What was BlockBuster like?
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What was BlockBuster like?
>>331422863
Pretty shit compared to today desu
People have fond memories of it but in reality the rental and late fees sucked. The systems in place today are much better.
>>331422863
Imagine Netflix but you have to walk around to find the movie or tv show you want and they also have video games but it's rarely new video games unless it's some new release like MADDEN 2004.
basically just a worse Ritz Video
thanks, America.
A place where you went to rent the newest games which were already gone by the time you got there so you had to settle on a shitty Army Men game for the week instead
Hollywood Video was better.
>>331422863
Like a video store OP. Don't you have homework to do or some shit? Where are your parents?
>go to Blockbuster on a Thursday night
>get co-op game and movie
>spend night at friend's house
>pizza
>play game all night, trying to beat it
>bike to park and play soccer
>play more vidya that night
it didn't even matter if the game sucked
The local mom n' pop shops were better.
>>331422863
A place where they would never notice a missing copy of DK64 and they had all the Crunch bars you could eat.
The "no late fee" policy wasn't as bad as people thought. I miss it for game rentals since you could take em out for a whole month at a time.
It was a good place for a "decent" part time job. Stand around and be a useless customer service douchebag, but around movies too!1
>>331423238
this
One time they had a deal where you could pay like $15 a month and rent any 2 games you wanted and keep them as long as you had the subscription. That was a sweet deal. Other than that, it was pretty shit, honestly. They were always out of anything that was good unless you were really lucky.
Comfy.
I remember renting Super Mario RPG from there and then putting a small dot on the outside of the rental box so I could tell which one had my save file on it when I got a chance to rent it again. Luckily it hadn't been erased by anyone else.
I remember renting a playstation game, finding out it doesn't work, bringing it right back, and them trying to charge me saying I caused it. I never used them again.
>>331423647
Such righteous indignation
>>331422863
It was the most beautiful video rental store to live
You could grab a copy of your favorite video game and toss in a fuckload of candy bars at the same time
The indoor music was relaxing and the small layout was wonderfully comfy
It was never packed so you were always first in line
They even had a little drive thru like window to drop your returns in if you wanted to avoid social interaction
Ahh, good times
>>331422863
Good smell
>>331422863
>>331422998
>>331423084
>>331423114
>>331423148
I really like it unlike you guys.
I had the $20 unlimited game rentals.
>>331423238
Family Video a best and still around.
>go to blockbuster
>20 copies of madden no one wants
>vanquish is always rented out
>walk out
And they wonder why they went out of business? I don't know who chose the number of each game the stores got, but they are a retard.
The only PS3 games I was ever able to get was that Enslaved: Journey to the West game and Final Fantasy XIII. Beating FF XIII is one weak so I could return it on time was a nightmare.
>>331422863
bags of sand
>>331423114
Also if it's a game you want to rent, count on it already being checked out.
>>331422863
What >>331423373 and >>331423380 are talking about was a pretty big scam. I remember subscribing so I could get a free rental any month when they started advertising no late fees. I would use it to rent Gamecube games that I had no interest in buying, it is how I played Wind Waker.
The problem was that it was actually a scam. Blockbuster made headline news because the advertised no late fees weren't actually being honored. I remember having to fight with the store manager because she wanted to charge me $59 for when I tried to return Wind Waker.
>>331422863
Magical, some would say.
But honestly, I don't think there's much to it, waltz right in, grab videos and videogame to rent because you're poor, play over the weekend/few days of the week and then get it returned and repeat the cycle.
>>331422863
felt like a movie theater
smelled like popcorn
>games you wanted always rented out
>scams
>late fees
>awful smells
>scams
>no hardcore porn section
>99% of employees hated being there
>scams
>more late fees
>broken discs/cartridges
However it was pure magic as there's multiple threads about them weekly despite it sucking on a ridiculous level. So the WoW of retail stores.
Blockbuster seemed only good if you were a kid and had an Arcade place near by.
here is my only experience with blockbuster
>rent mgs2
>get home and put in the disc
>turns out it was the fucking demo
>nowhere on the box did it say demo
>drive back to blockbuster
>get called a liar when I tell them about it
>they think I stole the game and brought them a demo disc
>argued long enough that they gave up and I got my money back.
>>331424356
It had some ambiguity in its marketing but the the policy was pretty transparent. You keep it for more than a month and they assume you purchased it.
>>331424010
>Family Video
My nigga
>>331422863
>tfw 16 trying to get M rated games and that fucker behind the desk tells you no
I JUST WANTED THAT XXX SKATING GAME FAGGOT
Bought Hitman Contracts there for $7, my first game in the series, so it holds a small place in my heart.
That being said the rental fees/times were crap but thats all we had back then so it was fine.
>>331423278
Holly shit, I know that feel very well. Except for the bike part.
Will we ever be this comfy and happy again?
I remember not being able to find games I wanted many times. The early memories were good then I quickly realized it was shit.
>>331425616
lol no
you're gonna die
>>331425691
kek
>>331425616
>Will we ever be this comfy and happy again?
I just convention hop. the Arcades still exist but they also upgraded to a Game Room so the feeling is still there.
it's weird to think aboout it, but cost aside, me renting a movie from the blockbuster would have been faster, less irritating, more fun ( having to walk onto a patch of green and entering a fresh building filled with movies) than searching and downloading the movie right now.
>>331425785
So you're shit at private trackers and the internet in general. Good to know. Please kill yourself.
>>331425874
It was a lot more fun renting Eraserhead and then ripping the dvd onto my computer than it was just downloading it
>>331425785
>blockbuster
>fresh building
>>331422863
i swear they mass stocked movies in the back and only put a few on the shelf cause they were always fucking out of what i was looking for
>>331422863
Imagine if Netflix just told you no every time you tried to rent something good, because someone else already rented it. Then you had to stand in line for ten minutes to rent a half-assed substitute for what you really wanted. Then the faggot at the counter kept trying to push popcorn & candy bars harder than Gamestop pushes preorders.
>>331422863
It was a lot of fun as a kid/teen, but only because it took like 5 minutes to download a picture and several hours/the entire day to stream one 1 hour video. You couldn't just watch anything you wanted whenever you wanted unless you either paid a lot to cable companies, paid a lot to movie rental shops, or religiously kept a closet full of VHS tapes.
The main joy of Blockbuster was going in looking for particular movie, only to notice a whole bunch of movies you didn't know about so you could rent them.
>Renting a stack of weeklies for chump change
Loved that shit. I find it harder to look for new stuff on the internet and I don't even know how. It was so easy just noticing something interesting looking on the shelf.
>>331426112
>Then the faggot at the counter kept trying to push popcorn & candy bars harder than Gamestop pushes preorders.
This. why the fuck would you upsale something that only Theaters do? Get the fuck out with that shit.
>>331423238
>tfw there is still an open and popular Hollywood video in my town
>>331426171
They always got all apologetic when I would tell them I was a diabetic and keep talking to me about how hard it is for like 10 minutes.
>rented Goodburger one time from Blockbuster
>fucked up my VCR
>had to get new VCR and replace their copy of Goodburger
Thanks Blockbuster
Who here /stole from blockbuster/?
Share your catches
>>331424010
>>331425501
When I still had a console I used to go there for fixing/cleaning my disks. The only thing that they couldn't fix was when my xbox ate my disk entirely
>>331422863
Inferior to Hollywood.
>>331426375
I almost stole Paper Mario, the building I rented it from closed down the day after I returned it
RIP
>>331422998
>>331423084
>>331423114
>>331423148
>>331423186
fuck right off
>>331422863
It was a magical place. I rarely had any troubles with my games or movies and when I did the staff was always helpful. Same goes for movie gallery too because we had one closer to us than blockbuster for a while. Netflix is nice, but it will never be the same.
It was shit.
>>331427234
No, you fuck off for thinking your experience was the norm.
>>331423943
The one by where I lived got replaced by a cigar shop. That smell is forever gone
Used to work there during college. Shit was miserable. Expected to upsell snacks, that $20 unlimited rentals with no due date thing, and later Dish satellite packages.
Having first dibs on the new games was the only reasonable perk since the pay was not that good and there were no benefits. No one really liked working there.
>tfw my parents would let me walk to the local video store to rent a N64 console, 4 controllers and two games once every couple months to have a videogame party with my friends
>always went with WCW vs NWO and Mario kart
Simpler, better times, my friends.
>>331422863
You went to go get something and it wasn't there so you got something else instead.
>all the copies of the game you wanted are gone
>>331422863
Network Video was cheaper.
>>331422863
Pretty shit but since it was the weekend and people were kids with no worries or responsibilities of course it'll be magically associated with those halcyon days and elevated beyond it's true value.
>>331427517
this about sums it up
>tfw you won a free game rental from the gumball machine and got to rent TWO games for the weekend
>>331427517
This.
It was the only way to get movies for my computer impaired parents. Now the only way is to wait for a torrent to pop up and then looking up the appropriate subtitles, and I get the privilege to do it every time they see a random trailer. Digital services cannot grasp that people here are not going to pay $25 for a digital movie download.
