a palm meets a forehead in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
and this is done per billing period, so if i decide to rent a game the right before the billing period ends, i'll have been charged the 8 dollars to get the game for just a day or two?
blockbuster, please tell me: if a palm meets a forehead in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:30PM Abalistar said
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain Gamefly would charge you full price whether you rented anything or not. I mean, what do you expect them to do? "Oh, well, you got a game this billing period, but since it's only a day, we'll let it slide through to next month." Then you'd have people who wouldn't grab any other game that month and complain that they got billed for a game they took out the month before.
If you're only renting out one game in a month, it is not Blockbuster's fault that you aren't using your account to the fullest. Not to mention if you're stupid enough to make ONE video game rental the DAY BEFORE the end of your billing month, you deserve it.
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If you're only renting out one game in a month, it is not Blockbuster's fault that you aren't using your account to the fullest. Not to mention if you're stupid enough to make ONE video game rental the DAY BEFORE the end of your billing month, you deserve it.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:52PM Puertoricarious said
except that this service isn't like gamefly. unlike gamefly, this blockbuster video game service is a PER USE fee that's included at the time of billing, whereas the entirety of the gamefly service is a flat fee per month. if you don't rent a video game from blockbuster, you don't pay the 8 bucks.
and whereas you see a customer being stupid, i see a service being inflexible. this per month thing sets up some pretty ludicrous possibilities. imagine that you take a game out halfway through the first billing month. you keep it a bit longer than you expect and don't return it until halfway through the second billing month. you've technically only had the game for a month, but you've been billed for two. that's an incredibly inflexible, not to mention that the entire time you have a game out, you're LOSING one of your movies and still paying 8 extra dollars. anyone who thinks this is a deal comparable to gamefly is off their rocker.
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and whereas you see a customer being stupid, i see a service being inflexible. this per month thing sets up some pretty ludicrous possibilities. imagine that you take a game out halfway through the first billing month. you keep it a bit longer than you expect and don't return it until halfway through the second billing month. you've technically only had the game for a month, but you've been billed for two. that's an incredibly inflexible, not to mention that the entire time you have a game out, you're LOSING one of your movies and still paying 8 extra dollars. anyone who thinks this is a deal comparable to gamefly is off their rocker.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 9:23PM Abalistar said
From the way it's worded in the FAQ, you have unlimited rentals during the month. You aren't paying $8 per game. But if you do no video game rentals, you aren't charged that extra fee.
So it comes to roughly $17/month for 1 disc at a time for DVDs/Games/Blu-rays at Blockbuster, compared to $16/month for 1 disc at a time Gamefly rentals. That seems fairly decent to me.
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So it comes to roughly $17/month for 1 disc at a time for DVDs/Games/Blu-rays at Blockbuster, compared to $16/month for 1 disc at a time Gamefly rentals. That seems fairly decent to me.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:18PM JamesHks said
Of this I highly approve. no gamefly up here in the great white north.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:19PM ncxcstud said
Having to subscribe to their movie rental service and then the game counts as a disc out? For shame...
Though, if they expand it to just have the game service (without the movie rentals) I may be tempted if it is faster than Gamefly (which is and was incredibly slow when I've used it earlier this year...), then I may be tempted.
Though, if they expand it to just have the game service (without the movie rentals) I may be tempted if it is faster than Gamefly (which is and was incredibly slow when I've used it earlier this year...), then I may be tempted.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:48PM NeoHumpty said
I'm with you. I've tried Gamefly twice and the shipping speeds are completely unacceptable. But, I have no need for movie rentals. I'll have to do some figuring up when it goes nationwide. It may be worth it if I only plan to use the game rentals. Returning to the store is very handy to shave a few days off of trade-in time.
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Posted: Apr 11th 2010 9:56PM arkweld said
This could have been great but losing a disc place is just idiotic.
If you want to rent a game and movie per month you have to subscribe to the 2-disc movie plan even if you never plan to watch two movies at a time.
On top of having to upgrade your plan to enable two discs, you then have to pay for the game rental.
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If you want to rent a game and movie per month you have to subscribe to the 2-disc movie plan even if you never plan to watch two movies at a time.
On top of having to upgrade your plan to enable two discs, you then have to pay for the game rental.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:23PM Abalistar said
Not horrible. Comparable to Gamefly, but I think they could have really stuck it to both Gamefly and Netflix if they offered the service seperately and offered a discount if you got both bundled.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:43PM (Unverified) said
This actually sounds like a good idea. Why all the blockbuster haters? You get to rent a new game at half the monthly cost of gamefly. If your plan includes a few dvd's at one time, you can have a game and continue to get movies. Plus, if life gets busy one month and you don't want to rent a game and instead just an occasional weekly movie they won't charge you the $8 for game rentals. And to respond to david, if a hand meets a forehead in the forest, unless that person is deaf or totally stupid then yeah they (aka someone) would fuc** hear it.
I currently use netflix, and with Hollywood video closing a local store by my house, I might consider using Blockbuster to rent games and movies if they make this available to everyone. Also, didn't know it until I checked BB's rental rates, but they include blue ray rentals at no additional charge? That's actually pretty cool
I currently use netflix, and with Hollywood video closing a local store by my house, I might consider using Blockbuster to rent games and movies if they make this available to everyone. Also, didn't know it until I checked BB's rental rates, but they include blue ray rentals at no additional charge? That's actually pretty cool
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:58PM FraGNeM said
Yes, Blu-Ray at no additional charge.
