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Blockbuster By Mail Added Video Game Rentals in 2010 at No Extra Charge

In August 2010, Blockbuster added video game rentals to its By Mail subscription at no additional rental charge. Monthly rentals were unlimited, but simultaneous games depended on the plan.
World2010 at No Extra Charge Length2 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team

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Blockbuster announced on August 10, 2010, that subscribers could rent video games through its existing By Mail subscription without an additional game-rental fee. The feature took effect August 6, according to the service terms. “Unlimited” referred to monthly rentals, not the number of games a subscriber could keep at home at once: that number depended on the subscription plan.

What Blockbuster announced

The company described access to more than 3,000 game titles, with no limit on how many games subscribers could rent during a month. Games were included in the subscription price rather than charged as a separate add-on. New customers could start at $8.99 per month, according to the 2010 announcement; that was the offer at the time, not a current price. Blockbuster’s August 10, 2010 announcement

How the rental allowance worked

There was no stated monthly cap on rentals, but subscribers could have only the number of games out at one time allowed by their plan. Thus, “unlimited” described the ability to send games back and rent more within the month; it did not mean unlimited simultaneous possession.

To rent a game, subscribers added it to their online queue, just as they did a movie or television show. The terms say game rentals through Blockbuster Online took effect August 6, 2010, four days before the public announcement. Blockbuster Online terms

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Supported game systems

The announcement listed games for these platforms:

  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
  • PlayStation 3
  • PlayStation 2
  • Wii

How this differed from Blockbuster’s earlier By Mail offer

Blockbuster’s earlier subscription plans were not all the same. Its SEC-filed annual report says that in the third quarter of fiscal 2007, the company adjusted plans to include Total Access options with varying numbers of free in-store exchanges, alongside a By Mail plan described as movies through the mail only. The 2010 game-rental announcement therefore marked a later change to the By Mail offering, rather than describing a benefit present from the start. Blockbuster annual report filed with the SEC

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Was Blockbuster By Mail available later?

The cited announcement and terms document the service in 2010; they do not establish whether Blockbuster By Mail subscriptions or shipments are available today. The historical $8.99 starting price and game-rental feature should not be treated as a current offer.

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