Blockbuster, Inc announced today that it would add video games to its BLOCKBUSTER Total Access online rental service. A pilot program is planned for Q2 of this year with a goal of national availability by the second half of the year.

This puts Blockbuster in competition with online game rental services such as Gamefly, Gamerang and Gottaplay, none of which have the breadth of distribution centers that Blockbuster has. Additionally, renting games will offer a differentiation point from rival Netflix. Game platforms covered include Nintendo Wii, Sony PS & PS3, and Microsoft Xbox & Xbox 360. As with movies, users will be able to return rentals to a brick and mortar Blockbuster store.

Game enthusiast site Joystiq contacted Bob Barr, vice president and general manager of Blockbuster Online, for further details, including the price. A 3-disk Total Access account costs $19.99 per month. During any month that a game is rented, a $5 charge gets added to that price. During the testing phase, a game counts as a disk.

One of the biggest problems with existing game-rental services is availability of new titles; it'll be interesting to see if Blockbuster can overcome this hurdle.

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