GetGamer News
12-18-2004, 09:48 PM
Gamasutra gives us a thoughtful, but flawed,* take on the game rental business. They argue that the rental
business is hurting the game industry. It seems the writer is saying that the revenue enjoyed by the renters is, in
essence, lost dough for the developer. I, for one, use rentals to test out a game. I’ve bought quite a few titles
because the rental impressed me. I doubt I would have bought any of them otherwise. Am I in the minority? Maybe. But
until there are solid data to back what the piece is arguing, I believe game rentals are the great incentive to
try-then-buy. What’s the other option? Unfortunately, for many, the alternative to renting is to just bittorrent the
whole game — which translates into no revenue for anyone.
Registration is required for Gamasutra.
http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000920023899/
business is hurting the game industry. It seems the writer is saying that the revenue enjoyed by the renters is, in
essence, lost dough for the developer. I, for one, use rentals to test out a game. I’ve bought quite a few titles
because the rental impressed me. I doubt I would have bought any of them otherwise. Am I in the minority? Maybe. But
until there are solid data to back what the piece is arguing, I believe game rentals are the great incentive to
try-then-buy. What’s the other option? Unfortunately, for many, the alternative to renting is to just bittorrent the
whole game — which translates into no revenue for anyone.
Registration is required for Gamasutra.
http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000920023899/