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[Lasha]

Unless you play and watch everything on that service you're still paying for stuff you never use and unless you like everything you're paying for stuff you don't care for too.

I agree with you if your intent was to be purely literal. I don't understand the intent of saying something so vacuous. How paying to rent each movie you want to watch is preferable that paying a fixed fee to watch as many movies as you wish eludes me.

 

[Madserb2023]

I used to work in Blockbuster and I wouldn't want it back.

 

[Unknown?]

I agree with you if your intent was to be purely literal. I don't understand the intent of saying something so vacuous. How paying to rent each movie you want to watch is preferable that paying a fixed fee to watch as many movies as you wish eludes me.

Because you only pay for what you're interested in. Subscriptions have always been this way, which is why I hate cable and satellite, they force you to buy bundles and you're paying for channels you'd never even watch.

 

[DetectiveBananas]

I miss it too. We actually had a video store here up until 2016 that carried thousands of videos. You could rent 5 non-new release movies for 5 days for $5. Hell of a deal. I'd easily spend an hour just going down the aisles looking at movies. I discovered so many films I never would have otherwise.

This is the type of store (with those prices) that could still exist in a big enough town/city. If they have the selection with good bundles then I would still frequently visit a place like that. Have movie props, posters, etc to give it a unique ambiance.

 

[Tams]

Japan still has them in lots of towns.

 

[NewYork214]

Yeah I miss it too. I remember my dad would be home for weekends. Owned a trucking company. And he would take us there to get games for the week. About once a month he would just buy out all of their games in the bin for ps1, n64, etc. Still have all of them too.

Also remember when pokemon snap came out. You could bring in your memory pack and print your photos.

https://www.wired.com/story/blockbuster-pokemon-snap-station/

 

[jshackles]

I'm actually surprised video game rental isn't more popular...but those rental prices were wild for a while before the end.

Before Redbox shut down their game rental service a few years back, I used to reserve games online then pick them up when they released. It was like $2 a day, but I rented a lot of shorter AAA games over a weekend for $4 (rent Saturday morning, return Sunday night) and had a good time.

Turns out a lot of people did the same, and that games would only be on the service for a few weeks - so they probably didn't turn much profit.

 

[Irobot82]

In an effort to connect the entire world together with the internet, we've been isolated more that ever before.

 

[Lasha]

Because you only pay for what you're interested in. Subscriptions have always been this way, which is why I hate cable and satellite, they force you to buy bundles and you're paying for channels you'd never even watch.

I would pay more renting piecemeal than I spend on a Netflix subscription. I never subscribed to cable.

 

[March Climber]

All this thread tells me is that streaming services may need better UI and better search engines.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Is it because Netflix is 3 times + more expensive than hiring a DVD?

 

[JimmyRustler]

Miss the video store experience big time. Real shame it became obsolete with the internet, like so many other things.

 

[Spyxos]

I still have a Netflix disc plan that I've used weekly for over a decade.

We have Netflix here but only digitally. Are there new Movies/Games or only classics? And how expensive is it?

 

[sono]

It was fun going but taking it back was a drag.

 

[The Fartist]

I know not at Blockbuster, but shout-out to the dudes who had the courage to walkthrough the beaded curtains, you know who you are, we haven't forgotten you.

 

[Signal Rockets]

It doesn't really matter, because now you can pay the same price to rent something online. But I generally understand where you're coming from.

 

[Locutus]

Nostalgia is a hellofa drug.

Blockbuster disappeared for a reason. Driving to rent the movie, stand in line, then doing all again the next day to return it, was a huge hassle.

Streaming is so much better.

 

[reksveks]

Unless you play and watch everything on that service you're still paying for stuff you never use and unless you like everything you're paying for stuff you don't care for too.

That's not really how people perceive value of a product.

 

[lachesis]

The service itself was okay - but new releases were very hard to find due to limited stocks. However, going in there was fun. Walking thru the isles and browsing, and talking/discussing what to watch with the partner was part of the fun as well.

I wasn't too fond of their game collections in most of the times, nor the console borrowing experience. I have a pet peeve of holding a used controller, especially by unknown strangers who probably played while eating doritos and never washed their hands...

I don't mind it coming back as a niche experience... but at the same time, I wouldn't mind it not coming back. There are many different ways to watch movie these days w/o leaving home, so readily - so I just don't see it can be very successful, unless they can offer some unique thing that a physical renting/media can provide... but not so sure of what that may be in any meaningful manner to a customer.

 

[IDKFA]

There used to be a small independent video rental shop on the corner of my Nan's street. I have very found memories of going there as a child and picking out films to rent with my cousins.

I do miss the video store experience, but I know it'll never come back.

