Online Video Game Rental GameAccess
From LoveToKnow VideoGames
GameAccess.ca Online Video Game Rental
GameAccess.ca is one of the very few online video game rental options that Canadians have. The other prominent player in Canada's mail order game rental market is Canflix, a company that focuses much more on its DVD movie collection than it does its video game offerings. By contrast, GameAccess is all about video games and video games only. As such, they could quite possibly be the only viable option for those of us who love hockey and sport the maple leaf with pride when it comes to getting our video game fix through the mail.
Based out of Quebec, GameAccess has a variety of plans and plenty of games to keep you entertained, but is it worth it? And how is the service? Keep reading to get the skinny, then decide for yourself whether GameAccess is for you, or if you'd rather stick to brick and mortar rental stores like Blockbuster.
GameAccess: Video Game Selection
I do have to hand it to the people at GameAccess.ca. They really have their act together when it comes to giving us a great video game selection. Perusing their list of titles, you'll find something for everyone. You can search for a particular title on the site, but if you're more the browsing type (I know I am), GameAccess has made it easy. Select your system of choice, and then you are provided with a number of genres:
- Action/Adventure
- Driving/Racing
- Children's
- Fighting
- Miscellaneous
- Role-Playing
- Shooter
- Simulation
- Sports
Even if you can't decide on what kind of game you'd like to add to your queue (more about the game queue in a bit), you can have a look at:
- Most Popular
- New Releases
- Coming Soon
Up To Date Library
GameAccess keeps their library of games very up to date, even posting up new titles well in advance of their official launch dates so that you can add them to your queue ahead of time. For example, Nintendo DS owners are anxiously anticipating the North American release of Star Fox Command, which at the time this article was written (August 15, 2006), was not yet released, but GameAccess has happily added it to their collection, posting up the box art and a summary description of the game. The same can be said about their PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 line-ups. This is a major plus for avid video gamers.
Video Game Console Coverage
When it comes to online video game rental, most companies (both Canadian and American) tend to focus on the main home video game consoles, but GameAccess is showing love for the portable players as well. Try out the latest on-the-go titles from both Nintendo and Sony! Here is a full list of the systems that GameAccess supports at this time:
- Sony PlayStation 2
- Nintendo GameCube
- Microsoft Xbox
- Microsoft Xbox 360
- Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)
- Nintendo DS
Notably missing from the list is the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, but given that the big N has seemingly given up on the three pillar approach, it's understandable that GameAccess has left the GBA out in the cold. In the future, we should expect this Canadian mail order game rental company to pick up titles for the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii.
User Interface and Ease of Use
The GameAccess website is fairly well designed and easy to navigate. As mentioned above, you can search for a specific title for a specific gaming console, or alternatively, you can browse by system or genre. The "gaming queue" is where you add all the games you would like to rent, and GameAccess allows you to put them in preferential "ranked" order. This is a great system, as you can say that you'd prefer certain video games over others. In the queue, you can also see how available each title is (as indicated by a red bar that gets filled as the more copies of that game become available for rent), as well as whether a particular title is available for purchase.
GameAccess: Pricing Options
10-Day Free Trial
Like nearly all other online rental companies out there (both for video games and for movies), GameAccess offers a free trial period for you to try out their services. There is no obligation whatsoever, but they do require a $50 pre-authorization on your credit card. What is unfortunate is that it is only a 10-day trial (including the weekends when Canada Post does not ship any items). This means that your trial period will likely only consist of a single batch of two games, but it does give you a sense of how the service works, what the packaging looks like, and what the turnaround time is.
Monthly Plans
Instead of being charged for each individual rental, GameAccess has a pricing system in place that allows for unlimited rentals each month. The only cap on this arrangement is the number of titles you can have out at any given time. They have four monthly plans for you to choose from:
- $16.95 + tax for 1 game at a time
- $23.95 + tax for 2 games at a time
- $30.95 + tax for 3 games at a time
- $37.95 + tax for 4 games at a time
Warehouse Locations and Shipping Time
At this time, GameAccess ships all of their games from their warehouse in Montreal. While this works great for people in the eastern part of Canada, it can create quite a long turnaround time for people in Alberta and British Columbia. I started my 10-day trial on a Monday, and did not receive my first shipment of games until the following Monday. What this meant was that I had to ship back my trial games after only playing with them for 3 days in order to not get charged for the first month of use. Assuming that the shipping time is the same in the other direction (back to their warehouse), this could mean that I would only get 2 shipments each month. Of course, if you live in Toronto or Montreal, shipping times would be much faster.
