Games-n-Flix vs. Gamefly

siamesedreamer · (08-12-2007, 04:44 PM)

What are your experiences with each?

Where are their respective warehouses located?

Costanza · (08-12-2007, 05:37 PM)

Games n Flix is shit, you get what you pay for.

Gamefly has been getting increasingly better lately for me ever since they started using envelopes that weigh less/opened a new distribution center so I get my games in 2-3 days rather than 5-7.

Norse · (08-12-2007, 05:38 PM)

this has been discussed many times....from my experience, gamefly was way bettter as they actually had tons of stuff to chose from..games-n-flix has small selection and even smaller movie rental selection. Especially hd dvd and blu ray.

titiklabingapat · (08-12-2007, 05:42 PM)

There really is no other choice other than Gamefly. The gaming market is still too small to have room for more than one competent game rental company.

Campster · (08-12-2007, 05:47 PM)

I just canceled my Gameznflix account due to how shitty their service was.

Some games are just plain missing from their inventory - they have The Bigs for Wii, but not the 360 for some odd reason. They also simply don't have any record of Resident Evil 4 for the Wii. Other games, like Pokemon Battle Revolution, have been out for a while now and are actually in their databases but are simply listed as "on order."

Then there's the shipping service - it's fucking awful. They treat you okay for the first week or two, then basically drop you. I don't mind a degrade in quality after the first month or so, but I was paying for three games out a month and usually only had one at a time. When I canceled, I had Mario Party 8 rented and three games in my queue - The Darkness, Pokemon Battle Revolution, and The Bigs for the Wii. Pokemon was still "on order" and despite The Darkness and The Bigs having high availability ratings according to their site I didn't get either shipped to me despite being at the top of my queue since their release.

Awful, awful, awful company. I can't vouch for GameFly, but I can say avoid Gameznflix like the plague.

cool_dude_2049 · (08-12-2007, 06:34 PM)

Speaking of gamefly, i know they have this reward thing for referring a few friends; I think you get a wii or something. I plan on registering for it today, so if anyone wants to refer me so they can be on their way on getting [another] Wii, PM me.

artredis1980 · (08-12-2007, 06:37 PM)

I wish netflix would allow game rentals. that would be awesome as thier service is very quick and thier library and prices are fantastic. I dont want to pay another monthly fees for another rental service when I could get it from netflix

Meier · (08-12-2007, 06:50 PM)

I used GnF for about a year with pretty solid success, but I moved to Chicago which now has a GF distro center close-ish, so I cancelled my GnF and will be switching back to GF with that $10 off deal.

For the cheap price, if you have a distro center near you (there were two fairly close with Orlando and Kentucky), I'd say it's worth it. $17 a month for three titles is ridiculously cheap.

siamesedreamer · (08-12-2007, 07:04 PM)

I'm in ATL, so GnF has at least has two distribution centers close. Where are the GF distribution centers?

MoxManiac · (08-12-2007, 07:07 PM)

Originally Posted by siamesedreamer:

I'm in ATL, so GnF has at least has two distribution centers close. Where are the GF distribution centers?

There's one in California and one in Pennsylvania

DarienA · (08-12-2007, 07:13 PM)

I'll at least give Gameznflix props that they have their phone number easily posted on their website now....

impirius · (08-12-2007, 07:26 PM)

Originally Posted by Meier:

I used GnF for about a year with pretty solid success, but I moved to Chicago which now has a GF distro center close-ish, so I cancelled my GnF and will be switching back to GF with that $10 off deal.

¿Que?

I'm about fed up with GnF.

Eric WK · (08-12-2007, 07:30 PM)

I'm using GnF currently and haven't had any major problems, but the service definitely seems to pale in comparison to Gamefly.

El_TigroX · (08-12-2007, 07:37 PM)

I've been using GameFly for about a month now, and while things are pretty solid, my only complaint is that they have skipped over some games and given me lesser choices when they say they have available stock. Not a massive problem, there's a lot of games I have on my list. But damnit, I want to play The Darkness!

Testicular Sound Express · (08-12-2007, 07:38 PM)

there is really no comparison. GamesnFlix has a crap selection. Gamely is expensive, but they have a gigantic collection. Now that they put in a pittsburgh distribution center ig et my game one day after they tell its been shipped.

