For every Fallout 3 fan who has ever walked by a redbox and wished that kind of convenience existed for renting video games, life just got a little sweeter.
Last month, e-Play announced the installation of DVD, Blu-ray and video game rental kiosks at 77 Wal-Marts in the Northeast United States. Though the partnership itself is big news, the real kicker in the e-Play rollout is that video games also can be traded in for money and, in some cases, even store credit for the retail location. E-Play has provided DVD-rental kiosks for some time, and the video game trade-in functionality has been in the works for several weeks.
Among the e-Play kiosks’ innovative features is a naked disc-dispensing technology that allows for a depth of titles not currently offered in the entertainment kiosk segment. Discs simply are dispensed by themselves, and a customized envelope featuring customer service and return information is then printed for the user.
“Of course, the title depth – because of the naked disc dispensing – is significant,” said Kristen Fox, who works in business development and is the VP of marketing for e-Play. “We’re above 3,000 discs, whereas our competition would be in the hundreds, because they have a jewel case or some sort of protective covering that is dispensed with the disc.”
But, as e-Play’s system is the first entertainment kiosk to offer the video game trade-in, what many gamers really want to know is how the process actually works.
To get started, a user simply accesses the kiosk’s touchscreen interface by selecting the option to trade in a game and reviewing the company’s “terms of trade.” Only games compatible with PlayStation, Xbox and Wii gaming systems are accepted. Next, the customer scans the UPC code on the game’s case. The machine’s title database (which contains more than 4,000 entries) then identifies the game and prompts the user to get a buyback quote via the touchscreen. The user then has the option to accept or deny the quote.
Once a quote is accepted, the user must swipe a credit card and driver’s license (to comply with second dealer-licensing regulations), thereby creating a unique login to the e-Play system. Finally, the user simply inserts the game disc, free of any case or protective covering, and receives confirmation of the insertion on the screen and a printed receipt finalizing the transaction. E-Play authorizes the trade-in credit to the swiped card’s account within one business day. From there, the credit card company’s individual protocol determines how long the credit takes to post – typically no more than 2-3 business days.
The store-credit option isn’t currently offered in the Wal-Mart kiosks, though e-Play is working with other retailers to deploy the kiosks and likely will provide that option. If a user opts to take store credit for the trade-in, she simply takes a barcoded receipt to the retailer’s customer service counter and receives credit on a store gift card in return.
The Level 2 PCI-compliant kiosks also feature a unique, proprietary software platform that verifies the authenticity and playability of any game disc presented for trade-in. If a disc is heavily scratched, the company even has the ability to refurbish it at one of its distribution centers.
E-Play and Wal-Mart say the buyback rates the kiosks offer are comparable to those offered by other outlets, such as GameStop and Amazon.
“The trade-in prices, we feel, are very highly competitive with the other retail destinations,” said Melissa O-Brien, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart. “We think our customers will find not only the value in that, but also the convenience of, when they’re at Wal-Mart, having that kiosk located right then and there.”
Implications for the entertainment kiosk space
So what does the addition of video game trade-in to the entertainment kiosk mean for the market, and what can consumers expect from the other major players in this segment?
In the days following the e-Play/Wal-Mart announcement, redbox and NCR Corp. both hired executives to focus specifically on the rollout of new entertainment kiosks and functionalities. Redbox added Mark Achler to its team as a video game executive, and reports indicate that the company is planning a large video game-rental test this summer. There also is speculation that redbox will test game sales and trade-ins through the kiosks. Achler was unable to be interviewed for this story, but a company spokesperson confirmed that the test will occur in “select markets.”
NCR hired Alex Camara to head its efforts with Blockbuster Inc. to deploy Blockbuster Express-branded DVD-rental kiosks, 3,000 of which are expected to hit the streets this year. The self-service company also manufactures the e-Play kiosks. But Blockbuster isn’t diving into the video-game waters just yet. As of now, the Blockbuster Express kiosks only will feature DVD-rental functionality, with a purchase option available.
“We believe there is still a significant opportunity in the DVD-rental space,” said NCR spokesperson Jeff Dudash. A possible video game option in the future is “something that we’re examining, but at the moment we are focusing on delivering the DVD experience,” he said.
The company also is working with Toshiba and MOD Systems, which just days ago made a DRM-free deal with Sony Music and several other major record labels, to develop kiosks with digital music download capabilities.
“Certainly, there are a variety of things we’re looking at in the entertainment space,” Dudash said.
So how will video game rental, purchase and trade-in kiosks fare among the gaming crowd and with digital-download functionalities quickly making their way to market as well? With the convenience and instant-gratification factors working in their favor and if buyback rates are competitive with GameStop and Amazon, they may very well turn out to be a slam dunk.
Whatever the outcome, gamers likely will watch with interest as redbox, Blockbuster and other players continue to bring their respective offerings to the table. Regarding the fate of their program, Wal-Mart and e-Play remain tight-lipped but optimistic.
“Nobody offers the trade-in capability on the video-game side like e-Play,” Fox said. “So that’s certainly something that sets us apart and makes us unique.”
