Companies News

Blockbuster Total Access to include video games

By Tim Conneally | Published February 11, 2009, 12:51 PM

While the main difference between Total Access and Netflilx was the ability for Blockbuster subscribers to return their movies to a physical store if they chose, today the gap between the two services increased.

Blockbuster's Total Access program is the video store's answer to Netflix's by-mail DVD trade. Today, Blockbuster announced it will be renting video games in the Total Access program, putting them in competition with not only Netflix, but Gamefly as well.

Today marks the launch of the pilot program, and the company intends for a nationwide rollout by the rapidly approaching second quarter of 2009. The program will include Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox, and Xbox 360 titles for rent. Gamefly offers all those systems and also includes the PSP, Nintendo DS, and Gameboy advance, as well as the Nintendo Gamecube.

Blockbuster Total Access plans cost between $9.99 and $19.99 per month, and Total Access Premium plans range from $21.99 to $34.99 per month. An additional tier that includes video games has not yet been unveiled.

Gamefly's by-mail game rental service costs between $15.95 and $36.95 per month.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

vikampion
Feb 12, 2009 - 8:38 AM

Maybe after this announcment...Gamefly will team up with netflix...lol.

Score: 0

|
Post Reply
SquirrelSF
Feb 12, 2009 - 4:35 AM

It would be nice to just have 1 account for movies/games at the same or less than the amount I pay both NetFlix and Gamefly every month.

Score: 0

|
Post Reply

Microsoft's Ray Ozzie: 'Nobody's going to be 100% open'

The mobile apps ecosystems of the world may converge over time, led by apps being ported over across platforms, according to the Chief Software Architect.

Nearly half the money spent at US retail on desktop PCs goes to Apple

Shocking, isn't it?

Will Firefox beat IE9 to Direct2D rendering?

Just days after Microsoft executives gave conference attendees a peek at a new rendering technology, a Mozilla contributor revealed he's working on the same thing.

Where there's smoke: Apple warranty stance raises troubling questions

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: Smoking can be dangerous not only for your lungs, it appears, but for your Apple hardware warranty.

The fallacy of Facebook privacy

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: If an insurance company learns something interesting about its client through the Internet, is that snooping?

Microsoft 'worked with Apple' for Silverlight on iPhone, says Goldfarb

By not making such a big deal out of trying to stream video to the iPhone, Microsoft got a big deal out of it, revealed the Silverlight product manager.

Clicker.com cuts through the Web video chaos

In a world where homemade video and Hollywood movies travel the same pipeline, it's good to have a real search engine to cut through the clutter.

A case study in improving software: What Office 2010 can learn from Notion 3

A music composition product gambles with a complete overhaul, in an effort to make headway against two well-known competitors in a tough market.

Kindle 2 update adds battery life, native PDF reader

Amazon has pushed out an update to the Kindle 2 e-reader that lengthens battery life and adds a native PDF viewer.

Safari on iPhone gets competition from a $1 browser app

Apple likes to say it gives iPhone users a full browsing experience, but a new competitor tries to incorporate more desktop browser features.

Action Replay maker sues Microsoft for Xbox 360 'predatory technological barriers'

Third-party video game accessory maker Datel has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over the Xbox 360's recent Dashboard update.