Blockbuster to Debut Online Game Rentals in Q2

Blockbuster [BBI] will go head-to-head with Gamefly for online game rental market share, revealing its plans for the service today.

Blockbuster will start a pilot program in select areas next quarter in which its Total Access movie rental customers will be able to rent games as well as movies through the mail as part of their subscription plan. If Total Access customers return the game and rent another one at the store, they will receive half off the rental.

When customers opt to rent a game, they will be charged a flat $5 fee on top of their normal subscription charge, a Blockbuster spokesperson told The Game Trade Journal. If the customer does not rent any games in a given month, there will be no charge. Customers will only be charged more than the $5 if they rent additional games through their local store.

Customers will not have the option for a game-only plan, the company told GTJ, citing Blockbuster research indicated subscribers preferred an integrated plan for movies and games.

Blockbuster’s goal is to offer the games-by-mail rental service by the second half of the year, it said. The movie rental retailer, which also does by-mail movie rentals, has lost share in recent years to Netflix [NFLX]. Currently, Netflix does not rent games.