And Netflix catalog is still limited as hell here. Fuck licensing bullshit.
>>331424010
Family video died with the rest off them but nobody ever got around to telling family video that.
I have no idea how they're still around. Who is their market?
Like warm Apple pie my man
It was shit, customers in my town were basically trailer trash that ignored their kids while they sprinted through the store shouting. Store had a BO smell. Employees clearly were miserable there. All for sale games and movie prices were marked up to the fucking max. The new games and movies for rent were always understocked so everyone else grabbed them before you got there. They had hefty late fees until their last days in business and then their attitude generously adjusted to "Bring it back whenever you feel like it" Nothing like seeing the game you made the trip for rented out so you found a second choice, took it home, popped it in, and after 10 minutes of playing realized it was cash-in shovelware (I'm looking at you Terminator Redemption) and you wouldn't play it again until it had to go back to repeat the process over again. Goddamn my childhood was dissappointing.
t
>>331429181
>Who is their market?
People who still haven't gotten with the times in the year 2016 like old folks and trashy families who still can't into internet/the redbox etc and probably never will. There is still a Hollywood video in my town right now.
you know how when you wanna watch a movie you torrent it? And when you're done you delete it?
imagine that but you have to pay ten bucks and drive to a store. Also if you don't return it within a week or so you have to pay way more.
>>331429281
this
>work at blockbuster for a time
>every night i got to take a small cardboard box and fill it up with whatever movies and games i wanted for free
>just had to return them and restock them
it was okay, they were too expensive and their selection sucked from what I Remembere
In fact, you might say Blockbuster was the fucking gamestop of the rental days.
>>331429450
I still go to the local family video sometimes, they get new game releases pretty readily and I like renting before I buy if I don't know how I feel about the game. Considering doing it for Pokken Tournament.
>>331427818
>this shit right here
>All copies of the game you wanted are gone
>Go to the front desk and make them check the recent returns, since you know they're lazy assholes
>They find a copy
Best feeling ever.
>>331429450
Rental place called Hastings here. I'd really like to know how many rentals they get a month. They sell all kinds of other entertainment stuff but they still do video game and movie rentals and there's always been a sizeable selection of both.
I remember renting ocarina of time and getting stuck in the deku tree
I look back on how easy that dungeon was today and laugh
I'd go to blockbuster on Wednesdays when new games would release and copy them to my chipped xboxs hard drive and return it the same day saying it didn't work so I'd get a refund
>>331429927
>USER GUIDE IS STILL THERE
>Take it so some other little dickass fucker doesn't do it first.
I've only been there once or twice in my life. My childhood memories are mostly of Hastings instead.
It was pretty good if your mom rented the games for you. The selection was decent.
>>331425009
The locations were for arcades and shit was GOAT when I was a kid.
>10 minute walk to mall from friends for Arcade
>Ma and Pop video store that gave me the entire Xmen animated series on VHS for free when they closed a 5 minute walk from my house
>Toys R Us was right next to Blockbuster
A gamble every few weekends to pick something you could only judge from the box art. You could find something you really enjoyed and show up to see it had already been rented out.
>>331422863
When they switched to month long subscriptions where you could trade games in that was mind blowing. Biked there like two times a day.
>>331425009
I never really liked arcade places the games were always so mediocre. I stuck around lan centers though and miss those days fondly.
>Go to Blockbuster closing sale
>2000s Vince Vaughn movies
>Xbox 360 shovelware
Blockbuster is still open in Anchorage and El Paso.
>>331427570
this is literally it. That was the whole experience
Why the fuck do I still see Adult Video stores still open?
Are there that many adults who buy physical porn?
Are there people that actually BUY porn?
>>331432857
Some of those Adult Video stores have gloryhole rooms and shit.
>>331432857
It's kind of like the mobile games market, some people are whales and buy a fuckton of porn
Also, there are usually glory holes in the back
>>331432964
>You drop em' we mop em'!
When I was a kid my older brother was a lower manager at the Blockbuster near our house. By the time everyone knew what bad shape the company was in he'd just rent us games and tell us never to return them. Said it actually cost Blockbuster more to chase you down over them.
First time we could ever afford to own games.
>go to Bill Grays
>order delicious cheeseburger
>go next door to Blockbuster while you wait
>go home with game and delicious cheeseburger, onion rings if lucky
match made in heaven
>>331422863
It was good.
I remember me and my dad renting tomb raider 2 when it came it.
>rented it three times and eneded up buying it.
>3 days for £3.50
Good deals and it was good because it meant I could try a game before buying it.
Not gonna lie, I miss it.
>>331424010
>Family Video
HELL YEAH
You in the Midwest too?
>>331422863
I bought Caesar 3 for £5 from Blockbuster. Only time I've ever spent money there.
>Live in San Diego
>All Mexican and Vietnamese video rental stores
I could drive to 3 different family videos within 15 minutes right now. There are too many dumb normans who think internet is their data plan. They don't even think you would stream real content from a service if you had true unlimited, just youtube or whatever the new phone radio is.
>>331422863
what do you mean "what was it like"?
HOW FUCKING YOUNG ARE YOU?
REEEEEEEEE
I still owe them $10 for Arkham Asylum.
So fun fact: Australia still has Blockbuster that likely won't go out of business because it's a completely separate entity entirely.
Also fun fact: back in the 90s Blockbuster tried a Japan extension and it failed miserably, a local chain here (Tsutaya) bought them out.
>>331433768
Nice my friend, I had a Hollywood Video/GAME CRAZY here, then it got torn down and now is a charter school
>>331423238
Hollywood video was where I watched all of Neon Genesis Evangelion on VHS. Also had rent 3 for the price of one for SNES after PS1 and N64 came out.
>>331433619
Aren't we all?
>>331422863
who /xtravision/ here?
>>331422863
>ausfag
>watching tv a few weeks ago
>ad for blockbuster comes on
>wait what
>turns out there are still a handful of them here
I never went to blockbuster. Network video 4life. Also my local Network Video super store is still operating.
Blockbuster was a scumbag company. One of the most egregious things they did was get involved in the MPAA film classification process and use that position to practice national censorship.
They were a very moralizing company and would refuse to stock certain films and censor their own rental copies of things they found "objectionable" but that was giving them a bit of a bad reputation and hurting their business so they got in with the MPAA and started making sure everyone would get the same censored shit they would.
Anytime I think of BlockBuster, Hollywood Video/Game Crazy, I think of the movie Clerks. It gives me the same nostalgic feeling with a mix of beginning autumn.
>>331422863
Consoles
>>331425572
>BMXXX
he did you a favor, son
>>331423612
>mfw i use to completely erase all the save files on any game i rented, even if there were multiple free slots
>>331434545
>not enjoying bmxxx
what are you, a faggot.
It was a fun game mate.
>tfw Matt Hoffman and bmx games are no longer vogue
I just want to ride a bmx and do tailwhips and 360 backflips.
>tfw the roller community had it even worse.
Fucking Skaters taking all the altsprt attention.
Anons if you're interested there are still a few franchises operating - they didn't close with all the corporate stores: http://www.blockbuster.com/franchise.html
Blockbuster put all the little guys out of business, the ones who build up a vidya collection to rent out and carried older games for longer.
Thank you for making it impossible to rent SNES games in 1997, Blockbuster.
It was pretty shit.
One thing I liked doing, if I owned a game and the disc was messed up, I would rent the same game then keep their disc and give them my fucked up copy.
>>331435042
>closest one is ten hours away
Fug
Road trip ruined
>>331429495
Wait, are you meant to delete a movie after you watch it? I horde everything I download.
>>331434726
Dumb frogposter
>>331422863
Used to stop there with my mom and she'd let me pick out a ps2 game to rent, also rented games there with my friends for sleepovers
Was pretty cool at the time, reasonably expensive though
It was always exciting to go almost every weekend with the family to rent some movies and my brother and I would rent one game each.
I remember I would annoy my dad in the middle of church service and ask him if my behavior was good so we could go to Blockbuster
I never found Let's Plays entertaining but watching my brother play Paper Mario and a bunch of single player games was fun.
>https://www.familyvideo.com/apply_today.php
C'mon Anon's, they're hiring. Don't you want a job?
I still have a Blockbuster Store Card in my wallet.
It got shut down and replaced with a Verizon Store a few years back.
>rent Hitman Contracts way back
>let you have it for 4 days
>would play it to death
>don't rent anything for a year
>Hitman BM comes out
>take it home for 4 days
>return it
>mom's account gets hit with a huge fucking late fee, like 30 bucks + the cost of the game
>dudewhat
>go in and ask what the deal is
>said I never returned it
>obviously did, because I put it in the box
>guy tries telling me we didnt return game
>come back when manager is there
>pulls up that game was returned and the other guy was an idiot
>still had to pay 30 bucks or whatever exorbitant price it was
>never went back again
Blockbuster's downfall was way overdue.
>>331423373
I recall this bring a pretty late-stage swing at staying relevant.
