Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Talk about music, movies, television, books, and other media. No religious or political discussion allowed.
jon
Posts: 1562
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 4:30 pm

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby jon » July 1st, 2022, 9:59 pm

I still have my Blockbuster card in my wallet. When I got a new wallet years ago I just put the Blockbuster card in it for nostalgia's sake. It was after Blockbuster all closed down. A few years ago a cop pulled me over for not stopping at a stop sign. He saw the Blockbuster card and was like hey that's cool. I said I kept it for nostalgia purposes. He didn't give me a ticket.

I have a fun story. I once was in a Blockbuster when I was 11 and Dan Marino and his wife were there. I was in awe. He was so tall. But the story gets better. I was walking down an isle looking for a cool movie and Dan was walking towards me and when we crossed paths I said "Hey Dan", and he put his hand on my head and said hey kid. I didn't want to be the whole, hey can I get your autograph kid, or can we get into a conversation so I just said hey. Years later I told my friends and most didn't believe me.

User avatar
ASalvaro
Posts: 745
Joined: May 24th, 2019, 11:51 pm

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby ASalvaro » July 2nd, 2022, 5:34 pm

bluenote wrote:I have to agree with most of the comments here. Mind you, I do like the convenience of streaming, and it also helps me watch stuff that I may not have if I was in a video store. It's just so easy to watch something outside of your comfort zone.

However, there was something special about going to the video store. I remember in the early 80s (when vcr's cost $1000 or so to buy). My family would go rent a vcr and a stack of movies and spend the weekend watching movies. It was great!

I also remember renting a NES system and some games (I had the Sega Master System, so I wanted to experience the NES because that is what most of my friends had). I did like the NES more, but didn't buy my own until about 20 years ago!

you liked the NES better than the SMS?? i sold my NES and dumb robot in 87 to buy a SMS and a bunch of games and thought it was a great decision

User avatar
DialSforSam
Posts: 130
Joined: August 16th, 2020, 8:32 am

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby DialSforSam » July 2nd, 2022, 5:59 pm

Yes! Actually, I miss Blockbuster and any places where you rented movies and/or games.

There were a couple times when I had my sights set on a game at Blockbuster, only to find it was checked out, so I had to go with Plan B. In one case it was Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past. My brother had rented it before, and it was my turn to rent a game. And we had talked about it on the way to there, only to find out it wasn't available. Didn't come away empty handed though. Contra III was suitable. Same way with Quackshot for the Genesis. I sent my dad out to get it for me one time, and he called and told me it was out. But he came back with Castle of Illusion. I think we rented from Blockbuster until early '93, when we returned Joe & Mac a few days late, and never paid the late fee.

Another old favorite was Pharmhouse. They had a video rental area; decent selection of games there too. They had manuals there, but in photo copied form.

We also rented movies, and in my case WWF tapes, from a local place called Hit List. Kind of a small store, but they had quite the selection. Only weird thing was the return time. For example, you rent something on Friday, and it had to be back Monday by 1 PM. Wouldn't be so bad if it weren't on the other side of town, and most people are either working or something around that time frame.

Tron
Posts: 870
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 8:02 pm

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby Tron » July 4th, 2022, 8:46 am

Yes absolutely. It was a great American business model that contributed greatly to the communities they served. On top of that think if all the jobs they created that helped so many people learn important skills and be able to find fulfilling careers.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 4th, 2022, 11:42 am

Tron wrote:Yes absolutely. It was a great American business model that contributed greatly to the communities they served. On top of that think if all the jobs they created that helped so many people learn important skills and be able to find fulfilling careers.


I suspect you were being sarcastic, but it's interesting to note that Quentin Tarantino started off as a video store clerk. And he credits his access to all those movies to helping him become a director.

jon
Posts: 1562
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 4:30 pm

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby jon » July 4th, 2022, 12:53 pm

Another great thing about Blockbuster was that some movies for free, wink wink. Yes this little privileged loser and friends took advantage of it. I know someone who took advantage of the PS2 “discount”. He got a great deal. And just like that this post is not to get a response. Lol

Robotrek
Posts: 638
Joined: June 6th, 2016, 9:24 pm

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby Robotrek » July 5th, 2022, 8:15 am

jon wrote:Another great thing about Blockbuster was that some movies for free, wink wink. Yes this little privileged loser and friends took advantage of it. I know someone who took advantage of the PS2 “discount”. He got a great deal. And just like that this post is not to get a response. Lol



Ah. Reminds me of the free "game transformation" I took advantage of in the 80's. I remember having access to a pair of plyers that could squeeze in and open NES games. I remember renting Super Mario Bros. 2 and swapping the board out with my copy of Pinball.

jon
Posts: 1562
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 4:30 pm

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby jon » July 5th, 2022, 3:35 pm

That’s too funny. My friend got the ultimate “discount”. He got a PS2. It was insane. Back then the whole staff was basically kids like maybe early 20’s or even younger. And there were usually 3 tops. And a lot of times they’d be in the back doing whatever job duties they had if the place wasn’t busy. This is right when it came out. They had them in brief cases and I’m not even sure you could buy a PS2 at that point. It’s maybe kind of like how it is with the PS5.

Also there used to be this music store where people would make out like bandits. By then the writing on the wall was that stores like that would close. There was an employee who told my friend to steal this video on Tupac or something for like $5.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18102
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: Do You Miss Blockbuster?

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 5th, 2022, 4:43 pm

jon wrote:Also there used to be this music store where people would make out like bandits. By then the writing on the wall was that stores like that would close. There was an employee who told my friend to steal this video on Tupac or something for like $5.


Tupac would never have condoned stealing in any form!


Return to “Other Media”