Blockbuster Adds Game Rentals To Movie-By-Mail Service

Media rental firm Blockbuster plans to add game rentals to its existing mail-based movie rental service. The move will compete with companies already established in that space, including GameFly, whose service deals exclusively with games. Before it fully integrates games into its mail system, Blockbuster will launch a pilot program for "select Blockbuster Total Access online customers." The pilot will begin in the second quarter of 2009, with the formal availability of the service in the second half of the year. Blockbuster already rents games at its brick-and-mortar locations. The company says it already understands the video game space, and its physical presence gives it an edge over purely mail-based competitors. "We already rent more video games than any other company, store-based or online, in the nation, so we know our core customer loves games as well as movies," says Blockbuster.com general manager Bob Barr. "A combination video game and movie online offering -- with in-store exchange privileges -- is a tremendous value and convenience offering not available through anyone other than Blockbuster."