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Why is it that we LOVED game rentals as kids, but hate game SUBs now?

RoboFu

RoboFu

One of the green rats
I just cannot wrap my head around it. I use to rent nes, snes, and genesis games all the time. $5-$8 depending on how many days you wanted it for. It was literally the best way for a kid with no money to play a lot of different games.

But for some reason I just do not like/want a game subscription service. It makes no sense. It is a superior version of game rentals.

- one low cost monthly rate ( way cheaper than rentals ever were )
- no one misses out unlike with rentals ( no "All copies of that game are OUT" )
- you get to keep the games for months ... some years
- no late fees


But yet if someone asks me if I have gamepass or PS+ I am always like ...

giphy.gif
 
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RoboFu

RoboFu

One of the green rats
bender said:
Games were shorter back then. You could pick what you wanted to play.
Click to expand...

that is a two way street. game rentals usually had the top games but not always at launch. game subs give you hundreds to choose from at one time but the new games can come slower. It is an interesting paradigm
 
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jshackles

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Loved rentals as a kid, love Game Pass now for a lot of the same reasons. There used to be a rental store that popped up in my hometown that tried to compete with Netflix (back when it was a DVD-by-mail website). Unlimited rentals for $30/month - including games. Shit was glorious, I could get like 3 video games at a time, and if they sucked I could just drive across town to return them and pick out something else without having any additional cost. Well, now Game Pass lets you do that without the driving across town part, or the limits on the number of games at once.

As a kid, when I rented a game that I really loved, I wanted to buy it: so I could keep playing it / have it forever without having to have a timer on it. Pretty much the same applies now - my biggest miff with subscription services is that the game you're playing could disappear at any moment.
 
AmuroChan

AmuroChan

Member
Simple. When I was a kid, we had no money. So I had to resort to renting games. Second, I was a kid and had zero knowledge on business models and economics. Third, renting games back in the day was not a threat to removing physical media from existence. The long game of a sub service is to eventually phase out physical media so that every consumer is on a sub. I'm not against subs, but I also like having the option of physical media.
 
Guilty_AI

Guilty_AI

Member
Because what you actually loved was the experience of going into a rental store, all excited browsing through the shelves not knowing what you would find, talking with employees of the store and other customers, wondering which game you would pick up next.
 
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SenkiDala

SenkiDala

Member
RoboFu said:
I just cannot wrap my head around it. I use to rent nes, snes, and genesis games all the time. $5-$8 depending on how many days you wanted it for. It was literally the best way for a kid with no money to play a lot of different games.

But for some reason I just do not like/want a game subscription service. It makes no sense. It is a superior version of game rentals.

- one low cost monthly rate ( way cheaper than rentals ever were )
- no one misses out unlike with rentals ( no "All copies of that game are OUT" )
- you get to keep the games for months ... some years
- no late fees


But yet if someone asks me if I have gamepass or PS+ I am always like ...

giphy.gif
Click to expand...
From a user viewpoint there's not a lot of downside of subs, maybe "too much choices I dunno what to play" but it's like 1st world countries problem.

To me the problem is that the game industry didn't depend at that time on rental. What MS wants with a GP is a model where it all depends on GP, so it'll lead to lower production costs and then some lower quality games. Sure games don't need to be photorealistic to be good but... This is the 1st reason why someone will upgrade its rig or bug a new gen console. So if it is to play games like Redfall that would fairly run on a XO no problem, or even on a 360 with some tweaks... It is not worth it. It is what some people are worried about.
 
Varteras

Varteras

Member
Because I was a kid whose parents didn't buy every game I wanted. Now, I'm an employed adult who can more than easily afford to buy all the games I want to play.

Topher said:
Some of us are still kids

RZahETX.png
Click to expand...

That midlife crisis ain't lettin go, huh? :messenger_blowing_kiss:
 
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Jesb

Jesb

Gold Member
I always hated renting games. Worst part was going back to bring them back. Gamepass and PS+ I love. Especially with how ridiculous game prices are. Buying games day one are a thing of the past for me. They cost $90 now plus tax. Video games are not worth it anymore day one.
 
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stuminus3

stuminus3

Member
When we used to rent games nobody ever said it meant that we should no longer be able to buy games, for some reason gaming people in this day and age have a tendency to act with a short time mindset of “this is what gaming is now” every time there’s another paradigm shift and don’t realize subs are just another available channel.
 
bender

bender

What time is it?
RoboFu said:
that is a two way street. game rentals usually had the top games but not always at launch. game subs give you hundreds to choose from at one time but the new games can come slower. It is an interesting paradigm
Click to expand...

I really haven't rented games since the NES and not only were launch dates more nebulous back then, I was oblivious of them. And speaking of oblivious, when you are younger your tastes are much less refined. I spent a summer playing Deadly Towers. I knew it wasn't great, but I still played the hell out of it. I have no patience for that today.

