R.I.P. Blockbuster
 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dish-n...193325822.html

Well it was good while it lasted.

I live in New York, and there are no more Blockbusters in my county. I'm also pretty close to the five boroughs of New York City, and the last few closed earlier this year. The three Blockbusters closest to me that are still open are in NEW JERSEY.

Wait...they are just now dieing? The closest Blockbuster to me has been shuttered for over 2 years.

I just logged on to post this. Blockbuster was a great place to go on Fridays for VHS and DVDs not to mention video games even as prices climbed. The last video rental store in my area died 18 months ago. The old Blockbuster location was cut in half with Starbucks moving in and the other half became a video game rental store. I assume it is still an online rental? Thanks for the memories and the fun Blockbuster. You gave me my first DVDs purchased, and many hours of entertainment.

Their online rental thing is still going. (I'm actually still holding a movie from it.) The article says that they'll stop that too, however.

You know, it also really sucks that these people are going to lose their jobs around the holidays.

We have a Family Video...but I only went in once when I was manager of the competition...I really ought to go the video store in nearby Beebe, they had old VHSs for rent.

I guess kids of this generation will never know what its like to rent a VHS tape or a DVD from a store.

Or a Blu-ray. Kids of this generation probably have no clue what VHS is.

I'm honestly surprised. I thought Blockbuster died off years ago. I remember there was one close to where I live, but it closed down along time ago when I was a kid.

Well they were just starting to get more and more scarce.

Since so many were closing, I'd sometimes check on their site to see what New York locations were still around. Stores would bite the dust one by one. They'll soon be gone, but there are only five stores still around. One county has three still open while two others each have one still standing.

Does anybody remember how Blockbuster sponsored a video game championship tournament in 1994? I did a search for something about it and this is one thing I came up with.

http://www.sega-16.com/2013/02/sega-...ampionship-ii/

Another memory I have is when they gave people an opportunity to rent Star Fox Assault before it went on sale. I drove around to many stores for a copy to rent, and I finally found one at this store. I even finished it before I had to take it back.

In 2005 and 2006, I went to Colorado to meet a friend and they actually had a Blockbuster on the same grounds of the hotel where I stayed. I went for a third time in 2008, and it was gone.

I just saw this video from KCAL-9 news about the shutdown. The reporter says that 50 stores will still stay open. Hm. (You also have to like how a NETFLIX ad plays before the news clip.)
http://news.yahoo.com/blockbuster-cl...205039449.html

What? I thought Blockbuster had been closed for years now...

They're like Chicken Holiday, they exist but they're scarce.

Someone mentioned how much it sucks that people are going to lose their jobs over this, and frankly, it's one huge reason I'm firmly against an all-digital distribution model for movies, music, games, etc. It's just another example about how we're letting technology take over everything, all for the sake of "convenience", when at the same time it's forcing us to become a more isolated and sedentary society, and forgetting about the human element in all of it. In just the last ten years, dozens of different jobs that were once considered stable are now almost completely gone. When I was a kid/teen, lots of people I knew had their first job at a record store or video store, and now both of those things are almost extinct, and video game stores are probably less than 10 years away from disappearing, too.

Why is this such a "good" thing? Because it's quicker and easier to push a button and approve of some stranger whose face you've never seen getting a look at your credit card information, rather than - god forbid - drive five minutes to a store, pick up and hold an actual product in your hands, hand someone some cash, and drive home? I don't get it. I'll never get it. I understand why having digital distribution as an OPTION is easier for some people, but having it be the ONLY choice is a horrible, horrible idea. If nothing else, it's eliminating untold numbers of jobs just so people can spend even more time on the internet.

In 15 years, people are only going to leave their houses to buy food. In 20 years, the only people who will leave their houses will be the people paid to drive food TO you once you've ordered it online. And those people will be paid practically nothing, since they'll have a thankless job nobody wants. But by all means, keep pushing for that nice, cozy, convenient all-digital future. Me? I get depressed just thinking about it. And not just because all digital music sounds like f*cking sh*t.

Full disclosure: I never even had a Blockbuster membership, but I hate to see what once was one of the most recognizable brand names in the world suddenly vanish and hundreds of people suddenly lose their jobs.

I haven't been in a blockbuster in probably 8+ years, but I have a lot of fond memories growing up and using them. Great, great times were had thanks to their business.

I may not miss them today but for nostalgic reasons, they have a place in my heart.

I remember going to blockbuster when I was younger, Renting VHS movies and then they started renting out video games on the NES, Genesis and such, And then worked at a Blockbuster for about 8 or 9 years.

There's still 2 left in my city that are open, but they are so barren inside and I don't see any cars in the parking lot, so I wonder how they are staying open. They use to be the awesome, then in the later years, I just browse through the selection and see what I can stream or redbox elsewhere.