The one near my house still does the rent one get one free Wednesday.
>>331424010
Midwest bois where you at
Michigan here
810
>>331424010
>we missed you ;_; free rental coupon
>wanted to get alekhine gun for giggles but it's gone (kek)
>get The Division instead
Can I make an Asian waifu in this game to ease the slog?
>>331422863
You ever go to the drug store and they had an electronic aisle? It was kinda like that but they had movies and snacks.
>Used to be Manager of Hollywood Video
The best fucking job I ever had. Didnt know it at the time because it was my first job, but holy shit it was great once I was able to hire people.
>>331429181
I've heard they're actually doing pretty well. I thought they'd be dead too but no.
A lot of locations around me have rented out space to stuff like pizza places, which could deliver both pizza and rentals.
Guess that's how they're still alive.
Ok anon, you can get one videogame, one snack and one drink
>tfw my dad asked me if these where music CD's I keep renting, and he picked up a wrestling N64 game and asked me if it was a video or a game.
I remember I was a poorfag growing up and blockbuster was all I had. For the most shit of games (like dude bro stuff), they'd have like 50 copies. For any game that was actually good, they had 1-2 copies max. And there was always some autistic fuck that kept them rented out forever. Once in a blue moon would the game you wanted actually be there to rent. I remember for some reason I got really hyped about Kirby Super Star, and my Blockbuster only had 1 copy. It was rented out on the day they got it in, and every time I went there for like 2-3 years. When I got older I even called them occasionally to see if they had gotten it in. There's no way it just happened to keep getting re-rented by different people before I got to it; I'm sure it was the same autistic faggot. Just buy the game you fucking nigger and stop ruining childhoods.
All I remember was that in 2003 I would rent PS2 games every week, 1 or 2 of them. Then suddenly, their rental periods started shrinking and shrinking, with prices going up and up, until you went from paying $7 to rent a game for 5 days, to paying $9 to rent a game for 2 days, but not before putting a credit card on file so they could hit you with "late fees" when their lazy ass employees forget to scan the return bin items on time.
Blockbuster was fucking shit.
>>331439280
>Legend of Dragoon
>Gummy worms
>Brisk
I miss it.
It remind sme of a time when I was less jaded.
I would get a game because the cover art was cool. I couldnt tell if it was a bad game or not, I just had fun regardless.
Now I just read a review online to see if a game is worth my timeThey never are
>late 90's - about 2005
Candy shop of game rentals, huge variety could even rent consoles
>post 2005
JOHN MADDEN JOHN MADDEN FIFA
When renting movies was still relevant Blocbuster was too far, so I went to Movie Gallery. Their game selection was pretty shit. They had a lot of weird movies though. Thanks to them I got to see a lot of cool movies I wouldn't have seen otherwise.
However I always remember being 12 and asking the clerk if they had SkyGunner.
>If it isn't on the shelf, we don't have it.
Fucking dick.
Hollywood Video >>>>>>>>>> Blockbuster
Fight me, homos.
>>331422863
Picture this.
It's Friday afternoon, and you're off for the weekend.
Before dinner, you cruise down to Blockbuster to pick up some weekend entertainment.
You enter the store and see row after row of movies and video games being perused by customers.
Most of these customers are cute girls.
You cruise over to the horror section and grab copies of Day of the Dead and Friday the 13th, then head over to the video games and snag Turok 2 for the N64.
While waiting in line to check out, you see a box of Snow Caps and think, "Hey, why not?"
The cashier tells you that your haul is due back in five days as she checks you out.
When you get home, you call a few of your friends to come over and have a movie night.
They show up with their N64 controllers and packets of microwave popcorn.
We didn't know how good we had it in the 90s.
>>331439714
>MGS3
wake me up
>>331439792
>If it isn't on the shelf, we don't have it.
This is what I tell people at my job
What, you think we have some magic stash of secret shit hidden in back you have to ask me for?
Fuck you.
>>331439505
>>331439914
>I'm >>331439124
>Have a return box with some foam at the bottem
>One movie gets caught under there
>Some poor old lady is racking up late fees by the day for a month
But some people were legit shit
>Guy has literally $200+ in late fees
>Everytime he comes in, he has to put something down towards it. One inbreed trailer park skag lets him put a penny toward it.
>I take over, he comes to my register
>Yea no, this has to be cleared up, 90% of this shit never came back to us
>Flips the fuck out, asking for regional manager
>On the phone infront of me with him
>He starts to stutter when he has to tell the regional manager he has $200 in fees.
>>331439961
>you think we have some magic stash of secret shit hidden in back you have to ask me for?
Yes.
I wouldn't know. There have never been any Blockbusters in my area. I always rented movies and games from local mom and pop stores or a nearby grocery store.
>>331423238
>Paying a security deposit to rent something from Hollywood Video
>on top of the fucking rental fee
Hollywood Video sucked dick.
>>331439961
I hope you get fired. When somebody asks that, it usually means they're having trouble finding it. I understand getting annoyed by customers but if some dumb kid was asking me a question I would never just brush them off. Its just rude.
And yeah idiot, most stores do have more product in the back. Where the fuck do you work that you don't? I work at Target and we usually always have more of everything in the back.
>>331434109
our xtravision just closed recently, never thought it would ;_;
>>331429450
This. My sisters family is literally white trash and she always takes her 7 kids into family video because her and her husband refuse to get jobs so no internet and would rather slide by on welfare which they blow on pills and weed while spending the bare minimum she can on her kids. Also, she hasn't rented a house in the past 5 years that she's been able to live in for more than 6 months. This is the customer base for family video.
>>331422863
It was a nice place to get tons of candy and popcorn
Sometimes I sort of hate knowing random shit about games and having a lot of disposable income so the choice of vidya I have isn't limited when I browse them in stores.
Even inadvertently, from browsing /v/, other gaming websites and forums, or just knowing it's a bad game from the people who made it. There isn't any of that whole mystery of picking up a game, thinking "Whoa, this looks cool" and then renting/buying it.
All these random opinions I have about the game (that may be wrong) really hurt the whole mystery factor of the game. I mean, it's not totally gone. I randomly saw Skies of Arcadia in a charity shop once, and bought it (mostly because it was a Dreamcast game, and you don't see many of those anymore) and turned out to be the best game I ever played.
It's just a shame to have all these games to choose from and I don't want any of them.
>tfw late 90s
>your dad would take you to blockbuster every week
>he had some type of membership thing where he could rent a movie and get a free game rental
>played every single PS1 and N64 game they had
>watched all those movies with my dad
>Did this throughout 6th gen too
>All of those games
>All of those memories
>tfw Blockbuster is dead
>tfw dad is dead
>>331441219
NEVERRRRR MEANT
>Used to go to Blockbuster like twice a week
>Stopped doing it as much as the years dragged on because I basically rented it raw
>Plus the internet and piracy had become a thing
>Say to myself I'll visit it one more time before it closes, say goodbye to a over a decade of memories as I hadn't been in it in a few years
>Find out closed a week before I went to go.
Don't squander your time /v/
>>331438907
You are a little too close for comfort there, pal.
you know those overpriced candy brands only sold at movie theatres? Blockbuster had them.
>>331423278
>have no friends
>mom lets me rent one game for that weekend
>getBack to the Future 3 for the Sega Genesis
>spend the rest of the weekend crying
>>331424816
That.... is surpisingly accurate.
>>331441903
I got pretty much every wii u game they had for $10 when my local blockbuster closed
>>331422863
Delinquent highschoolers used fake IDs to create memberships, then they would rent the newest VHS tapes, and never return them.
Factually inferior to what we have today. It died for a damn good reason.
Sorry, your personal childhood memories don't make it not shit.
>>331432527
>Blockbuster and local video store was far away
>Only could get there with a 15 minute drive with parents
>Local store closing "Everything must go!"
>"Mom, can I go there!"
>She tells me no because all the games are probably broken
>Kids at school the next few days talking about how they got sacks of games
>Kid with backpack full of games like Mario RPG, Super Metroid, Final Fight etc.
>I only owned a SNES with 3 games at the time
>mfw
>tfw got Lufia 2 for $10 when they were getting rid of their 16-bit selection
>>331442489
Except no one is arguing that it was better you fucking autist.
>>331442494
How far away are we talkin?
>>331439943
Even though you have shit taste outside of turok you're right. I'm gonna kill myself tonight, the world isn't for me anymore.
>>331422863
I want to fulton those signs.
>>331422863
Shit. Their game selection was trash and on Fridays every good game would be gone giving you the choice of blues brothers or superman 64.
The candy was also overpriced, like 5 dollars for something you could get for 2 at a grocery store.
post gems you only played because the game you wanted to get was already taken out
I heard it's filled with ghosts and has something called "DeeVeDees"
>>331442828
I probably should have stole this one looking at the prices of it now
>>331442828
Wasnt that great.
>>331442828
If only I fucking knew I'd never see this disc again
Blockbuster was fucking garbage. My family stopped renting from them after they claimed that we damaged a dvd case (not even the dvd itself) and wanted to charge us $150 to replace it. Fucking cunts, so glad they went out of business.
