PS5 Rentals Have Become A Huge Hit In At Least One Country

The first time I ever set hands on a PlayStation 2, it was a rental from Blockbuster. It came in a big black suitcase. I played The Bouncer all weekend. It was fantastic. The practice of lending out entire video game consoles did not last very long, but it’s recently become a hit in Japan again. Fans are reportedly renting PlayStation 5s in droves.

Japanese rental chain Geo recently told IT Media (via HazzadorGamin) that about 80 percent of its PS5s are currently loaned out. The program started just a few months ago and has apparently paid off. People normally rent CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays from Geo’s 1,000 stores across the country, but the company decided to add PS5s to the menu as the price of the console jumped from 66,980 yen to 79,980 yen due to inflation and weak exchange rates.

“Rentals are originally meant to allow people to enjoy expensive items at a low price at home,” Geo product manager Yusuke Sakai told IT Media. “PS5 rentals are an extension of that philosophy.” The service sounds cheap indeed. Geo is charging 980 yen to rent a PS5 a week, or about a dollar a day. Plenty of time to beat Astro Bot or even Elden Ring if you’re off from work or school.

Some companies in the U.S. still provide console rentals as well, though it’s less clear how popular those are. Rent-A-Center will loan out a PS5 for $26 a week, much more than the Geo deal but still not terrible. But other recent trends in gaming have definitely made that proposition less attractive. Party games like Guitar Hero that might get you to rent a console for a weekend get-together or vacation are now nonexistent and many of the most popular releases can be played on a smartphone or older hardware.

A kid without a PS5 is way more likely to ask for Fortnite skins or Robux than a week-long glimpse of next-gen gaming. Of course, if we ever do get to that long-predicted console-less future, retro hardware rentals will hopefully make a comeback.

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