At least, according to a recent post over at The Consumerist, it does. My experience has been entirely different, and I'd consider myself a loyal customer.
I've been with Gamefly for over 3 years, maybe even more than 4, playing games from them on 6 consoles, 2 handhelds, and maybe more. I've even bought a number of games from them. I think this qualifies me pretty well to give a few opinions about them, versus someone who cancelled after 2 weeks.
First off, when you subscribe, don't expect it to be JUST like NetFlix.
Costs:
Not only is the market for movies much broader, but the costs across the board are lower. Buying a DVD is cheaper than buying a game; same goes for replacement. When shipping, there's less impetus to protect the DVD, so shipping costs are lower (no cardboard outer sleeve).
Shipping Time:
Because the market for movies is that much broader, Netflix has more shipping centers and therefore can get discs there faster. Additionally, because the cost of buying DVDs is lower, you can buy more copies of a given title than you could for a game, so availability for movies is higher at Netflix. The sheer NATURE of the medium comes into play here, too. You just rented Persona 4 and There Will Be Blood. Both of those are epic as hell. One of them can take upwards of 80 hours to get through--I'll let you guess which one. So, even if both companies have 100 copies of each title, it's going to take a LOT longer for people to bring the games back.
I think people come in with the expectation that they're going to get their #1 Extra Special Plus game right away in two days. If your game of choice is in low availability, GameFly waits a couple days to see if it's going to come back in for you. If that doesn't happen, they go down the list until they find one that's in and they send you that one. So if you don't want to play Hello Kitty's Hugging Simulator, don't put it in your queue.
I've been with Gamefly for over 3 years, maybe even more than 4, playing games from them on 6 consoles, 2 handhelds, and maybe more. I've even bought a number of games from them. I think this qualifies me pretty well to give a few opinions about them, versus someone who cancelled after 2 weeks.
Boo hoo, I didn't get my game :(
First off, when you subscribe, don't expect it to be JUST like NetFlix.
Costs:
Not only is the market for movies much broader, but the costs across the board are lower. Buying a DVD is cheaper than buying a game; same goes for replacement. When shipping, there's less impetus to protect the DVD, so shipping costs are lower (no cardboard outer sleeve).
Shipping Time:
Because the market for movies is that much broader, Netflix has more shipping centers and therefore can get discs there faster. Additionally, because the cost of buying DVDs is lower, you can buy more copies of a given title than you could for a game, so availability for movies is higher at Netflix. The sheer NATURE of the medium comes into play here, too. You just rented Persona 4 and There Will Be Blood. Both of those are epic as hell. One of them can take upwards of 80 hours to get through--I'll let you guess which one. So, even if both companies have 100 copies of each title, it's going to take a LOT longer for people to bring the games back.
I think people come in with the expectation that they're going to get their #1 Extra Special Plus game right away in two days. If your game of choice is in low availability, GameFly waits a couple days to see if it's going to come back in for you. If that doesn't happen, they go down the list until they find one that's in and they send you that one. So if you don't want to play Hello Kitty's Hugging Simulator, don't put it in your queue.
Here are some good experiences I've had with GameFly. Once, I wasn't paying attention. This is 110% my fault: I sent them back one of MY games. One of my DS games - meaning I had my save data on it. I notified them and they got me back the right game, even after warning me I might not get my save data back. Major kudos on them!
Then comes the GameFly store. Their stock is in a constant state of flux, but you can get some great deals. I've picked up some absurdly cheap stuff. Pair that with the fact that they allow Google Checkout, and have free shipping? That's awesome. And then if you rent a game and want to keep it, many of the games have a "buy me" link on their page, and they'll send you the instructions and box. You can buy a used game, and then see it before you pay for it - make sure it's not scratched or in horrible condition.
So, I guess it's a matter of what expectations you come into it with. I call it "Netflix for games," but just like Fallout is "Oblivion with guns," that description is only accurate in the most basic of senses, and doesn't give a detailed picture.
Then comes the GameFly store. Their stock is in a constant state of flux, but you can get some great deals. I've picked up some absurdly cheap stuff. Pair that with the fact that they allow Google Checkout, and have free shipping? That's awesome. And then if you rent a game and want to keep it, many of the games have a "buy me" link on their page, and they'll send you the instructions and box. You can buy a used game, and then see it before you pay for it - make sure it's not scratched or in horrible condition.
So, I guess it's a matter of what expectations you come into it with. I call it "Netflix for games," but just like Fallout is "Oblivion with guns," that description is only accurate in the most basic of senses, and doesn't give a detailed picture.
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