Wow. That's very sad to hear, and I agree with Leo that all of this is just plain stupid. That's why our economy is so horrible these days because technology has screwed people out of jobs that are very much needed right now. I never went to a Blockbuster myself, but I can see why this is sad for those who did. I remember going to a rental store in a town not too far from us, and we would always rent movies and video games from there. They're still in business, but I wouldn't be surprised if they went out of business due to things like Netflix and the like. I'm all for progress, but I don't like it when said progress takes away from things that we really need right now as far as jobs are concerned.

I've been with Netflix since 2004, and even before then, I avoided trying to take advantage of them because I still wanted to rent my movies the old fashioned way. Then I ended up taking advantage of Netflix since it got to the point where there were many titles I wanted to check out, and wasn't sure if I had the time or the finances to do it. Netflix sped it up a great deal and I even saved a lot of money with them. Even still, I wasn't above going to a Blockbuster to rent movies, and I would do so every now and then. They still came in handy for when I'd already have some titles from Netflix and wanted to check out another movie right away.

I also use Netflix's instant viewing feature. Even though that's also helpful in its own way, I'm actually still hoping to be able to rent DVDs and Blu-rays from them for a while.

In Canada BBs been dead for years

Jimmy Carr tweeted it best:

"Blockbusters is bust again. Why they can’t get people to go out in the rain to pick up a video that may or may not be there, I don’t know."

I agree with everything you mentioned. I don't think it will even be as minor a difference as from our (if your were born 1970s to 1990) parents generation to ours or even from our grandparents to ours. I think we're definitely headed in a much scarier direction of change than just having that crazy rock music and not having milk delivery. We are openly encouraging digital ownership (which is really not even ownership at all) and could very easily lose all of our purchases if the company decides to do so. For instance if you subscribe to (or just buy infrequently) to Marvel digital comics you "agree" to not even owning your comic books (think of it as "permanent-unless-something-changes-and-we-take-it-away-because-of-whatever-reason-we-feel-like ownership") as soon as you buy a comic book. Think of this guys- we are saying I'll pay you for being able to use this (for the same price) but not own it, rather than owning a physical copy. Even if you figure that most companies wouldn't just shut down and leave you stranded (where'd my tunes go?), what happens if there is a copyright battle 6 months after you downloaded a video game because the publisher shouldn't have used the graphics engine they used or something (it's happened- X-Men Destiny) and hypothetically the ruling states that they can't sell it anymore and must remove any existing digital use of it.... Since digital distribution of copyrighted material like video games and comics books, movies, etc hasn't been through tons of lawsuits to develop precedents yet, you could end up losing your game that you paid for.... Maybe they'd be forced to put it up later, but who knows, this is a scary age we are approaching and I for one miss the crap out of the 1980s and the 1990s, and not just for nostalgia sake.... I used to not be much for conspiracy theories until the last 8 years or so, but when we are eagerly throwing away our control of the things in our lives like this, it sure would be easier to let big government take other things... But I'll stop there to hopefully any political arguments... That's not even getting into the social distancing we actively encourage in our day to day lives... It's not healthy for a social species to actively try to avoid social practices. Perhaps there's a correlation between social distancing of our entire world (and by this I mean anywhere we have internet connections- otherwise we are still forced to be social) and the increase of mass shootings. It's hard to recognize "warning signs" of our friends and neighbors when we don't even talk to them. We've always been a destructive and have done unspeakable crimes to ourselves, but by having close social ties we had been able to keep each other in check. I shudder to think where we will be in 50 to 100 years... perhaps sooner. I don't like it, not one bit. Yet, I am completely at a loss for any alternative... that the rest of the world would unite and hold hands again. I guess I'll just hold on for the ride and stock up on silver, guns and survival gear. Lol, Revolution (TV show) here we come!

Reading back through this, I kinda sound crazy.... but eh, it is what it is. Oh yeah, and I miss Blockbuster too.... Got some cool games from them.

This kind of reminds me of an episode of South Park called "A Nightmare on Face Time" where Randy buys an old Blockbuster store but hardly anyone comes in and he sees ghosts of people, pretty much referencing that video stores are so old, no one wants to come in anymore.

^^This. Exactly this. Also a decent homage to the Shining.

Dawnatello: I agree, I've said all that before many times, elsewhere. The people responsible for developing and marketing technology to the masses have either never read "1984" or watched "The Terminator", or else they WERE but they were rooting for the bad guys.

It's always amusing to me that roughly 2/3s of all science fiction stories and films are warnings about what's going to happen in the future once we end up with more technology than people, and they're among the most popular in the genre, especially with geeks, nerds, and those who are by nature very tech-savvy... and yet, as a society, we tend to go along and say, "Yeah, well, it still seems like a good idea." Why? I'unno. Too many people at once saying "Ah, that was just a movie," probably.