Gigglepoo · (08-12-2007, 07:40 PM)

Originally Posted by El_TigroX:

I've been using GameFly for about a month now, and while things are pretty solid, my only complaint is that they have skipped over some games and given me lesser choices when they say they have available stock. Not a massive problem, there's a lot of games I have on my list. But damnit, I want to play The Darkness!

If you want something specific you need to remove the other games from your queue. Though I have been trying to get The Darkness of Overlord for a few weeks. They are never in stock. This is what happens if you don't get a new game the day it comes out.

commish · (08-12-2007, 07:44 PM)

GnF sucks. They were fine for a while, but at this point, it's a waste of my money. I'm paying $8 for 2 at a time, which is a great deal and the only reason I haven't cancelled.

Lebron · 08:18 PM

I live in Chicago, well Naperville to be exact. It would normally take GF 2-3 days to receive my game(that quick return worked maybe 50% of the time for me), and 3 days for me to receive a game normally. GnF is normally 1-2 days to receive a game from them, and so far, if I mail a game back to them they normally will take it off my "shipped" list by that night. However, I will agree, that GnF selection and overall inventory is rather crappy. I did make a fuss about it few weeks ago, and they did extend my billing period to like 2 weeks ahead of the original date. Still, GF is the better service if you hate real long waiting times, or in GnF case "on order" or "available" yet it will never ship!

Originally Posted by Meier:

so I cancelled my GnF and will be switching back to GF with that $10 off deal.

are you talking about that Brightspot.TV deal that takes up to $10 off your GF bill?

RobbieNick · (08-13-2007, 05:36 AM)

I quit GameFly for a cheaper GamezN'Flix last year. BIG mistake. GNF has horrible, slow service. I went back to Gamefly. They now have a P.O. Box just 3 miles from my house. Usually, I get my games 2 days after I return one in the mail. I just wish thier availablity of games wasn't so low all the time.

fi3rypho3nix · (08-13-2007, 06:16 AM)

Can't comment on Gameznflix, but even Gamefly's service has improvements to be made.

My dream would be for Netflix to begin a hybrid service. If it operated as smoothly as the movie side, they would rake in the money.

Rorschach · (08-13-2007, 06:34 AM)

Gamefly sucked for me. Horrible service, horrible turnaround time, and horrible selection. The first week was nice, but then they turned to shit...and I live in the same city as their distribution center.

Games-n-flix trial membership blows, so I never really gave them a shot. They don't let you check out anything because everything is labeled "not available for trial" and they get their new games really late. The pluses I saw were the price and the decent availability of popular titles.

TJ Spyke · 06:53 AM

I have been tempted to sign up for GameFly, but am worried about the turnaround time. I may give there 10 day free trial a chance, but the $22.95 monthly fee for 2 games is overpriced IMO since you really have to rent 4 or 5 games at least to get your moneys worth (vs. using something like Blockbuster).

I agree that the best situation would be for Netflix to start offering games. They are superfast since they have hundreds of distribution centers, have a very organized and clean site, and I have rarely had any problems (the only problem i've had in the 17 months i've been registered is when I had a title sitting at the top of my que list for several weeks, I sent them an e-mail and they fixed the problem the next day). They also just lowered their prices. so after tax I pay just $18.35 a month to have 3 movies out at a time.

Edit: If anybody else here has Netflix and wants to be on my friends list, just let me know.

bdizzle · (08-13-2007, 07:40 AM)

gnf was unneccasarily bad for me. i only rented 1 game. i returned motorstorm and wait abot 2 weeks to get a game that supposedly was available....nothing. i just cancelled my acct and said fuck it.

Da1nonly J · (08-13-2007, 07:59 AM)

The availability of 360 games on Gamefly seems to get worse every week. Its been about 2 and a half months since I got a game that was in my top 10 in my queue.

mosaic · (08-13-2007, 08:21 AM)

GamesNFlix was pretty good to me for about a year... then, around May of this year, they took a turn for the worse. In May, June, and July, they only sent three of the roughly 14 games I had in my queue. I finally dropped them at the end of July.

Phaethon0017 · (08-13-2007, 08:26 AM)

Originally Posted by mosaic:

GamesNFlix was pretty good to me for about a year... then, around May of
this year, they took a turn for the worse.

Same story here.

mr stroke · (08-13-2007, 08:55 AM)

has anyone tried Blockbusters game pass??? its only one at a time but for 20$ you can go to the store and rent anything at any time....I was thinking about trying it?

