>>88063912

some of you will never know how reddit this place would be on a friday night

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One is still open close to my house
I think it's a front tho and they're oddly paranoid about counterfeit money

>threads 404ing after 30 minutes and no one is spamming
seems pretty red tier right now friend

I miss this place so fucking much. It's just not the same looking up a movie on Netflix

here is my nostalgia for tonight

Yeah. Sure it could be a hassle but it was at least a fun part of your weekly routine. They didnt always have something you wanted but maybe you would try something new or take a chance on something.

itkf

Feels weird having a part of everyday life just disappear because it's archaic like payphones. It's probably not good to romanticize rampant consumerism, but it was just nice having this bustling public space on the weekend where everyone was going for their rental needs, it was a vaguely second-hand "social" atmosphere like eating at a casual dine-in restaurant. I always thought technology would broaden our horizons, but the world feels like it's shrinking.

It's much easier though.

>mfw there's somehow still a hollywood video in business near me

18 year old born in 1999 here

What was Blockbuster like?

Yeah same here. I think they sell porn there.

imagine going to Sup Forums and everyone is actually discussing movies, and there are thousands of movies to choose from to watch everywhere

>tfw I remember arcades in the 80's

>tfw I remember my brother handing me a cup full of quarters so I would be quite about him banging sloots in the arcade/billiards parking lot

You would have been 10 when they started closing. Don't act like you don't know

>never went to Blockbuster
>just rented movies from Albertsons

There's a family video still open near me.
Sadly the old blockbuster turned into a mighty taco many years ago.

DUDE NOSTALGIA LMAO

yes, having to go to a store just to get a movie for 3 days and then pay late fees is way better than streaming/downloading movies with a click of a mouse.

Shit hole filled with crap movies that were always out of stock

>mfw i'm happy blockbuster went out of business since my parents yelled at me for not rewinding the videos and getting charged a fee EVEN THOUGH I FUCKING REWOUND THEM EVERY TIME

Yes and no

I admit that back in the 90's and early 00's, it was fun to hang out with my friends and look around at the movies & video games. But nowadays, I can stream any movie I want. Even the ones that Blockbusters didn't have. And I can always get a rom and emulator for games. Tech has given us a lot of comfort and ease compared to what we had in Blockbuster days.

Do I have nostalgia for those old memories? Of course, but times have changed.

Always had a pizza place next door. I enjoyed video city better. All the movies were in different themed rooms

>EVERYONE went because the Internet wasn't as big as it was now, so movie night on Friday/Saturday was one of the most popular pasttimes
>my location had a self-service return slot and literal revolving door at the front just to stem the tide
>all kinds of patrons you'd normally be insulated from going to more specialized places; families, old people, professionals who just got off work, kids, cool teenagers, they all had a reason to be there
>whether because what you wanted was out of stock or just because you and your friends wanted to throw shit at the wall and see what stuck, you usually ended up scanning their shelves for random obscure crap, even if it was bad it was "so bad it's good" (which had a certain charm back then with garbage like Leprechaun) and random shoddy games like Nightmare Creatures that I never would've given a try otherwise
>always tempted by shelves of gimmicky, sugary junk you know you shouldn't be eating
The destination was always getting home and enjoying what you can now download in 5 minutes, but the journey of everyone heading out into the world for a Blockbuster run on a chilly autumn night gave it a little extra something.

My first job was working in a locally-owned video store. It was the best.

What I really miss is Strawberries.

It was a CD shop with a Ticketmaster inside. I honed my theft EXP there.

I miss the 90s. Society in the current year makes me want to die.

DUDE HUMAN ELEMENT LMAO

>tfw will never relive 1999

Same here. Born in 1980 and everything in that decade along with the 90's and even the early 00's (January 2000 to August 2001) was fun as fuck. I'm glad my public school and college years were in those decades because I feel sorry for the kids today.

Not all the time but sometimes it was fun.

Chatty rooms are more reliably good, but rarely AS good.

