Search forums

Forums

Export thread

Blockbuster makes it official : Files for bankruptcy

Oct 2, 2010#1

Matt²

Blockbuster files for bankruptcy - Sep. 23, 2010

About time I say. What older technology is next?

Oct 3, 2010#2

Tress

Sad. As a kid my mom always took me to Blockbuster every Friday afternoon and we picked a movie. Either that night or Saturday night we watched it with my whole family. Blockbuster was a huge part of my childhood, odd as it may seem.

Oct 3, 2010#3

TwoBit

I am a little sad. Not too much. Just a little.

Oct 3, 2010#4

Hailey Knight

While we use Netflix, I have to wonder where people are going to rent from who want a specific movie to watch that night, without planning ahead. I suppose there must be some mom and pop video stores still in areas without much in the way of internet.

Ah well.

Oct 3, 2010#5

Chazwozel

escushion said:
While we use Netflix, I have to wonder where people are going to rent from who want a specific movie to watch that night, without planning ahead. I suppose there must be some mom and pop video stores still in areas without much in the way of internet.

Ah well.

redbox

Oct 3, 2010#6

Hailey Knight

Oh yeah.

Well, there you go.

Oct 3, 2010#7

Bones

in a way its too bad, but unfortunately for most companies dealing with hard media the world has moved on to better and faster methods thanks to TEH INTERWEBZ! YEAH BOI! I had a similar argument with the sales mook at a suncoast in which he basically told me that we should keep paying inflated prices for dvds to keep them alive as a company, this is because they are the only source of hard to find stuff. to which i coughed up AMAZON "snicker snicker" EBAY "chuckle chuckle" TEH INTERNET! and walked out.

Oct 3, 2010#8

Hailey Knight

Suncoast sucked back before the internet was widespread. FYE has always had better prices than Sam Goody or Suncoast.

Oct 3, 2010#9

Espy

If you go to the mall to buy a DVD then you deserve to pay 28.99 for that copy of "You Don't Mess With the Zohan"

Oct 3, 2010#10

SpecialKO

Suncoast used to be really good for obscure anime in the 90s, back when "obscure" meant anything that wasn't DBZ, Sailor Moon, or Pokemon. Similarly for foreign films.

They just completely forgot to innovate/anticipate/price accordingly when everyone else (particularly the Internet) started offering the same things for cheaper.

Oct 3, 2010#11

CynicismKills

SpecialKO said:
Suncoast used to be really good for obscure anime in the 90s, back when "obscure" meant anything that wasn't DBZ, Sailor Moon, or Pokemon. Similarly for foreign films.

They just completely forgot to innovate/anticipate/price accordingly when everyone else (particularly the Internet) started offering the same things for cheaper.

Pretty much this. Now you can watch a lot of it on Hulu/Netflix, or you know...other means.

Funny sidenote, speaking of RedBox. Blockbuster has those boxes now too, say one near a QT a couple days ago.

Oct 3, 2010#12

phil

I liked Hollywood video better. They had a wider election than just the typical new releases.

How are video game rentals doing? Does anyone really rent games anymore? If I had a current system I'd imagine I would somewhat frequently.

Oct 3, 2010#13

CynicismKills

I think that's pretty much down to GameFly, which honestly is how renting always needed to be. Without playing nonstop 3-5 days was never enough time to complete a game worth playing.

Oct 3, 2010#14

Bumble the Boy Wonder

I recently saw that Blockbuster was integrating video games into their subscription service. So now instead of just 3 movies at a time or whatever, you could throw in a game for 2 movies and a game. It'd just count towards however many rentals you have on your service at that time. I was intrigued... but really decided I didn't play games enough for it to be worth my money

Still, the idea sounded promising.

Oct 3, 2010#15

AshburnerX

In all honesty, the first service to combine both games AND movies is going to become the front runner very quickly. As it is, we have two virtually identical services that service two different markets, when both have the infrastructure to expand into the other market with very little problems. I mean seriously... what the hell is wrong with Netflix and Gamefly? What could possibly be keeping them from cornering the market?

Oct 3, 2010#16

Matt²

AshburnerX said:
In all honesty, the first service to combine both games AND movies is going to become the front runner very quickly. As it is, we have two virtually identical services that service two different markets, when both have the infrastructure to expand into the other market with very little problems. I mean seriously... what the hell is wrong with Netflix and Gamefly? What could possibly be keeping them from cornering the market?