Brendon · (08-13-2007, 09:29 AM)

GnF is either extremely bad, or decent. I've never really heard of anyone having an AWESOME experience with them. It's always "It took way too long to get stuff," "They never sent X and kept trying to tell me they did," or "I didn't get anything new sent out for like two weeks."

I like the idea of having the movies and games, but with their poor selection and shady history (with my friends, at least) if you're looking just for games, I'd go with Gamefly. If you want games AND movies... Well, I guess you'll get what you pay for. (Although I'd much rather get the Blockbuster combo or Netflix+Gamefly.)

Sean · (08-13-2007, 10:59 AM)

After hearing that GameFly now has a shipping center on the east coast I decided to give it a shot and am using a free one month trial. The service has been AWFUL.

Turnaround times are simply unacceptable. It took me a week to receive my first games and then like another week for gamefly to receive them (one of the two, anyway) after I mailed it back. I'm still waiting for them to receive my other game. Not even worth it - at least in my case I'm spending more time waiting for the games to arrive then I am playing through them!

GameFly also doesn't seem to send out email notices of sent/received games like Netflix does. Nor do they have an RSS feed to check your queue like Netflix does.... but they have like 30 different useless newsletters that they are happy to send.

Rorschach · (08-13-2007, 11:36 AM)

Originally Posted by Sean:

After hearing that GameFly now has a shipping center on the east coast I decided to give it a shot and am using a free one month trial. The service has been AWFUL.

Turnaround times are simply unacceptable. It took me a week to receive my first games and then like another week for gamefly to receive them (one of the two, anyway) after I mailed it back. I'm still waiting for them to receive my other game. Not even worth it - at least in my case I'm spending more time waiting for the games to arrive then I am playing through them!

GameFly also doesn't seem to send out email notices of sent/received games like Netflix does. Nor do they have an RSS feed to check your queue like Netflix does.... but they have like 30 different useless newsletters that they are happy to send.

While my experience was also bad with GF, they do send out e-mail notifications. Maybe your spam guard caught it by accident.

MoxManiac · (08-13-2007, 11:53 AM)

Originally Posted by Sean:

After hearing that GameFly now has a shipping center on the east coast I decided to give it a shot and am using a free one month trial. The service has been AWFUL.

Turnaround times are simply unacceptable. It took me a week to receive my first games and then like another week for gamefly to receive them (one of the two, anyway) after I mailed it back. I'm still waiting for them to receive my other game. Not even worth it - at least in my case I'm spending more time waiting for the games to arrive then I am playing through them!

GameFly also doesn't seem to send out email notices of sent/received games like Netflix does. Nor do they have an RSS feed to check your queue like Netflix does.... but they have like 30 different useless newsletters that they are happy to send.

Really? Weird. I signed up for GF last saturday and had my game by tuesday (i live in maine)

NJ x Falkor · (08-13-2007, 12:25 PM)

Gamefly's dist. centers are in Pennsylvania and California(or somewhere out west.)

I live in New Jersey and I still experience unsatisfactory deliver/return times. It HAS to be processing on their part because it does not take the post office to ship a letter 6 days across the 5hr drive it is from my house to Pittsburgh.

The GameQ and email notifications are cool.

I find game availability to be "okay"

Price: I'm on the 1 game at a time plan ($15.00/month) and I find it worth it if I can average 3 rented games a month. I've had it for one month and they have not updated their site yet to show the game I shipped back to them on Weds. or Thurs. of this past week. It's the damn state NEXT TO ME!!

I wanted to get a bunch of older games that I have not played out of the way before Halo 3, cause let's be honest I will not be playing any other games what that baby gets here.

DemDereNads · 12:33 PM

I had GamezNFlix for a few months... decent if you aren't picky I guess... if you want anything even remotely close to a new release though, you can probably forget about it.

I switched to Gamefly and it's much better even though I'm paying roughly $15 more a month /

I live on the East Coast, and shipping times vary... sometimes I'll get stuff as quick as netflix... other times it seems it will take a week plus just to return a game.

Like others have said, I think it's their processing that is messed up, as sometimes I'm left wondering if the games I return were stolen in the mail, only to have it show up a week or so later.

joezombie · (08-13-2007, 12:32 PM)

I don't really need to turnover two games a week or whatever so I gamefly is fine for me. If I have an open slot, typically I'll get a game within 3 to 5 days(then again I live in Pittsburgh...)

