Blockbuster Closes Its Doors

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

I'm not too sad to see it go but it stings a little.

Growing up my family went to small family owned stores to rent games and movies but once I moved to where I live now we'd go to Blockbuster once a week to get a movie.

The store went under a few years back and is now a Verizon store.

They had some good old and obscure movies in the store :/

Oh well, bye bye BB.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I used to work for BBV, and it was probably some of the best times of my non-career job-life. We had a franchise store in my hometown that was fairly small but well-stocked and being a semi-cinephile that I am (though I'm not all gushy over indie flicks unless they actually interest me) I got to watch movies at work and talk about them and to a lesser extent games.
All in all I miss working there despite the low-pay and abuse suffered from customers who didn't like our "No reservation" policy or who would rage when the popular just released yesterday movie isn't in. I also got to be kind of a Randall-esque archetype denying some movies to asshole customers who were looking for it (e.g. hiding the only copy we just got in under my register) only to give it to the next customer who wasn't even looking for it.
I can be an ass, but it wasn't without merit.
Thank you Blockbuster for letting my days of being a Clerk mean something and allowing me to identify with Kevin Smith's awesome movie.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I'm going to be the proverbial turd in the punch bowl here and say I won't miss them. They screwed me one too many times back in the day with deliberately misleading return times. Switched to the local mom-and-pop rental place and never looked back.

Good riddance, you money-grubbing bastards.

 

[TheSYLOH]

Goodbye Blockbuster and Good Riddence.
Wasn't that long ago we were mourning the passing of all those mom and pop video stores that blockbuster drove out of buisness and now they are learning karma is a *****.
Also late fees, rude employees, constantly out of stock videos and it took me some effort to get their bloatware app off my phone because Verizon decided for some unfathomable reason to bundle it.
Yeah , I'm not shedding any tears.

 

[BoogieManFL]

Yeah, digital is the big deal these days.

But I imagine part of it was their sometimes aggressive sales badgering in the stores. People want to go in and look for something entertaining to watch, not be harassed by what was like telemarketers in person.

 

[SilkySkyKitten]

Huh, well this is a rather unfortunate twist of events. I mean, it was inevitable, but there's a Blockbuster right next to where I work that currently is looking for a new manager and has signs everywhere saying they're hiring and such.

... too bad whomever they end up choosing will be out of a job in a few months. Almost makes me wonder why they even bother trying to hire someone new now.

 

[1nfinite_Cros5]

300 remaining in the U.S.? That's 6 per state.

Now it makes my city feel like a bit of a hog, because there are two of them within a couple miles of each other. Where are the remaining four spread out to?

 

[cathou]

Um, I don't know about you, but I've seen Blockbusters in Canada since the 90's, there's nothing "recent" about them. Also, just because you live in Canada doesn't mean you HAVE to use Canadian Netflix. Altering one's DNS is entirely legal, even if Netflix doesn't like it.

Yeah, I should've specified that Brossard, the suburb of Montreal I live in, hasn't had a Blockbuster until something around 2008.

As for altering my DNS, I'll have to try that. I was about this close to subscribing to a VPN service, anyway.

actually, blockbuster in canada closed in... 2010, something like that.

and why you care, you live in brossard, there's a videotron every three blocks to rent move and games, and are not going to close soon...

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

We haven't had Blockbusters... or any other dedicated Movie/Game Rental places in my city for a couple of years now. Blockbusters and Rogers drove all the smaller ones out of business and then went out of business themselves... kinda frustrating. Weirdly the gap has been filled by The Public Libraries, which started loaning actual movies about 5 years ago, now they even have pretty decent DVD Catalogues.

Still, I miss being able to rent games... nowhere to do that round here anymore.

 

[KazeAizen]

I have fond memories of walking up and down the aisles of the local video stores (both Blockbuster and an independent store) looking for a good game to rent. But this was just a matter of time... progress marches on, and video stores are joining the ranks of the buggy whip and the automobile starter crank as bygone signs of outmoded technology.

I can't wait until I hear a ten-year-old laugh at how we interacted with the Internet on standalone computers instead of brain implants.

Seriously. Its either adapt or die. You gotta adapt to digital for video distribution and even now for book retailers or your days are number. (Looking at you Borders). When my kids are playing their version of the Ender's Game finale (from the movie) in their virtual reality chamber and they ask what games I used to play when I was their age. I'll bust out my Mom's old NES that I will have preserved. Give them the 5 button controller and put Super Mario Bros. in. I shall then laugh at his/her bewilderment or cry from happiness out of his/her enjoyment from it.

 

[porous_shield]

Honestly, I thought they had gone out of business two or three times now but then drive pass their location near me and still see people in there renting movies. I've never actually been inside a Blockbuster.

Just because they're going out of business doesn't mean I'll stop trying to find the guy who always deletes everyone's save games on the SNES cartridges. There are three save spots for a reason and if I swear I will destroy whoever saved over my Mario RPG progress back in 97. I WILL FIND YOU!

I hate that guy.

 

[Overquoted]

I abandoned Blockbuster years ago, but that doesn't mean I don't have vivid and fond memories of it. Some of the more enjoyable memories of my teenager years were of Blockbuster (what can I say, I led a quiet life). Most of the memories are of finding new genres (like anime or Latin movies), or of having long conversations about certain movies with Blockbuster staff. Blockbuster was the treat at the end of the school week that I looked forward to and meant a weekend spent entertained instead of bored. (Small town, before I got a driver's license, before I found gaming.)

And it was in Blockbuster that I finally realized that I was not entirely heterosexual. I'd go in and chat about movies with a girl that worked there, both of us sharing finds (largely in the indie and foreign drama genre), and one night I walked out feeling perturbed because, to my mind, I'd been 'acting weird.' Sat in my car a few minutes and realized I'd been flirting without ever consciously intending to.

So, even though I left Blockbuster for Netflix, I'm still sad to see it go. The next generation won't have the same interactions we did. Here's to hoping Netflix and their ilk learn to take the best of all the rental joints, the employee passion for movies, and add it to the service. Nothing more enjoyable than getting a recommendation, live, from someone that loves what they're recommending.

 

[prpshrt]

I used to love the little food section they had. Used to love picking out a movie friday evening, going home, turning off the lights and putting the movie on a big screen. These days I just casually stream a movie from netflix watching several minutes at a time when I have time on a 13 inch laptop. Shame on my present day self

 

[Strazdas]

One giant has falled, time to slay the next. Maybe eventually the land will be free of these mosnters and we will no longer need to pay taxes for existing.

Serious question: What happens when you want to rent a particular movie? Maybe an older one. Netflix's selection sucks.
I guess torrent, and then hook up my computer to a TV?

Or use the magical invention called USB drive?

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

While I don't miss Blockbuster, they left a big void along with Hollywood Video in this town. I stopped trusting most reviews and downloadable demos right around when they left and have had no way to test a game before dropping $60 on it. So I just buy PC games with the major discounts Steam and GOG provides and the occasional console game that I'm sure I won't get buyer's remorse with, or I wait until the game is so old the sequel is almost out.

Movies, I don't even watch until they are on netflix streaming or amazon. So, nearly a year after they come out.

I miss the brick and mortar store. I refuse to use Gamefly, Redbox, and going to the theater for various reasons.

 

[Nick Pirce]

i thought blockbuster had closed years ago! there was a south park about it years ago

 

[Scrythe]

Quickly everyone! Go to your local blockbuster if it still exists and call and see if they are having a going out of business sale! Buy all the games for as little as possible

What a sound idea. I've always wanted 25 copies of Madden 2010 that not even Gamestop would take.