While Game Pass and PS+ whatever it is called seemingly have large catalogues, I'm usually not interested in the older titles as I've either own them or have played through them previously and the newer stuff is hit or miss and certainly more miss. Game Pass is probably provides more titles that interest me but if it weren't for Microsoft rewards, I wouldn't be an every day subscriber as I could have just paid for a month and gotten Lies of P and Hi-Fi Rush knocked out during a 1-month subscription.
 
RoboFu

RoboFu

One of the green rats
AmuroChan said:
Simple. When I was a kid, we had no money. So I had to resort to renting games. Second, I was a kid and had zero knowledge on business models and economics. Third, renting games back in the day was not a threat to removing physical media from existence. The long game of a sub service is to eventually phase out physical media so that every consumer is on a sub. I'm not against subs, but I also like having the option of physical media.
Click to expand...

Ohh but game rentals were a threat to game devs/publishers. There was definitely a whole topic about it back in the day. It’s why some games were really crazy hard and why games got longer.

Game rental money went to the store not the industry.
 
Gaiff

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
If Game Pass existed when I was a kid, I would have lost my shit.

Nowadays when I can easily buy games, it's not that big of a deal.
 
jshackles

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
bender said:
I spent a summer playing Deadly Towers. I knew it wasn't great, but I still played the hell out of it.
Click to expand...
my man lol GIF by Steve Harvey TV


I had an uncle give me that game for Christmas one year, it was a year that my parents were too poor to buy me another or better game. It was frustrating as hell, but (outside of renting) it was the only new game I had to play. I had already beaten the other games I owned at the time a million times over - Crystalis, Tombs and Treasures, Shadowgate, Wizards and Warriors, Legacy of the Wizard.

Looking back, I probably should have just played through those games again because they were great and Deadly Towers was... not.
 
ReBurn

ReBurn

Gold Member
I love game subs. Much of my current gaming time is spent on games on game pass and ps plus. Much like rentals, if it's a game I'm only going to play once why would I buy it if I can play it via sub for less?

The trick is to not continue to pay for subs you don't use. Cancel them when you're not using them.
 
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SmokedMeat

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
Because videogames have become disposable entertainment.

Back then it felt like a much bigger deal to hit the videostore on a Friday night, and see all the new game boxes on the shelf. If you were lucky you’d snag that disc or cartridge you were after, head home, and play the shit out of it. Those games had value to them.

I think for most of us, new games generally came on birthdays or holidays. I maybe bought one new game a month back then. So to be able to rent one of the new releases was a much bigger deal. These days I‘ve got games falling in my lap. I might receive ten or twelve games in a month, and not even touch some of them. I have a backlog now. No one had a backlog back then. Backlogs didn’t exist!

We’re swimming in videogames now. You want a new game you press a button and it downloads to your hard drive. It’s convenient, but such a sterile and unexciting experience. Compare that to the old days of going to a store, staring at all of those cool game boxes and bringing that one you picked home. You’d open the box and read through the color instruction manual. There’s a subscription card for a gaming magazine and a poster with the publisher’s other new games. There was an intimacy back then that’s lost.

So now we have hundreds of games available at our fingertips. And none of them mean anything anymore. Just a picture you click on and then delete if it doesn’t interest you after ten minutes. Onto the next one.

Sorry if I’m rambling.
 
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MikeM

MikeM

Member
They always had the brand new games that you could rent for $4 as opposed to buying for $60. I would rent today too still if I could.
 
AmuroChan

AmuroChan

Member
RoboFu said:
Ohh but game rentals were a threat to game devs/publishers. There was definitely a whole topic about it back in the day. It’s why some games were really crazy hard and why games got longer.

Game rental money went to the store not the industry.
Click to expand...

I didn't say they weren't a threat to game devs. I said they weren't a threat to the existence of physical media. Back then there was one way to to consume games, physical media. So whether you buy or rent, you're still playing physical games.
 
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JayK47

JayK47

Member
I guess with modern technology, I no longer need to rent to see if a game is worth paying $50 for. We had Nintendo Power back in the day as the only way to know what was coming out and what may be worth getting.
 
RoboFu

RoboFu

One of the green rats
JayK47 said:
I guess with modern technology, I no longer need to rent to see if a game is worth paying $50 for. We had Nintendo Power back in the day as the only way to know what was coming out and what may be worth getting.
Click to expand...


yeah "progress" has really taking a toll on the over experience. No mags and Gamesites aren't even a thing anymore as everything is on youtube and it's all about tabloid style clickbait vids. its become such a trash way to be updated on things.
 
Sleepwalker

Sleepwalker

Member
When you are a kid everything is an adventure, you love every second and you have all the time in the world.

You pestered your dad to take you to Blockbuster on friday after eagerly waiting all week.

