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[teezzy]

For those that don't know, Family Video was a smaller mid-western video store chain. The last of its kind as far as I'm aware of

They recently started plugging CBD oil, etc, anything to stay afloat

Looks like COVID did them in

RIP to a legend

I hadn't been in years but I respect the hustle

 

[Ornlu]

RIP Family Video; I remember as a kid getting busted sneaking into the sequestered "Adult Section".

 

[Insane Metal]

A legend dies.

I mean never heard of it as I'm Brazilian, but I guess many people do. lol

 

[Maiden Voyage]

First they came for Blockbuster, and I did not speak out—
Because I did not rent from Blockbuster.

Then they came for Hollywood Video, and I did not speak out—
Because I did not rent from Hollywood Video.

Then they came for Family Video—and there was no where left to rent from.

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

RIP Family Video; I remember as a kid getting busted sneaking into the sequestered "Adult Section".

A rite of passage from yesteryear.

 

[BigBooper]

A rite of passage from yesteryear.

Now kids get busted watching anime gangbangs on their smartwatch.

 

[jufonuk]

First they came for Blockbuster, and I did not speak out—
Because I did not rent from Blockbuster.

Then they came for Hollywood Video, and I did not speak out—
Because I did not rent from Hollywood Video.

Then they came for Family Video—and there was no where left to rent from.

I used to work in a blockbuster video. They expected far too much from employees. They also took the piss

 

[Ornlu]

Now kids get busted watching anime gangbangs on their smartwatch.

 

[bender]

It's impressive they've lasted as long as they have, especially considering there were 250 locations.

 

[Pejo]

I still used their site up until nothing noteworthy has come out for months, to see which new releases were hitting blu-ray/home video. COVID fucked it all up. RIP in peace, sweet corporation. Kinda crazy that kids won't have the opportunity to pick up their date and browse around at the video store for something to watch that night.

Side note - when's the Out of Business sale? I wouldn't mind picking some stuff up on the cheap.

 

[MacReady13]

Being that I'm in Australia and have never heard of this chain of stores, I have no real emotional attachment BUT, it does signal the end of video rental stores and that is a sad thing.
I really do miss "the old days". The days I could go into a video shop and just browse at all the beautiful covers. See all the video games I could borrow. I miss those days dearly. Today's kids will just never understand the beauty of picking up the case for Fright Night and marveling at it, and instead they see Netflix with the crap it has on there and never know the wonder we had. Sad times indeed.

 

[Happosai]

I sorta stopped going to them as they had already cut inventory in half by like 2013. I thought they bit the dust awhile ago. Then again, I haven't been in the U.S. since 2016 - so I don't know what is or isn't much anymore. They were slightly better than Blockbuster in their prime. Renting more for less is what I recall.

 

[-MD-]

I'll miss them, I respected them for sticking around so long but video stores really are a thing of the past. I went a handful of times in the early 2010s.

I'm so glad I have memories from going to video stores as a kid, it was a thing we looked forward to every week. Kids will never understand the feeling.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Now kids get busted watching anime gangbangs on their smartwatch.

Where exactly does one get one of these anime gangbang smartwatches. Asking for teezzy

 

[BigBooper]

Where exactly does one get one of these anime gangbang smartwatches. Asking for teezzy

Drive around until you see a dimly lit rectangle in the sky that says Circuit City.

 

[nush]

I used to work in a blockbuster video. They expected far too much from employees. They also took the piss

Pay for your own uniform was my favorite.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Drive around until you see a dimly lit rectangle in the sky that says Circuit City.

 

[Tschumi]

VHS stores legit added flavour to my childhood... must think of ways to reproduce that sense of family evening real life interactive adventure for our kids~

 

[Rival]

They had a pretty legit porno section. Or so I've heard.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

must think of ways to reproduce that sense of family evening real life interactive adventure for our kids~

 

[Dthomp]

I miss video stores, browsing a hulu/netflix list of movies just isn't the same to me as walking into the video store with my wife and searching for something to rent for the evening and grabbing some food to bring home after picking out something. I didn't have to search for special hidden sets of movies with a code like Neflix since they just want to show me shitty originals, I just walk up to the new release/recent release walls and take it all in

 

[cryptoadam]

Good old video stores. You always wanted to wait for the 2 for Tuesday. Don't forget to ask the clerk if anyone returned that game you have been trying to rent for a week sometimes you luck out and they didn't put in back on the display yet.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Is Marco's Pizza ok though?

 

[teezzy]

They had a pretty legit porno section. Or so I've heard.

I worked there for two weeks before I was fired for "not being friendly enough"

The porn section was legit, nothing too out of the ordinary or worth noting. Was kinda awkward ringing people up for that tbh.

Oddly enough, after that, I landed a job managing a GameStop, and when I eventually left GameStop for something better, the guy who fired me took my place.

 

[King_Mandu]

I'll never forget, as I lovingly but firmly clutched a copy of the superior Genesis version of Mortal Kombat, observing a strange looking man who held his head down, eyes darting back and forth as he slowly crept in a zigzag pattern towards this place...this hallway, then unknown to a young, precocious King_Mandu. A faraway lair of forbidden secrets and carnal pleasures. The internet has ruined the thrill of the hunt this miscreant used to enjoy so much but it takes a real man with courage and true convictions to shop for porn at 2pm on a sunny Saturday afternoon in a town where everyone knows your face. I hope he whacked himself off harder than he ever had before that day. Godspeed, you horny hero.

RIP to Family Video.

 

[jufonuk]

Pay for your own uniform was my favorite.

