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Video games are becoming a staple in our society. Gamers come in droves to buy the latest AAA title and companies bank on guaranteed money-makers. The average gaming household only buys 1-3 games per year. The "next-generation" of gaming platforms is making it even more difficult by raising the average price of games $10 or more.

What's more, the average game these days lasts between 8-10 hours and offers very little in the realm of replayability. Gamers and parents are becoming ever more cautious when selecting which titles they will pay full price for, leaving many rich gaming experiences untapped. So how does a smart parent get the most out of their video game system without breaking the bank?

The answer comes in the form of video game rentals.

Traditionally, to rent games, gamers have had to go to traditional brick and mortar video rental stores such as Blockbuster and the like. These stores charge a premium for renting games versus movies (approximately $4 more for a game rental than a regular movie rental). Also, conventional stores tend have a limited selection of titles and copies available to rent and the games can only be kept for 7 days without accruing penalties.

Just as in the movie market, parents and gamers have moved from the traditional avenues of renting to online rental companies. The premier online rental company for games at this time is GameFly. GameFly offers an incredibly large selection of games with a fairly large amounts of copies per new title to ensure that gamers will be able to play all the newest games as soon as they come out. Instead of lending the games for a set period of time, GameFly charges a monthly fee based on the number of games the customer wants at a time (between 2 and 4) and allows the customer to keep the game as long as the account is open. GameFly also offers the customer a chance to buy the game at a reduced rate if they like it, and they will automatically send the next game on the rental wish list.

The convenience of a company like GameFly and the many more companies that are sure to follow will prove to be a source of great competition for traditional stores like Blockbuster. Blockbuster has begun to offer a similar online program to that of GameFly, but GameFly is using their head start in the online marketplace to win the race for now. No matter what happens though, in the end, it's the gamers that win.

Learn more about this author, Donald Kicklighter.
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