So I waited at least 5 months after starting a GameFly account to sit down and write something about my experience with the video game rental service. As of today my account is closed. It seemed like a good deal when I started the account but honestly I did not like the service as much as I though I would when I signed up.
I use Netflix and I figured it would be similar. It is similar in service structure but not in terms of service quality or service speed. So yes, the service is structured like Netflix in that you log on to the GameFly website and add games to your “Q”. The website is very easy to use and works well. As you send the games back you get more depending on your plan or account type. The main difference is that where it takes two to three days TOPS to get a movie from Netflix it takes WEEKS to get a GameFly game. Well it took me weeks. I live on the east coast and I noticed all games were sent from California. It would take about a week to get the email saying they received a game and then it would take another week to get a game they shipped. So in my case after the initial 2 games I could only get about 2- 3 different games per month. Thats not enough in my opinion to make the service worthwhile when you figure some games you will play for a few minutes and want to send back immediately.
The games you would want to keep for weeks are most likely games you would be apt to buy anyway so those I didn’t “rent” those from the GameFly service anyway. I typically queued more average games I would never buy but wanted to just check out. Also I lost about a month after waiting 2 weeks to get a game only to realize it was “lost” in shipping and then waiting another 2 weeks get the replacement. That never happened with my Netflix account in 2 years but I guess games are more valuable and apt to theft during shipment than DVD’s are.
So in all at this time I don’t think its worth it. I would have rather just bought a 2 games with the almost $100 I spent on the three months I used. I counted and I only played about 6 games via the service in 5 months. Maybe in the future if they get a distribution center closer to my area it may be better and I may sign back up. I read that they are indeed opening more centers. For now dont sign up and expect a service as fast as Netflix or you will be disappointed.
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