Redbox takes game rentals nationwide

By Geoff Duncan June 17, 2011

Redbox game rentals — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Media rental service Redbox has been poking at the edges of the game rental business for some time, but the company has now made good on its promise to take the service nationwide: this month, some 21,000 of Rebox’s 27,000 rental kiosks should be offering a range of game titles for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii, with games renting for $2 per day.

Titles available for rental include a selection of games that tie in with recent movie releases as well as popular game titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops, You Don’t Know Jack, Just Dance 2, Red Faction: Armageddon, and the widely-panned Duke Nukem Forever.

Redbox has been experimenting with game rentals since August 2009, when it began offering a small selection of games at a limited number of kiosks as a test run. In October 2010 the company extended the service to 5,000 kiosks, and in April announced plans to extend the service nationwide. At the time, Redbox announced that it had rented more than 1 million video games at its trial locations.

Redbox’s nationwide game rental efforts put the company into direct competition with rent-by-mail services like GameFly, much the same way Redbox’s rental kiosks compete with video rental services like Netflix and Blockbuster.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Gaming

Netflix games may be coming to TVs soon, as revealed by new iOS app

Selecting a game in Netflix Games.

It looks like Netflix might be expanding its gaming offerings to TVs soon, as a Netflix Game Controller is now on the iOS App Store. Netflix has yet to announce or comment on the purpose of the app, but a message shown when the app boots up confirms that it's coming.
Netflix has slowly made its way into the gaming industry over the past couple of years, acquiring studios and adding a dedicated game section to its mobile app that lets players download premium mobile games. The library includes some great games like Poinpy and Before Your Eyes, but has yet to break into the mainstream, likely due to its somewhat obscure availability. This new app, which was preemptively listed on Apple's storefront by Netflix and lines up with leaks from earlier this year, indicates that Netflix Games are coming to the TV.
The description for the app states that "this Game Controller app pairs with your TV and allows you to play games on Netflix using your phone or mobile device." After downloading and booting up the app, Digital Trends discovered two more messages asking players to "choose a game on your TV and follow the directions to connect" and that "Netflix Games on TV are in beta. Some devices may not be supported at this time."
All of this points to an impending beta rollout for games on Netflix's TV apps, which has not been announced yet. As such, we don't have any idea about which televisions or games the iOS app or Netflix Games on TV will support just yet. Regardless, this looks like a massive evolution for Netflix's gaming efforts, especially as it gears up to release a cloud gaming service.
Netflix declined to comment on the program when asked by Digital Trends, but it did refer us to previous statements it made about its intentions to break into cloud and TV game streaming.

Audio / Video

Where to rent DVDs and Blu-rays as Netflix ends disc rentals

Redbox DVD rentals.

After a formidable 25-year run, Netflix has announced that it will shutter its DVD-to-mail rental service, DVD Netflix, aka DVD.com. Citing the shrinking DVD business, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told shareholders on April 18 that the rental service would be shipping its last DVD on September 29, 2023.
And while most of the 230 million Netflix subscribers won’t miss the service -- or perhaps even knew it still existed in the first place -- DVDs and Blu-rays are still a preferred method for watching movies and TV series if you really care about quality or just don't have broadband internet.
But now that DVD Netflix is out of the game, where can people turn to rent DVDs and Blu-rays?
Well, as the news hit Twitter, two of the best alternatives chimed in, reminding their followers that they, too, still existed. GameFly -- which primarily rents video games, but also has a selection of movies for rent -- tweeted at popular kiosk-rental company Redbox with a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gif and the text “Out here with @redbox like … .” The two services exchanged clever gifs and tweets (Redbox and Blockbuster even exchanged jabs) about being the last ones standing, but it still might be unclear to many DVD Netflix renters where they can go to fill the void.
That’s where we come in with this rundown of where you can rent DVDs and Blu-rays now that Netflix is shutting down its DVD rental service. Oh, and if you need a Blu-ray player, check out our roundup of the best ones to buy.

Redbox

Entertainment

Netflix may bring its gaming service to TVs, with iPhones serving as controllers

The Netflix Games section.

Netflix is working on a feature that will bring its games to smart TVs and allow players to use their iPhone as a controller, reports from Bloomberg and MacRumors' Steve Moser said on Wednesday.

The move would take Netflix’s gaming service beyond only smartphones and tablets, giving subscribers more ways to play. And for iPhone owners, it also eliminates the need to buy a dedicated controller, making it more likely that people would give its games a go.