Hollywood Video, on the other hand, was fucking god tier. It was a tragedy they went under.
>>331427570
I always wondered who the fuck the person was that gets here before me and grabs all the good stuff! Was it some person with literally no life but also have income?! Are they there THAT morning next to the building door before the employees open up shop? That person that jacked the game or movie you wanted is like your arch nemesis that you never meet personally.
>rented game
>played it for 2 hours
>concluded that it sucked
>want a different game
>took the disc and scratched the hell out of it with plug prongs
>bring it back with dad
>cashier looks flabbergasted as if someone would allow a disc in such a condition
>lets me pick another game out instead
>>331443246it was the employees
Im amazed hastings is still alive. Probably because of the corner way in the back with comucs and card games.
>that uncomfortable moment when you spy on autists in their natural habitat
Its pretty funny when they catch a normie watching them.
Strangely enough they all had this certain pleasant smell of plastic from the DVD cases.
>>331422863
Overpriced snacks and bad rental deals.
Jumbo Video was better.
>>331422863
It was great because it was the best we had at the time. But then again most of my memories of it were being taken there after school to have my Dad rent either a movie or game for me for the weekend.
>>331443246
Former employee here, any popular release, pretty much every staff member reserved for themselves. So that would often be 1/3 of the copies gone before we even opened. Then we'd reserve copies for our friends/family.
Most new releases in my store, only about 1/4 of our copies ever made it to the shelf for like the first week.
>>331427517
I remember this, but with Toys R Us
>Just got a PS2 in fall 2002
>Got GTA 3 and beat it, waiting for Vice City
>Not available the week of release (didn't understand preorders at this time, parents insisted it's a waste of money)
>Get Castlevanias Harmony of Dissonance for GBA
>Not available the next week either
>Get MGS 2
>Not available again, go home empty-handed.
>Don't bother looking for Vice City until like after new years
>>331422998
A dream. Always got shit like Golden Eye and Diddy Kong Racing there. Was always sad to have to turn them over on the return box.
I miss it, games like pic related where made to be rentals.
>>331428790
>Netflix licensing is limited
This. My phone has showbox and I can watch everything a lot sooner for free, I just have to deal with ads and retarded downloads, I'll leave a queue overnight and when I wake up, I expect everything to be ready for work the next day but see that nothing was downloaded. Pure fury.
somehow my town still has a singular, family owned video store left and i still occasionally rent console games from there i know i'll beat in 4-10 hours and have no replayability. i'll miss it when its gone. renting games now is more viable than its ever been.
>>331424010
>Walk into Family Video after a party with a group of friends
>Drunk and high as fuck
>One of my friends asks if they have a specific movie in stock, girls behind the checkout counter say they don't
>Another friend says "that's fine we can just pirate it"
>Girls behind the counter give him the angriest look I have ever seen
My friend is a retard
>>331443302
>>331443613
Ugh of course!
did people like using video tapes for movies? i just cant imagine how annoying and ugly the video looks when i see vhs quality stuff on youtube
>>331443994
Did he go to jail?
>>331444128
It was the best we had, we wouldn't know different.
Would be like someone asking you in 15 years "How could you people stand 1080p movies?"
>>331444128
No, people just ironically watched VHS.
>>331444128
It had a certain charm. It was annoying though because you had to rewind it all to the start before returning it.
>>331443719
Fuck no, maybe i'm autistic but i played it over and over, best game ever.
But yeah, for normal peoples it's a good rental game.
>>331444172
nah, he just apologized for being the reason their business was failing and we checked out our movies (which my friend never returned anyway). Then we went to the Little Caesars next door and made fun of him
>Working behind counter
>One of the old ladies that works with us is on shift today
>Hear her say "Uh...Yea, guess these are it.". >Hear the beep, go about my business
>Next day, the head of regonal is in and calling us for a meeting
>"Old lady has been fired and fined for $10,000. We would like to go over the dangers of renting out movies before street date again."
Turns out the boxes were there from a shipment earlier that day, boss opened them to have a look. They weren't up for rent for a week.
>>331444128
Fuck no. I used to have what would be these days a small movie collection and it took up half of my room.
>>331425245
I had that happen to me, except I was buying FF13 from Walmart when it came out. Got it home, popped it in, couldn't figure out why the thing wouldn't start up. Took it back out and squinted at the disc and noticed that the fucking thing had a printed label someone had made and stuck on what was probably a blank CD.
Took it back and they gave me the stink-eye the whole time I was returning it like I was trying to pull something. Either someone had bought the game, swapped the discs, and returned it, or else one of their employees had done it because it was in the celophane and everything when I got it. IDK if they re-package games that have been returned or not.
Fucking cunts, if I were trying to pull a fast one, why would I have told them the disc was a fake? Why not just be like, it doesn't work, or I changed my mind, like the first person probably did.
>>331444128
no no one liked it at all. i imagine there probably are some shit-eating hipster nostalgia fags producing and buying shit exclusively for VHS though.
>>331438564
>still had to pay 30 bucks or whatever exorbitant price it was
What. Isn't that illegal? They made a mistake, but you have to pay anyway?
>rent game
>the manual is still in it
>treasure the fuck out it and read it all the way through before playing
>>331443264
Fuck you
>>331422863
Had the worlds biggest selection of stale candy
Past that, I miss it
>>331445175
The age of no manuals is truly a time of suffering. This is why I fall for Atlus preorders -- to make gaming feel like an event with a ritual instead of just the part where you stare at a screen for three days of your life
>rent mg3 subsistence
>came with the game and the bonus disc
>only returned the bonus disc
I wish I could of seen the look on the face of the person who rented it next
>>331425616
Yeah
I'm 22 and hangout with my small close group of friends every Friday and we spend the night and play games and shit
It's a good way to unwind after work and classes all week
>>331445175
I miss manuals. Hell, I even miss getting strategy guides back when the internet was less reliable. I'd always bring that shit to school with me.
>always went to the video rental store with my father when I was 6 to get games for my N64
>one day that video rental store which was located at the bottom of a two floor building moved to the top floor
>when that happened they didn't offer any games anymore
>ask dad why we have to walk upstairs now to get to the rental store
>"Because they moved to the top floor."
>"But what did they do with the bottom floor?"
>"..."
>dad didn't say anything
>after walking up the stairs we look for a movie to rent, but I'm upset that they don't have any games anymore
>tell my father
>"Hey you look here and I will look there, so we find a good movie faster!"
>I walk off and try to sneak to the entrance
>walk down the stairs and jump down the last bit to sprint into the room where the video rental store previously was
>look around in shock and horror
>it's still a video rental store just for porn
>start running around the room in one big circle to see if that's really it or if they still have some N64 games here
>the men in there all look at me funny
>run another lap because maybe I didn't look hard enough
>didn't find any games
>run out the entrance and up the stairs again
>meet up with my father
>my dad asks
>"Did you find something?"
>"... No"
>>331422863
Poorfag divorcekid, here.
Only been there a couple times, and I was 8-ish so I wouldn't have paid for anything myself. Plus, we couldn't afford an N64 or PS or anything, so I have no experience with video games.
I liked it, but video rental was pretty expensive, alongside everything else. I used to sell candy at a booth in a rich kid rec camp, and we hiked up the prices compared to what supermarkets charged, so I assume it's the same there. Besides, Netflix and libraries are a lot better, imo.
>>331445523
>he had the game disc and took the bonus
everyone wins
>tfw I got followed around a blockbuster like I was there to steal the empty boxes.
Not a fucking thing of value was lost when they went under.
>>331440669
Robbie? You sound like my cousin.
>>331422863
was pretty cool sign of the times
would always go there with friends late at night to rent a game, pick up some snowcaps, snacks, and sodas, and a nightmare on elm street movie for the weekend
not as convenient as Netflix, but something special was lost with it all right
>>331446104
To be fair, if it was Hollywood video, we were told we had to in order to "Interact with the customers!". We literally had to follow you around and ask if you need help, ask a fucking trivia question, and give a coupon if they got it right.
9/10 times, we would just walk out from behind the desk and just attempt to walk towards them if we had an idea we were being watched, because corporate would send secret shoppers.
>local rental place went under a year ago
>barely ever went there, family owned and most of the employees were assholes
>went right before closing and snagged Kirby's Return to Dreamland for 10 bucks
I also remember going to them around 2010 or so and seeing the wall behind their counter lined with in-box Dreamcast rumble packs. Never bothered to get any of them, but I do wonder why they were even there. Also where they might've ended up.
>>331423306
Well, they wouldn't notice the missing expansion pack anyway. Still in my 64.
>rent Megaman Legends, the disc looks like it was rubbed on a cheese grater and had audio problems
>rent Akira, someone recorded over it with an old HBO comedy special
Other than that is was pretty cool.
>>331445618
The owner of that store sounds like a real genius. Why didn't he just put the porn on the second floor and save everyone a lot of time and hassle?
