56 day waiting period(new releases)/How many Blockbusters do you have left?

[Ludovic]

@voguevixen

One of the Hollywood videos was turned into a Mountain Mike’s pizza and a pet store.

When I read this I thought it was a pizza store with some … exotic … topping options.

[Death_of_Rats]

The Blockbuster near us is still open, but I have not been there in years. About 3-4 other BBs closed this year leaving 3, counting ours and the Hollywood Video closed about 2-3 years ago.

[voguevixen]

@Ludovic

When I read this I thought it was a pizza store with some … exotic … topping options.

LOL! No it was so big they (I guess?) threw up a wall and split it into two separate operations.

I’m kinda surprised these places aren’t keeping afloat by renting video games. I know there’s a Netflix-type video game mail rental service (whose name eludes me as I’m not a gamer) but I’m under the impression they are a very small company. When I was a teenager we rented nearly as many games as we did videos. (Are video games dirt cheap nowadays, as opposed to, say, the 1980s? Good gosh, I remember my brother and I saving up six months and POOLING our money together to pay $79 for the Atari 2600 Q-bert cartridge.)

[asterion]

Due to inflation, video games these days are cheaper than the 1980s, even if the price is about the same. You also get a lot more game for your money.

I never cared for Gamefly, but I was never much of one for renting games either. Five days just isn’t enough these days to get through a lot of games.

[WhyNot]

Just found out the Blockbuster store I was first hired at closed, although they still show up on the search function. Bye, Blockbuster 17250!

I believe the one I spent the bulk of my tenure at is still open (Frankfort 17364), but I’m honestly not sure.

I’m surprised how sad I am to see them failing.

[thelurkinghorror]

@voguevixen

I know there’s a Netflix-type video game mail rental service (whose name eludes me as I’m not a gamer) but I’m under the impression they are a very small company.

Sure, if you consider national distribution and heavy advertising to be hallmarks of a very small company.

When I was a teenager we rented nearly as many games as we did videos. (Are video games dirt cheap nowadays, as opposed to, say, the 1980s? Good gosh, I remember my brother and I saving up six months and POOLING our money together to pay $79 for the Atari 2600 Q-bert cartridge.)

Depends. I believe that systems and games were really expensive during the NES era. Prices dropped and most new games were $50 until the Xbox 360 and PS3 bumped theirs up to $60. Now PC is following.

@asterion

Due to inflation, video games these days are cheaper than the 1980s, even if the price is about the same. You also get a lot more game for your money.

I never cared for Gamefly, but I was never much of one for renting games either. Five days just isn’t enough these days to get through a lot of games.

I remember a chart showing prices (I think of consoles at least) adjusted for inflation a few years back.

In their most recent commercial, Gamefly shows a cover flow of the games you can rent. One of these is Skyrim :smack:. I guess it would be useful if you just want to “try before you buy.”