Blockbuster offers Wii, DS rentals

Blockbuster is finally extending its rental range to include DS and Wii titles, MCV can reveal.

The entertainment specialist has been offering Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games for rent for some time, but has now extended this to Nintendo platforms.

Members of Blockbuster can expect to pay as little as 3.95 to own DS or Wii software for a week.

We’ve been doing Nintendo DS and Wii games for rent for about three to four weeks now,” a Blockbuster store manager told MCV. We’ve got quite a wide selection of new and popular games.

On DS we have games such as Professor Layton and the Curious Village, while on Wii we have Mario Kart Wii and even Wii Fit. So there’s something for everyone, from kids to adults.”

Promotion for the offer is currently limited to in-store POS, leaflets and posters, but Blockbuster is optimistic that word of mouth can see consumer uptake increase.

It’s a slow start so far, and I think it’s a case of getting word of mouth out there,” continued the manager. As soon as people know the offer is here, then they’ll come.”

Blockbuster has recently moved away from its core rental and DVD business, instead focusing on new and pre-owned video games, which prompted the firm to run out its Total Entertainment concept stores in September last year.