Video Game Rentals - The Future Of Video Game Renting

Video game rentals have always been a great way for gamers to enjoy a variety of games without forking out major cash to do so. For many years, video game fanatics have enjoyed the ability to test out their reputable games before they make that commitment to purchase. With new developments emerging within the online video game rental arena, such online services like GameFly and Gottaplay have been providing even more trouble-free way of testing out a variety of video games. We’ll take a closer look at these services below.
GameFly - The First Video Game Rental Company Emerges
GameFly is the very first online video game renting provider to step out on the scene as of early 2003. This company established its presence due to the lack of classic and newer release video game titles that were absent from many of the brick-and-mortar type companies (Blockbuster & Hollywood Video) found within your local area. The founders of GameFly Sean Spector and Jung Suh were very frustrated with the lack of choice, quality, and selection displayed from these video establishments. This led them to search online where they could not find anyone serving the online video game market. Shortly thereafter, both founders decided to leave their full time jobs to pursue their dreams with their very own web based video game rental service. This innovation has changed video game rentals as we know it today.
Renting Video Games Made Easy
GameFly has always followed the beliefs of the majority of video gamers around the world. This belief system was formed during the inception of GameFly and still stands strong today as the backbone structure for all other online video game renting services. This structure is contains the following:
· Gamers need easy access to both classic and newer titles within one company.
· Gamers want to have the choice of keeping a game for as long as they want for a reasonable rate.
· Gamers do not want to spend their money on bad games and should have the choice to send these games back without spending more money.
· Gamers like the ability to receive their favorite video games to their home address without making another trip to the local rental store.
· Gamers should have the option to view other gamer reviews, ratings, and comments as to avoid wasting their time on bad games.
· Gamers should be able to purchase high-quality used games with significant discounts off the retain pricing.
Setting the Standard for Online Video Game Rental Companies
Ever since the GameFly established its presence within the online game rental marketplace, many have followed in their footsteps. Countless game rental companies have come and gone with the trends of the industry, but there are a few that plan to stay. Gottaplay Interactive Inc. is one of these companies. Gottaplay seems to be the only company in 2006 that has gained a lot of credibility and market share within this industry in such a short amount of time. This company is currently giving GameFly a run for its money, with over 2,500 visitors subscribing to the service monthly. They have spent over 18 months developing their premiere game distribution software and currently launching 1 distribution center a month at the beginning of 2006. Even though Gottaplay Interactive has not launched their commercial advertising yet, they plan to focus primarily on their word-of-mouth referrals and online presense for the next year.
Other video game rental businesses are following close behind with Intelliflix trailing a close third. This company has established their own genre within the rental realm by dabbling within the movie rental, game rental, and mature movie rental arena. Even though Intelliflix does not plan to take over the game rental industry, they do plan to offer families the ability to rent for all their household member entertainment needs within one established group. Customers will enjoy a wide variety of entertaining media from this company for years to come.
Video game rentals will always exist as long as there is a market for the industr, which we all know won’t be going away for at least the next century. Crack your fingers, grab a soda, and get situated in your favorite chair because there are a lot of video games to be played out there and with so many choices to choose from, the only hard part is…where to go.

PlayStation 2 SingStar Bundle - Ceramic White

Mario returns and takes his next adventure into space. Follow him as he travels from planet to planet bending the rules of gravity. Players experience perspective shifts as they run upside down through alien worlds. Meet challenges like surfing on a ray in an ocean in the clouds, rolling a ball through a treacherous garden, or floating in a bubble over a poisonous swamp. Control Mario with the Wii Remote and use the Nunchuk to perform his special moves. A special co-op function allows a second player to collect star bits for Mario or take care of enemies in his way. This title also includes opportunities to change Mario into a Boo or a bee. Product DescriptionEvery hundred years a comet passes over the Mushroom Kingdom and rains down stars and stardust, and as Princess Peach and the citizens of the kingdom are celebrating the centennial event, Bowser and his legions attack by launching asteroids at the Mushroom Kingdom and crystalizing the Toads! Knowing that Bowser is after Princess Peach, Mario runs to save her. Things go awry as Bowser summons a massive spaceship, abducts Peach's entire castle and hits Mario with a massive magical attack. The next thing he knows, he finds himself on a mysterious moon high above the Mushroom Kingdom! Navigate Mario through a bevy of exciting new worlds and the depths of space, with all new enemies, power-ups and attack skills, as he collects the Stars needed to save Princess Peach! Two player functionality ESRB Rated RP for Rating Pending

