Do game rentals hurt console game sales?

Major companies like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video rent out games, But do the publishers see any money from the rentals? or do they still collect when blockbuster initially buys the game? Does anyone even know how this system works?

with movies i believe that they have a license type deal. i don't know how it works for games though.Ontain

I believe it is a simliar thing.

The game rental companies buy thousands of copies on day 1, so that's got to be helpful.

Also, there is always the consideration that the people renting games might not ever buy a game even if the rentals were unavailable.

It's not nearly as harmful as the used game market.

Yes and no, depending on the situation. If you have a case where someone solely rents games, and never buys them, then I could see where that would result in less profit to the gaming industry. However, I have a gamefly account, and I have been using it as much as possible. If the game is very enjoyable, then I buy it. I would have to say it varies for each situation greatly.

I'm not sure where you guys are getting your information from, but there are no licensing fees or subsidies for game rentals.

Movie rentals have licensing deals because they go on rental earlier than they do on retail. Movie rental companies pay for that privilege of having a small window where they have no competition from retailers.

Games have no such thing. Games have only a single venue of revenue and thats retail. Well, console games at least, since DD on the PC allows for an alternative revenue stream.

Used games and rentals definitely hurt the publishers, though they help the consumer when it comes to a range of price choices. But does what it help on consumers outweigh the damage dones to publishers - which in turn hurt the consumers since they are suppliers - even out? I'm a bit doubtful of that.