>tfw always wanted to rent the Virtual Boy at the Blockbuster and only realized later what a pile of shit it was
>>331446104
Nigger
>>331423114
you must live in some really poor place. My Blockbuster had tons of copies for new games the day they came out.
>>331426375
I "lost" Pokemon Stadium 2 and got to keep it for $20. Same with Starcraft 64. Really wish I had the box and manual for that.
Fuck Block Buster. Jumbo Video is where it's at. They gave you free popcorn when you went into the store, shit was great.
>>331422863
>use to buy chocolates and eat em inside while playing mario 64 on the console it was there
Those days were pretty good man.
Blockbuster had the chance to buy netflix early on and turned it down thinking it would never catch on.
funny how that works
>>331447394
A L P H A
L
P
H
A
>>331422863
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrPwOrf4sM here you go OP this should give you a fairly accurate idea of what it was like. Also you other guys too.
>>331427570
>>331429729
>>331424816
>>331445618
>Go to blockbuster
>Walk down the horror movie isle
>Get scared of the covers
fug
>>331443068
>posts like he knows what he's talking about
>doesn't post Sculptor's Cut
>>331447578
I really don't get the people in this thread that cry so much about Blockbuster not having the movies or games they needed. They always had all the stuff I needed everytime I went there, and the thought of they not having it had never even crossed my mind. I guess it was just different here in Brazil.
Shit
you had to drive to rent it, drive to return it, pay late fees if you didn't feel like returning it on time and was expensive
now you can rent games on Steam for a dollar.
you didn't miss out on anything desu
>>331423238
This x1000. Hollywood Video and Gamecrazy were the bomb, and the fact that they were often paired together in the same building only solidified that fact.KB Toys was also better than Toys R Us in some respects.
>>331448324
I still miss KB Toys
In hindsight it was shit, any good game was always the first to be gone.
>>331427234
>being this nostalgic over a shit system
top kek. Video rental places were shit. They were strictly worse than the system we have today.
stay mad
>>331422863
I worked at BlockBuster. Was a fucking blast. Two kids I worked with used to get high or do whipits in the back room and I banged the new chick in the video game section since it didn't have any cameras.
It was literally the best job to have in high school.
>>331422863
I don't know man, I used Hollywood Video.
Great in a time when there was sub-1MB/s download speeds, completely irrelevant now, as is everything similar to it that still exists.
>>331423084
The economy was significantly better, money was worth a lot more (measured in real dollars), people were making a ton of money, the late fees were trivial.
>>331422863
Who NewZealand here?
Who CIVIC Video here?
>>331439714AEIOU AEIOU
>>331426116
>Browsing the cartoons
>find a vhs called genocyber
>woah mum this looks cool, can we rent it!
>well it's only a cartoon anon, sure
That was a fucking traumatic anime to watch as a kid. Rest in peace central park media.
>>331429281
Finally an accurate one of these stupid comparison things
OP, alotta people here are gonna go maximum nostalgia on how great the "rental era" was but trust me when I say that what we have now in WORLDS more convenient and the selection is at least 10 times greater.
>>331426116
I do this at the uni library every other day
>>331422863
>tfw I worked at Blockbuster during the rise of DVDs
One of the worst jobs I ever had and holy fuck were the customers DUMB.
>rent dragon ball z: budokai tenkaichi 2
>leave it in the ps2 at school one day
>mom takes the game back while I'm gone
>Blockbuster never calls
>still have it to this day
>>331453493
Your Mom's CC account was probably charged the full amount and she just never noticed.
Trust me, they were FULL JEW when it came to loss prevention.
Used to work at a UK video rental place called Prime Time back when VHS was still the big thing and DVD hadn't entered the public consciousness. It was pretty great. Legit got to sit around watching movies all day, and you almost never got any customers who weren't regulars and you weren't on first name terms with. Simpler times.
Netflix is way better than what happened once movies became disc-based, though. Those fuckers got way too easily damaged and ruined the entire rental experience for everyone involved.
>>331453115
I remember when the ps3 came out and some bluray movies had a sticker on them saying it would play in a ps3. People thought the only bluray movies that had that sticker would play in a ps3
>>331454315
much like the ps2 was for dvds, the ps3 at the time was a cheap as fuck bluray player
>rent Armored Core on a whim because robots
>HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER
>have to go return it
>despair
>drive down the street
>firetrucks everywhere
>the place burned down
It was meant to be. I only wish I had rented a few more games that day.
>Rent Mischief Makers and buy some sour straws at the counter
>Go home and play that shit all day
>>331456336
The exact same thing happened to me but this was back in the Mega Drive days and i forget what game it was.
>>331423947
Me tew, I beat got to fuck with a new game every few days and I didn't have to deal with gamefly bullshit, 10/10
>>331422863
>What was BlockBuster like?
Fuck, I feel old.
Fuck you OP.
>>331422863
By biggest memory of BB is probably the N64 kiosks.
>>331423238
I'll never smell that smell again (._.)
>>331435042
WTF? Apparently there are two open in the city I live in.
>>331423374
>tfw i love movies and vidya
Blockbuster would have been my dream job
>>331443068
Is this expensive now
We have a hometown video store that has been around for ages. So many goddamn videos and video games. They kept adding on editions too. Smells like dust in there tho.
>>331426375
Never returned Ocarina of Time.
Fucking trash garbage.
>Middle school
>Thursdays dad would get paid
>We'd always go get a frosty from Wendy's and rent a game for me and a movie for him
fuck it hurts to remember
>>331441946
> get pulled over by one of these guys
You knew your day was fucked after that
I remember going to rent dragon ball z like a mutherfucker all the time.
It was my dream part time job for when I would be in college when I was a kid.
>>331458704
>dad gets paid on Friday and we'd get $5 allowance or we could rent a video game
>almost always rent a video game
>local mom and pops video rental store down the street
>mom would always take us
>they knew my brother and I at the store
>they even ordered games for us we wanted to rentIt's a shame my mother turned into a drunken whore that drank every night and slept with men she met over the internet, and would start screaming fights with my father physically injuring him almost on a nightly basis.
>>331433925
>tfw hollywood video was replaced by an auto parts store
>>331422863
Awesome for nostalgia reasons. But media today is much easier and convenient to get. Still remember going in there and renting zelda oot or metal warriors on snes for the first time. And the sales they had getting rid of old stock. Different era.
>Parents were divorced
>Only got to see my dad every other weekend
>Dad would get me on Friday night if he worked first shift, if not I would have to wait until Saturday morning
>Either way, first stop would be Family Video or Blockbuster
>Then off to Taco Bell
>He worked the entire weekend
>If he got the weekend off we would get Pizza King
>mfw playing PS1 all weekend until he left for work, then jumping on to our shitty country AOL dial-up when he was gone to browse porn on Newgrounds
>Occasionally I would sneak some of the neighbor girls over for that awkward middle-schooler borderline sex action that never went anywhere because none of us ever had condoms
>Ten years later my dad and I hate each other because he's an angry old racist prick who can't deal with the fact I want to actually be something in life and not work a shitty factory job for 70 hours a week like him
I might be in college debt, but I would love to see how you can outsource a surgeon to Indians.
>>331422863
My friend worked there, and he gave me the hookup on free movies, and reserved games for me that'd he'd rent for free on his account.
Then Blockbuster was kill.
RIP
>>331459309
That was a dark turn, sorry to hear that.
>>331459461
>GET IN THE ZONE
>>331434983
>tfw no inline vidya
>>331458051
A good copy will run you up 300 united states dollery doos.
>tfw renting N64 and GameCube games every friday for a week
>that time I rented SSB64 and it had Luigi unlocked, since I didn't know how to unlock him and Ness at the time
>that other time when I rented Mario Kart: Double Dash with the bonus disc and played the Sonic Heroes demo for the first time
I'm glad I got to experience that shit, even if it wasn't for a very long time since I was born in '96.
>>331435042
>Seven still open in El Paso
Best argument for building a wall I've seen.
>>331423943
This.
You paid $7 or $8 to play a game for a week, and if you brought it back a minute late it was another $7
>>331427234
>fuck right off
no fuck you.
shit was overprised, and they never carried anything decent
i was glad my blockbuster turned into a liquor store
>>331459796
>every friday for a week
what
>>331460215
Every friday, we rented a game for a week, then when the next friday came, we'd return the game and rent another one for the same amount of time.
>>331424816
Can attest. Was a manager and that shit sucked. Redbox and netflix just destroyed the company, and customers were such total shitlords about it.
>So how you feel about Redbox destroying your company? :3
>What are you guys going to do about Netflix? :3
>What are you going to do now that redbox is putting you out of buisness? :3
People got some sort of perverse pleasure out of pointing it out to a bunch of minimum wage losers like me. I never got what they wanted me to say. Fall to my knees and weep at how the late fees, that we never ever pushed (Seriously, our system for 'checking in' was so goddamn bad that we just issued credits whenever someone asked. We were so afraid of losing customers that our primary business model got abandoned, and some smart bastards would sneak their copies back onto the shelves and claim we fucked up. Nothing we could really do) and then grab their ankles and beg them to continue to ignore the progress of time?