Gameznflix literally did not send me games. I went more then a month waiting for Super Paper Mario(typically have no more then 1 or 2 games in my queue at any one time), then canceled my account

JohnyDeepthroat · (08-13-2007, 12:33 PM)

Does Gamefly and/or Games-n-Flix service Canada as well?

Sean · (08-13-2007, 12:50 PM)

Originally Posted by MoxManiac:

Really? Weird. I signed up for GF last saturday and had my game by tuesday (i live in maine)

Yes it is VERY weird. I live in northern NJ and their shipping center is located in Pennsylvania. It took six or seven days for my first two rentals to arrive, when it's just a single state away! I mean I can drive there myself in a few hours at most....

I'm convinced they are "throttling" or something. Either that or their distribution is just crazy messed up.

MeshuggahMan · (08-13-2007, 12:58 PM)

I've tried out both but quit gamefly a long time ago because it was taking a good week to ship a game each way. I hear they opened a new center in Pittsburgh I think so that's probably been fixed.
While gameznflix is very cheap, you'll have a hard time getting new games right away. Actually, most of the time that's true. I can remember receiving final fantasy 12 the day after it released.
The movie section is.. pretty terrible though. Took me about 6 months for a scanner darkly to get in stock and ship to me.

But like many have said, you get what you pay for. I feel that the price is still a steal even considering the service so that's why I keep them.

NJ x Falkor · (08-13-2007, 01:02 PM)

Originally Posted by Sean:

Yes it is VERY weird. I live in northern NJ and their shipping center is located in Pennsylvania. It took six or seven days for my first two rentals to arrive, when it's just a single state away! I mean I can drive there myself in a few hours at most....

I'm convinced they are "throttling" or something. Either that or their distribution is just crazy messed up.

Jersey woot woot!

But yeah, it doesn't make sense. The first time I returned a game they got it in 3 days after I sent it, but it took them another 4 days to send out a new one, and up to 6 days to receive that new one.

I've only had the service for a month. I'll give them one more rotation to prove something to me.

Also, Since I'm a new customer, you would think that my account would be marked with some form of Priority to make a good impression. "Hey, lets send him his stuff really fast so he's happy and spreads the word."

but, NO

Juice · (08-13-2007, 01:10 PM)

I've only used Gamefly, but their service has been on-par with Netflix for me. Only difference is that Netflix sets up PO boxes in most cities and watches those themselves, while GameFly sets up scanning stations in most major cities via USPS to scan that you've returned a title before they physically receive it.

If you want a game the day after it comes out, you absolutely can get it with GameFly by clearing out your queue, sending back items, and then adding the game releasing.

MeshuggahMan · (08-13-2007, 01:21 PM)

Originally Posted by Juice:

I've only used Gamefly, but their service has been on-par with Netflix for me. Only difference is that Netflix sets up PO boxes in most cities and watches those themselves, while GameFly sets up scanning stations in most major cities via USPS to scan that you've returned a title before they physically receive it.

If you want a game the day after it comes out, you absolutely can get it with GameFly by clearing out your queue, sending back items, and then adding the game releasing.

They were talking of doing that scanning thing before physically recieving it but it never seemed to happen with mine. I quit shortly after that. I've been working on catching up on a ton of older games lately so GnF is pretty much perfect for me right now. However once the christmas game rush begins, I might have to switch to gamefly again. How much is it now? Site is blocked here at work.

Ponn01 · (08-13-2007, 01:30 PM)

They both suck. Gameznflix has a piss poor selection for both games and movies and Gamefly charges an arm and a leg for piss poor delivery and stock.

This is my last month with Gamefly. I have yet to receive one disc from this supposed new east coast center. It takes them a week to say they receive my game back in the mail, and thats mailing them back from the post office. Then they take a week to get a game to me. You almost have to sign up for the 2 out at a time or you will go almost half a month without a freaking game. Then on top of that if there is a particular game you want you have to leave your queue empty for days with just that one game and just sit there waiting for it to come in.

MeshuggahMan · (08-13-2007, 01:40 PM)

Originally Posted by Ponn01:

They both suck. Gameznflix has a piss poor selection for both games and movies and Gamefly charges an arm and a leg for piss poor delivery and stock.

This is my last month with Gamefly. I have yet to receive one disc from this supposed new east coast center. It takes them a week to say they receive my game back in the mail, and thats mailing them back from the post office. Then they take a week to get a game to me. You almost have to sign up for the 2 out at a time or you will go almost half a month without a freaking game. Then on top of that if there is a particular game you want you have to leave your queue empty for days with just that one game and just sit there waiting for it to come in.