That said, Louis-Karl Laframboise (President of Operations at GameAccess.ca) did tell me that they are planning on opening a warehouse in the Vancouver area sometime in 2007 in order to better serve the Western Canada demographic. As per his email to me, they "have no fixed date yet but it is definitely one of our business priorities".
GameAccess Contact Information
Mailing address
GAME ACCESS
P.O. BOX 63094
STN ÎLE-DES-SOEURS
VERDUN QC H3E 1V6
Phone support (M-F, 10am-5pm EST):
Montreal: 514-879-0907
Quebec: 418-686-8696
Toronto: 416-934-8509
Ottawa: 613-520-8238
Vancouver: 604-678-0087
Instant messengers:
ICQ# 252353950
MSN: support@gameaccess.ca
Email:
support@gameaccess.ca
Comments
Game Access review in 7 words: The best way to rent games period.
-- Contributed by: StanMichael's review opened my eyes to the online rental phenomenon which I head previously never heard of. This is why I signed up to Game Access on April 30th using the free trial to make my own assessment of the service.
I built a queue of only new releases on PS3 and XB360. On May 1st I received an email stating GTA4 on 360 had shipped out form my queue (which was my number 2 title since I had put GTA4 on PS3 as no1). On May 3rd, I opened my mailbox and there was my very own copy of Grand Theft Auto 4.
The disk was in perfect condition, but this could be explained by the fact that the game was shipped to me on the official release date so it was most likely a brand new copy. The packaging and envelope was very clean and professional.
On my free trial expiration date, since I decided to stay a member for the full month, they shipped out another game from my queue. This time I was sent Iron Man on PS3, which was my No1 selected game.
Again, two days later, this very game was in my mailbox and the disk was in pristine condition. But just to test them, I proceeded to calling the customer service 1-800 number and told them the disk was unplayable. The gentleman was very courteous and said that they would immediately send out a replacement game and that they apologized for this situation. I told him no need to do so, since I was only testing the quality of their customer support. ïŠ
Since then, I have sent back GTA4 and received the new Narnia on 360 which was my No4 pic. Up to date, I have always received games in my top 5 and shipping takes an average of 2 days from their facility to my house. Thus I will be staying a member of their service for the next month and if their service stays on par, I don’t see why I would be cancelling anytime soon.
Thank you Michael!
I was intrigued by the idea of this website as I am growing tired of going to blockbuster for my games only to return an unbeaten game in 1-2 weeks. The website makes this service seem extremely appealing. I signed up and prepaid for 3 months (2 game out at a time plan) to save 20%, no problem.
I added 10 games to my queue, which is what is recommended on the website. The first 5-7 games I really wanted to play, 3 of them I already played but haven’t beaten yet but plan to. The last 3 games on the list are games I always wanted to try but haven’t had the chance to yet but by no means are games I really have a desire to rent.
The next day only 1 of my 2 games had shipped “Fight Night Round 3″ which is one of the approximately 10 games that launched with Xbox 360 years ago and the last game on my 10 game queue. I added this game because I would like to see how it plays on the 360 and was having a hard time selecting 10 games to fill the recommended queue.
I called customer service to first inquire as to why only 1 out of my 2 games had shipped and why the 10th game on my queue. They first explained that I really only had 9 games in my queue but should have had 10 - they said one of the 10 games was unreleased. I explained that was inaccurate as Army of Two was the most recent game on my list of 10 and had been released the week before.
They then proceeded to tell me that games are shipped out based on availablity. The stock level of all 10 games were the same, which meant that there is a high probability of copies of each game returning to their warehouse each day. I indicated I wasn’t pleased with the game they sent me, late in the day to boot, they missed the mail run for that day as it was sent out around 4PM.
They then explained I can signup for game reservations which conveniently costs more money each month and is subject to longer than usual waiting periods before the game you want is shipped. They said it could take more than 2 weeks before a game reserved is shipped.
I explained to customer service that I wasn’t at all pleased with the service, sorry no refunds! Partial or full. It appears I will be waiting 2-3 weeks (includes shipping times) or longer for a game I would like to play meaning in a 3 month period I paid $65.00 to play maybe 6 games in total, even less if I decide to keep a game more than a week. If the service doesn’t get better by the time my 3 months expires, I’ll go back to blockbuster for my games as I know I’ll get what I want when I want it which will end up being cheaper in the long run anyway.
In theory the website’s service is unique and appealing but unless you want to rent games that have been out for 3-4 years which you can buy locally used for 5-10 dollars anyway, I would suggest sticking with what works.
-- Contributed by: JThis page has been accessed 1,246 times. This page was last modified 22:45, 15 August 2006.
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