Games News

The ability to rent video games from home without leaving the house has always been a true dream of mine. Not only does renting video games online keep you busy, but it can be very satisfying knowing you can rent as many titles as you want at anytime and generally receive them within a day or two.

Here are some Video Game Rental Statistics you might find interesting:
•”U.S. consumers spent $633.6 million renting video games in 2001, and a record-breaking $6 billion buying video game software (including PC software).”

But why are people renting video games instead of buying? I guess I can’t say gamers are not buying video games.
“The U.S. computer and video game software sales grew four percent in
2004 to $7.3 billion — a more than doubling of industry software.”

But why rent games? I would estimate that people rent for 4 primary reasons.
1.The convenience
2.Its cheaper
3.Able to test games
4.Time sensitive

Convenience is truly a luxury worth having these days. People are looking for ways to save time and effort. Everything these days has to be fast and easy. Online video game rental companies provide that and much more. First of all and most important they deliver the game right to your front door. No more wasting your gas going to your favorite rental store, only to find out that the game you wanted is no longer available and won’t be available until you make that drive again. Gas is too expensive these day, who wants to spend all that money driving to a video store when you can easily accomplish the same task on your home computer?

Second of all it’s simple alot cheaper. The average video store charges from $4.00 to $6.00 dollars per video game rental. That could get expensive, specially if you’re renting numerous titles per week. Most of the well known game rental clubs like GameFly, Gottaplay, Intelliflix and RentZero only charge $12.95 to $19.95 per month for unlimited video game rental. So let’s say you rent 2 titles per week at the local video store. That equal around $30.00 dollars per month compared to $12 to $13 dollars per month with the online alternative. This is a large savings at the end of the month.

Now here is the greatest part. Have you ever purchased a video game and just hated it. You can’t just return the game, you’re stuck or you have to exchange it in for store credit. So you just have to suck it up and move on to the next game, which might not live up to your standards. Renting video games online gives you the chance to test the game first before you purchase. The companies will even allow you to purchase the games at discount rates and just keep the game if you enjoy it that much.

You can keep the games as long at you like just pay the monthly fee. If you want to play 6 to 7 games a month or more you can just pay the one time monthly fee and be done with it. You don’t even have to pay for postage. That’s a deal that I can get use to.

Buying video games can become an addicting process. Video game makers are in a constant battle to create the most exciting and creative games for all types of players. From action games to family games, you will be sure to find a game that will engage and challenge your creativity

Decide Between Handheld and Console Video Game Systems
Choose a Video Game Console
Discover Which Handheld Video Game System You Need

Decide Between Handheld and Console Video Game Systems
Some video game systems purely focus on gaming while others offer more sophisticated multimedia capabilities such as music and movie playback. When deciding what type of video game system to buy, consider portability, the age of gamers in the household, and multimedia features.

Choose a Video Game Console

The latest batch of 2005 and 2006 video game consoles represent another quantum leap forward in video game graphics, online play, and functionality. Microsoft launched Xbox 360 in November 2005. Sony and Nintendo will introduce new systems in 2006, hoping to make a splash with PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution. They aim to satisfy hardcore gamers with an intense craving for cutting-edge technology, superior graphics, new peripherals, a richer online experience, more multimedia functionality than their predecessors, and advanced game play options (such as game downloads).

Discover Which Handheld Video Game System You Need

The newest generation of handheld video game systems includes Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP). But slightly older Nintendo Game Boy Advance (released 2001) and Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP (released 2003) are still more common and have a large selection of games available at reasonable prices.

For many, working as a video game programmer at a famous development studio sounds like a dream job. You get to design and build fun new games all day. Here are some tips for making this dream a reality.

Know what you’re getting into

Before you dive into becoming a video game programmer, spend a little time to research what working at a video game studio actually entails. You don’t want to spend time and effort becoming a video game programmer only to realize that it’s not what you were hoping for. Working as a video game programmer takes a lot of effort. The work hours and deadlines can get stressful, especially near the end of a project. Talk with people who are in the video game business, either in person or online, about any questions you may have about the business.

Create your own games

Try your hand at making your own games at home to see what it’s like. You can start with simple projects first, such as basic text games or simple shooters. Grab a book on video game programming at your local bookstore (there are many to choose from) and dive in. C and Java are good programming languages to start out with. Don’t try to create something too big or you’ll quickly get overwhelmed. The purpose of this is to learn what it’s like to make games and get a little experience, not to develop the next award winning MMORPG. Development studios will be more likely to hire you if you have a good project or two that you can include with your resume.

Go To College

Currently video game development studios are hungry for programmers. They spend a lot of money using headhunters to help them locate new people to hire. The good news is that once you are in the video game business, there are many opportunities for companies to work for. There are many different projects and locations that you can choose from. The bad news is that the studios can be very picky about hiring new employees with no previous video game programming experience. Therefore it can be very hard to get your foot in the door. Going to college for a Computer Science degree and getting excellent grades is one of the best ways to show video game studios that you will be a competent and committed employee. The classes will also give you many of the skills that you need to work. There are schools now that specialize in video game degrees, such as DigiPen. They are still relatively new and it’s not clear whether they increase your chances of getting a job in the video game industry.

Play Games

Know your games! The video game industry is changing at a breakneck pace, so it’s important to stay up to date with the new products. Play many different games every month to see what companies are doing now with video games. Development studios want to make sure that they only hire programmers that are devoted to video games. Staying up to date with videogames is an excellent way to demonstrate this.

Good luck!

We might just have to go to E3 next year… just look at these door prizes!

Get Paid To Beta Test Video Games! 75% Commission. Highest Payout At $35.25 Per Sale. Perfect To Target Gamers From World Of Warcraft. Soaring Conversions At Nearly 14% From Adwords Traffic With Plenty Of Tools In Affiliates Area.
Beta Gaming Testers By T Dub.