Because guess what? Right now, they don't want you to physically "own" movies and video games. Next, they'll be getting rid of books. You know, maybe burning them? For fuel of course, nothing at all sinister or censorship-related. Right. Because once they control how you entertain yourself, and then they control how you receive and obtain information, and can censor it however they want, and propagandize it however they want, obscuring or deleting anything they don't think you should see, hear, or know, well... they've got you by the balls, then, haven't they?

It's all about controlling the flow of information, nothing more. They sell all this technology and digital distribution as "convenience", but it's really just about controlling people and how they think. It's easy to see if you pay attention. That's why I can't believe how willing people are to buy into it. We should know better.

^^ which is why the X-Box One is terrifying.
Books will never really go away though, there are still wierdos that LOOOVE physical copies. like me.

Uhhh.....What?

Blockbuster had an out-dated business model, tried to change with the times too late and got left in the dust. So it's gone. It's not some mass conspiracy, it happens to companies as things evolve and progress. Netflix shot it in the knee, Redbox shot it in the head.

We're not headed for some looney toons Terminator world just because some guy wants to buy the latest Eminem single off of iTunes. Just alittle paranoid. Just a bit.

You're not the only one who likes physical copies of books. I have so many, I could probably start my own library if I wanted to.

You know...I think this officially marks the moment where my slight annoyance of the warped way you view the world turned a mild dislike into full blow pity.

I'm sorry for the sh*t you must have went through in your life. No one deserves to turn out like this.

More OT - End of an era for sure, but renting a physical copy of something makes absolutely zero sense to me anymore. Buying a physical copy of something? Yes. That's still my preferred method of purchasing media, but why am I going to go through the hassle of driving to a specific physical location to borrow a physical item that I then have to return when I can click two buttons and have it appear on my television instantly. Even game rentals, the only thing I used Blockbuster for the last 15 years, has been killed by RedBox. There's zero reason for Blockbuster to exist anymore.

I agree. We still have Blockbuster stores in Australia and they just suck. Only because it's 2013, if it were say 2003 then they'd rock possibly. The model just doesn't work with all the other ways out there to get your fix, at least for now. I'm afraid that once the powers that be take control of everything on the net then we'll be wanting those good old days back more than ever. The freedoms we have now with the net won't last, they've gradually been cut back and are starting to get people used to being controlled again. 'Freedom, with their exception.'

The last rental at a Blockbuster is very fitting with its title.

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/seth-ro...231208864.html

I'l just leave this link right here.
http://www.theguardian.com/technolog...-entertainment
Anyway Blockbuster sucked. It always sucked. I would always rent stuff from this place called flamingos back in the day. Waaay cheaper and better service than blockbuster. But it was a long time coming really. Surprised it didn't die earlier.

Not sure what that means. Turned out like what? Forward-thinking? Aware of the fact that over-reliance on technology is not the greatest thing ever? Seems like common sense, to me, but whatever, I guess. I'm not one of those "Let's all go huddle in a bunker and live off the grid" type people, but I totally understand why they do it and frankly can't blame 'em. You seem to miss that I sometimes embellish a bit to establish a point, and I often wonder if that's why we so often fail to communicate. I don't *literally* think we'll all be in The Matrix in 20 years, but the point that relying too much on technology is still valid nonetheless. I'unno, whatever.

But as far as the Powers-That-Be using our reliance on technology to slowly institute various forms of censorship and thought control, well, they've always done that and always will try to find ways to do it even more. And frankly, if you're not scared about a future where almost all information is digital and run through a government filter, well, I don't know what to tell you. If you refuse to see it as even a possibility, well, I'm sorry, I find that a little naive. It's not only possible, given enough time it's actually pretty likely, if enough people passively go along with it.

Anyways... I agree that rentals don't make much sense nowadays, since the cost of ownership is now down about what rentals used to cost in the first place. The only reason people had to rent stuff was because in the '80s videos were like a hundred bucks. I'm still kind of surprised how many blu-Rays are available for like $5 now. Part of me was hoping for the last few years that Blockbuster would be able to transition into a regular sales-based chain and make it work, but I guess not.

Agreed... Paranoia isn't paranoia if it's valid. I hope I'm wrong, that Leo & I are both wrong. I'll gladly eat my words. But being able to recognize trends and forecast their far-reaching consequences isn't the same as a crazy guy holding a sign on the street corner that says "The End Is Near". There are many wealthy people that also have this same gift, inclination, whatever you want to call it but the difference here is that they have the means to investigate and prove/demonstrate how social trends of convenience can/will have drastic effects on our lives in the future. Most people don't want to believe that, that's fine, at this point it can only be considered my "opinion" (I would look at it more as a hypothesis) one that I hope is wrong, but even if it's right we're all buckled up for this ride anyway so does it really matter? I've given up the illusion that I can make a difference, it's a load of hogwash anyway. I bought into that as a kid, and all it resulted in was corporations and businesses parading my likeness (and many other kids) around to show how good the world was, how bright our future is- all the while connecting their logos with every picture of my hard work.... Am I jaded... a little, but is it justified, I would say so.