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Video Game Violence...What Do You Think About It?

Ever since video game designers were able to put red pixels on their imaginary characters that had recently deceased, there have been people crusading against their subversive ways. The outrage at video games seems to be cyclic, fading very briefly before exploding into the public eye once more with renewed frenzy. The controversy seems to have sparked up again in recent times, with numerous crimes being blamed on the corruptive influence of video games. There have also been various "controversies" surrounding recent video games and their content in the areas of both violence and sexuality.
The first game to receive widespread criticism and media attention was the martial art fighting game "Mortal Kombat". This game included large spurts of blood emitted from attacks and also "Fatalities" that could be performed on stunned opponents after their defeat. These Fatalities were gruesome animation sequences showing the victorious player killing their defeated opponent in a vast variety of ways. Gamers revelled in this new experience and the controversy surrounding the violence caused mass hype that informed the less informed gamers that the game was out there. Consequently gamers played the new game just to find out what all the talk was about, thereby greatly increasing revenue.
One of the largest sparks of controversy has been the recent "Hot Coffee" modification for "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA)". This involved unlocking a sexually oriented mini-game that had been removed from the game before release, although evidently not from the source code. The creators of the game, Rockstar Entertainment, obviously realised that this particular part of the game was not appropriate for the video gaming public and removed access to it. An enterprising fan of the game found out and modified the original code to give access to the content once again. Lawsuits were brought against Rockstar for including such content in their game, although the validity of the lawsuit has to be questioned. If the game is simply purchased and played as intended by the developers, this admittedly tasteless and inappropriate mini game would never be encountered. It is not until the user-made modification is downloaded and installed that the player is able to access the content.
Regardless of who's to blame, "GTA: SA" was re-rated in America and banned from sale in Australia. Oddly enough the gratuitous and encouraged violence in the game went largely unnoticed in the wake of the "scandalous" sex scenes involving clothed, cartoonesque people.
When examined objectively almost all games contain a certain amount of violent content. The kid-friendly bright and colourful "Mario" games by Nintendo feature a character stomping on animated creature's heads. In fact the majority of games, even children's games, involve the protagonist crusading against an enemy horde of some sort and generally "disposing" of them in some manner, whether it be striking them with a weapon or body part (feet, hands, possibly a tail depending on the nature of the character). The only real stand out difference is that in a children's game the 'bad' characters will generally bounce backwards in a cute manner and explode with a humorous puff sound (or simply disappear) whereas in a game oriented towards older mature players, the characters are more likely to be (somewhat) realistic, spraying a gusher of red upon their demise.
Whenever some young person somewhere commits a violent crime these days it seems to get blamed on a video game, from "Duke Nukem" and "Quake" being accused for the Columbine High massacre, to a more recent incident involving a group of minors attributing their violent actions to the "Mortal Kombat" video games. Without any solid evidence either way it's hard to say whether or not video game violence actually has much of an influence on players. To really be sure you'd probably have to have a control group of isolated children that have never seen a violent movie or played a bloodthirsty video game. History does however show that brutal crimes were committed long before video games or even movies came into existence.
Children are quite easily influenced by something that they're excited about and I've seen this happen a lot. Playing a wrestling video game with a group of eight year olds often leads to the eight year olds screaming raucously and trying to pin each other down on the ground. Pre-teens will often punch and kick their way out of a cinema in terrible combat stances after having viewed a martial arts movie. The current content rating system in place is not geared towards consumer restriction; it is largely aimed at simply informing the public about what they are going to experience. Legal restrictions are not actually put in place until the higher, more severe ratings like in x-rated films. Parents, guardians, and society in general need to start taking an interest in who is viewing certain types of content. Instead of complaining about the entertainment a child is enjoying, the parent could be there at the beginning looking at the rating that is printed clearly on the packaging of all entertainment. A simple "I don't think that's suitable, how about this game? It has a lizard!" distracts the child a surprising number of times. In my experience, children genuinely just want people to take an interest in what they're interested in, not just murmuring indistinctly, "Yes dear, that's nice." as the child installs the newest violent game.
What about the children that are playing the games in the restricted ratings categories? The only way that they can even get the game into their possession is if a parent (or someone of legal age) purchases the game for the child, or if the store disregards the rating guidelines in place and sells it to them regardless. Either way the fact that a game's content has fallen into a minor's hands is not the fault of the game developer.
I'm not out to defend the integrity of artistic vision presented in video games as many other gamers are. Frankly there seems to me to be little artistic integrity in rendering blood that is ever more liquid in appearance. I do however enjoy playing some games that are quite violent in nature and in many cases the violent nature of the game increases my enjoyment. Video games are escapism, there's (arguably) no point in playing a video game that simulates something you can just walk outside and do (and yet sports games somehow consistently sell in large numbers... curious...). Interestingly I have never yet felt the overwhelming desire to break down into a kung fu stance and commit murder. Perhaps more important than simply banning questionable content in video games would be studying why this content is so appealing to today's society?

