Gamester claims 15 top publishers for rental deal

PC software rental specialist Gamester was due to sign up 15 top games publishers last Friday according to managing director Melih Abdulhayoglu.

The company already has Ocean and Europress in the can, Abdulhayoglu said, and a further 13 publisher deals should have been announced last Friday. Ocean and Europress confirmed their support for rental of back catalogue product.

Gamester was forced to offer retailers a get-out clause last month following demands from trade body ESRA. But with the announcement of participating publishers, Abdulhayoglu said retailers no longer have the right to pull out of Gamester's mandatory three-year contracts. "Now they know who our partners are, what's the point of having a get-out clause?" he said.

But trade bodies NASCR and ESRA are urging independent retailers to treat the u2,600 contracts with caution. "There have been cases where the truth has been stretched," said NASCR general secretary Clive Bishop. "And there are problems with Gamester's banners contravening trading standards."

Some retailers are worried about the length of the contracts. In addition to the u2,600 licence fee paid by participating independents, customers must pay u20 plus VAT to join up. "Who pays the customers back if Gamester goes bust?" asked Mark Ford, an independent games retailer from Brighton.

Ford, who was recently presented to by Gamester, said the sales rep claimed Sony was supporting the scheme.

According to Abdulhayoglu, Gamester has bought 2,600 Viglen Pentium 120MHz PCs which it is supplying to all licensed retailers, along with connection charges.

The company is also launching an education brand to be rented alongside games. Abdul-hayoglu said that 1.5 million potential customers for Curricula are being targeted through mailshot, with Europress providing the first products.

"Retailers will save money because of Gamester's software security," said Abdulhayoglu.