Legal Niches

Direct2Drive Tries New Game Rental Scheme

By james_fudge

Direct2Drive, IGN's digital distribution channel for PC games, quietly launch a rental scheme for its line-up of games. For $5, users can try out select games from the site's catalog for five hours. If they like the game and want to buy it, they can simply pay the asking price and have $5 taken off the top of the purchase price.

Right now the selection of games that support this feature include Divinity II - Ego Draconis, F.E.A.R., Race Driver: Grid and Silent Hill: Homecoming. While the selection of games available during this early phase of testing is sparse, D2D promises that games supporting this function will 'grow in time."

It is an interesting idea because it allows you to get a good taste of a game without committing to the full purchase price. Of course, it is all about balance and pricing: five hours in game priced at $15 seems like a waste, but $5 for that time in a $50 title might be worth it. Read More

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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on January 26, 2011 (boomark / email).