Blockbuster? Blockbuster? BLOOOOOCKBUSTERRR!!!

So according to an article over at Kotaku, Blockbuster is filing for bankruptcy. Which chapter they didn't mention, but what the article does mention is that between 500-800 out of the 3425 stores are going to be closing on top of the 1000 that closed last year. Now, this isn't the end of Blockbuster, as they're moving to an online/automated medium for movie/game distribution.

But you know what? This makes me kind of sad, and it plays on the nostalgia card just a little bit.

Back when I was a kid, neither me nor my family had a lot of money (we still don't, but whatever I have I can dump about 95% into games). It was rare to get a video game on Christmas (usually one of the only times we would get a game or two) or a birthday. If I did buy a game, it was only after doing chores for about 4-5 weeks before having enough money (via parents) to get the game I was after. But there was always blockbuster. If grades were good at the end of the semester, the parents would let me (and later my brother) rent a game from the Blockbuster. It was always a place which I loved for the fact that it let me experience so many different games. It was always a special treat for us. We sometimes would also bike over as a family to the store, which was usually about 2 miles away. We'd also rent a few movies every few weeks and watch at least one over dinner on Saturdays. Good times...

But as time advanced, I got job(s) and the money to get games at launch, or whenever I wanted to. Honestly there's only been one game that I've rented in the last year, and that was Transformers: War for Cybertron. As for movies, I have a stack of Blu-rays sitting in my room of movies I haven't watched (Watchmen, District 9, and the Hangover, to name a few). I just don't have enough time with 51+ games that I haven't played through, plus random online multiplayer games such as League of Legends.

But I can tell why Blockbuster is going under. They didn't catch up to the online craze as fast as Netflix and Gamefly. Both of those already capitalized on the market, and Blockbuster sadly got left in the dust. Add in to the fact that Netflix streams through consoles, DVD/Blu-Ray players, and most TV's nowadays, and you have a recipe for a business wrecker.

So while it was sad for Hollywood Video to go, I think I may actually be a little choked up to see Blockbuster go. I wonder someday whether there will exist a brick-and-mortar shop for me to take my future kid(s?) to purchase games, let alone rent them.