My thing has always been, if enough people say out loud, "Hey, here's a possible way for 'Them' to abuse our rights if we're not careful, isn't that a bad idea?" that it'll be enough to deter it for a while. Just because something CAN happen doesn't mean it will or has to, but it probably will if nobody points out how many ways it can be bad for everyone.

Checks and balances, is all I'm saying. Is it a huge leap from banning "Catcher in the Rye" in schools, to digitally censoring every book that contains something someone finds "unpleasant"? Not really. Fundamentally, it's the same thing, and there will always be some people in power who absolutely can't wait until they can have that kind of control over what people see, hear, say, and think. It happens in other countries like China every day, so I don't think I'm necessarily over-thinking things.

Every now and then, people need to take a second and say they're not OK with that stuff happening. Otherwise, what's to stop it from happening here, there and everywhere? Not much, really.

Still not getting your point.

That's exactly what it is, only on the internet. The paranoia in this thread is suffocating.

I'm sorry you feel that way, but it's your opinion and you're entitled to it, just like I am and everyone else in the entire world is. I've made my point, and other than Leo, it falls on deaf ears, so I'll stop here. I've spent many years banging my head against the wall trying to explain things to people that didn't want to hear it (on topics completely unrelated to these). So I'm done. Say what you will, what we say is largely unimportant anyway. Not that it should be, I think what each of us believes is very important and is central to who we are as human beings, but reality has something different to say about it. I'll just leave it at this: just because a topic is uncomfortable doesn't mean it shouldn't be talked about, often those that are most uncomfortable are the most important.

So some people are of the opinion that, given the choice, the guys in charge would prefer NOT to censor information and/or try and control how people think and behave? Really?

Because historically speaking, that would be a first, is all I'm saying. From book-burnings to countries like Russia and China using their military and other resources to spy on and imprison their own citizens for, say, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds more years, not to mention how the CIA and FBI have been caught more than a few times doing similar things here in America... I'm sorry, I'm not sure why we should give Them the benefit of the doubt.

History would favor the opinions of the paranoid, it would seem. Anything that has happened before can and will happen again. Especially if enough people say it won't or can't. I never understand why some people are so insistent that it's impossible when it's happening in a lot of places as we speak. It's not even History, it's present-day fact that people in power use any means they can find to manipulate, censor, and propagandize information. We're by no means immune to it.

I'll agree like Dawn to take a step back as it's getting more OT, but still... I find it hard to believe anyone can be called "paranoid" for commenting on things that are actually fact in some places and could easily become a way of life elsewhere if people stopped paying attention, is all.

I just find that the XBox One is designed to record your every move and sound while the thing is on kinda terrifying. Call me old fashioned when I don't want Microsoft or whatever to know what I'm doing so they'll more easily market stuff at me is all I'm saying. It' looks like a great counsel don't get me wrong, but that particular aspect of it freaks me out.

You can just unplug the Kinect, man. Jesus.

^^Good point, shuriken, I almost mentioned something about that, too. I'm not thrilled with even the potential idea that a corporation can put a device in your home that can record you and other people, potentially even if you didn't tell it to. How anyone can NOT think of "Big Brother" as soon as they hear that is beyond me, and why Microsoft even tried to market it as somehow being "necessary" or an "enhancement" when it wasn't for the last 30 years of video games only proves my point: That "They" can and will use technology as a means to an end, the end being more input and access to people's lives and more control over how they behave. I, personally, am not in any hurry to make it easier on them.

It's like, you can't take a picture of a random person on the street or risk a lawsuit, but Microsoft tried to make it mandatory for your gaming device to essentially monitor you and anyone in your living room 24/7... and this is progress? Sounds kind of Orwellian, to me, but OK, I guess...

And yes, of course you can just unplug the Kinect, the point some people are making is that eventually someone will try and make it so you can't even do that, and at that point what's to stop them? The fact it's not right? Again, not an absolute that it will happen... more like, "If we don't have these conversations sometimes, it might." So, agree or disagree with how likely it is to ever happen, that's fine; the fact people even talk about it is a good thing, because it shows that people are still thinking for themselves.

Directed towards the Cure yeah you can unplug it. But not while you're playing/using it.

It doesn't do any of the things you're talking about. At all. Again, paranoid bullsh*t.


It only needs the kinect for kinect enabled games and while you're using it it's just playing a game.