 

[begotten]

My favorite memory from Blockbuster was renting out all the games and burning them onto modded consoles. It didn't take long for me to get through everything and wait for just the new releases.

I still have a Shadows of the Empire cartridge that I never returned with the Blockbuster barcode label on the back. I threw out the shitty case with the manual super-glued when I moved a long time ago.

Was definitely something for the time, would never use it again.

 

[Rockondevil]

It’s one of those things that I’d love to take my son to just to experience what it was like running up and down the aisles of endless movies. Or trying to sneak into the adults only section.

But honestly that isn’t going to make a business survive if people are only visiting for a quick nostalgia hit.

 

[Trunx81]

My dad used to grab everything on tape. We had over 1000 vhs in our cellar, all numbered and cataloged. He had an old sharp “pda” where he had every movie logged, so if you wanted to watch a movie you could just search and in 99% of cases he had it in his collection. With LongPlay, sometimes 5 movies on one tape. Quality wasn’t an issue back in the day.

So.. yeah, never had to rely on stores like Blockbuster.

 

[Happosai]

The service itself was okay - but new releases were very hard to find due to limited stocks. However, going in there was fun. Walking thru the isles and browsing, and talking/discussing what to watch with the partner was part of the fun as well.

I wasn't too fond of their game collections in most of the times, nor the console borrowing experience. I have a pet peeve of holding a used controller, especially by unknown strangers who probably played while eating doritos and never washed their hands...

I don't mind it coming back as a niche experience... but at the same time, I wouldn't mind it not coming back. There are many different ways to watch movie these days w/o leaving home, so readily - so I just don't see it can be very successful, unless they can offer some unique thing that a physical renting/media can provide... but not so sure of what that may be in any meaningful manner to a customer.

I have no nostalgia for rental stores. Only for the retailers that used to sell vast titles on VHS, DVD or games. Best Buy (before 2010), Sam Goody or even Target at times. My peeve with rental stores and streaming services has always been, "I pay money to borrow video media." I bought a physical collection and that'll be my blockbuster.

 

[CGNoire]

The Tyranny of choice is awefull I agree.

There is Family Video still here in the south. Its pretty cool to browse the isles and smell that nostalgic burning plastic smell as the employees reseal inventory. Great deals on near new releases...some as little as $5-$6 for a new release on BluRay there trying to get rid of cause few where renting it.

 

[CGNoire]

I never told anybody about this, on gaming forums because I didn't want the word to get out. Blockbuster was the place where you could find the rare preowned games and cheaper than dedicated game stores because the staff there didn't know or care about the price of used games. Game collectors wouldn't go there specifically because they didn't think about it.

If you went and looked on a Monday or Tuesday evening when they had processed all the games that had been traded in over the weekend you had a very good chance of finding something good. Especially if you checked all the Blockbuster stores in your area.

Not only that but they would not take out the manuals or bonus discs from the cases on the shop floor of the used games. So for years I didn't pay for Xbox Live because I'd scoop out all the 48 hour codes from the cases as nobody working at Blockbuster cared. Also how I got my Quake 2 disc for 360, without having to buy Quake 4 for example.

Actually, was pretty much the same thing at any video rental chain at the time.

Its funny some times there employees would straight leave game discs in the display containers and twice my friend ganked games from those cases since they clearly werent marked and clearly the staff wasnt even aware of there location or what happened to them. The titles where Fight Night 3 right after it released and Socom 2.

 

[Esca]

That would be great. I'd like to be able to rent games in a very quick manor. Great for those games that you just aren't sure about it and to play those I'll wait for a good sale games

I worked there and really loved the job. I was actually hired for their new instore gamerush store but to work the other side as well.

Job was no stress chill environment. You got to talk about movies and games all the time. Could take out movies before they were released, we weren't allowed to for some games ( didn't stop us lol). You legit guy to know your customers since they would regularly come in. It never felt like work, even the actual work bits

 

[Dr. Claus]

I don’t even use Redbox anymore. I love owning Blu-Rays, but that‘s because I am the only one handling the disc, not some rando who may not know the simplest basics of how to hold the damn thing or to put it back in its case when done and not the floor or a table or such. It was insanely frustrating like a decade ago when my friends and I got Shutter Island through Redbox, we pop the disc in, are enjoying the movie, and then we’re forced to stop and can’t continue the movie 30 minutes in because it keeps messing up and upon inspection of the disc it’s scratched up like a cat went at it. We barely used Redbox after that.

Blockbuster was better in the VHS days because, to my knowledge, you’d have to go out of your way to cause damage to a VHS tape. But now with DVDs and especially BRs, there’s too many chucklefucks out there who can’t wrap their head around something as simple as holding a disc on the edges and not plopping your fucking finger on the disc bottom. To hell with physical renting these days, I want a BR, I’ll buy it, and if I want to rent, I go digital.