Hm, lame. That's what I went through. I think netflix should just start opening a games division too. With them starting to lose steam to that blockbuster online thing it would only help them. Netflix is so damn fast too. If someone told me they received a movie the day they added it to their queue.. I'd probably believe them.

Oni Jazar · (08-13-2007, 01:43 PM)

It's really sad how pathetic the state of video game retal is and has been for years. Long before mail-in rental services, Blockbuster was complete shit. You could NEVER get a game that you wanted, especially when they eliminated late fees. Then Gamefly, GameznFlix, Gamerang appeared and either their selection was atrocious, the prices outrageous or the shipping was unbearable (or some combination of all three).

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO RENT GAMES?

MeshuggahMan · (08-13-2007, 01:51 PM)

I'd say.. because they're more expensive than movies. I'd also imagine few casual gamers even really know, or care about it.

mug · (08-13-2007, 02:17 PM)

Originally Posted by Oni Jazar:

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO RENT GAMES?

The market isn't exactly profitable yet, unlike DVD rentals which isn't as expensive.

dionysus · (08-13-2007, 02:49 PM)

It seems to me that gamefly's quality, which used to be excellent, has really nosedived since they opened that second distribution center. For a whole year I always got the game at the top of my queue, now they are poaching games that are 7 places deep to send to me. I don't even try to rent new releases, most of the stuff I rent is from the ps2 era that I missed.

Also, living in Texas sucks cause its exactly in between both centers.

ParticleReality · (08-21-2007, 01:57 AM)

Sorry for bumping this but I didn't want to make a thread for it. I just signed up for gameznflix after being sued by gamefly for a missing game I never rented. Anyway, I was wondering about how fast shipping is.

I live less then an hour away from one of their shipping plant and Xenosaga 2 + Tourist Trophy were shipped out on the 18th. I'd assume they would be here today but they're not. I gotta assume that the USPS sucks ass or, gameznflix are bullshitting me. Still, paying less then $12 for 3 games or movies out at once is awesome.

Only thing that pisses me of is

A. They didn't ship out Marvel vs Capcom 2 even tho it's first on my list and has a pretty high Availability rate.

B. They have more copies of Marvel vs Capcom 2 but nobody I know can get Ico shipped with full Availability.

C. They don't have Rez.

D. The following Games/Movies are on order:

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Trigun Vol. 2 - Lost Past
Gundam: The 08th MS Team Vol. 2
Biohunter On Order
Black Jack - Vol. 1-2: Infection
Angel Sanctuary
Final Fantasy - Unlimited: Phase 1
You're Under Arrest! - TV Vol. 4

Truly pissed off because it's always the First or Second volume thats missing AND, I really wanted to try Persona 3.

I'll try this for 2 months and if it's worth my $12(in pennies) I'll keep going. If not I'll go somewhere else other then Gamefly and Blockbuster.

GilloD · (08-21-2007, 02:00 AM)

I used GnF pretty happily for a while, but there are some things very, very weird about the way they operate. And they don't carry BioShock. The gaps in their inventory are odd and pretty inexcusable. GF just seems to have it together.

Anyone used Gamerang.com?

GodfatherX · (08-21-2007, 02:05 AM)

GnF has been decent to me, i use it primarily for dvds with a game ot 2 a month, the main dist center is in my state and i can send movies back on monday and have new ones on wen

game selection leaves a lot to be desired though

PkunkFury · (08-21-2007, 02:06 AM)

I've been on GnF for a few months now. It used to be that when I would drop my games in the mail box they would be checked into GnF that night, and the next day a new game would be sent my way. Therefore, I had a 2-3 day turnaround for each game. Now, it seems my games are not checked in until they have been shipped all the way to GnF headquarters. It takes 2-3 days after returning the game for it to show up as checked in on the website, then another 2-3 days to receive the new game (assuming the even bother to send one right away). Can anyone explain this change?? Is it something I'm doing wrong or my post office, or has GnF changed how they do check ins???

I loved GnF until this mess started. Service was iffy and the selection is small but as long as you are interested in a large number of games/movies you are always getting something. I used tog get like 10-12 games/movies a month. Now i'm getting like 4-5 with the horrible turn around so I'm about to quit. I refuse to sign up for another one of these services until they offer both games and movies. It's upsetting that GnF is the only place trying this.