Topic: Do rental games make revenue for the developers?

[Plugabugz]

I ask this coz GP is threatening to make Kairon cry if people go and rent Madworld instead of buying it.
Some games naturally justify their rental status -  I remember i spent £35 on a crash bandicoot game on the gamecube not realising it wasnt made by naughty dog anymore (i just saw the name and expected the same quality to it), and then completed it in two stints of 3 hours.

I know in the movie industry publishers and studios make money from rents, but don't game developers and publshers do? What makes it so bad to rent it?
Even though i predict that blockbuster will be soon killed off coz of the recession.... I don't see what the hubbub is about.

[BranDonk Kong]

I don't think they get paid on a per rental basis, but I believe Blockbuster has to pay much more for the game than other stores.

[Pale]

On the same line of thought, I often wonder what would happen if you opened up a shop of some sort and made video game systems with full games available to the customers.

I have a feeling the publishers wouldn't like this. I wonder if you could pay the same inflated price the rental place pays for games and then they would be ok with it.

[Dasmos]

I can hire console from my local video stores. It costs like $25 for a week plus whatever games you want, but they're there.

[ShyGuy]

The amount of bad typos in this thread is staggering.

How many copies of a game does Blockbuster buy? I imagine if Renegade kid could sell Moon to Blockbuster they would double their sales.

[Flames_of_chaos]

As a former blockbuster employee they allot a different amount of copies to each store depending on rental and sales trends(or as they say) if the game is popular they will put about 4 - 10 copies if its a regular game 1 - 3 if it's niche your lucky if your store has it, also it depends if the store is corporate owned or if it's a franchise store.

[KDR_11k]

On the same line of thought, I often wonder what would happen if you opened up a shop of some sort and made video game systems with full games available to the customers.

I have a feeling the publishers wouldn't like this. I wonder if you could pay the same inflated price the rental place pays for games and then they would be ok with it.

Public performance is one of the rights reserved by copyright and doing one without the permission of the rightsholder or at least a good case for fair use is copyright infringement and opens you to the usual lawsuits.

[ShyGuy]

Couldn't you get around this by making it a private club with an entry fee?

[KDR_11k]

That's what student cinemas here do AFAIK but I'm not sure how far you can take that.

[Pale]

I wonder what it would take to get the publishers on board with the idea though. Would you just get a flat "No" or could something be worked out...

Hrmm...

[ShyGuy]

Wait, didn't Capcom have a SF4 event at some place in San Francisco where the guy makes his own arcade cabinets out of consoles?

[Morari]

If you want to play a game without giving your money to the developers then you really need to stop pussyfooting around about it and just pirate the damn thing already!

[ThePerm]

yeah at hollywood video you were always able to check out a system, but you had to put up a deposit equal to the cost...so of course why rent?

[TJ Spyke]

If you want to play a game without giving your money to the developers then you really need to stop pussyfooting around about it and just pirate the damn thing already!

Yeah, nevermind somebody wanting to pay about $8 to play a game they don't know if they will like rather than $50-$60 for a game that if they don't like they will be stuck with unless they want to try and sell it online or trade it in for half of what they paid. Or the person who thinks they would like the game but think the game is too short to pay full price for.

[BranDonk Kong]

There used to be a couple places like Pale is describing around my town. They were called Mr. Arcade, where they charged $5 a day and you could play all you wanted. They started off with all arcade machines (set to free play), then added consoles (inside arcade cabinets, with modded controllers). They all shut down due to arcades being completely dead in this country, but not for legal issues. It's not copyright infringement by any means, as you're technically not charging someone to play Mario Kart, you're charging for admission into your store, then letting people play the games and consoles that you legally own. It's just like an internet cafe, only with less acne.

[KDR_11k]

Internet cafes are a special case in the Steam EULA, for example.