Blockbuster Muscles In On GameFly's Territory
- Thread starter vansau
- Start date
Honestly, I have mixed opinions about this kind of thing especially given the way "project $10" is working out. I think video game rentals will wind up dying out before the used game market will because of things like that
As far as Blockbuster goes... well I have a bit of nostolgia about the whole video rental business. I used to love to wander around video stores, looking for things to rent, and taking a look at tons of direct-to-video movies that I had otherwise never heard of, occasionally finding some real gems hidden among the mountains of schlock.
I still remember when "Blockbuster" was the ogre, the "Wal*Mart" of it's industry, destroying the mom and pops video operations who couldn't compete with them. That annoyed me at the time (though I used them like everyone else), and now I'm sad to see the ogre itself collapsing. On a lot of levels I'm sort of hoping that it will somehow manage to recover.
One of the things that concerns me about this is that as a fan of horror movies and such, I think it's going to hurt the small 'direct to video' production market, especially as far as the kinds of over the top movies I tend to like. See it was relatively easy to get away with doing some really over the top stuff for direct-to-rental movies and release it under the radar. With streaming video and services like "Netflix" I think it gives censors and "prudes" a much easier way to target things, having them taken off the main lists and such, and you can't request something and find it with a search if you don't know it exists.
Probably unfounded, and so far not a problem, but when the video stores finally do disapear if they don't recover, I think it will have a profound effect on the production of smaller scale films.
To put things into perspective, I'm reluctant to pay $15 for a cheezy horror movie in hopes that it's the entertaining kind of cheezy instead of just plain bad. On the other hand paying like $3.50 or whatever for a video rental was a lot differant. With Netflix it's even cheaper, and currently it has a lot of stuff like this (a lot of it streamed) but when the video stores go I think it will not be produced as much anymore since I think a lot of the videos of the sort that make it to Netflix get there after having been produced for the physical rental market and still sort of supported by that.
As far as Blockbuster goes... well I have a bit of nostolgia about the whole video rental business. I used to love to wander around video stores, looking for things to rent, and taking a look at tons of direct-to-video movies that I had otherwise never heard of, occasionally finding some real gems hidden among the mountains of schlock.
I still remember when "Blockbuster" was the ogre, the "Wal*Mart" of it's industry, destroying the mom and pops video operations who couldn't compete with them. That annoyed me at the time (though I used them like everyone else), and now I'm sad to see the ogre itself collapsing. On a lot of levels I'm sort of hoping that it will somehow manage to recover.
One of the things that concerns me about this is that as a fan of horror movies and such, I think it's going to hurt the small 'direct to video' production market, especially as far as the kinds of over the top movies I tend to like. See it was relatively easy to get away with doing some really over the top stuff for direct-to-rental movies and release it under the radar. With streaming video and services like "Netflix" I think it gives censors and "prudes" a much easier way to target things, having them taken off the main lists and such, and you can't request something and find it with a search if you don't know it exists.
Probably unfounded, and so far not a problem, but when the video stores finally do disapear if they don't recover, I think it will have a profound effect on the production of smaller scale films.
To put things into perspective, I'm reluctant to pay $15 for a cheezy horror movie in hopes that it's the entertaining kind of cheezy instead of just plain bad. On the other hand paying like $3.50 or whatever for a video rental was a lot differant. With Netflix it's even cheaper, and currently it has a lot of stuff like this (a lot of it streamed) but when the video stores go I think it will not be produced as much anymore since I think a lot of the videos of the sort that make it to Netflix get there after having been produced for the physical rental market and still sort of supported by that.
Not a bad idea on Blockbuster's part, but Gamefly still has them beat in variety. After all, I don't see Blockbuster renting out PSP, DS, GBA, and Gamecube games.
I might give this a try. There are so many console games I want to try, but few of them hold my interest, so I shy away from buying all but a handful each year. I worry that they'll just not have the selection and availability of newer games, but considering how long it took GameFly to get me games, that was definitely not worth it. Think I'll be swapping out my Netflix sub this month to try it out.
I'm totally giving this a try. Damn, for the cost of 1.5 or so new games a year, I could get the 1 disk plan... that's pretty damn good.
Not just GameFly but NetFlicks, if movies and TV shows are involved.
This move could have an unexpected silver lining: if they go out of business, they might not ask me to return my game/movie/whatever.
Then again, if they go out of business, there's a chance they'll have nobody around to stop their automated systems from keeping charging my card!
This move could have an unexpected silver lining: if they go out of business, they might not ask me to return my game/movie/whatever.
Then again, if they go out of business, there's a chance they'll have nobody around to stop their automated systems from keeping charging my card!