I don't think they could pull that one in the U.K. if I remember the uniform was free but the replacement you paid for.

i was an assistant as I just started should of have a manager on shift al the time but after a while I was opening the shop closing up etc but still being paid the assistant wages. Seeing as it was one of my first ever jobs I was none the wiser. I did It part time to earn money while at college.

 

[nush]

I don't think they could pull that one in the U.K

I worked in a UK store.

 

[nush]

The porn section was legit, nothing too out of the ordinary or worth noting. Was kinda awkward ringing people up for that tbh.

No pron in the UK stores, but there were guys that rented anything with a porn looking cover. You could check the rental history on the system of any customer.

 

[brap]

Is Marco's Pizza ok though?

It fucking better be

 

[farmerboy]

Being that I'm in Australia and have never heard of this chain of stores, I have no real emotional attachment BUT, it does signal the end of video rental stores and that is a sad thing.
I really do miss "the old days". The days I could go into a video shop and just browse at all the beautiful covers. See all the video games I could borrow. I miss those days dearly. Today's kids will just never understand the beauty of picking up the case for Fright Night and marveling at it, and instead they see Netflix with the crap it has on there and never know the wonder we had. Sad times indeed.

I'm sitting back here right now with a scotch and coke feeling a little melancholic. At 45, I remember those days well.

 

[Cockles & Whelks]

Being that I'm in Australia and have never heard of this chain of stores, I have no real emotional attachment BUT, it does signal the end of video rental stores and that is a sad thing.
I really do miss "the old days". The days I could go into a video shop and just browse at all the beautiful covers. See all the video games I could borrow. I miss those days dearly. Today's kids will just never understand the beauty of picking up the case for Fright Night and marveling at it, and instead they see Netflix with the crap it has on there and never know the wonder we had. Sad times indeed.

UK here. Always had a ton local owned VHS shop. The forbidden thrill of the erotic and lurid covers was a treat for a young mind. And the negotiation of a "pirate copy" from under the counter. I remember getting Aliens and Rocky 4 on the same weekend. Nudge nudge. Wink wink.

 

[ManofOne]

I don't want to make light of the situation buttt....

 

[jufonuk]

I worked in a UK store.

Me too

 

[AJUMP23]

Goodbye.

 

[TheMan]

Family video was like this hidden gem of 90s nostalgia that I discovered soon after the PS4 was released. I rented a bunch of games from them over the last few years, kind of brought me back to the good old days whenever I'd to browse the ailes. But yeah, out of the two locations near me, one shut down even before the pandemic or right after things went downhill, I think. Shortly beforehand they tried expanding and starting selling CBD products, lol. Guess that didnt' help.

RIP my friend. Now that Redbox has stopped renting games I think only gamefly carries the torch, right?

 

[MacReady13]

I'm sitting back here right now with a scotch and coke feeling a little melancholic. At 45, I remember those days well.

I remember whenever we'd travel local or interstate, the real thrill for me was finding the local video shop. Just browsing and not necessarily borrowing video/video games was a massive thrill for me. Discovered so many films this way. I really do despise this all digital future as so much stuff is lost now. VHS may not have had the quality compared to what we have now, but damn if we didn't have MASSIVE variety to choose from.

 

[nush]

VHS may not have had the quality compared to what we have now, but damn if we didn't have MASSIVE variety to choose from.

The quality is better than people remember, for new tapes on a good player anyway.

 

[Majima Everywhere System]

With the CBD direction they were going in, I'm sad they didn't last long enough to be a full on dispensary.

 

[Lemonade by Beyonce]

Sad day, but they were on the way out no matter what.

 

[MacReady13]

The quality is better than people remember, for new tapes on a good player anyway.

I do love the quality of VHS. It just shits me we got non widescreen versions of films that were in widescreen. Either way, there was something about that grainy look that I love.

 

[nush]

I do love the quality of VHS. It just shits me we got non widescreen versions of films that were in widescreen. Either way, there was something about that grainy look that I love.

They did make widescreen VHS movies later on, but they were not that popular or common.

 

[MacReady13]

They did make widescreen VHS movies later on, but they were not that popular or common.

I guess that had more to do with the TV's we all owned not being widescreen screens! Either way, I want those days back regardless... I want video shops over streaming.

 

[Pagusas]

So what is the next major business line we'll see go under thanks to technology? Theaters?

 

[Super Mario]

Obviously, we have no one to blame but ourselves. It was a simpler time.

It's hard to articulate to those who didn't exist before a time where big media wasn't in your face, pushing shit.

 

[nush]

So what is the next major business line we'll see go under thanks to technology? Theaters?

Banks, as in high street branches not the actual banks.

 

[John Day]

Mates, i am so glad to have lived in the age of video rentals. I kid you not. The experience growing up is a treasure.

This is shit you tell your progeny down the road!

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Mates, i am so glad to have lived in the age of video rentals. I kid you not. The experience growing up is a treasure.

This is shit you tell your progeny down the road!

I wonder what it's like to try to explain to a young about needing to rewind the tape before returning it or watching it again.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I remember when they started sellling cbd oil. It was a sign the business was truly crashing.

 

[nush]

Mates, i am so glad to have lived in the age of video rentals. I kid you not. The experience growing up is a treasure.

This is shit you tell your progeny down the road!

Hanging around outside the video store with your membership card waiting for one of the older lads to come by and asking them to rent 18 rated movies for you when you were not old enough.

 

[John Day]

I wonder what it's like to try to explain to a young about needing to rewind the tape before returning it or watching it again.

Their face is golden