The Pros and Cons of Using Gamefly

I've been a member of Gamefly since August 2009. In those two years I've been an overall satisfied customer. There have been a few hiccups here and there, but the service has been solid. A friend asked me if Gamefly was worth it? I put this list of pros and cons together to help you decide whether or not you should subscribe to Gamefly. If anybody who has a Gamefly account has anything to add feel free.

Huge Selection

Gamefly is the only place that allows me to rent Nintendo 3DS titles. $40 is a lot of money to put towards a game that I might not even like. It's not like Gamestop is going to give me a full refund on an opened 3DS game because I didn't like it. Whenever a 3DS game that interests me is released, I'm using Gamefly to play it. Gamefly also has a bunch of games that my local Blockbuster doesn't carry. Games include Catherine, Cursed Mountain, & Tony Hawk's Project 8.

Fast Shipping

It usually takes 2 days to receive a game after Gamefly sends me a confirmation email. They also ship out new games the day before they're released which means I usually have a new release the day after it hits stores.  An example I use is Uncharted 3. It was released on Tuesday November 1st. Gamefly shipped it Monday, October 31st, and I received it Wednesday, November 2nd. I have no problem waiting an extra day to play a new release. The shipping might slow down next year when the United States Postal Service slows down their next day mail service.

Game Availability 

One problem I've encountered is the availability of a new videogame after it's been released. You can almost guarantee a new release will have "Low Availability" for it's first month. I've had it take weeks to receive a confirmation email after a games been released. A game that comes to mind is Batman: Arkham Asylum. If I had been better about shipping the game I had back to Gamefly, I probably would've received one of the first copies of Arkham City they shipped out. I waited 2 weeks for an email that Gamefly shipped out Arkham City, but it never came. I gave up and put dibs on Uncharted 3. I'm current;y waiting to see how long it's going to take before Gamefly ships me a copy of Super Mario 3D Land.

Remembering to ship games back

I've ran into this problem more than a few times. I finish a video game, put it back in the packaging, and leave it in my car for over a week. Forgetting to ship a game back seems like a small problem until you miss the deadline on that new videogame you wanted to play so bad. Now you've got to wait for who knows how long until you get a confirmation email. Another word of advice would be not to ship a game back too close to the release of a new game. Best bet is to give yourself a week. The holiday rush of new games is pretty much over so I guess it's pretty much a game of waiting for a confirmation email. Remember to ship your games back when you're done.

Would I recommend Gamefly???

I absolutely recommend Gamefly if you're a Nintendo 3DS owner. That $40 price tag on videogames is expensive, and most 3DS titles at this point have not been getting great reviews. Save your money and use Gamefly. For everyone else I recommend giving Gamefly a try. They have a one month free trial where you could get a feel for how it works. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.