Blockbuster can come back for those who don’t mind that potential headache, but I won’t be walking through their doors.

You have to try, hard, to scratch and ruin a bluray disc.

 

[mclaren777]

We have Netflix here but only digitally. Are there new Movies/Games or only classics? And how expensive is it?

The selection is great (I believe you can access it here) and the price is reasonable given how many movies I watch with it.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

Back when I was younger I got a psp, a friend hacked it for me and game me a SD card with all them games on it. Because I was able to play all the games, I played none and sold the thing.

To this day I buy movies and albums because all the streaming is giving me option paralysis and I stop watching /listening completely.

So yeah. Going back to video rentals would be cool. Maybe it will happen in the future like the vinyl revival, it’s about the experience not just the consumption.

I like buying games, movies or albums (even if it’s digital) and than taking time and mind space to consume whatever I bought. Streaming feels so detached, I hate it.

 

[Patrick S.]

I used to work in Blockbuster and I wouldn't want it back.

Don't you miss having 200 people calling to ask if you have a copy of The Matrix available, and can you please hold it for me til one minute before you close the store? WHAT you DON'T have a copy for me???!! Your colleague, I don't remember his name or how he looks, told me sure no problem! Man, I'm going to wait for you outside the store when you close up. You're in deep trouble, buddy. You fucked with the wrong guy!

 

[RoboFu]

Nah, there were some good memories for sure but not being able to rent releases for weeks because of popularity was a real buzzkill

 

[nush]

I worked there and really loved the job. I was actually hired for their new instore gamerush store but to work the other side as well.

Job was no stress chill environment. You got to talk about movies and games all the time. Could take out movies before they were released, we weren't allowed to for some games ( didn't stop us lol). You legit guy to know your customers since they would regularly come in. It never felt like work, even the actual work bits

I worked there for a couple of months on a small high street store, was a really chill job if you didn't need to actually earn enough money to live or wanted any good job prospects.

 

[Mossybrew]

It was cool when there was a Blockbuster nearby we could walk to in less than five minutes, but nowadays - driving to a physical location, then having to go back to return - hell no, way too lazy for that.

 

[Batiman]

They never had the newest movies available. Or how heartbreaking it was to get there to find the game you were so excited about we’re already all rented out. You’d have to go to the cashier and pray that it was recently returned.

I do miss the experience and the excitement of getting 3 days to play the hell out of a new game. In those 3 days you feel like you had to spend all day playing the game to get as far as you could before having to return it. When the return day arrived I’d be so sad.

 

[BossLackey]

I loved Blockbuster.

Worked there for 4 years and it's still my favorite job. Most people think all we did was watch movies, but that's not even kind of the case. My store was the busiest store in my state so we were always hustling.

Being surrounded by movies, free rentals, getting to see pre-releases, and recommending movies was really great.

Unfortunately, they fucked up and didn't take Netflix seriously when they had the chance to buy them and it didn't take long before we saw the writing on the wall. Soon after Netflix established a foothold, corporate started pushing us hard to sell a ton of crap to customers they didn't need. I loved my customers (well, some of them) and I just refuse to sell something to someone when I know it wouldn't benefit them. It wasn't long after I left that they went under.

Then I worked at GameStop during a time I had a real career and worked there just for the fun and discounts because our store and employees were amazing. Then pretty much the same thing happened, except now GameStop is a shuffling zombie that refuses to die. I was fortunate enough to not need the job and just told them to fuck themselves when they fired my manager for not pushing bullshit onto customers enough in order to save a dying business model.

There was something special about Blockbuster and movie rental stores in general. A lot of joy comes from movies and it was just so...concentrated in these places. Even more than a movie theatre in some ways (something I also have an undying love for).

We're slowly losing all of our places of community, and that's something Blockbuster offered. A place you could go every week knowing there was a good chance you were bringing something home that would transport you or distract you for a few hours. The convenience of streaming is nice, but it takes away something.

It was kind of the Cheers of our time for some of us. I miss it all the time.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Movie rental stores were great at the time. Except when you had to spent an extra 5 mins shopping.......

"Fuck those chips and candy are a rip off. Lets go next door to the grocery store and buy stuff there for half price"

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Look at vinyl, same idea. The more people push towards the glorious, utilitarian, digital future the more they cling to the physical past.

Until lossless formats become the standard for streaming and iTunes, vinyl will have its advantages

 

[nush]

They never had the newest movies available. Or how heartbreaking it was to get there to find the game you were so excited about we’re already all rented out. You’d have to go to the cashier and pray that it was recently returned.

