Yahoo! Games on Demand

Renting video games for console systems (Gamecube, Playstation, Xbox) is something many of us are use to doing. However, renting computer games has not been possible because we can easily burn copies for the CDs and never have to pay full price for the game. Yahoo! Games on Demand changes this. Through streaming files to our computers we can rent computer games online, and the prices aren't that bad.

Requirements

Like other computer games there are system requirements you need to have in order to rent games online at Yahoo. They are: broadband connection, meet game system requirements, Yahoo! account, DirectX, and the Yahoo! Game Launcher installed.

How Yahoo Games on Demand Works

After you choose the game you want to rent and pay the rental fee, the process of downloading the game begins. The main elements of the game are downloaded to your hard drive when the Yahoo! Game Launcher is run. The whole game is not downloaded, so you will have to be online to play the game. This also ensures you cannot play the game once the rental time ends.

After the download, you must stay connected to the Internet. The rest of the game is streamed to you, as the files are needed. The downside is that you cannot use custom elements. But you can play the game on multiple computers; you just can't move your saved games from computer to computer.

Games Available to Rent

The list below is just a sample of the games you can rent. At the time of this article there are 85 games to rent.

• "Civilization III"
• "Spring Break"
• "Tropico"
• "Monopoly Tycoon"

Pricing Options for Yahoo! Games on Demand

• 1 game for 4.95 USD for 3 days
• 3 games for unlimited play for a month for 9.99 USD
• 5 games for unlimited play for a month for 12.95 USD
• Unlimited games for a month for 14.95 USD
• Unlimited Plus 34.94 USD quarterly for unlimited games

Conclusion

Yahoo! Games on Demand has lots of potential. Low prices for unlimited play make this ideal for those on a budget. The downside is that you do need to have a broadband and the games you can rent have been released some time ago and don't include the big names.