You finally pull up in your dad's car and see that familiar blue and yellow ticket logo at the front of the store, you jump out and rush in, making a bee line for the wall of videogames for rent. You stand in front of all these game covers you most likely know nothing about, they all promise new adventures and worlds.

You stand in front of this big catalogue for what seems like hours, you end up settling for a couple games, one single player for your Playstation system probably a RPG that you definitely will get stuck in and won't beat and one of your favorite multiplayer game to play with your friends and siblings. Sometimes it's Mario Kart, other times it's Smash bros or Goldeneye on the N64.

Your dad picks up some movies for the family and perhaps you might convince him to rent your favorite movie: Space Jam! one more time, alongside some popcorn and candies.

You get home and proceed to play the living hell out of those games all weekend, attempting to beat them inside the time limit.

It's sunday night now, you watch Space Jam with the family, you have some of that popcorn and candy. You are happy, life's good. The best part? You'll get to do it all over again next weekend! You go to bed happy.


You wake up, it's now 2024, your body is fully grown, you're an adult. You have a responsibilities, a SO, a family, perhaps just a pet or you live alone. Regardless, you go to work and other social activities in your schedule. You're tired.

Blockbuster has gone out of business long ago. Your friends no longer come around your house to play multiplayer games, you don't live with your siblings anymore. Most games don't even have local coop nowadays.

You have money and access to thousands of games, they are one click of a button away in your digital rental service, you no longer switch cartridges or discs. Everything is available and in the palm of your hands, you get ready to find something to play for the night; you see all these game titles and catchy artwork.

Eventually you find something that looks interesting enough, but first you have to check reviews and read forums to see if the game is going to be worth your time, god forbid you play a low rated game, no sir. After 30 minutes of research you reach the conclusion that this particular game isn't worth your time. "Alright! I'll just find another one!" You say to no one in particular.

Its now 11PM. You wake up disoriented in your couch, "oh well, guess I was too tired huh? I'll just play tomorrow" you think to yourself. "Tomorrow will be the day, for sure".

For a second you smell something a familiar, a scent of popcorn and candy but it's just a trick of your mind. You are hungry so you prepare a microwave burrito. Dinner is served.

You take your Burrito to the couch so you can eat while watching something, feeling a little nostalgic you put on the new Space Jam movie that came out a little while ago. You devour your burrito and finish the movie.


You are tired, you go to bed. Space Jam 2 sucked.


You wake up, it is still 2024.

You go to work.
 
Last edited:
Arsic

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Sleepwalker said:
When you are a kid everything was an adventure, you loved every second and you had all the time in the world.

You pestered your dad to take you to Blockbuster on friday after eagerly waiting all week.

You finally pull up in your dad's car and see that familiar blue and yellow ticket logo at the front of the store, you jump out and rush in, making a bee line for the wall of videogames for rent. You stand in front of all these game covers you most likely know nothing about, they all promise adventures and worlds you know nothing about.

You stand in front of this big catalogue for what seems like hours, you end up settling for a couple games, one single player for your Playstation system probably a RPG that you definitely will get stuck in and won't beat and one of your favorite multiplayer game to play with your friends and siblings. Sometimes it's Mario Kart, other times it's Smash bros or Goldeneye on the N64.

Your dad picks up a some movies for the family for the family and perhaps you might convince him to rent your favorite movie: Space Jam! one more time, alongside some popcorn and candies.

You get home and proceed to play the living hell out of those games all weekend, attempting to beat them inside the time limit.

It's sunday night now, you watch Space Jam with the family, you have some of that popcorn and candy. You are happy, life's good. The best part? You'll get to do it all over again next weekend! You go to bed happy.


You wake up, it's now 2024, your body is fully grown, you're an adult. You have a responsibilities, a SO, a family, perhaps just a pet or you live alone. Regardless, you go to work and other social activities in your schedule. You're tired.

Blockbuster has gone out of business long ago. Your friends and no longer come around your house to play multiplayer games, you don't live with your siblings anymore. Most games don't even have local coop nowadays.

You have money and access to thousands of games, they are one click of a button away in your digital rental service, you no longer switch cartridges or discs. Everything is available and in the palm of your hands, you get ready to find something to play for the night; you see all these game titles and catchy artwork.

Eventually you find something that looks interesting enough, but first you have to check reviews and read forums to see if the game is going to be worth your time, god forbid you play a low rated game, no sir. After 30 minutes of research you reach the conclusion that this particular game isn't worth your time. "Alright! I'll just find another one!" You say to no one in particular.

Its now 11PM. You wake up disoriented in your couch, "oh well, guess I was too tired huh? I'll just play tomorrow" you think to yourself. "Tomorrow will be the day, for sure".

