Online Game Rental Gamma Gamer

How Gamma Gamer Works

Gamma Gamer works just like any other online video game rental model. You get unlimited rentals from a massive catalog of games for a monthly fee. You can rent as many games as you like, but according to which plan you select, you can only have a few games in your possession at any given time. Shipping both ways is free, and depending on where you live in the United States, you'll get your games in two to four days.

Here's what to do:

1. Sign up with Gamma Gamer and take advantage of their 7 day free trial.
2. Choose the games you want to rent and place them in your queue.
3. Games at the top of your queue will be shipped the soonest.
4. Get your games, play to your heart's content and keep them as long as you like. When you're ready to send them back, just use the prepaid envelope and drop it in the mail.
5. When the game arrives at Gamma Gamer's warehouse, the next item in your queue is automatically shipped.
6. Repeat until your thumbs break from gaming exhaustion.

The systems available are the usual selection of current-gen consoles and portable devices. The Xbox 360, PS2, original Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PSP and Game Boy Advance are all here. Upcoming consoles (PS3 and Nintendo Wii) are on the list, but no games are present just yet.

Online Video Game Rental Plans

Gamma Gamer has two simple game rental plans available:

• One game at a time for $14.99 a month
• Two games at a time for $19.99 a month

About the Service

Gamma Gamer has a good selection of titles, but unfortunately the website is plagued with glitches and sign-up issues. We had a difficult time getting the service and received strange e-mails from what appear to be third-party billing companies. It could have been a one-time error, of course, so other readers should definitely chime in with their experiences.

The biggest problem with Gamma Gamer is game availability. The first half a dozen games we added to our log were unavailable. Only the most popular titles for the biggest systems can usually be found. We've e-mailed their customer service about the issue and will report their response.

Shipping is a little slower than average, as Gamma Gamer only has one warehouse located in the New York area. If you're in the northeast it's only a day or two in between shipping, but everywhere else the wait can be much, much longer.

Bottom line: If you're in the New York area, Gamma Gamer is a fair deal for your money. Don't look for obscure titles, however.

A Second Opinion

Desmynd: We were pleased with their customer support deptartment. They got back to us on our inquiry within 24 hours. There were some rather obscure games in their library, and their customer service department mentioned that their inventory includes titles that only date back to 2004. The time it takes to ship games is about average. It can take more than a day or two if you're not in the northeast.