Hi NaQuan,
Here in the Hulman Memorial Student Union at Indiana State, we have been running console 'gaming stations' for a little over 3 years now. We initially started with one station (Xbox One), added a second about a year after (PS4 with PSVR), and this past fall we added a third (Nintendo Switch). Our process allows us to track the usage on the stations and the usage numbers have justified us to add additional stations as well as add new games and replace controllers.
Our approach to the gaming stations is that we did not want to hand out physical discs/cartridges to staff/students as we had concerns with the potential of theft or damage. All of our games, with an exception of one, have been purchased digitally. Digital versions of the game tend to stay at their retail price longer, even when the physical versions are discounted, but we feel it is worth the additional cost. Additionally, we wanted to control what was being shown these large TVs that are in public view, so using the digital versions games only allows us to block the physical game slots to prevent playing a Movie/Game that we would not want.
As far as our game buying strategy, we decided to pick up a game subscription (when available) and then we try to hand pick a few of the top releases of the year and have those available on release day. Xbox has the game pass that includes more than 100 games. The game pass ultimate runs $15 a month and cover the cost of the game pass as well as xbox live (online access). We love the game pass as it offers a wide selection of game (with some titles being offered on release day) for a very reasonable cost. In addition to the game pass, we will try to pick up a handful (4-8) of the biggest games as they drop (Madden, NBA, Call of Duty, etc). Although we pick up these games at release date and at full retail price, we see that they get a ton of play time right off the bat. Playstation also has a game subscription, but we ran into some difficulties with it, so we no longer use it.
There are a lot of things to consider when setting up gaming stations (online access, blocking unwanted content, time limits, student accountability, etc). It took us a while to iron out all the details and find solutions to what seemed like simple problems, but it seems that we have a pretty good handle of things. I have tons additional information that I would be happy to share, but if I tried to write it all here, there'd be pages. If you (or anyone) would like some more detail, I'd be happy to set up a phone call to answer any questions and share our experiences.
P.S. A nice thing on the Xbox and Switch is that family accounts will get emails weekly that show the number of hours played as well as what games were played. This can be used to easily see what type of games are popular with the crowds using our stations.
Regards,
Kevin Phillips
Technical Services Manger
Hulman Memorial Student Union
Indiana State University
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Kevin Phillips
Technical Services Manager
Indiana State University
Terre Haute IN
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-12-2020 15:46
From: NaQuan Redd
Subject: Video Game Rentals
Hi Everyone,
We are considering ways to update practices in our game room. We have arcade games but we want to add consoles video games to the operation as well. The problem is that popular video games change so often and the newest games are often pricey.
Does anyone oversee a game room and have suggestions on keeping games up to date without breaking the bank?
Thanks,
NaQuan Redd
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NaQuan Redd
Assistant Director, Student Centers & Activities
Rutgers University
Piscataway NJ
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