Gamesenders

GameSenders, launched in August 2007, is an online video games rental service operating in the Republic of Ireland. The online dvd rental business model, which was pioneered in the US in 1997 by Netflix, has been in Ireland for some years but GameSenders were the first to offer a dedicated service for video games.

Playing video games is a very popular pastime in Ireland; according to Sony Entertainment, Ireland has greater PlayStation penetration per head than any other Pal region. The 2006 Irish census reported that 30% of all Irish households owned a video console and that 6% of all Irish adults played video games on a weekly basis.

History

GameSenders was launched in August 2007 by founder Neil Jones who describes himself as an avid gamer.

Description of Service

Their service follows the standard online rental model whereby members compile list of games they want to play in order of preference; games are then posted to them in a returnable envelope. Members pay a monthly subscription, which includes postage.These subscription packages start at €14.99 to play 2 games a month; the unlimited packages start at €18.99 a month.According to their website they have over 800 titles in stock (June 2008) for all the next generation games consoles, which includes the Nintendo DS, Wii, PS3, PSP and Xbox360. They claim they are the only company in Ireland to rent games for the DS.

Competitive Environment

Video Game Market in Ireland

References

External Links

<1>http://www.cso.ie/census/Census2006Results.htm<2>http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single8004<3>http://www.gamesenders.ie