Ask anyone what website they recommend if you’re looking to rent video games online, and chances are they’ll say GameFly. Like NetFlix, GameFly has created a large following, and among the masses is the only service of its type that exists. To help give gamers more of a choice when it comes to renting games online and to showcase what may end up being the next big thing before the other guys do, I wanted to tell people about a little website called GottaPlay.com.
It all started with John Gorst and Mark Levin. After working together for years and getting fed up with having to pitch ideas to others, the two decided to branch into video games, acquiring two services which already had subscribers, Deep Shark LLC and Next Rental, Inc. From there it was a journey which allowed the new company – GottaPlay – to collect millions in capital. Using this, they set up several distribution centers across the US. According to John, this is what made — and makes — GottaPlay unique. "They [GameFly] have more investment money — we [GottaPlay] have more distribution centers."
The number of distribution centers for GottaPlay is the selling point for many gamers — especially those on the East coast. Centered in California, GameFly can take quite a while to reach an east coast gamer in the mail. With GottaPlay, almost anyone in the continental United States can get their game in 2 days or less. But what about Hawaii and Alaska? "Hawaii and Alaska," John laughs. "Those are tricky." Sorry, guys.
Renting games quicker isn’t the only thing that makes GottaPlay stand out. The site also offers an extensive and easy to use trading service, acting as the liaison between people wanting to trade and trade for video games. How it works is simple: you list what you have to trade/want, find a willing person to exchange with, and GP provides the mailers. To ensure that people who sign up for the site don’t sign up just to trade and run, GP requires people to use points acquired by trading on the site in order to trade games; they also keep a history of deals, much like eBay and Amazon.
That may sound like plenty already, but GottaPlay has more in its future — much more. In the near future, a planned social network aspect of the site will be fully unveiled. Subscribers will be able to create their own profile with their interests, favorites, friends, etc. (like MySpace without the pedophiles), and interact with one another. "Tournaments are also planned," John throws in. "We’re working on possible prizes for them."
Along with the community aspect, mobile gamers will also feel the love in the future, as GP will eventually offer downloadable mobile content to subscribers. Whether or not that will cost a separate fee or be included somehow in the monthly subscription price is yet to be seen, but it’s just another future reason why people should take GottaPlay into consideration when looking for a rental or trading service.
GottaPlay has a lot of lofty goals (including an eventual 41 distribution centers throughout the US, which is similar to NetFlix’s setup). John and the rest of the GottaPlay crew aren’t to nervous about failure, however, and they certainly understand how important the gamers and GottaPlay community are in fulfilling those dreams. "The gaming community is very important to us," says John. "We’re trying to build a community of gamers who can play, rent, and trade with their peers. [Unlike other services] we’re a very customer-centric business. We know our customers appreciate what we offer, but what they may not know is how much we appreciate them."
