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Feedback required: Video game rental ideas


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Hi guys. First a small prelude.


Many of us love video games but cannot afford to buy the latest titles due to their high prices. So we have decided to invest from our profits from a separate business and bring a tear of joy to all you tight-pocketed gamers out there.


We are planning to launch a video game rental service - for the gamers, by some gamers! Initially we are planning to offer PS3 games but with time, we will get PS4 games as well and support other platforms depending on the demand.


Following is the draft we have drawn so far:


1. Top games will be available based on Metacritic and forum user reviews.

2. Single player games will be given preference as mutiplayer will need users to buy online passes.

3. Mutiplayer games will be made available if it has an engaging single player mode and depending on user demand.

4. User will need to deposit an initial amount equal to the retail price of the game which will be fully refundable - we actually didn't want to do this but this is to protect our business against fraud.

5. User can rent a game for 5 days minimum @ INR 300. The time will be counted from the day courier updates package as delivered till the time user has the disc; delivery and return time will not be considered.

6. User can keep a game for more than 5 days by paying INR 50 for each extra day.

7. Tracked courier service will be used for delivery and returns; it will be prepaid by us. *We already have a contact with our current courier service provider so this should not be a concern or we may need to find other alternatives*

8. Once the disc is returned, the owed amount will be deducted from the deposited amount and the balance will be refunded. However, if the user wishes to rent another title, he/she can pay the owed amount and get another disc. The balance in user's account needs to be equal to the retail price of the game user wants to rent next.

9. Over time, loyalty points will be introduced so that user does not have to deposit the full price - he/she may be given full or partial exemption on the deposit amount.

10. Any damage or loss will be recovered from the deposited amount. We will test the discs systematically to ensure playability at all times.


Now, this is just a draft of our plans. We will appreciate your feedback on our ideas so that you can get the best experience. We are planning to launch the service in the next month after making sure that we will be able to make the gaming community a happier place.


This has been posted on multiple forums to get best feedback possible so that we can provide you the best service.

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If you really want serious business from Ivg,300 for 5 days won't cut it.

It's pretty easy to find a AAA title on the TP and buy&play&sell at a net cost of 300 or lower for a period of 15-20 days.

The only takers you'll get are for the rare titles like RPGs/non AAA or ultimate editions and such.

 

The above can be done with a sort of "deposit" which is always lesser than the retail market price of a game.

 

I don't know about other forums but most ps3 gamers from Ivg wouldn't bother with the rental idea you plan to execute.

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@Joe: Thanks for pointing that out. Anyways, currently we are changing to a different host and and the .in domain is not open to all yet. I have updated the first post with the current working domain. Please note that the main business is run through Facebook.

 

@Rosh and @slakerninja: We have finalised the pricing and the rental duration yet. As I said, we will structure our system based on feedback from you guys. That is whole point of sharing our ideas with you. The proposed plan might stay or it might change provided you guys can come up some solid practical ideas :)

 

@slakerninja: We need a business license and we can use our current license to provide rentals. We will look into the legalities but that in no way should affect our customers.

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@Rosh: We understand your point of concern and have already looked into it. This is from a friend who works in the legal dept. of a Europe based company - SCEE is governed by EU laws which are not valid outside the EU. As long as Sony India is not releasing a game, we should be good as long as we have a business license which we have. This is how Indian businesses like Game4U, Landmark, Moviemart etc. are able to sell used games and offer rental services, and those are some big names! I believe SeventyMM also used to provide video game rental service till a few years back. Trust me, we don't want to get tangled in the legal web.

 

Now legalities aside, I request you gamers to please provide some feedback so that we can draw a line for our services. Please don't hold back even you have the craziest of ideas - we will implement it if it is viable!

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There have been so many rental services started and then subsequently closed down that I have lost count. This just doesn't work. Even Indian gaming retail doesn't work. Seen too many stores closed down after 5-6 months. Only a handful survive.

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@Rock Lee: Well, sometimes things work and sometimes things don't. But as we are trying to do set up a business here we need to have a positive approach, eh? Hopefully, we will be able to deliver where others could not :)

 

@avkash: We understand your concern about the 5 days limit. This was drawn from personal play time experience of a casual gamer, myself - don't get me wrong here, I love playing games but no time! Think of it this way, we will be holding your deposit money for less days. However, we may revise this when we are drawing the second draft after collecting user feedback :)

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5 days is too low. As others pointed out most of the members can get the stuff from TP for a lot less price.

One of the things which I used to do while renting games in UK was to play the titles in my backlog rather than go for the AAA new titles. May be u can try the same. U can get these games for less price.

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I think you could work this way. Set the period as 10 days for 400, if he returns it in 5 days, he will get 100 RS credit.

 

This seems like a fair deal... and you could boost your business via initial freebies... like the first 100 members to sign up/rent will be treated as a premium customer, who will be able to rent games for a cheaper price... and also, if one wishes to become a premium member, you can collect certain amt..say 1k on yearly basis.... jus like PSN or XBL.

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