Direct2Drive Offers Rental Service, $5 for 5 Hours

Online game retailer Direct2Drive has unveiled a rental service for selected titles in its catalogue.

For $5, you can get up to five hours worth of gameplay and if you decide to purchase the full game you’ll get the $5 “investment” knocked off the price of the game. This only appears to be available in the US, however.

There are only three games available for the service at the moment; Divinity II, Race Driver: Grid and Silent Hill: Homecoming. D2D said in a blog post that “our rental selection will grow in time.”

In a similar vein, streaming service OnLive offers three day rentals for around $5 and five day rentals for around $7 (prices variate depending on the game).

D2D’s option a little expensive by comparison, although it looks as though they’re offering it more as a long demo service rather then an old-fashioned rental. $5 is a lot of money for 5 hours, but if you can get that off the regular price then it’s a little more reasonable.

This kind of mirrors Capcom’s extended demo strategy from last year with the Dead Rising: Case Zero XBLA game (and the subsequent Case West).

D2D’s move isn’t particularly exciting right now, but the idea of digital rentals, especially as discs become less prevalent, is pretty interesting.

via: MCV