News Release


SPECIAL REPORT: VIDEO GAME RENTALS
NewsProNet spoke with TopTenReviews CEO Jerry Ropelato about the Video Game Rental industry.


Q. Briefly, what is your area of expertise?
A. Almost 30 years experience in the software and gaming industry.  My first games were “Space Invaders” and Pong.  At TopTenReviews, our reviewers conducted in-depth reviews of all of the online video game rental websites.


Q. What makes it worth it to subscribe to an online video game rental site versus buying videogames? 
A. There are a number of reasons:

• You can easily try out a video game to see if you like it without having to pay full price if you purchase it.
• If you like a variety of games, rentals make sense.
• It is extremely easy to build your rental queue so that you always have new games arriving without having to pay the full purchase price.

Q. What should you look for in an online video game rental site? 
A.

• Feature Set – Two-way Free Shipping,  No Late Fees, Maturity/Age Ratings,

• Available Plans – The selection of plans and costs must be good.
• Game Selection – Good selection of platform, genre, age groups, and sheer number of games.
• Game Arrival Time – 1-2 days nothing more
• Search Capabilities – Can you easily find your games and easily build your rental queue?

Q. Which sites are the best? Why? 
A. There are some good sites to choose from such as GameFly, Gamerang, and GPlay.  But, after conducting our reviews our preference is GameLender.com.  They have the largest selection of games by platform with over 7,000 games.  They have a 1-day delivery time, and free 2-way shipping.


Q. Please elaborate on the range of online video game rental selections in various services.
A. Most online rental services offer the mainstream console videos, such as Xbox, Playstation 2, and GameCube.  Many of them don’t offer Playstation, GameBoy Advanced, Sony PSP, and PC Games.


Q. Please tell me more about the ease of use of online video game rental web sites? 
A. Basically, there are 4 steps:

1)  Signup for the service

2)  Place your Video Games in a queue, in other words, which one do you want first, second, third, etc.

3)  Receive your Video Game or games in the mail (Depending on the plan, this may be 1, 2, or 3 games at a time)

4)  Play your games, when you are done return them in return package (Free)


Q. How important is game arrival time when choosing an online video game rental service? What is ideal? 
A. Compare this to renting an online video: you can watch 2 or 3 videos in a single evening, so arrival times are extremely important.  With some gamers they may spend days or weeks playing and mastering the same game.  Arrival times are important, but it is probably more dependent on the gamer’s gaming habits with new games.  Most will arrive in 1 or 2 days.

 
Q. What about parental control features in online video game rentals? Are they available? 
A. 92% of parents surveyed say they monitor the types of games their children are playing.  Most online rental sites use the standard ESRB Rating System (Entertainment Software Rating Board).  This is similar to the movie rating systems. On some of the online rental sites, you can identify the content of each game and specify which rating you and/or your family members are authorized to rent.  The parental controls issue has become a hotbed ever since the Grand Theft Auto recall for explicit content.


Q. What should someone look for in online rental available plans?
A. Make sure there are enough options to meet your needs and budget – Are you the occasional gamer, the weekend warrior, or do you have an entire family of gamers?


Q. How do gamers "save" their games and build on their gaming expertise when they rent? 
A. Depending on the platform, you can still do this.  The real issue is whether you rent the game long enough to build up your expertise.


Q. How new is the online videogame rental trend?
A. For the most part, it is still in it’s infancy.  There have been a half dozen websites over the last 2-3 years supplying online rentals.  With the popularity of online video renting at NetFlix and Blockbuster, this should see some similar growth, especially as some of the larger players move into this space.  


Q. How hot is this trend? 
A. Before we talk about the online rental trend, let’s talk about the industry as a whole. Worldwide, Video Gaming is a $28 Billion industry and is expected to grow to $55 Billion by 2008.  108 Million Americans currently play some form of Video Games.  41% of the most frequent game players say they are playing more now than three years ago.  With online renting opening up additional video game delivery options, this should be the start of the trend. 


Q. What's the range in price for video games?
A. Ranges for Video games are in the $30-50 range with most new releases coming out at $49.99.


Q. What do you expect the price of video games to do in the future? 
A. Typically, most video game platform product cycles have a 4-5 year lifecycle.  2005 and 2006 are expected to be the transition years as Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are expected to deliver their next generation systems.  Pricing may drop in the short term due to the technology changes but long-term pricing will probably remain very similar to what it is today.  Something to consider; as more video game platforms (such as mobile gaming) are developed and more options for delivery methods are created and more mass merchants gain entry you may see pricing decline over time, similar to the Video Industry.


Q. What's the range in price for monthly video game subscriptions?
A. It varies depending on the plan.  Most plans range between $14.00 per month for 1 rental at a time up to $35.00 per month for 5 rentals at a time.


Q. Are there any dollar figures on online video game rentals yet?
A. None that I am aware of.  Even Blockbuster doesn’t segment their online vs brick and mortar sales in their public financial records - SEC filings.


Q. Are there any dollar figures on videogame rentals in brick and
 mortar stores?
A. $700 Million in United States in 2004
Blockbuster had Video Game Rental Revenue of $109 Million 2^nd Quarter, 2005


Q. Do you have any stats on how often or how long a single purchased title is played before a gamer tires of it? 
A. I am not aware of any statistics, but I have seen some people tire of a game after an hour. Others playing RPG games such as World of Warcraft or Dark Age of Camelot can go on for months playing 6 hours every day.


Q. Any stats on who rents versus buys video games?
A. In a recent survey of gamers, 50% of the respondents rent online with the average gamer renting 11 games per month. 


Q. Is online rental the wave of the future? 
A. Just as you have seen in the Movie business, I don’t believe online rentals will do away with brick and mortar rentals, but it will significantly impact them.


Q. Anything else you'd like to add?
A. The average age of game players is 30 years old and they have been playing for 10 years. 75% of head of households play games.  With video games and video gamers becoming commonplace, I believe you will see customers exploring more usage options such as online video game rentals.