About the Author:Daniel Punch M6.Net Web Helpers http://www.m6.net

Video Game Testing - Become A Video Game Tester In 5 Simple Steps

You won't land any video game tester jobs if you just sit around and wait for a "Game Testers Wanted" ad to appear in the paper. It won't happen. So instead of sitting back and waiting for a miracle to occur, just get out there and find the perfect video game testing job for you.
Head straight to the game companies and developers and apply for testing jobs. Since they aren't looking for you, the only logical step is to actively search for them. Once you find them (which shouldn't take too long), apply for a game tester position with them and then repeat the process for as many different companies as humanly possible.
On your application/resume, brag about all of your video game achievements, such as the consoles you own, the games you've played, the games you own, the MMORPGs you are apart of, and anything else that shows how much experience you have with video games. And if you want to help your cause even further, create a website/blog that talks about video games, gives reviews, previews, cheats, hints, tips, etc.
You have to remember that experience and professionalism count for a lot in this industry. Therefore, the more experience you have and the more professional you are, the better your chances are for getting a video game tester job.
Step Two: Step Out of Fairy Tale Land and Into Reality
You have to realize that video game testing is a job. Yes, it's a really fun job, but it is still a job nonetheless. This means that you have to treat it as such and take every part of it seriously. Don't merely sit down and play the game to have a good time. Sit down and play the game so that you can collect a paycheck when you're through.
Many "wanna-be" testers believe that being a professional video game tester is a "no work, all play" type of career. Honestly, they couldn't be more wrong. Although there aren't huge amounts of work that a game tester must wade through, there are still a few things that he/she has to complete. For instance, filling out reports. Surprised? Well, most aspiring young testers are when they hear that there is actual work involved with video game testing.
Contrary to what you may have thought, you won't be simply playing games and giving your opinion on whether they are good or not. You will actually be testing them. You will play through a game, find any bugs or glitches, and then fill out reports on any problems that you come across. This is to help the developers and programmers locate and fix those problems. You don't have to be an English professor or a college graduate to write bug reports, but you will have to have basic writing skills. Aside from the reports, you will also be required to fill out numerous questionnaires; which are typically opinion based.
As soon as you accept the fact that you'll be doing actual work as a video game tester, you will have much more success finding testing jobs.

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