What do companies need to do legally to rent games?

[Anthony1]

Blockbuster rents video games. Hollywood Video rents video games. GameFly rents video games. Mom and pop rental stores rent video games.


But my question is, do any of these businesses have to do anything in particular to be able to rent games?

Or could anybody rent a game?

Do you have to pay any kind of royalties or anything to the video game companies?


What about renting the actual game systems? Do you have to do anything special to be able to rent a video game system?


Or does one just need to pay for a game or a system, and then they are perfectly within their right to rent that game or system how they choose?

Are there any laws or govermental requirements in regards to renting games or systems?

Any licensing agreements or anything?


Any insight into this would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

[qbertandernie]

i would expect its like renting a car or anything else...you pay for it, its yours to rent as desired. there are exceptions im sure, but i think videos work in that the rental store has to pay a lot more per video to get the movie before eveyone else can. you own the video, it just costs more. games arent the same. there are no early releases; they are just released to the public and rental stores preorder them.

[rbudrick]

The hardest part of renting something out is affording the building to do it from. Companies like Blockbuster have almost completely annihilated the mom and pop video scene. The only surviving mom and pop in my area had to evolve into a music store/rental store to survive...it was a smart move and they adapted quite well.

So, rent and competition will kill you.

-Rob

[thehistorian]

Anthony is this for that project you mentioned awhile back?

If you are not letting the games leave the building then you are renting the space to play.. not the games themselves...

[Anexanhume]

There's a mom and pop in my town that actually ran another mom and pop in the same town out of business, and it's too small for a blockbuster, so they are pretty comfortable.

[Oobgarm]

Is renting video game still that big? I wouldn't know since I haven't paid to rent a game since the SNES days.

[yoursisterspretty]

Didn't Nintendo throw a big fit about renting games during the NES era? I know its illegal to copy the instruction booklets to give out with the rentals though.

[ddockery]

i would expect its like renting a car or anything else...you pay for it, its yours to rent as desired. there are exceptions im sure, but i think videos work in that the rental store has to pay a lot more per video to get the movie before eveyone else can. you own the video, it just costs more. games arent the same. there are no early releases; they are just released to the public and rental stores preorder them.

Actually, video stores getting movies early went out the door with VHS except for a few exceptions. Now video stores get new releases to rent the same day as retailers sell them. Compare Blockbuster's list with Best Buy's circular sometime. With DVDs, movie studios are making a lot more cash from selling through to the consumer rather than charging more for rental retailers.

[leonk]

I think rental is a dying business.

Look at blockbuster. Their revenues are way down. They just instituted a new "no late fees" plan, where after 5 days, you own the DVD and your credit card is charged the full amount.

I think they make more money now selling DVDs than renting.

[TheRedEye]

I think rental is a dying business.

Look at blockbuster. Their revenues are way down. They just instituted a new "no late fees" plan, where after 5 days, you own the DVD and your credit card is charged the full amount.

I think they make more money now selling DVDs than renting.

I have a night job at Hollywood Video these days. If we're not making money, I'd hate to see what making money actually looks like.

[s1lence]

Netflix and Gamefly are making a killing as well. Blockbusters profits are down because of companies like netflix.

[Kilik Kurosawa]

I work for Movie Gallery and we get movies and games the friday before release day. Also depending on the game or movie the price can be close to retail ie $17. or way above some as high as $40 or as low as $.25! I remember when true crime came out our store got 6 copies from Jack of All Trades a distributor, and they were like $2.50 each. I have no idea how they got the prices or how coporate negotiates with the game industry though.

[Wavelflack]

I do wonder about this, as I noticed that my Xbox games have a legalese warning on the back (right under the "features" checkboxes) that says not for illegal rental, among other things. I wonder how they define "legal" and "illegal" rentals?

Look for yourself. See what you think.

[qbertandernie]

legal rental: movie

illegal rental: ex teen-movie star

[Anthony1]

So nobody actually knows the legalities behind renting video games or systems?

[kevincure]

There are no legal restrictions in the US on renting games. No licensing fees. No problems renting systems either. As someone mentioned, you can't copy the instruction manual, but I don't think Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft would even care these days if you did; they make stacks of cash off rented games.

[SoulBlazer]

I know something about this.

My mom managed a video store when I was a kid. Around 1988, she decided it would be a good idea to start renting NES games. I helped her out with research and deciding what games to buy for the store.

What was great was that I got to play brand new games for nothing when they came out, could ask for any game they had there for the night, and also helped her to clean the games.

Anyway......the reason she decided it would be okay to do this was that Blockbuster had just settled a court case with Nintendo over game rentals. I believe they were the first NATIONAL chain to start renting NES games. (I am aware that some mom and pop video stores did rent Atari games in the pre crash days).

The court ruled that Blockbuster WAS allowed to rent the games. It was a later decision where it was handed down that manuals could not be photocopied. You either had to include the real thing (which no one, my Mom included, wanted to do) or find something else.

What my Mom ended up doing was ordering these 'one page insturctions' from a company along with special Nintendo cases. The game was inside the case, and glued to the inside of the box was the label, which summerized the instructions -- what the goal was, the controls, what the items did, even hints and tips with the game.

I still rent now and then and many stores STILL will not include the instructions with the game. I have'nt seen any photocopies in a long time, though.