GameZnFlix
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| GameZnFlix | |
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| Type | Public |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Franklin, Kentucky |
| Key people | John F. Fleming, CEO/President |
| Industry | Rental |
| Products | Online DVD rental, Online video game rental |
| Revenue | ▲ US$ 1.88 million (2006) [1] |
| Net income | ▼ US$ -10.84 million (2006) [2] |
| Employees | 5 (2006)[3] |
| Website | www.gnfgames.com |
GameZnFlix OTCBB: GMFX is a video game rental and online DVD rental subscription service offering flat rate rental-by-mail to customers in the United States. On September 6, 2007, the company did a 1:1000 reverse split of its stock and changed its ticker symbol from "GZFX" to "GMFX." [1]
GameZnFlix operates in much the same fashion as other online DVD rental subscription services such as Netflix, although it rents both movies and video games and thus also competes with game-only services such as GameFly. Subscribers can buy selected DVDs or games at a reduced price, should they choose to keep the movie or game. GameZnFlix also acts as a traditional online retailer to subscribers who wish to buy new copies of DVDs and video games.
In the past, retail outlets such as Circuit City have offered "pre-paid" versions of GameZnFlix for new subscribers (where they pay one month worth of service in advance), and gift certificates that can be sent to friends and family -- although these require the people receiving the "pre-paid" pack or gift certificate to furnish a credit card as a means of verification and securing future charges.
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[edit] Rental offerings and memberships
GameZnFlix offers online rental of video games for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and movies on the DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats. Currently, they do not offer cartridge-based gaming formats such as those used for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
GameZnFlix offers three monthly subscription plans, which allow the customer 1, 2 or 3 video games and or movies at a given time. All plans are of the unlimited variety. 14 day free trials of most of the plans are available, although these have access to a restricted selection of the inventory.
Members of the U.S. military receive discounted pricing (roughly 10% off) on these plans, and GameZnFlix will apparently ship to foreign military bases through the APO/FPO military mail service.
[edit] Financial, inventory and subscriber information
According to recent SEC filings, GameZnFlix has approximately 19,000 subscribers as of December 31, 2006; the 2005 year-end number was around 6000. The 2005 annual report estimated 15% of subscribers were college students, placed the inventory at around 100,000 copies of 50,000 titles, and gave a monthly "burn rate" of $150,000, on 2005 revenue of $676,291.
[edit] Distribution centers
GameZnFlix currently has 9 distribution centers in El Centro, California (near San Diego) (This location has been closed since mid 2006); Northern California (near Sacramento); Franklin, Kentucky (near Nashville); Sterling, Colorado (near Denver); Worcester, Massachusetts (near Boston); Gaithersburg, Maryland; Altamonte Springs, Florida; Texas (near Dallas); and Seattle, Washington.
Future distribution centers are planned for Illinois (near Chicago) and a few other undisclosed states during 2007, with expansion into the United Kingdom.
[edit] Marketing
From February 2004 through the 2005 Super Bowl GameZnFlix maintained a television advertisement campaign, some of which featured the actor Ben Curtis (best known as "The Dell Dude" in advertisements for Dell, Inc.).
A pilot marketing program with electronics retailer Circuit City from November 2005 to March 2006 was extended to a full co-marketing agreement by which all US stores will eventually offer customers "pre-paid" versions of GameZnFlix, as well as other promotional efforts by Circuit City (in flyers, its website, etc). All stores are participating as of December, 2006.
Throughout 2006, GameZnFlix included themselves in the sponsorship of a bicycle racing team in and around the Tennessee locale and sponsoring several watercraft competitions throughout the United States, and have also increased their advertising on the Internet via major ISP providers and through their own affiliate program. They also teamed up with McDonald's and ClickCaster in a cross-country series of promotional events featuring tour buses, gaming competitions (Ridge Racer 6), outdoor movie showings, and other activities. Other tie-ins included Circuit City stores, ClickCaster broadcasts from on-site locations, contributions and promotions for local charities and Ronald McDonald House.