I might be a bad person for saying this, but I kinda want to see BlockBuster go out of business. I have no idea why. I was in a Block Buster and a guy ran out of the store with a bunch of Dvds. The woman yelled and said that it's going out of business anyway. It happens 3 times a week. Some people pay for thew movie, then only return the case.
Blockbuster just can't keep up anymore. They had things down in the 90s and early 00s, but then netflix came along, which plays on (well at least Americans, I can't vouch for the rest of the world) people's love of laziness. Blockbuster has just fallen behind, and there is no way they can compete anymore, sad but true
MrSnugglesworth said:
Wow, I had a totally different experience with them. I usually got a new game in a couple of days and had the 2 game plan for 25 bucks a month, so I could basically keep games for three months without "losing money". Also, since I was a member for a while, I got huge discounts on game purchases. I got Call of Duty World at War for 35 bucks the week after it came out using a combination of discounts and coupons. Do you guys live in big cities? I live in Seattle and it just might be easier to ship there or something.
OT: A Blockbuster a couple blocks from my house closed about 6 months ago. Looks like their really strapping down and trying to get in the black.
Well, I use the blockbuster rental service, didn't jump on the netflix wagon when I should have but I digress. The online game rental system they have incorporated is in use already now as they have sent me a game today. But one thing that I noticed is a problem, they are only renting out games that came out two and a half months ago.
Every game that has come out in the past two and a half months is not allowed to be rented, instead it says that the game will not be available until a certain date and shows a "Save to Queue" option not an add to queue. This makes it completely useless for renting new releases. Plus they are only renting out PS3, PS2, 360, and Wii games.
For example I'm looking on the list right now and Madden NFL 11 is Available: 11/23/2010, while BlazBlue: Continuum Shift is Available: 11/10/2010. Going back a few months even there is UFC 2010 Available: 09/07/2010 and Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption Available: 08/31/2010.
This means that they are just taking games that are no longer being rented in quantity at their brick and mortar stores and sticking them in a warehouse to be shipped out. Allows them to keep the games moving when people want to play them. Sure there is no additional fee but the fact that they are only allowing games that have come out in the past two and a half months past, which means I will be keeping my gamefly account which surprisingly I have had zero issue with and get my games within four days of sending one back.
Every game that has come out in the past two and a half months is not allowed to be rented, instead it says that the game will not be available until a certain date and shows a "Save to Queue" option not an add to queue. This makes it completely useless for renting new releases. Plus they are only renting out PS3, PS2, 360, and Wii games.
For example I'm looking on the list right now and Madden NFL 11 is Available: 11/23/2010, while BlazBlue: Continuum Shift is Available: 11/10/2010. Going back a few months even there is UFC 2010 Available: 09/07/2010 and Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption Available: 08/31/2010.
This means that they are just taking games that are no longer being rented in quantity at their brick and mortar stores and sticking them in a warehouse to be shipped out. Allows them to keep the games moving when people want to play them. Sure there is no additional fee but the fact that they are only allowing games that have come out in the past two and a half months past, which means I will be keeping my gamefly account which surprisingly I have had zero issue with and get my games within four days of sending one back.
I want Blockbuster to stay, I just wish I could still find a store over here. The only one left mysteriously left after a big snow storm. That actually happened...
Blockbuster has made a few too many evil decisions as a corporation- destroying back stocks of videos rather than donating them to archives and censoring movies without warning renters, to name a couple- for me to feel a great grief at the possibility that they might close. I'm sorrier that they drove thousands of independent video stores that might have been better able to adapt to the current marketplace out of business on their way.
As far as renting video games from them in the mail?... I hear bad things about GameFly, but no thanks.
As far as renting video games from them in the mail?... I hear bad things about GameFly, but no thanks.
Hey thanks. Took a look at it.vansau said:
Aaaand.. it's still BS.
Oh not the article, mind you, it's obviously a very REAL article. I just believe what Blockbuster SAYS is B.S.
Seriously, did they think they needed to TEST this to know it is an avenue they NEED to pursue to stay competitive, and more importantly, profitable?
So I retain my opinion (to which I am entitled), that the whole affair, is BS.
You know what would have really given Blockbuster a competitive edge? A rip-off of the Watch Instantly function available on Netflix. Seriously, I have had my Netflix account for less than a year and have seen hundreds of movies and tv shows. Now, if the video game idea works for Blockbuster, I can only hope that Netflix considers incorporating it. I know ripping off ideas is thought of as taboo or whatever but the truth is that if something is obviously profitable and easily duplicated it makes little fiscal sense to not "rip it off." As for it only making older games available, I'm cool with putting a game I skipped out on a year or two ago on my queue for no extra charge. It's not like I'd have it any longer than the videos by mail sit on my coffee table.
