The roll-out follows a test of game renting at 5,000 Redbox locations, which yielded more than a million rentals. It also puts the company in competition with services like Gamefly, which lets you rent games through the mail for a monthly fee (starting at $7.95 per month). Of course, Redbox video rentals have gone face-to-face with Netflix's monthly service and done just fine.
Then again, game playing isn't quite the same thing as watching a two-hour movie. You might want to hold on to a title for a few days to sample it enough to buy it or solve it, which could add up quickly in rental fees. Redbox won't have a problem with that, but Gamefly's subscription plan might be a better deal for gamers.
Redbox hopes its strategically placed kiosks -- in places like McDonald's, Walmart, and grocery stores -- can entice impulse rentals, perhaps from parents with young children who wouldn't think about renting games through the mail. Would you rent videogames from a Redbox kiosk? Let us know in the Comments section.