One of the biggest drawbacks of any gaming system is the associated costs of games, accessories, online gaming and other add-ons to the Xbox, Wii, PlayStation and more. It is even more challenging to determine if you should put down the full $50 for a game you may or may not like. Trying out the game for just $2 may be just a little more appealing.
This TechNews piece helped to announce that Redbox is rolling out video game rentals to all of its more than 25,000 red rental kiosks located throughout the nation. And, that moral dilemma surrounding the $50 investment will be easily averted.
Redbox has built a strong reputation by completely avoiding the traditional rental store model with rack after rack of release. Instead, Redbox offers a one-stop-shop for selection, payment, pickup and return, all in one box. The concept has rapidly caught on with consumers everywhere, especially given the extremely low price.
The bright red stands are typically found outside of large retailers, pharmacies and even McDonald’s restaurants. Before taking the game rental concept nationwide, Redbox ran a trial at 5,000 kiosks. The success of this test run demonstrated that there is enough demand and the concept is successful enough to warrant spreading this offering to all other kiosks.
Visit the Redbox website and you’ll find the nearest location. You can even use this portal to make your selection, pay for the rental and when you have the time – go and pick it up. And, this isn’t your typical second-run of games that underperform in the market or no one else wants. Redbox is offering the latest, with plenty of new games, such as Duke Nukem Forever, Hunted and SOCOM4.
The only downside, of course, is much like the Redbox kiosks themselves. Just because a game is listed in its inventory doesn’t mean it will be available when you show up to try to rent it. And, if you’re like most gamers, you aren’t necessarily planning ahead of time – you want the game when you show up to rent it. Given the significant price difference to give the game a test run, this little inconvenience might be well worth it.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TechZone360 and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by
Tammy Wolf