Kinda glad Redbox is dying to netflix too. Something...right about it.
They had an unusual smell that was somehow pleasant. I haven't been there in like 12 years or something.
>>331422863
It was pretty ok, tho not as good as independents with the porno flicks
>>331460215
Rent a game on friday, take it back the next friday and get another game, rinse and repeat.
Not hard to understand.
>>331459580
You can't, but you could build a robot arm to do surgery
>>331460309
>tfw i remember all the good games were only 2 or 3 day rentals
>>331460513
>mfw the only time I have ever used a redbox in my life it charged me like three or four times
Fuck those stupid things.
>>331460603
Maybe in my grandkid's lifetime, but someone still has to man the thing right now. By the time they become fully autonomous I can retire.
>>331459580
>I would love to see how you can outsource a surgeon to Indians.
Well...
>>331442518
sauce?
>>331459580
you gonna get replaced with a robot nigga
>>331460787
>Maybe in my grandkid's lifetime
They exist now anon.
>>331442809
>blues brothers or superman 64
kek
>>331460837
We're all gonna get replaced by robots nigga. The only dependable job you're gonna have is either building or servicing the robots. I'd suggest getting some technical skills down soon.
These type of stores went completely extinct in here in Southern California
I was never really one to rent things but there was a privately owned rent place in my city that repaired damaged disk for like 5 dollars and that was pretty awesome. It was recommended to me by a gamestop employee too
but they also went out of business
>>331459732
Looks like I just scored an ounce. Thanks anon.
>>331460876
>>331460794
>someone still has to man the thing right now
I'm not in a major city, and at my Hospital we don't have one of those. We have to get one brought in from another town. Why do you think sometimes your surgery might get scheduled a couple weeks from that day?
Not Blockbuster since I live in Sweden but
>the only place in town that had a slushie machine was the video rental store
>it shut down years ago
It still hurts.
>>331460952
fuck you're right
Complete ass, never have the games you are looking for.
Cheap so the niggers could rent and scratch up the games
No game manuals ever
Shit snacks
No obscure video games
Over stock on sports games because niggers
I always went to the local mom and pop rent shops.
>>331460513
lol you're a nigger
>Be like 5
>Me and my mom are at Blockbuster
>My mom's looking at the horror movies or something while I'm somewhere else in the store looking at games
>Need to pee
>Find the bathroom and try opening the door but it's locked
>Piss myself because I didn't know what else to do
>Freak out
>Go up the a female employer and tell her I pissed myself
>She just stares at me blankly without saying anything
My mom wasn't happy.
>>331423756
shut up fag
It's like having to leave your house to find out that netflix has nothing good to watch.
>>331461365
>Be like four or five
>Only boy in the entire family, all sisters and female cousins
>My mom is ecstatic because her and my grandparents have been waiting forever to have a son
>She's out getting groceries with me one day
>"Your daughter is so cute!"
>Shaves my head to peach fuzz every single day until I'm like 13
I looked like an effeminate version of Johnny from Ed, Edd, and Eddy for years
I live in Connecticut and we had a place called Tommy Ks, they literally had ALL the new vhs releases
>>331460952
Strangely enough, the jobs safest from automation are in the media. You can't replace a human entertainer.
I discovered pikmin and custom robo(GC) at blockbuster. I also rented burnout 2 and played the crash simulator. I can't remember enjoying anything else I rented there. They never had the game you actually wanted but I did luck out those few times.
>>331443068
>>331447791
I was scared of Clayfighter because of a horror movie I saw there about Frosty. I still remember the picture on the back of a girl screaming in the shower as Frosty came for her.
>>331462129
You can when the media is being made for robots.
>GO HOME GAMERBOT
>TFW you rented cartoon with anime tiddies in it from the kids section because cartoon = for kids
Many a 11 year old fap was had
>>331448139
This goat really looks like he's thinking
>I know they are going to kill me
>I've seen them kill Billy like this and I'm ne-
>>331462487which one was it
>remember renting games for $5 for 5 days back in the days
>last time I ever went to a video store it was like $9-10 for the same fucking thing
>>331448139
>now you can rent games on Steam for a dollar
What?
>>331423238
>the one that was 2 minutes from my house is gone forever
>Family Video only chain that isn't kill
>one day feel impulse to go rent a game for old time's sake
>$20 deposit
>>331423238
>any DVD
>99c for 5 days
>some jewfuck takes over and raises prices by like 300%
No wonder the company went under.
It's basically RedBox
>>331462641
I honestly don't even remember.
I think one of them was Bubblegum crisis,
>>331434983
>tfw when Dave Mirra blew his own head off last month
>>331460513
I wonder why Gamestop doesn't suffer the same fate.
"Hey, is Amazon affecting game sales?"
"This game is on sale on Steam right now. Why not here?"
>>331424010
Family Video was the comfiest but had the stupidest pricing ever.
>>331463049
The town next to me has a Family Video. Christians picket from across the street every Sunday because FV carries porn.
>>331463698
Because Gamestop has a much stronger brand and isn't a loan shop. Loan shops have a sort of built in customer hate that builds up over time and needs to be managed carefully. The first option people had to stop getting late fees and not have to drive, they took it.
Gamestop is just THE Game Buying Store...and Gamers are fucking idiots who will buy anything that's branded for them.
My family was too poor for Block Buster so we rented from Video Warehouse(mostly because they were much closer compaired to BB). These fuckers had a shit selection of games but it was the only place that still had Sega Genesis and NES games in the early/mid 2000's no doubt.
>>331460513
>2006 when Netflix was on the rise
>Blockbuster comes out with their "competitor" rental system for DVDs
>cost more than Netflix and had all sorts of stupid restrictions
I really don't know what they were expecting to happen.
>>331422863
Near the end they were great if you had free time.
15 bucks a month, 2 games out at a time. But unlike gamefly or shit, you could just walk over and get the game right when it came out. And they left the online codes and other shit in the box for the first customer to rent it. Then when you finished, you just walked back over and got a new one. No waiting at all.
I was lucky enough to live across from a good one when I was in university. And the university itself was only about 5 blocks down, so they normally got 10-15 rental copies of every single new game on release day. They got another 10 for sale. And they stayed up past midnight for the big releases. Also I made friends with one of the manager there, and he always just held a copy of each new game for me.
I loved blockbuster.
>"no more late fees!"
>credits my CC the full retail price for being a couple days late
Fuck them, they deserved everything they got.
>>331422863
my friend rented games from blockbuster from like 2005 to 2011
fucking dude never bought games, then when blockbuster went out he stopped playing games at all
>>331464489
>gamefly
Did they ever improve at all? It always took like two fucking weeks to get a new game, their "fast return" was a fucking lie.
>>331422863
The place to go to get a shit ton of random movies to watch.
Best memory of that place was being lucky enough to find a copy of guilty gear X2 for like 17 or so dollars. An old friend of mine and me got as much pocket change we could find and bought it.
We had no idea what it was but we liked fighting games. We ended playing it so much over that weekend that we had calluses on our thumbs
>>331422863
When the N64 first came out, we couldn't find one on the shelves anywhere, but Blockbuster had some for rent.
Rented a N64 from them for a few weeks, until we were able to find one for sale.
>>331456336
>place burned down
all those lost copies of rare games...
>all those going out of business sales
>four different places in my town
>all those PS2 and xbox games for $0.50 each
I think I bought over a hundred games in less than two weeks for $50. Good fucking times.
>>331464280
Neither did I, Fampai. Neither did I.
>>331435582
not him, but my hard drive just died :(
over 600 movies, and gigabytes of dolphin porn, all gone in an instant.
treat your horde drives safe.
It was the only place you could rent this and others.
http://www.giantbomb.com/blockbuster-exclusive-release/3015-8657/games/
Plus they had that machine where you could print your photos from Pokémon Snap into stickers.
>>331429281
oh look a console war post HAHA so original.
But seriously Blockbuster was tedious and overpriced. But it was a pretty cool place as a kid.
>>331441490
Lets just forget?
>>331422863
Netflix except you physically went somewhere and the stock was limited so things were always gone.
>>331462276
That Jack Frost movie?
that movie was so dumb, about the killer snowman?
>Guy drives down the street
>oh, a snowman is in the middle of the road, let me get out of my car and move it out of the way
>he gets out of the car and walks up to the snowman
>snowman isn't there anymore
>car turns on
>snowman is IN THE CAR
>snowman runs over man
that shit wasn't scary nigga
Like redbox with aisles. Exactly the same. Candy and stuff are in most redbox locations. It's exactly the same, outside the rare convo with retail employee. Rare.
I read the whole thread, am I really the only one that rented N64's from Blockbuster?
>>331466671
No.
I even rented n64 games fromAlbertsons
>>331466837
not N64 games, but the console.
why can't you rent game consoles anywhere these days, I'd rent an Xbox1 for a week just to try it out.
