Xbox 360 Redbox Game Rental vs. Owning Pros and Cons

A0130

A0130

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I learned recently that you can rent games from Redbox for $1 a day. Are there any drawbacks to renting a game as compared to owning it?
 
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Yes - cost versus usage. If you rent a game from Redbox (which is going to be a dollar plus change versus just a dollar) then you have to play it quickly to make up the difference and you can't really enjoy it the way you could a game you own for a single set price. So yeah.
 
I think renting is a good way to see if you even like the game. Then if you do, you can buy it. I think the only drawback to renting is you have to return it, or pay fees. I know growing up, we rented the sega cd so often that my mom just finally got us one for Christmas, and man don't I wish I still had it ;)

Of course, if you beat the game in a matter of days and don't hold anymore interest in it, renting should be fine.
 
I'm not a fan of red box, simply because we're procrastinators at returning the games, and those fees add up. My dollar game turned into 12 bucks lol
 
There are no drawbacks as far as my experience is concerned. It's the developers who take the battering here. They don't get what they deserve.
 
Well I always prefer owning a game as I like to build a library for myself and really love seeing those games on my wall.

Other than that, if a game gets a nice DLC or improvement later I always want to be one of the first to download and play it!
 
I don't want any game on my profile that I'm not committed to, so if the demo couldn't get me to buy it, then I will not be renting it. Not to mention, I play way too slow to make renting worth my while.
 
Well, if you rent it then you can try it out and use that as a demo or you could beat the game and be done with it if it's not a game you want to buy at the moment. If you buy it you can play it whenever or resell it.
 
Renting feels like when you pay a subscription to something - you feel like you are obliged to play or you won't get your money's worth.
Now, if you own the game, you can put it on your shelf and play whenever you want, when you feel like it, without no one knocking on your door later with a huge bill.
 
There is the collectible aspect of the games which many people like to do. Me personally, I had no idea Redbox was doing rentals for so cheap. I might just start doing this now, seeing as it's getting harder and harder to get my hands on a marquee title.
 
I think it's great to see if it's a game you'd like to buy, but no, I would feel too rushed renting a game through Redbox. Now, for movies on the other hand...Redbox is great! Actually returned two movies to the kiosk a few hours ago.
 
I like being able to put games on a shelf and not play them for a while, so when I do eventually play them again it makes it seem a lot more interesting for me and I feel more obliged to play it for longer periods because it has been such a long while since I last played it.

I have rented a couple of games in my time and although I played them A LOT whilst I had them, I often got bored playing them because I felt like I needed to play/finish them or I was wasting my money.
 
I see RedBox as a means to let you try the game before buying it. If you like the game then why not go buy it. If you didn't like the game you can simply just return the game at the cost of $1. Half the time I do use RedBox, most of the games re sold out. I guess there's a lot of gamers in my area.
 
I really don't rent games.
But I can see why it is a good idea. Instead of buying a game that you are not sure if you like then you can rent it to try it out first. So lets say you didn't like the game you rented then at least you didn't waste a lot of money. Also if you liked the game then you can buy it, and play it as much as you wish in the following weeks/months.
I don't rent games because I like to collect games.
 
I never rent games! I take too long to beat them, well if I ever fully beat them, which rarely happens. I always think I'm going go back and beat them one day but I rarely do. Either way though I feel so rushed when I rent a game because I want to make sure I'm not spending to much renting it to the point I should have just bought it.

I feel that renting games is just a waste a money in general compared to buying one anyway!

Now trading games however is an ever big waste of your money!!!!!
 
I thought that if you get something from Redbox long enough you just ended up buying it and got to keep it. Did that change? I could see it as a good way to determine if I like a game enough to buy it though. Play it over the weekend, if it seems worth it you can go buy it. If it sucks massive amounts of balls then just turn it back in.
 
Owning. It's all about flaunting that collection you got.
 
No, I never rent games. I always buy. Whenever I rent a movie from Redbox it takes me days to return it back. I can never remember that it is due the next day, or forget to bring it with me when I leave the house. So I haven't ever tried getting a game from them. Besides, games usually take a long time to beat and I wouldn't have to want to return it the next day.
 
This is a unique question and it makes a lot of sense. If you can rent a $60 game for $1 and keep renting it until you beat the game, the odds are you will save money. I always get the urge at random times to play games I have, so for me buying the game pays off in the long run because I can enjoy it whenever I want and I don't have to deal with the hassle of leaving the house every time I want to play the game.

I would also say it depends on the games you're renting. If it's an online based game where you can play literally all year long, buying the game pays off. If it's a game that you know will only take 20 or so hours to beat, renting it is the way to go.

For me, I typically rent the cheap games to see if they're worth buying. Some games get huge hype and don't live up to expectations, so it's always nice to trial play it to see if it's something I want to spend my hard earned money on or not.
 
Where are you from? In Kansas the redbox for games is $2. But still. I believe that people should buy the games they love to support the industry and the respected developers. Though speaking as a broke college kid, I totally see the appeal of renting from redbox, especially on short games. I rented Bioshock Infinite this summer and beat it in a day so I only paid $2 for it. Makes economical sense for the consumer but not for the developer.
 
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