Game Access, A Canadian Gamefly

I've always been on the lookout for a decent Canadian online game rental site that actually did games exclusively and had decent stock. These guys dropped me some PR so I figured I'd give their free trial a try. I signed up early in the day, picked three games (Dead or Alive 4, Kong and Gun for the 360) and Kong and Gun were sent out a few hours later. Obviously it's Christmas so we'll see how long it takes to get here and what the turn-around time is on sending games back and getting new ones.

Their selection is solid and most of the games I could think of were there. They are based on Montreal and they use Canada Post. I'll update this thread after I have some more experience with them.

Definitely interested to see how this turns out.

Montreal? That's like... Home!

Thanks Cervix!

So whats the verdict?

Hard to say so far, with the holidays and stuff I don't want to pass judgment just yet. Another couple weeks and I'll have a more clear picture of how long their shipping tends to take.

I was pretty close to signing up the other day Certis, be sure to let us know

It was very smooth on my side of the country. They sent me my 2 top picks in a timely manner, I played and returned em before the end of the 10 day trial and I wasn't charged a cent. When the 360 has a big enough librairy I can see myself signing up.

+ Large selection.
+ Delivered to your door so you don't have to fight bears on the way to Blockbuster.
+ You save money. I guess.

- No game manuals.
- You'll most likely get the game you want faster if you dare go outside. As long as you can handle a few bears, that is.
- You don't have enough time to play all these games anyway.

Mr.Green wrote:

You'll most likely get the game you want faster if you dare go outside. As long as you can handle a few bears, that is.

Lets not scare our neighbors to the south with stories of large furry animals.

A brief update.

I dropped both Gun and Kong in the mail on Tuesday, January 3rd in the morning. Here was what I had in my queue.

Xbox 360 Dead or Alive 4
Playstation 2 Soul Calibur III
Xbox Call of Cthulhu
Xbox Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Xbox The Chronicles of Narnia
Xbox Samurai Shodown V

I got an email the following Monday saying they received Gun and sent Soul Calibur III out. What's odd is they didn't say they got Kong too, which was sent out at the same time. Not until today, Wednesday, do I get a notice saying Kong arrived and they sent out DOA 4.

I would speculate that they are sitting on their notice until they have something to send, which gives me no hot clue how long it actually takes for Canada post to get the games back to them. The other part would be that maybe their game stock isn't as high as one would like.

So... it's essentially like every other service around, eh?

A quick update from the folks at GameAccess:

Hi Shawn,

While searching for "Game Access" on Google I noticed this post on your forum.

"So essentially they are sitting on their notice until they have something to send, which gives me no hot clue how long it actually takes for Canada post to get the games back to them. The other part would be that maybe their game stock isn't as high as one would like."

I can understand that you could doubt our game stock but we have about 5 times the games a video store has, about 10 times for Xbox 360, and the rarest titles as well. Still the part that's a bit irritating is the first one. We never "sit on our notice" and actually buy more games every day to fill in demand so games go out the same day we receive them, that's our company policy. Canada Post shipping times can vary from one item to another and we have no control over it.

Also we do not ship on week ends since Canada Post doesn't and it might be good to tell people you live in Winnipeg when analyzing shipping times.

Please understand that we are a start up company and this really affects negatively the good image we work so hard to build.

Best regards,

Louis-Karl Laframboise

President of operations

It's always nice to see a company who is keen to respond to concerns, gives me hope

Nice response! I admit, these companies are over a barrel and that barrel is called "the postal system." The fact that two identical packages mailed at the same time from the same place can sometimes arrive at different times is nonintuitive to the consumer. It's far easier to suppose that the company with whom you're doing business is playing shenanigans. Good to see they care enough to respond.

Indeed, like I said, I plan on sticking with them to get a better picture of how consistent they are. "They" being Game Access AND Canada Post, since you can't have one without the other.

Wow,

The fact that they took the time to send you an email is enough to make me give them a shot. I just like the idea that at this point there is a company that actually gives a hoot about what people are saying.

In French Canada, the internet searches you!

In French Canada, the internet searches you!

I thought that was only the language police.

Ok, Soul Calibur III was sent on Monday, showed up today (Friday). Considering the distance between Montreal and Winnipeg, that's pretty solid.

Certis wrote:

Considering the distance between Montreal and Winnipeg ...

I'm such a dumb American. I have no idea what this means. Aren't they both in Canada? It's like Wisconsin, right?

Fletcher wrote:
Certis wrote:

Considering the distance between Montreal and Winnipeg ...

I'm such a dumb American. I have no idea what this means. Aren't they both in Canada? It's like Wisconsin, right?

No, Canada's bigger than Wisconsin. More like Utah but with more smoked meat.

Funny fact: Canada is the world's second largest country, behind Russia.

Damn Russians.

Fletcher wrote:
Certis wrote:

Considering the distance between Montreal and Winnipeg ...

I'm such a dumb American. I have no idea what this means. Aren't they both in Canada? It's like Wisconsin, right?

Think Boston to New Orleans.

(And if y'all had any idea how long it took me to come up with that, you'd cry. I know I'm tearing up just thinking about it.)

Wow. Plus, with bears and separatists and all it must be like the Wild West. I'm surprised it doesn't take a month to get your games. Or more even! Don't the mule train's wagon wheels get stuck on the icy, unpaved roads a lot?

We have roads?

Mr.Green wrote:

We have roads?

Also dysentery.

Mules? You think they could survive the artic weather up here? No man, our wagons are pulled by TON-TONS!!

IMAGE(http://www.bothan-online.com/IMG/jpg/hoth02.jpg)

Hmm. I thought they smelled bad on the outside.

Funny fact: Canada is the world's second largest country, behind Russia.

Another Fun fact: 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US Border.

Also, 65% of all statistics are made up.

JimmDogg wrote:
Funny fact: Canada is the world's second largest country, behind Russia.

Another Fun fact: 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US Border.

Also, 65% of all statistics are made up.

Fact: Global warming will cause 95% of United States to want to move into the lush, tropical forests of Southern Canada. However we have installed a rather large gate, and we have Gary guarding it. (You know, Gary, from the Esso station) Unless you show us the secret Canadian handshake, you're outta luck.

the secret Canadian handshake

Just so you guys know, what you guys consider a "secret Canadian handshake" is commonly referred to as a "reacharound" in civilized sections of the world. Hence, we'll be staying down here for a while longer, thanks.

What is this reacharound you speak of Cold? Seriously, I've heard it mentioned quite a few times on the board - hell, I'm sure at one point I might have even done it. Is there a diagram floating around the net?