>>331466947
Because now all these accounts are integrated with shitty web account shit. Like the bone and PS4 all require a PSN or Xbox Live account... Never had that issue in the past :(
>Had a terrible sinus infection
>I'm gonna be home for a few days from school, no new games to play
>Ask dad to take me to Blockbuster
>Been a game there that I've had my eye on
>Metroid Prime
>Rent it
>Never played a Metroid game before
>Fall in love with it
>Return it, get well, then buy the retail copy
The rest is history, and so is Blockbuster
>>331462276
>because of a horror movie I saw there about Frosty.
Oh shit I remember that movie, scared the shit out of me as a kid.
>>331466196
>that shit wasn't scary nigga
You'd be surprised at what would scare kids. For me I think it was the fact that he could melt himself to go any and everywhere and then refreeze himself back up. Like most horror movies though it was pretty dumb but back then as a kid where everything felt believable, fucking shit gave be nightmares.
>>331467591
is that snowman having sexytimes with that lady?
>>331459580
>he doesnt know indians come over here with fake licenses and pretend to be surgeons
>Rent Gta:VC
>Also moved to new city
>Forgot I had it
>Feeling down because I loved the shit outta the new gta and now we gotta return it
>Parents says just keep it
>>331463939
this is probably true
all those suckers that are into shit like taco bell dewrito and GAMER FUEL, GAMER CHAIR etc probably still shop at gamestop
i havent been to a gamestop in a year or two i think. i remember i bought AC 4 answer and folklore on ps3. They were like 14 bucks.
i basically will only go there to get a used game if I'm too impatient to wait for shipping.
>Ten years from now, Anons will be asking what Netflix and Redbox were like>Twenty years from now, Anons will be asking what Steam was like
>>331427234
>movie gallery
man that's some nostalgia. Browsing shitty horror and scifi and looking at all the VHS covers and wondering what those movies would be like knowing we only had enuf monies for one movie...
As a poor kid I relied on rentals a lot for the Genesis and later the N64. Really takes me back.
>>331422863
About 200 rows of movies and TV shows
4 shelves of games
3 shelves of anime
1 shelf of hentai
>Went to one
>rented like 8 PS1 games
>never took them back
>the end
Miss them.
>>331444128
How stupid and naive does someone have to be to ask if people actually liked using the tech that was available during a certain time?
No fucking shit they liked it. And in the future when some idiot kid asked if we liked the quality we have now someone should respond in the same way I am.
Also
I haven't watched a VHS in years but isn't the quality of a decent tape on a normal tv for the time better than some shitty upload on youtube?
>>331423238
My local Hollywood Video became a dialysis clinic.
>>331466671
Nah anon.
Back in the day, I didn't have an N64
If I did well on my spelling tests, mama would take me to rent the N64 and one game.
I remember playing DK64, Goldeneye, The World is Not Enough, and Banjo Kazooie this way.
>>331467714
>is that snowman having sexytimes with that lady?
Nah just a nice hug.
>>331468146
>Tfw mine became a o'reilly auto parts.
>>331467972
You mean you had to download your games, like over the open internet! And they weren't even inside your cyber-jack?GOG will be an ancient form of heresy forgotten because DRM has won
>>331439125
Yep, their company owns both Family Video and Marco's Pizza. There is even a small order window to Marco's pizza inside the family video near my house where you can place a small order when you walk in, browse, and grab you pizza and whatever you rent when you leave.
>>331422863
Me and my brother used to rent megadrive games all the time. We would try a game then pool our dosh to buy it for real. We had been burnt by a couple of shit games so it seemed a good method to prevent it happening again
>>331422863
Like Hasting's but with less shit.
>>331468146
The one by me is still just there, vacant.
Guess no one wanted to buy that building after HV was kill.
>>331467591
>>331467714
>>331468394
>it's Shannon Elizabeth
Anybody else /mammoth/ video here?
I remember when they closed down there were a shit load of great deals.
>>331468146
>mfw mine just up the road from my house became a verizon store, and the other one became a small Mexican restaurant that has a stabbing at least once a month
>>331422863
i used to work at blockbuster
was a great job honestly, had free movies if not new releases, and we had a used game section where i grabbed gladius, incredible hulk and killer 7.
and the junk food was good, couldn't find italian style gardettos anywhere else
>>331468146
Mine became a mattress store.
>>331468146
Mine became a version store
>>331468146
>My Blockbuster became a mosque
>>331464936
>that one challenge where you play as Faust against Dizzy at 1 hp and need to faultless defense for 45 seconds
>Me being 14 and not understanding fighting game mechanics so I chained his super with the cup game praying that I didn't pull up angel
>>331468146
One became a palates gym, the other became an auto parts store.
>>331463889
You would think after so long they'd just let it go.
Spend A Dollar was my local shit when I was a kidfag. Miss Goldie always had whatever the fuck I wanted, and the shit was literally a couple dollars for movies and games. I rented FF IV from that bitch so many time, RIP in piece probably D:.
>>331450328
Hollywoodvideo/gamecrazy was the best
>>331468146
Mine in my hometown became a locally owned video store, then a laundromat. Now its a payday loan office.
The one near me now became an empty building for drunk squatters to pee in.
>>331422863
>Rent some pokemon episode
>Big snowstorm coming through, largest we've had in years
>Return video a day before due date so we don't have to deal with late fees due to snow
>storm comes through
>store's closed for like a week
>Go back the next weekend to rent something else
>Get told we have to pay a late fee because the store was closed and they didn't check it back in until after they reopened due to weather.
Last time I ever went to blockbusters, or any rental store. Shame really, had fond memories going there with my best friend in junior high, picking out vidya or movies and doing the whole weekend hangout & play/watch movies thing.
>>331459580
>awkward middle-schooler borderline sex action
Get the fuck out of here normie
>>331423084
This, not sure what's so great about the concept of playing a game you don't own. I wouldn't even be able to enjoy playing it, knowing I'm gonna have to take it back or renew my rental or whatever.
>>331423238
Fuck, this made me miss Game Crazy.
>>331469651
you showed him
>>331468146
Mine became a Chase Bank. And the Blockbuster across the street from it became a t-mobile/ chipotle/ Panda Express
>>331468146
Mine too. What a coincidence.
>>331468931
Are you me? Because the one near me is now a Mattress Warehouse.
>>331469995
I hope not, otherwise I'd have to rape you.
I remember renting TP for the Gamecube back in 2007 when I was 12.
Was some good shit. Had a lot of fun with it, managed to reach Arbiter's Grounds until I had to return it.
Didn't rent it again until like 6 months later when I finished the game.
I kinda miss rental places, if only for them making it easier to pirate if you couldn't find reliable high speed downloads.
>rent game
>rip game
>return game
Rinse and repeat. You can kinda do the same thing with Gamestop's return policy with used games
Used to my Blockbuster here, 15 years I spent in the neighborhood and I used to rent shit every weekend. My cousin worked there and I used to like him until he became a bitch about me abusing his employee privileges. I was probably keeping your store open, faggot.
It's been a walk-in clinic since 2013, pretty much that whole strip mall, besides the pizza hut next door, has had businesses come and go.
My library does game rentals and has nearly every next gen game worth getting, and in the case it doesnt, theyll ship it to the library. All of this FOR FREE. I really only need to buy the console and I'm set for life. Got a Wii U, own about six or so games on it, but have played every major Wii U release since launch.
>>331469995
>>331468931
>>331468146
>My local blockbusters became a matress firm
>My local hollywood video became a planet fitness
What's weird about the second one is the hollywood video sign is still up on the side of the building although it's been 5+ years since the switch.
>>331470153
Wouldn't want that;)
>>331438907
734, almost 313, but I wont subject myself to that low standard of living.
>>331468931
The one in my old BB is a Sleepy's.
It was magical honestly. Had a nice comfy feeling too. If they were still around I'd occasionally go to one for some good feels.
there's somehow a flick video still open in my town, I don't get how though
>>331470217
Samefag here,
Also, I remember one time as a kid, I rented Batman Vengeance and Sonic Adventure 2 on the GameCube, but the forgot to scan the SA2, so I essentially got a free copy. Another time, I rented Simpsons Hit & Run, but there was a huge gash in the disc, like someone deliberately scratched the shit out of it. Needless to say, it was unplayable. Guess it was karma for the free SA2.
>>331470684
>>331470332 here, North Carolina actually.
>>331422863
>be me in 1995
>Mom picks me up from soccer practice
>we get burgers at Wendy's
>she lets me rent a game from Blockbuster
>rent Primal Rage for the 10th time
>mfw it's 2016 and I still don't feel like an adult
>>331469889
Epic meme.
>>331438907
248 here
>>331470332
makes you wonder what will come after planet fitness for run of the mill stores
>every thread about video rental places always has a couple of millenials butthurt about being left out of the discussion
How do you not bust a capillary every time you remember you've missed out on most of human history and not just the 90's
>>331471028
>soccer practice
Haha faggot I played football.