For a second you smell something a familiar, a scent of popcorn and candy but it's just a trick of your mind. You are hungry so you prepare a microwave burrito. Dinner is served.

You take your Burrito to the couch so you can eat while watching something, feeling a little nostalgic you put on the new Space Jam movie that came out a little while ago. You devour your burrito and finish the movie.


You are tired, you go to bed. Space Jam 2 sucked.


You wake up, it is still 2024.

You go to work.
Click to expand...

317.png
 
Yoda

Yoda

Member
I guess the biz model was more 'innocent' back then? They didn't track engagement metrics, try to sell you shit in the middle of games, intentionally omit portions of the game to sell you later, etc... Removing ownership from gamers is because executives see you playing Total War Rome 2 and not the new one with loads of marketing for the DLC and view it as a "loss" despite you paying for the previous game way back.
 
THE DUCK

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
I don't hate gamepass etc, I generally like them a lot.

But there's something about going to the store with your friend, chatting, getting excited about what's new etc. Sounds dumb, but even the smell of the store is something I remember well. (Local store with musty carpet lol)

Renting a machine you didn't own was even more exciting, cutting edge!

Same goes for video stores, maybe it's the thrill of the hunt! But please, remember, duck hunt is banned in most countries.
 
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Sojiro

Sojiro

Member
Guilty_AI said:
Because what you actually loved was the experience of going into a rental store, all excited browsing through the shelves not knowing what you would find, talking with employees of the store and other customers, wondering which game you would pick up next.
Click to expand...
Yeah the rental experience was a hell of a lot better because of the interactions you would have with friends/employees that were usually playing/watching the same things you were. Also I was a kid, and couldn't just buy whatever game I wanted to like I can now.

Sleepwalker said:
When you are a kid everything was an adventure, you loved every second and you had all the time in the world.

You pestered your dad to take you to Blockbuster on friday after eagerly waiting all week.

You finally pull up in your dad's car and see that familiar blue and yellow ticket logo at the front of the store, you jump out and rush in, making a bee line for the wall of videogames for rent. You stand in front of all these game covers you most likely know nothing about, they all promise adventures and worlds you know nothing about.

You stand in front of this big catalogue for what seems like hours, you end up settling for a couple games, one single player for your Playstation system probably a RPG that you definitely will get stuck in and won't beat and one of your favorite multiplayer game to play with your friends and siblings. Sometimes it's Mario Kart, other times it's Smash bros or Goldeneye on the N64.

Your dad picks up a some movies for the family for the family and perhaps you might convince him to rent your favorite movie: Space Jam! one more time, alongside some popcorn and candies.

You get home and proceed to play the living hell out of those games all weekend, attempting to beat them inside the time limit.

It's sunday night now, you watch Space Jam with the family, you have some of that popcorn and candy. You are happy, life's good. The best part? You'll get to do it all over again next weekend! You go to bed happy.


You wake up, it's now 2024, your body is fully grown, you're an adult. You have a responsibilities, a SO, a family, perhaps just a pet or you live alone. Regardless, you go to work and other social activities in your schedule. You're tired.

Blockbuster has gone out of business long ago. Your friends and no longer come around your house to play multiplayer games, you don't live with your siblings anymore. Most games don't even have local coop nowadays.

You have money and access to thousands of games, they are one click of a button away in your digital rental service, you no longer switch cartridges or discs. Everything is available and in the palm of your hands, you get ready to find something to play for the night; you see all these game titles and catchy artwork.

Eventually you find something that looks interesting enough, but first you have to check reviews and read forums to see if the game is going to be worth your time, god forbid you play a low rated game, no sir. After 30 minutes of research you reach the conclusion that this particular game isn't worth your time. "Alright! I'll just find another one!" You say to no one in particular.

Its now 11PM. You wake up disoriented in your couch, "oh well, guess I was too tired huh? I'll just play tomorrow" you think to yourself. "Tomorrow will be the day, for sure".

For a second you smell something a familiar, a scent of popcorn and candy but it's just a trick of your mind. You are hungry so you prepare a microwave burrito. Dinner is served.

You take your Burrito to the couch so you can eat while watching something, feeling a little nostalgic you put on the new Space Jam movie that came out a little while ago. You devour your burrito and finish the movie.


You are tired, you go to bed. Space Jam 2 sucked.


You wake up, it is still 2024.

You go to work.
Click to expand...
Jesus Christ, I feel depressed now lol.
 
W

WoJ

Member
As a kid part of the fun was going to Blockbuster or whatever the rental store was and hoping they had the game you wanted to play AND that it was in stock. There were games that were never in stock....but if they were and you got to rent it, you were like king of your friends group.

And as a kid I had no money. Rentals meant I could get access to most games at least a little.

Now as an adult I have money and can buy whatever I want. Combine this with the fact that sub services don't have that "is it in stock" aura and it just isn't the same.
 
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