I feel as though I need to clear some things up about why Blockbuster Video is closing, and why they went chapter 11 in the first place a few years ago

>Blockbuster Video used to be owned by a Jew owned company named Viacom
>Viacom are money-grubbing whores
>Viacom buys all of blockbuster's rentals and merch with loans, instead of profits
>every year use profit to pay off loans, take out new loans to buy new merchandise
>blockbuster decides to split from viacom because they are tyrants
>viacom takes all of blockbuster's profits from that year, but does not pay off the loans
>the loans were taken out under blockbuster's name, not viacom's, so the loans technically belong to blockbuster
>viacom does not tell this to blockbuster corporate
>when blockbuster finds out, there is already a shit ton of interest, and viacom has all of their profits
>desperately try every quarter to pay off loans
>1 mil loan becomes 3 mil then 5 mil, finally tens of millions of dollars are owed
>go chapter 11, file for bankruptcy
>Dish network buys Blockbuster Video, because they want to use the iconic Blockbuster Video logo to sell tv subscriptions, plus wants brick and mortar stores to sell tv subscriptions
>closes unprofitable stores that were still around after chapter 11 closings
>has 300 locations left
>all are profitable
>blockbuster is profitable as a whole again, especially in the North East
>fast forward 2 years to 2013
>Dish decides to go exclusively to streaming
>considers selling BBV
>no fewer than 3 companies are interested in buying
>but Dish wants to keep Blockbuster logo for streaming service, cant do that if they sell the company
>decide to liquidate stores, put 3000 people out of work, all over the rights to a logo
>tell employees they are being laid off AFTER telling the news networks

Blockbuster's problem was it was owned by two shitty corporations.

>Renting movies
>Not renting games

>used to have panic attacks
>mom would take me to blockbuster and pick up a movie and watch it with me while i calmed down
I miss her so much

Like all things nastolgic, there was good and bad.

It was pretty comfy going to Blockbuster with friends or family and picking out a movie to watch. They also had a deal where if you rent a New release, you could get a free rental from the middle isles. So you could watch an old movie that you never seen or see your favorite movie again. It had a brand new smell to it, like when you open a new electronic advice.

There were some bad stuff about Blockbuster, like the late fees. Having to get up and drive to drop off the movies so you don't get charged with a late fee. A lot of the times the new releases were all checked out. Also, never buy the overpriced candy there.

1997 to August 2001 was the height of comfy in my opinion. The Internet was this new exciting place, AOL Instant Messenger is how you chatted with your friends, you actually looked forward to emails, Geocities webpages popped up everyday whether it was dedicated to Smashing Pumpkins, anime, pro-wrestling, and every possible fandom in existence.

I love the way girls dressed and looked back then. The TV series Popular really highlights what was great in 1999.

>the old blockbuster is a god tier mexican restaurant now

I'm more of a 98-01 guy, but what's a year.

if blockbuster had an N64 game in stock, i played it

space station silicon valley still reigns supreme

>mfw mashing buttons as Joe Bruiser, knocking my friend the fuck out, and making him mad as FUCK

>tfw I remember my parents in my dreams

They were some kick ass parents desu.

my uncle still works at blockbuster

I would always pick out a movie from HEB while my mom did the grocery shopping.

Don't forget they had a chance to obtain Netflix but flaked out. And they were too late to play catch-up.

To be fair, video rental in brick-and-mortar stores was bound to become obsolete. Not just Netflix, but Redbox was the final nails in the coffin. And sooner or later, movie theaters will go out too.

RIP Mom. His and mine.

Yeah you don't have to return shit and there aren't any surly 30+ losers trying to charge you a fucking late fee

>its better because you were inconvenienced to do something!

I don't think movie theaters will entirely fade away -- since people still like that experience -- BUT I have thought for a while that studios will eventually release movies onto streaming sites and in theaters at the same time.

Nigger what I'm the same age as you and I remember going there all the time

You and your brother were supporting characters in an 80's sitcom

In the late 2000s there was still one open near my parents' house. I went there a couple of times just for nostalgia's sake. Both times they charged me a hefty late fee even though I returned the DVDs a full day early. Other people told me they all had the same experience. Apparently they decided that since they were going out of business soon anyway, they may as well charge everyone late fees to make as much money as possible. Fuck Blockbuster.

fucking hate how everyone says "lit" fuck off.
bunch of faggots that need to be fucking curbstomped

>And sooner or later, movie theaters will go out too.
They'll never die completely. The social aspect of movie watching is too compelling, not to mention the larger size and feel most people just won't have at home. It may become way less popular, but there will always be that theater to walk into and see something on a big screen.

>tfw local chinese restaurant menu still lists them as being 'Behind the Blockbuster'

Still nothing new in their old space either; just a big empty glass room 10 years later

Real niggas know that pic related was far superior to shit tier Blockbuster. They actually had older movies and foreign stuff.

...

fuck off

Heh, out of curiosity why not 1997?