I don't get the Blockbuster hate, either. I have their Unlimited, 1-at-a-time rental currently, and it works just as well as Netflix.
It doesn't have Instant Streaming, but I can return movies to the store whenever I want, and I still get a free rental for anything in-store (game or movie) once a month.
Adding $8 to my current rental plan is quite a better deal than paying for the cheapest Gamefly rental service of $16 a month.
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I don't get the Blockbuster hate, either. I have their Unlimited, 1-at-a-time rental currently, and it works just as well as Netflix.
It doesn't have Instant Streaming, but I can return movies to the store whenever I want, and I still get a free rental for anything in-store (game or movie) once a month.
Adding $8 to my current rental plan is quite a better deal than paying for the cheapest Gamefly rental service of $16 a month.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 5:47PM Temidien said
I'll stick with Gamefly's G-Boxes. $2 per night rentals, free rentals every few weeks, and a two minute walk from my office. I only rent to try before I buy anyway.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:13PM Mr Khan said
Could be a good turnaround program. I'm not sure that Gamefly quite has the overwhelming mindshare that Netflix has, so it might be more possible to co-opt some of gamefly's business than it would be in Netflix's case.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:29PM TraceurRyuk Prepping for LBP2 said
I live near Cleveland. Have to give this a try.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:31PM def PD said
I'm all for this pricing structure, but I stopped going to Blockbuster once they started changing their services and fees every other month.
It was awesome being able to get movies in the mail, then return them to the B&M stores and rent in-store movies while waiting for your new movies to come in.
Then they changed it where they limited it. Then they changed their pricing. Then they altered the number of days you can keep the movies out without being penalized. Then they changed their pricing tiers based on the number of days you wanted to keep the movie for.
I really would like to see them get their act together, but they're behind the curve when it comes to their streaming service, their lead times for movies by mail pales in comparison to Netflix, and I don't think I've heard or seen a single good thing with their kiosk attempt (a la Redbox).
It was awesome being able to get movies in the mail, then return them to the B&M stores and rent in-store movies while waiting for your new movies to come in.
Then they changed it where they limited it. Then they changed their pricing. Then they altered the number of days you can keep the movies out without being penalized. Then they changed their pricing tiers based on the number of days you wanted to keep the movie for.
I really would like to see them get their act together, but they're behind the curve when it comes to their streaming service, their lead times for movies by mail pales in comparison to Netflix, and I don't think I've heard or seen a single good thing with their kiosk attempt (a la Redbox).
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:33PM Ohhlaawd said
Unfortunately, I wont be giving this a try because I cannot stand the idea of giving up my streaming Netflix service on my XBOX.
It's a great idea that they should've implemented before everyone fell in love with Netflix :-/
It's a great idea that they should've implemented before everyone fell in love with Netflix :-/
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:39PM matthugh said
I spend 8.99 on netflix for unlimited streaming and for DVDs and games... B.buster blows
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 7:10PM chuckrich81 said
You get games from Netflix? How'd you manage that?
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Posted: Apr 11th 2010 7:51PM Puertoricarious said
it's a bonus of being a ninja turtle. he gets pizza delivered by netflix too.
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Posted: Apr 11th 2010 6:44PM (Unverified) said
An option to rent games independently from movies would be great, although I'm sure they'd never offer one. Netflix has been good to me and I have no reason to stray. However, Gamefly's spotty service has me wondering why I even bother a lot of the time (there's no excuse for them to sit on a "high availability" title for up to 3 days when I'm already half-way across the country).
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 7:17PM matthugh said
Its actually "Canflix"...the Canadian equivalent. We like to pretend we're as cool as America
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 7:22PM Drago Dracini said
Blockbuster is NOT bankrupt! Though I will say it is close.
Posted: Apr 12th 2010 12:46AM kmcroc said
they have had thier time in the spotlight,now it's time they just close up shop & let the new boy on the block have thiers.besides blockbuster has always been a joke & a ripoff chain.
Posted: Apr 11th 2010 9:23PM lowlife121 said
As a current employee working for one the stores that is closing, I can say that Blockbuster is trying their hardest to fight for survival. Blockbuster won't be going anywhere soon - there are still a healthy amount of stores actually making money - it's just a matter of weeding out the underperforming stores.
Don't count them out, along with this online game service, they're introducing at select stores the ability to rent games that aren't in the store. If they're available at the nearest distribution center, you can order it in the store and have it mailed to you. And they re-introduced late fees, something that might actually bring in revenue.
And on top of that, Blockbuster is getting most studio releases 28 in advance of Netflix and Redbox. That's a huge deal, most studios do not want to see BB fail. They may be late to the game, but they're still fighting!
Don't count them out, along with this online game service, they're introducing at select stores the ability to rent games that aren't in the store. If they're available at the nearest distribution center, you can order it in the store and have it mailed to you. And they re-introduced late fees, something that might actually bring in revenue.
And on top of that, Blockbuster is getting most studio releases 28 in advance of Netflix and Redbox. That's a huge deal, most studios do not want to see BB fail. They may be late to the game, but they're still fighting!
Posted: Apr 12th 2010 1:43AM xJimmeh said
Every two years or so, yep it's getting old
Btw, this gaming mail thing, It's really cool. Joystiq's alittle late as they've been offering this for the past few months now. Or maybe it was employee exclusive, I dunno.
Btw, this gaming mail thing, It's really cool. Joystiq's alittle late as they've been offering this for the past few months now. Or maybe it was employee exclusive, I dunno.
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