Feature Set:  

One of GottaPlay’s most unique features is their game trading plans. Instead of signing up for a traditional rental plan, you can choose to trade your games with other players. Your membership includes shipping envelopes, postal tracking and GottaPlay’s guarantee to have your games returned.

When you sign up to trade, you add your personal games to your trading list, then pick the games you want to play. When someone wants to play one of your games you ship them your game (with or without cover art and manual) and someone else will mail you your requested games.

The system is regulated with GamePoints. GamePoints are awarded to traders when they successfully send games and games are delivered in a timely manner. In order to receive your requested games, you have to have a sufficient number of GamePoints in your account. For additional insurance, you can purchase Gottaplay’s GameShield for an additional $1.99 per trade to ensure your game will not be lost, stolen or damaged, or Gottaplay will replace your game.

GottaPlay has expanded their individual game pages to display a comprehensive selection of information including a short description, member and editor reviews, screenshots, videos and a 1Up.com rating. Although supplying that information seems to be a gallant effort, we found there were many, many games that were missing a significant amount of information, even in the most basic of sections,  like reviews. How is it that Tiger Wood’s PGA ‘08 is missing user reviews?  Additionally, the 1Up rating on GottaPlay’s page, supplied by 1Up.com, was almost always different that the grade or rating on 1Up’s page.

Like most online game rental sites, GottaPlay does not charge late fees or have due dates and offers free two-way shipping on both rentals and trades. GottaPlay also offers PSP Movie rentals; however, there doesn’t seem to be a large selection of very new releases.

In the future, we’d like to see GottaPlay implement a parental control function into their service.

Video Game Selection:  

GottaPlay includes a selection of more than 4000 games on all popular gaming consoles including the newest platforms like PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. GottaPlay also supports rentals for popular handheld devices like PSP, GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS. 

GottaPlay is constantly updating their library and frequently, we were able to find the newest releases.

GottaPlay also rents PSP movies, but we found their selection in this category to consist of mostly older titles.

Search Capabilities:  

GottaPlay has really amped up their search functionality since our last review. You can narrow your search using the platform buttons located on the tool bar at the top of the page. From there, you are taken to a sample page of games separated by genre. You are encouraged to use GottPlay’s search box if you are looking for a specific title or browse by genre located in the right-hand navigation on every page.

GottaPlay’s games can be found in one of 12 categories including fighting, shooter, sports or music, or you can search by new releases, most wanted or coming soon.

The only feature we wish they would include is the power to search “all” games for a specific console.

Video Game Arrival Time:  

GottaPlay has nine distribution centers across the country. Locations include Connecticut, Maryland, Georgia, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, California and Washington. GottaPlay advertises average arrival time to be between 2-7 days. However, it is very rare that it will take all seven days to receive your games.

One of our favorite GottaPlay features is the ability to track your games through your account. This feature is great if you are really anxious about your deliveries because it helps reduce lost games.

However, in addition to the tracking feature we would like to see GottaPlay team up with the postal service, like the #1 game rental service, GameFly. Instead of waiting for your game to be returned to the warehouse, GameFly sends you the next game on your list as soon as the postal service scans your returned game. A system like this would help GottaPlay’s turnover times significantly.

Available Plans:  

GottaPlay offers three monthly rental options. You can choose a one, two or three game at a time plan. The three game plan does require you to pre-pay at least 3 months in advance.

• 1 Game- $12.95
• 2 Games- $20.95
• 3 Games- $28.95

Trading games works a little differently. You can play $1.99 per trade or $9.99 monthly for unlimited trades.

GottaPlay does not offer an annual or quarterly subscription fee.

GottaPlay has come a long way since our first review. They are constantly revising their system and website. It is also the only service of its kind that also has a community game trading feature. Additionally, with nine distribution centers across the country, GottaPlay lends itself to some pretty quick turnaround times.