Hollywood Video + Game Crazy... failed.
There were a bunch of video stores with video game rentals in them where I live, and I remember also in Washington where I used to live (Auburn WA area) back in 2002..
Unless you mean something different?

---------- Post added at 06:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:54 PM ----------

Espy said:
If you go to the mall to buy a DVD then you deserve to pay 28.99 for that copy of "You Don't Mess With the Zohan"

IMO, that's actually the problem with big discount stores like Walmart and Amazon.com.. it's actually being harmful to the economy in this way. The person TRYING to make a buck, can't. In some ways, I think it's like a monopoly?

Oct 3, 2010#17

Hailey Knight

That's how monopolies begin.

If it's a couple bucks difference, I try to help the little guy. If it's a 50 percent difference, I'm sorry, I can't. And I can't justify $30 for a DVD that's not a special edition.

Oct 3, 2010#18

Matt²

escushion said:
That's how monopolies begin.

If it's a couple bucks difference, I try to help the little guy. If it's a 50 percent difference, I'm sorry, I can't. And I can't justify $30 for a DVD that's not a special edition.

Oh I hear ya, and I won't pay $30 for a dvd either.. BUT on the flipside (and I've seen this happen) if the little guys are selling a book or a dvd for 17.98 at their store, Walmart will lower theirs to like $12.98 for a few days, and get all the sales. Later it'll go up to 19.96 in practice when it's not as popular, but by then the initial sales have died down. Sure they can do it, it's America, .... but it really doesn't seem right.. I'm missing something here...

Oct 3, 2010#19

Ravenpoe

Matt²;442014][QUOTE=AshburnerX said:
In all honesty, the first service to combine both games AND movies is going to become the front runner very quickly. As it is, we have two virtually identical services that service two different markets, when both have the infrastructure to expand into the other market with very little problems. I mean seriously... what the hell is wrong with Netflix and Gamefly? What could possibly be keeping them from cornering the market?

Espy said:
If you go to the mall to buy a DVD then you deserve to pay 28.99 for that copy of "You Don't Mess With the Zohan"

Oct 3, 2010#20

AshburnerX

Ravenpoe said:
[
I think he means delivery services, like netflix and gamefly, only combined.

Yeah, this. The first company that will let me rent whatever i want for $10-15 a month from a single source is the guy I pay for the service. I'm not going to pay $30 a month for both.

Oct 4, 2010#21

phil

AshburnerX;442024][QUOTE=Ravenpoe said:
[
I think he means delivery services, like netflix and gamefly, only combined.

Yeah, this. The first company that will let me rent whatever i want for $10-15 a month from a single source is the guy I pay for the service. I'm not going to pay $30 a month for both.[/QUOTE]

Bumble says Blockbuster was starting to do that. We had them for a bit but their instant watch thing kept messing up on us. Apparently there's some problem in their system that just blocks your account for whatever reason. The only way around it is to cancel your account and then open a new one online. After having to do that twice we switched to netflix and haven't had any problems with them. Maybe they'll start doing games too at some point.

Oct 4, 2010#22

SpecialKO

AshburnerX said:
what the hell is wrong with Netflix and Gamefly? What could possibly be keeping them from cornering the market?

I actually wonder whether Netflix wants to assume an operation like Gamefly. Not only might they have trouble fitting games to their recommendations algorithm, I imagine that game rental licensing fees are much higher than movies. They might not think it's worth the cost, either to buy the joint or the maintenance.

Oct 4, 2010#23

Bumble the Boy Wonder

The first article I could find on it was from a Dallas newsblog :shrug:

Blockbuster adds video games to by-mail movie rental program | TECHNOLOGY Blog | dallasnews.com

Also, there's a quote in this article from a Netflix rep or something, saying something along the lines that video games all go obsolete, a movie can be enjoyed for decades after it's time. It's a good point if you think about it.

Oct 4, 2010#24

Bones

Matt² said:
Oh I hear ya, and I won't pay $30 for a dvd either.. BUT on the flipside (and I've seen this happen) if the little guys are selling a book or a dvd for 17.98 at their store, Walmart will lower theirs to like $12.98 for a few days, and get all the sales. Later it'll go up to 19.96 in practice when it's not as popular, but by then the initial sales have died down. Sure they can do it, it's America, .... but it really doesn't seem right.. I'm missing something here...

information on my suncoast bitch, I use to go there mainly to buy anime that I couldn't find at the other larger retailers. this was when i was still under 18 and couldn't obtain a credit card to use on the internet, and the internet hadn't flourished to the point its at now. so in my defense when I am complaining about suncoast's pricing it is not because they are a little more than say the little guy or the big guys, it is because they go at least 10-30 dollars mark-up on the MSRP of any product. to me this is to extreme to continue shopping there when everyone else is far less. but thats just me.

