Why did renting games become less popular in the modern era?

[cirno]

I doubt digital games are ever gonna kill off physical games totally-since honestly, if everyone was flocking to it it probably would've happened already. But rental games are a bit different; nowadays you could probably buy a cheap indie game, a port of an old game, or a full-fledged game on sale if you're particularly lucky for around the same price you'd usually pay for a rental. Digital just kinda replaced the whole "I just want something nice to play for the weekend" niche, and nostalgia aside it's honestly a much more worthwhile option for that

[shadowzero]

there is a great series on youtube called ABANDONED and they have a well done examination on the fall of Blockbuster Video and how it might have been saved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Jc3_rnLYI

[brazbit]

Ah, rentals. They were a staple of my NES days. I rented often enough that when I got my collection back from my parents I was shocked at how few I actually owned vs. how many I fondly remembered playing frequently. I found a handwritten inventory I made prior to storing it away and I confirmed they were all there. (I was a weird kid)

What I remember was... Warning: Old man, unresearched, ramblings

That around the shift from cartridges to discs there was a big push to make rental against licensing rights. Cartridges were a pain to duplicate but CDs? Those were simple, same with DVDs publishers got nervous. This fight was already happening with used PC software sales. I also think the rental joints were getting fatigued with the number of consoles and formats and short shelf life. Compared to a video where a tape or, better yet a disc, could see a decade or more of service. Games were a secondary business for them anyway.

Disc based games also provided a way to reduce the need for game rentals, demo discs. When discs came along, any magazine worth its purchase price had a disc with all the latest games on it. Stores were also getting in on this with stacks of demos near the register to draw in future purchases. At first the demo discs in stores were about $10, then near $5 and finally free. While many were interactive, some were just videos of gameplay. The need for rentals was drying up fast.

Then came digital. Consoles are plugged into the net, games are just 1s and 0s, download the demos and skip having to buy magazines or stop by stores. Same goes for trailers and gameplay footage.

Plus by this time you could do a quick search online and find everything you ever needed to know about a game. These days, with the rise of things like Twitch the demos themselves are seen as unneccisary by many developers and you usually just get trailers and video streamed from other players and reviewers. Things have changed drastically from the days of the occasional magazine, heresay on the playground and even pay-per-minute telephone tip lines. 

Back then you were far more likely to pay full price for a crap game. rental was not just fun, it was almost a financial necessity. Now you can watch reviews, watch your friends play live, download it in minutes or have Amazon dispatch a drone and have a physical copy in under an hour. Not much call for rentals anymore.


End of rambling.

[lordsofskulls]

Actually Rental Gaming i feel like still can be a business.  Problem is prices.  I used to be able to rent games for $7-10 for a week.  Now not only games are shorter, and most can be beaten within 1-3 days.  But prices for renting from red box... is $5 a day... = a week you might as well buy the game at retail store.

Also when it comes to rarer games, people would steal them, or by accident destroy them.

Video game rentaling wasnt what kept blockbuster and other rental places in bussiness.  It was the movies.  You would rent 1-2 games.  and usually 5-8 movies for a week.  = $20-$30.  Because of Netflix and streaming services, it ruined main income for those business.

[kmacdw]

I feel it's been a combination of factors.

Firstly price; games are relatively cheaper nowadays, back then I might have gotten 2 games a year (granted I was a child). But comparatively my nephew gets at least 5 times that amount nowadays. Renting games was a cheaper alternative (or at least it appeared to be on the surface).

Also digital; it's just made things more convenient. It's also created a platform for smaller titles; which can possible scratch the itch that a rental might have done previously.

It's a shame really; as I have fond memories of rentals.

Most weekends my dad would rent me a game for my SNES; the likes of Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island spring to mind.

And as time went on; I can remember regularly renting the likes of Wild ARMs and Vandal Hearts 2 for PS1. I spent so much renting them that I could have bought them. I did actually get the copies when my local video game store closed down; as my brothers worked there.

[betelgeuse]

Probably licensing rights, durability and average length of games.

I remember being able to rent NES cartridges anywhere, even the local liquor store. Video stores carried Genesis and SNES when those started coming out. Only a few indie shops dared to break the "no rental" policy of TG16 games in my area. 

I can't even count how many times I had to return scratched discs to Blockbuster and Hollywood video (both movies and games) that didn't work. The old cartridges always worked. I'm sure people still use the Gamestop "free rental policy" to this day though (7 days to decide if you like that used game). Maybe that last one doesn't apply anymore. The last purchase I made at a Gamestop was a PS4 console.

Most games from the 8-16 bit era could be beat in less than an hour or two (excluding RPGs etc.). Many newer games are much more involved and can't be fully completed in a one night rental. The only time I rent a game now is if Redbox gives me a free one. Not sure if those game discs differ from the retail copies, like taking the special features off the movies etc.