>>331470330
>Next-gen
>Ps4 and Xbone have been out for nearly two years now
>>331471028
>it's 2016 and I still don't feel like an adult
It's alright. None of this is real anyways. We're all just pixels. There are no actual human beings behind keyboards here. The people and things you see on the internet are shadows on Plato's cave wall.
Thing is, we walk outside the cave every day. We're all awake, live and breathe.
But the problem is the world's so mundane compared to the dancing shadows, we prefer the dark.
>>331467832
i go because of flipping shit i get from flea markets that still has high price trade credit.
after target had their B1G2 sale, i had about near $300 credit from spending about $100
>>331423114
>but it's rarely new video games
I don't know where the fuck you live but I've lived all over the US and every single Blockbuster I've ever been in from coast to coast had new game releases.
>>331471412
>Play sport with protection for everyone
>Calling others faggots
Go sit with the hockey cunts, rugby motherfuckers would beat both your asses.
>>331422863
They'd always have three dozen copies of Madden 20XX and six thousand copies of Call of Duty but their one single copy of <game people would actually rent> was always out.
>>331470684
>>331469995 here. Southeast PA actually.
Blockbuster was great but mom and pop movie rental places were better, especially before DVDs when VHS was all that was available.
>A clear plastic case with a sticker on it that said "be kind, rewind"
>my city has not one but TWO block busters open right now
Alaska is crazy
>>331471286
>everything becomes a Titlemax
Is it just me or did most Blockbusters smell weird?
>>331470684
Close, Indiana
>>331471778
>Implying people actually did
I can understand with porn, keep it right before a great anal scene on an interracial part, but for regular movies it was bullshit.
>>331472029
>renting porn
>>331471826
Like new car smell? I think mine used to shampoo the carpet occasionally or something.
>>331471826
Must've been all the VHS cleaners they used.
>>331472183
>Implying you didn't glance at that glass case with an employee rope blocking direct access all the time
>>331439943
>>331442774
You now remember getting two xbox's and 8 friends to play some 4v4 on Blood Gulch until 2 in the morning.
>>331472183
Back in the early 90s, my dad did. The laundromat we washed our clothes at had a big section in the back for games and movies, and another part that was sectioned off by curtains.
Of course, he rents a video every week while my mom went food shopping across the street and my dad gave me $5 to keep my mouth shut. Eventually he just got a stockpile of tapes and I discovered them when I was like 12 or 13.
>>331460794
That looks horrifying.
>>331471283
Same. What video games do you like to play?
>>331472348
The mom and pop places near me never had porn so I had to rent horror movies with tits in them to jack off to.
>>331472475
Used to ban the rocket launcher because that shit was op as fuck when you were 13
>>331422863
It was a slightly pricey rental store.
It was also literally the only place close to me for nearly eighty miles where I could rent video games.
>>331423238
There was a Hollywood Video in my town and a Blockbuster just one town over. I'm super nostalgic for them - I remember once reading a Tips and Tricks article about MGS2 while waiting for my parents to pick a movie. Good fucking times.
>>331422863
flourescent lighting, shitty tile ceilings, smarmy cunt staff etc.
it really wasn't a sustainable business, glad it's been replaced with more efficient means of media consumption
Blockbuster's were fine for the time since their selection was pretty decent. I lost interest over time, especially because their late movie fee was pretty expensive. I do miss Blockbuster Golf & Games though. That was my first exposure to Virtuality which was vomit inducing but still pretty cool. Dave and Buster's seems to be a close modern equivalent. idk. It was fun while it lasted.
>>331468146
Mine is a dentist office now.
Do movie rental stores still exist?
>>331422863
I remember my younger brother tried applying there when he was 10. The resume was basically a list of games he played and I was actually a little jealous I didn't think of it first.
If you were in charge of Blockbuster, what would you do to save the company? I'd reinvent the store as a rental/arcade business and strategically place the stores next to middle & high schools so kids will flock to it when they get out.
>>331473842
They do, but they're usually so far out in the middle of nowhere they're able to still keep afloat because anyone who lives there doesn't have access to high speed internet to stream something like netflix because they're so far out in the middle of nowhere.
>>331473842
The only ones I've seen are the niche dvd porn stores. Which I'm surprised also exists, but whatever. People cling to what they are used to.
>>331426375
Civ II for PS1.
lol
>>331474193
I live in the middle of no where. Pic related is to the closest Starbucks to where I live to give an idea.
No. No they're not.
>>331426375
All I got was Transformers the movie and Sonic the Secret Rings. Fuck me.
>>331471028
>it's 2016 and I don't feel like an adult
>>331426375
always burned copies of ps1 games sometimes ps2
>>331427664
/thread.
>muh nostalgia.
>>331473842
Where I live, we still have a few of them.
Most of them are niche video stores. If you're the kind of person who watches Chinese, Vietnamese, or Indian dramas, these stores are for you.
As for conventional Hollywood shit, there is literally one video store that still does rentals. The only reason they're still in business today is because they shifted their focus to video game retail, selling brand new games, as well as used games that are actually more reasonably priced than GameStop.
>grew up in small country town
>friends and I would ride our bikes to show biz video and rent movies or N64 games
>closed some time in 2011-2012 after dragging on for so long
>went back to town recently and the city has grown so much that it's no longer a small country town; the city is just ever growing and assimilating my home in the process
is this how cities like los angeles came to be? how sad.
Okay, /v/
You're a kid
You rent vidya from Blockbuster
You turn it on, and there's already a save file.
Did you start fresh, or jump in to the save file?
>Having to return a game before you beat it, hoping the save file is still there the next time you can rent it
>It wasn't
>>331475080
jokes on you, I played PS1 games
>>331474996
Los Angeles came from holding water hostage behind legal bullshit, but that's how most cities happen.
The quiet town I grew up in in absorbed into the city now to the point where the only thing separating the two are the zip codes and the school zones.
>>331474538
I speak from experience. It's a mom & pop place, forget the name because the dude's name is middle eastern, and honestly i didn't even know it was there until I got lost trying to find where to pay my phone bill because they moved recently. Dude also owns a record store right next to it, surprisingly.
What was your go-to rental? The old reliable you'd pick up when whatever you wanted was out.
This fucking VHS right here. Rented it so many times when I was a kid. Brother and I thought the trailer for "Ranma 1/2: The Movie: Big Trouble in Nekonron China" was the funniest title.
Also that Charmander episode.
>>331475410
Super Smash Bro's 64.
>>331475410
I would usually give up and go home.
I used to live a very short walk away from Blockbuster.Also, I rented very little because I once rented a game so many times that I actually managed to exceed its purchase price. Since then, my dad has made a point to buy me games instead of renting them because we saved more money this way.
>>331459580
>he's not racist
what a cuck, I bet you're voting for Bernie
>>331439280
Damn son...I feel so old now. There was a Hollywood video near my highschool, so I would swing by after school on fridays for some PS1 or Dreamcast game to rent.
Rented Ocarina of Time from Blockbuster and I remember the symbols in the temple of time would change colors for completing each dungeon. When I finally bought the game it didn't change colors.
>>331435042
>The only ones remotely close are in Oregon
fug
shit, do none of you remember renting NES games or am i older than ALL of you?
>>331476857
Probably. The oldest game I rented was Megaman X3.
>>331475410
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Seriously, I rented it so much, my parents just bought it for me.
It was the best shit ever.
I think they bought it from Planet Video when they were closing down everywhere.
I dunno, I can't remember, that was a long time ago.
>>331476857
I rented NES games. It used to be about a 2 mile walk one way
i rented james and the giant peach once
>>331459580
Always remember the good times, anon. No matter how much you and your dad have changed over the years, remember the bond and that no matter what, he's your dad.
>>331463889
I think I remember reading that Family Video is heavily Christian-owned like Chik-Fil-A. Hmm, maybe not then.
>>331464263
My family moved to this dinky, tourist-y island in the mid-00's. They had a decent selection of games, but it was all SNES/Genesis. It was crazy. I think it's finally closed down though. I always wondered if they ever got anything newer.
>>331476639
These things must be prime collectors items.
>>331453493
I still have Fuel of War with the blockbuster case
Bet that case will be worth some money to collectors
>>331476337
Nope. Can't stump the Trump, baby. That wall ain't gonna build itself.
>>331477714
You say that, but after that lawsuit he dragged my mom and I through a couple years ago, I cut contact with the bastard and haven't talked to him since. I consider my stepdad my real dad over that cunt.
Dad just threw vidya at me to keep me busy, stepdad actually studied with me and helped me get into college, get my own place, teach me how to fix my car, etc. The only thing my dad ever taught me was how to dine and dump women.
>>331478558
>anything past 6th gen
>worth more than bellybutton lint
Oh. Well, at least your stepdad seems brotier. Always remember the good times with him.
>>331478317
>His last rental was This is The End
![[takes intense bite].png](https://i.imgur.com/KrFEc0x.png "[takes intense bite]")
![[blistering fury intensifies].gif](https://i.imgur.com/2CVrpLv.gif "[blistering fury intensifies]")