Do you have any idea how effen cool it will be if Redbox kiosks start spitting out video games? Think about this: you would be able to get your beer, Funyuns, and rent the latest gaming titles at one location. The future is near, friends and Redbox is still pursuing the game rental market.
Actually, Redbox is experiencing some technical difficulties. You see, Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox, and NBC Universal have cut off access to their collective libraries because they do not get any revenue from the rental kiosks. Plus, Redbox is stating that 20th Century Fox and Warner Home Video are somehow stopping the company from purchasing movies at retail from Target and Wal-Mart.
Welcome to the jungle, Redbox. The movie industry makes it worse here everyday.
The company is staying somewhat quiet about its gaming plans. Redbox hasn’t officially announced any partners or game publishers that are on board yet, but trials are underway in Reno, Nevada and Wilmington, North Carolina. Some kiosks in those areas have been renting out discs for $2 a day since this summer.
Mitch Lowe, president of Redbox, at the Reatuers Global Media Summit,
“We are talking early and often with the content providers of games so that we start out with a much better understanding of what we’re doing,”
Redbox is likely learning from its trials with the movie studios and probably do not want the same thing to happen if they do in fact offer games. But if all the kinks are worked out, games should be a big hit for Redbox. The expensive infrastructure is already in place. The company already has 20,600 kiosks nationwide, with further expansion planned for the northeast and Florida. Throw some Assassin’s Creed 2 and Modern Warfare 2 discs in the machines, and they will likely be sold out within hours.