Will a website upgrade help save GameFly?
Online video game rental service GameFly announced that it has renovated its website, just days after filing a complaint against the U.S. Postal Service.
Coincidence? Maybe.
Last week, GameFly filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C., claiming 1 percent to 2 percent of its games are lost or broken in transit every month at a cost of nearly $300,000 monthly to the company, whereas the rival online video rental services Blockbuster and Netflix suffer far less. The GameFly complaint alleges the reason is that those companies receive preferential treatment intended to harm competitors.
The complaint cites attempts to work with the USPS to address the problem, and even details GameFly’s efforts to redesign its game packaging, at great cost to the company. Yet the inventory loss during transit still seems rather high from GameFly’s perspective, compared to either Blockbuster’s or Netflix’s losses.
Add to this the announcement earlier this year by Blockbuster that it would rent video games as well, and GameFly’s concern becomes clear: Blockbuster is bigger and more established in the marketplace, and thus has the potential to swat GameFly off the map, and now here the USPS might be conspiring to help.
So, GameFly has redesigned its website to provide “additional content, new and updated features and a simplified navigational interface,” according to a company announcement. And yes, in Game Guy’s opinion, the site is easier to use and navigate. Now, game information pops up upon scrolling over the image of a game box, user reviews and FAQs are more clearly marked, and the drop-down menus aren’t as vague as they once were.
But what GameFly really wants to emphasize with the website redesign is its “leadership position in the online video game rental market by offering a wide range of gaming resources not only to the members of its rental service but to the gaming community as a whole,” the announcement said.
A better website just might keep some current GameFly customers from leaving as well as attract new ones, the company might be thinking — at a time it appears to need all the help it can get.
What? Gamefly’s not in any kind of trouble. Blockbuster’s the one who’s in trouble. One google search and it becomes clear who’s on their last legs. Blockbuster and bankruptcy are pretty much intertwined in the news of late while Gamefly has only expanded its suite of services and features. If anything, this news is only going to position them even better than they are already.
If it’s true that the USPS is giving priority treatment to other online distributors gamefly’s got a valid complaint here. And if the level of service does in fact improve to whatever the Blockbuster standard is it’s going to be a nail in their coffin, not Gamefly’s.
Anyone who’s ever used the services can tell you Gamefly is far superior. Blockbuster has never and will never put gamers first. They have always been about movies with the game rental business as a sort of side project. Gamefly on the other hand does games and only games and its selection and prices so far exceed those of Blockbuster they’re hardly worth comparing. Not to mention actually being able to get the games you want AND having them in playable condition. A good 50% of the time when I was lucky enough to actually find a game I wanted in stock at Blockbuster I’d get it home only to realize it was so beat to hell it was unplayable.
No, if anyone should be worried here it should be Blockbuster. Gamefly has been fast on their heels for a while now and is going to overtake them before too long if they haven’t already.