For me, it was the fact that my favorite shows Married with Children and Beavis & Butthead ended in early 1997. Later on, we had South Park, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and King of the Hill debut to fill in the void for me. Also I remember how Notorious B.I.G. got murdered because I loved the whole East Coast vs West Coast rivalry.

And who can forget Radiohead releasing OK Computer back then?

I remember when Netflix started and it was a mail service rental company. I thought it was the dumbest thing in the world.

but bro
it's frickin lit

Hollywood Video was great. The grocery store I went to as a kid used to rent movies and they had some great pricing -- like $2 for a week, or something cheap-as-fuck.

Really good Horror selection. That's basically all I rented, anyway.

Back then, I couldn't watch every movie or play all the games I wanted, but every one of them I got my hands on was a memorable experience.

And now that I can watch all the movies or play any game I want, I just watch youtube and read forums.

Moral of the story is, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

this post is on point.

They had a lesser than selection of vidya though.

I didn't have a bad experience in 97, but I started middle school in 98 and I have more memories associated with middle school than elementary.

I really got into wrestling that year, too, and 98 and 99 were great years for it.

>studios will eventually release movies onto streaming sites and in theaters at the same time.
That's already happening now.

I honestly can't stand movie theaters anymore because I don't feel like being put in a cramped theater with loud smelly people. The only time I like going to the theaters is during Saturday matinee because there's hardly anyone there.

I think by 2050, theaters will be a niche thing. You go to see indie films like those artsy theaters or drive-ins (which I admit are fun to be in).

For some reason, I remember voting for NFL Pro Bowl players at my local Blockbuster

>Be 7 year old me
>Go to Blockbuster
>Dad doesn't believe in paying to rent movies because he pays for HBO, Showtime, Cinimax
>Won't shell out $5 to rent a movie no matter how much I bug

>Look over at register, and see "The Chad Family" in line with their movies, games, over priced candy, and sodas
>The dad (Chad) asks his son (Chad Jr) what kind of pizza he wants to pick up on the way home after leaving the video store.
>My dad only believes in eating home cooking, and rarely ever buys take out
>tfw you will never know what it's like to rent a movie / game , and pick up a Pizza on the way home every Friday night.

Thought one day I would be able to break the curse, and do the video, and a pizza Friday thing with my kids. Than Blockbuster closes so I'll never get to.

>tfw you will never know what it's like to be part of The Chad family.

i love saying lit and fuck you bitch
get it with times old man

>all kinds of patrons you'd normally be insulated from going to more specialized places; families, old people, professionals who just got off work, kids, cool teenagers, they all had a reason to be there
Well put.


>not renting consoles

Way back in 2003, I had a feeling that having DVDs delivered directly to the comfort of your home for a subscription was convenient as fuck. Seeing Netflix become a streaming service with original programming as well as catalogs of older movies/shows was something I never would've expected.

Heh, 97 was my junior year to senior year so it's why I have such good memories of it. And yeah wrestling was awesome in those 2 years. I had the biggest crush on Stacy Keibler.

Wrestling was EVERYWHERE 98-00. Great times those were.

I miss renting VHS because of their covers

>not renting consoles
Shit, I did that. My allowance, or odd-job money was only ever enough for games, so I saved up and bought those then every so often I'd rent a console for the weekend and binge.

I'm sure if I saved up instead of renting I could have gotten my own console way sooner, but that's no fun.

I miss the Rock/sock connection.

they should do a buddy cop movie.

The neighborhood hole in the wall with the porn in the back behind the cheesy satin curtain was the GOAT tier

QFT

VHS coveres (like pre-21st century posters) are a lot art. Especially horror and sci-fi movies.

>I miss the Rock/sock connection.
That would be glorious as fuck to see.

There's a movie about Horror VHS that talked about the coverart. Something with Rewind in the title, iirc.

Anyway, Horror covers often piss me off because I've been tricked by good-looking covers and it ending up being shit.

Mick's taken a lot of beatings over the year, and a lot of concussions. When he was on tv this year, he'd constantly forget his lines. It would be depressing to work with him, because you know he's trying, but the CTE has caught up with him.

FINE DAY FRIDAY
IMO BEST DAY OF THE WEEK
WHY IS THAT Sup Forums?

>tfw I still have my old nWo Wolfpac shirt from 2nd grade somewhere in the attic at home
Also yeah I watched WCW, FITE ME you panda logo punks.

I don't anyone saw them becoming a streaming service. That could of easily been Blockbuster. You could of had a Blockbuster night at home.

