Redbox tests $2-a-night videogame rentals
PHYSICAL: Nevada, North Carolina kiosks carry Wii, PS3, Xbox titles
By Danny King -- Video Business, 8/17/2009
AUG. 17 | PHYSICAL: Redbox has started testing videogame rentals at some of its kiosks, following through on its parent company's intention to boost sales by broadening product offerings for the largest U.S. movie-rental kiosk operator.
As reported last week by InsideRedbox.com, Redbox last week started testing $2-a-night game rentals at machines in Reno, Nev., and Wilmington, N.C., the company confirmed today. The machines will carry titles for Nintendo's Wii and DS, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 consoles. Rentals will be converted to purchases if a customer keeps a title for 25 nights.
Redbox is looking to broaden its presence in a videogame market where gamers are saving money by foregoing buying new titles and either renting them, buying used games or playing free online games instead. U.S. videogame hardware and software sales in July dropped 29% from a year earlier, marking the industry's fifth straight monthly decline, NPD said last week.
"Before determining if we will feature videogames nationwide, we will test the concept to determine consumer interest and preference," a Redbox statement said. The company didn't reveal how many machines are part of the test.
Earlier this month, Paul Davis, CEO of Redbox parent Coinstar, said Redbox would test different pricing models as well as rentals of Blu-ray Discs and videogames. Redbox, whose second-quarter sales more than doubled on more kiosks and higher sales from each machine, plans to add as many as 8,500 kiosks this year to bring its total to more than 20,000.