I do miss the experience and the excitement of getting 3 days to play the hell out of a new game. In those 3 days you feel like you had to spend all day playing the game to get as far as you could before having to return it. When the return day arrived I’d be so sad.

That's when when gamers got smart and Electonic Boutique/Game did a ten day return policy on games. It was a free ten day rental, they always had the games in stock, you could also preorder and you got you "deposit" back. Finish the game in ten days? great, love it or want to keep playing it? Just wait another week or two then buy a pre-owned copy to keep. They saturated places with so many stores that you would not have to always use the same store so you would not get banned as a serial returns "Customer".

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Until lossless formats become the standard for streaming and iTunes, vinyl will have its advantages

The advantage of vinyl is not quality, it’s the purposefulness in experience.

 

[kutthoat5150]

+1 on this one. We had a pizza hut right next to ours so it was always a weekend treat with the family making a trip there and coming back with some movies and a pizza to all share and enjoy together. Digital content, ipads and iphones while bringing convenience to the household also brings a feeling of isolation these days.

 

[Dark Star]

I miss the feeling and vibe. I miss getting pizza with the family and checking out movies. The whole experience of walking around and looking at the limited but very cool/random/funny/scary selection of VHS and DVDs. We didn’t know how good we had it in the 90s - early 2000s, simpler times. The best part was actually the limitation, it made deciding on a movie to watch easier.

Nowadays it’s information overload and I have a hard time choosing what to watch on Netflix, so I spend more time gaming and doing other/more fulfilling hobbies. Movies have become kind of stale with streaming services. The greedy business model has also changed the art of film making and producing too, it’s made it more competitive and these studios are pumping out way too much content. It’s quantity over quality.

 

[Hypereides]

I honestly think the world society embraced and adopted modern "smart" tech way too quickly. It almost annihilated many physical interactions we had in the "old world" (pre widespread takeover of mobile services) in almost one fell swoop. Poof, gone.

Its like Irobot82 said; In return, we've become more isolated than ever. We suddenly yearn the physical exchanges we had, both good and bad, compared to how impersonal and somewhat unnatural common interaction has become today.

 

[NekoFever]

I don't miss the process, but I do miss the experience of going there on a Friday night and browsing.

We had Blockbuster here but in my formative years it was mainly small independent places, and I have a lot of memories of my favourite repeated rentals, and those iconic covers (mainly in the horror section when I was far too young to be there) that still trigger a flash of recognition today. Critters, It (the Tim Curry one) and Hellraiser III are ones that I remember. I'm convinced that stuff was a major factor in why I turned into such a horror fan.

Browsing, say, Netflix is garbage in comparison. Everyone just scrolls down a few rows, shrugs, and picks some inevitably cheap and soulless shit that would have been DTV bargain bin trash a decade ago but is now on the front page of Netflix because of the thirst for "content".

 

[Madserb2023]

Don't you miss having 200 people calling to ask if you have a copy of The Matrix available, and can you please hold it for me til one minute before you close the store? WHAT you DON'T have a copy for me???!! Your colleague, I don't remember his name or how he looks, told me sure no problem! Man, I'm going to wait for you outside the store when you close up. You're in deep trouble, buddy. You fucked with the wrong guy!

Having worked there I can say I definitely don't miss it. It was literally all about l selling popcorn. The real money maker. Nor do I miss being forced to take pre orders for consoles we knew were not going to come in. I worked right up to the store closing which was around the launch of the PS4. I had a few threats that day. I can't say I blame the customers.

 

[Badlucktroll]

I miss Hollywood Video. The one i used to go to had an INSANE horror movie and anime section

 

[West Texas CEO]

This thread is making me cry.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I miss suncoast.

 

[West Texas CEO]

FYE, too.


...Circuit City..

 

[WhatDidHeSay?]

I'm serious.

I dunno. Something about having 100000 movies at my fingertip has caused me to watch less movies. I remember me and my family would go every Friday night to blockbuster and pick out a movie for us. Then Saturday night we'd all watch together. If I was lucky, my mom would let me get a game too.

It was exciting getting the car and going to Blockbuster with my family.

Maybe I'm alone in this. Maybe I'm just an old man now wanting to go back to that time.

But I'd love if Blockbuster came back, with bluray movies and games, at GOOD prices. I'd pay $6 for a blu ray rental. $20 for a brand new game rental.
Yeah I know. Maybe financially it doesn't make sense. $6 for a movie? For $12 you can get a netflix sub or whatever.

I just kinda want that whole experience back. Anyone else like me?

Or do you guys love the digital future?

Where are you from Mikey?

In England I saw one of these so googled it and it's like a bar video rental with individual rooms for you and your pals to have a few beers, kick back and watch Commando!

https://www.rbtvideo.com/