But you didn't get the covers when you rented. They came in those standard blue blockbuster cases.

Anybody else miss TGIF on ABC? Usually Friday night is the death sentence to shows, but in the late 80's to late 90's, TGIF had comfy shows.

That's sad af, bro.

I would watch both cause WCW Monday Nitro would repeat later. I would always get in trouble for staying up late watching wrestling

>VHS
Never saw this cover. I di remember the 3D cover on The Lost World VHS though.

Which is why that was an important lesson of not keeping up with current trends of tech. Frankly Blockbuster deserved to be closed for missing something that a lot of us late 90's kids had dreamed of.

Back in 1998, downloading a video was something that took time with a 56k modem. So you damn well made sure you wanted what you DL'ing and you usually had to leave your comp on overnight.

I'm more of a 92-95 sort of guy, but there's no wrong answer when someone asks when the "best" years of the 90s were. I miss the pre-internet days most of all - things were much slower, simpler, and comfy. I remember when my parents got their first computer to email my uncle who lived on the other side of the country. Taking ten minutes to type a small paragraph, and waiting twice as long for a reply lmao.
The way girls dressed (and how girls were in general) is what I miss the most. Despite all possibile benefits of the Internet, there have some major drawbacks that I think most people don't really want to recognise.

The death of Blockbuster and other stores like it is one of these drawbacks. Blockbuster wasn't just a video rental store - it was a cultural and social hub. It really brought people together. It brought forth a sense of community and vibrancy in society, bringing the neighbourhood (and families) together through their love of film and vidya.

Motherfucking Urkel making appearances on the other shows. This blew my mind as a kid.

Yeah I'm sure kids growing up today are miserable they have videogames, tv shows and live in a house and have a comfortable life
Protip: They aren't, you nostalgia ridden fuckhead.

Mine's an Italian bakery now. Apparently it's quite nice, but I can't bring myself to go there.

Why did the Blockbuster cases have a even shorter description of the movie on their box? I could read what the movie was about on the movie case

>And sooner or later, movie theaters will go out too.
Thank God. I don't want to ever be dragged out of my room to pay for the privilege of having to hear other people talk over the latest schlockbuster.

>I don't anyone saw them becoming a streaming service. That could of easily been Blockbuster.
It should have been Blockbuster, but they buried their heads in the sand and refused to accept that their service was rapidly becoming obsolete. It's no different than Sears. In the 80s and 90s, the Sears catalog was the ultimate in mail order. They refused to adapt in the early 2000s. They should have made a first class website and put their entire catalog on it, but they didn't and now we have Amazon instead. Blockbuster fucked themselves by refusing to accept reality and preparing for it.

Each friday they would have a different T.g.I.f family host the 2hour block of shows. I have a few of those 2hour blocks on VHS with their original cozy 90s commercials

youtube.com/watch?v=tRcYVyf7U5g

youtube.com/watch?v=i-EC-0zER8w

The Rock is litty.
Stone Cold ended up alright, with a bunch of little shows on his own. His podcast is great.
Taker is retired more or less, his knees just don't exist.
Jeff Hardy got high, got fired, went to TNA, left TNA, got high, got fired again, went back to TNA, got high as fuck, nearly got fired, cleaned his act up and ended up back in WWE.
Matt Hardy had v1.0, got cucked by edge, got fat, got fired, got fatter, lost weight, became BROKEN MATT HARDY, re-invirgorating his and Jeff's career. The saga of BROKEN MATT is something to be seen.
Kurt Angle had his demons and fucked off to TNA until last year. He cleaned his shit up in 2013 and has been sober ever since. More or less in-ring retired.
Kane is semi-retired, dude is entering politics.
Rikishi's kids are in the tag scene
Scotty 2 Hotty became a firefighter, Grandmaster Sexay became Cringe Incarnate
Anyone I miss that you want to know about?

I'm disappointed that I won't be able to take my future hypothetical kids to Blockbuster, let them pick out a movie, buy a questionably-priced bag of Skittles, and allow them to feel the same joy that I felt as a kid when I went to Blockbuster with my parents.
>tfw my kids will never smell the popcorn-plasticy smell of a Blockbuster store
You can smell it now, admit it.

In Canada we had Jumbo Video, same deal. The one near my place was massive, like the size of a Best Buy. Easily twice as big as the Blockbuster and much more obscure stuff.

Some of you will never know the utter depression of looking up the abandoned ruins of the video stores of your childhood as an adult.