Is GameFly Really Worth It?

I tend to have GameFly games out for a while.  I wondered to myself - is this really worth it?  If I just bought used games, would I not only spend about the same amount of money but also get to keep the games?

Turns out GameFly lets you look at your rental history.  So I did.  Turns out, for games I actually finish, I tend to have them out 4-5 weeks.  So that's a cost of $16-$20 or so in Gamefly time.  These are games that are still fairly recent releases, that I could buy for around $35.  

Factor in that some games I discover I hate and return immediately, and the savings goes up considerably.

And although sometimes I like to have the games for my collection, the truth is I almost never, never, ever go back and play those games again.  So there is just about zero value to me to keep the games.  

So.  Yes.  GameFly really is worth it.  And no, they didn't pay me to write this.

Comments

[Ciaran]

Gamefly was worth it to run through a bunch of old games that I felt I ought to have played, just to get an idea of what they were about when people talk about them. But they never have enough stock to send you anything particularly recent so it's use for evaluating new games was limited. Once I got to about 6 games at the top of my queue that had been there for months I quit - I figured I'd be better served buying a new game every two months or a $30-ish one every month.

[Tinysubversions]

I always wonder how Gamefly works out in terms of revenue to developers. I know that when a video store purchases a movie to keep in stock, they pay a special renter's price -- something like five times the amount that the DVD itself would cost a consumer. Wondering if GameFly has some similar license.

[Account Deleted]

I've amassed a few different consoles, and Gamefly made it really easy to choose which game came next. I made sure to have one game for my Xbox 360 and one for my Nintendo Wii at all times.
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[TooMad]

Gaming the system, pun intended, lets you get new games at used prices. When a new game comes out have an empty spot in your queue before the ship date and then just select 'keep it' as soon as you get the game. I also tend to buy a lot more used games now than new and use the same feature to get used games at competitive prices.

[Killa K]

Gamefly is definitely not worth it. At least if you have a PS3. All the new titles are booked waay before their released and the availability is low to none. You also failed to mention that those used games you bought for around $30 can also be resold out when you're done for say $20 thus making it only $10 for the game. Also with how long it takes to send and receive the games in the mail, you're not going to be playing a game a week. Like really how many people sit in the house and play games all day all week. Get out and get some fresh air.