Gplay is one of the top online console game rental companies in the United States. Here you can rent unlimited video games for the Playstation 2, Microsoft XBOX and Nintendo Gamecube or Gameboy Advance systems all for one single monthly subscription charge. There are no due dates or late fees, no postal charges, no limit to the number of games you can rent each month and games are delivered directly to your home by first class mail.
Gplay has over 2,500 titles to choose from with their lowest price monthly subscription package starting at $13.95 for a "one at a time" rental package. This allows you to keep one game at home at any one time. Once you have finished with it, you simply pop it in the return envelope provided and send it, postage paid, back to Gplay who will immediately get your next rental choice sent out to you.
To ensure you always have at least one game at home to play however, Gplay offers 2 disc and 3 disc rental plans as well, allowing you to keep two or three games at home at any one time for $19.95 and $29.95 respectively. If you return one as soon as you are finished with it, you should ensure you always have new games to play.
These prices make Gplay one of the more expensive online video game rental by mail companies out there so if subscription price is a major factor in chosing a rental company then you might like to try Red Octane for example, who rent two and three disc package for $18.95 and $23.95 a month respectively...six bucks cheaper although generally the more expensive services have more copies of each title so it comes down to whether you mind waiting or not for your first choice rentals.
Currently included in your monthly subscription to Gplay is a FREE 12 month subscription to your choice of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Sync, or FHM magazine.
One of the things we particularly like about Gplay is the little extras on the site which give it the edge over most of its competitors. Like GameFly, Gplay gives you detailed reviews of the games it stocks, provides screenshots, game guides full of useful hints and tips, reviews and ratings from other Gplay members as well as links to critical reviews from the major gaming press. This makes building your rental list a much easier and more pleasurable experience.
We also like the live help option on the site. During office hours Monday through Friday you can get live support on the Gplay website itself which should help resolve any problems much faster and more effectively than the email contact address most other companies provide.
One thing we would have liked to have seen with Gplay to make it a five star rated service is the addition of at least one more distribution center. Currently Gplay ships out of Oakland, California which is great for West coast subscribers who will receive their latest video game rentals within 1 - 3 days but East coast and in-betweenies will have to wait longer. When you consider shipping times are based on discs going there and back, you could be waiting anywhere up to 10 days for your next order if you are some distance from the California shipping center.
Overall, a very good video game rental service which is let down only by them having just the one shipping and distribution center. If you are a West coast resident then you have no problems at all and can consider Gplay to be a 5 star rated rental company whilst East coast residents might like to consider whether they mind waiting a bit longer for their titles to arrive.
