FEB. 4, 2009 • The GameFly games-by-mail service acquired the Shacknews news and community online site. Shacknews averages up to 3 million unique users per month, and is expected to provide GameFly with an original source of game-related content, as well as a conduit to market GameFly’s service. Shacknews was launched in 1996 as a game fan site.

Impact: In the current economic climate the prospects for game rentals should be bright. GameFly doesn’t have the same reputation for efficiency as Netflix, however. Acquiring Shacknews will give GameFly an established online community to better communicate with existing and potential customers at a time when it can expect greater, and perhaps more efficient, competition on its turf.