Oct 4, 2010#25

checkeredhat

This is sad. Its been a while since I've rented from Blockbuster. I generally just BUY movies I enjoy. But still, every so often....
I guess I'm on one f the last few who haven't gotten netflix or the like yet. But I like the movie rental experience that comes along with having to go to a store to do it. You and your friends pile into a car, spend like an hour and a half wandering around the store and bickering over what you want to watch, make impulse candy and popcorn purchases, wind up renting movies you'd never heard of based solely off the horrible looking box cover. Y'know. Seems like online ordering would take away from that.

Oct 4, 2010#26

Azurephoenix

What the hell am I supposed to do now when I want to rent a blu-ray movie spur of the moment? Thanks a lot Netflix!

Oct 4, 2010#27

phil

Redbox has blu-ray. They're only 50 cents more per night.

Oct 4, 2010#28

Azurephoenix

phil said:
Redbox has blu-ray. They're only 50 cents more per night.

I'm from Canada... no Redbox here... (as far as I know anyways).

Oct 4, 2010#29

sixpackshaker

Good riddance.

They were a crappy company that treated their customers like crap. And they used their position as part the company that sold VHS/DVD to mom and pop video stores to put them out of business. Block Buster just treated me like crap one time too many, and I pretty much quit renting movies all together. Because most chain store competitors were really Block Buster in disguise.

I miss mom and pop video stores, they would actually have art films and foreign language films to rent.

Oct 4, 2010#30

Necronic

Honestly is anyone surprised by this? First off, if you just look at their stock over the last 10 years it was pretty clear they were going to die hard. On top of that, why in gods name would I ever rent at blockbuster? Their selection was poor, at best, only moderately acceptable for new releases, the rest was godawful. The prices weren't even remotely competitive. For the price of renting a movie I could almost buy one. Then of course there is the convenience of red box for new releases or netflix on demand for 'I don't know what I want to watch exactly.)

Really the killer for me was the pricing. I can buy a movie at Valero for like 7$. And not some crap movie either, something good. I think I saw Inglorious Basterds there for 9, I got Charlie Wilsons War for 6 a couple months ago. I just grabbed Hellboy for 6 at the Randalls. Why would I ever pay 3-6$ to rent a movie when I can own it for 6-9?

Oct 4, 2010#31

Azurephoenix

Well, between Blockbuster and Movie Gallery both going bankrupt I have nowhere close by to rent blu-rays anymore. I suppose Rogers is still an option... even though they are far away from where I live *grumbles*.

Oct 4, 2010#32

ThatNickGuy

As I'm sure most of you know, I work at Blockbuster. As far as I've been told, the Canada branch is not affected. We're apparently doing pretty well. Not great, but still in the black.

Of course, Netflix just arrived to Canada, which I get the feeling does not bode well.

At least half a dozen stores, if not more, have closed down in the Toronto area in the last couple of years. The business of rentals are a dying breed.

Oct 4, 2010#33

CynicismKills

Apparently Netflix isn't going to be shipping movies anywhere but the US for the time being. In Canada it's streaming movies and TV from what I understand.

Oct 4, 2010#34

ThatNickGuy

Bingo. Which is more than what we had before.

Oct 4, 2010#35

checkeredhat

Necronic said:
Honestly is anyone surprised by this? First off, if you just look at their stock over the last 10 years it was pretty clear they were going to die hard. On top of that, why in gods name would I ever rent at blockbuster? Their selection was poor, at best, only moderately acceptable for new releases, the rest was godawful. The prices weren't even remotely competitive. For the price of renting a movie I could almost buy one. Then of course there is the convenience of red box for new releases or netflix on demand for 'I don't know what I want to watch exactly.)

Really the killer for me was the pricing. I can buy a movie at Valero for like 7$. And not some crap movie either, something good. I think I saw Inglorious Basterds there for 9, I got Charlie Wilsons War for 6 a couple months ago. I just grabbed Hellboy for 6 at the Randalls. Why would I ever pay 3-6$ to rent a movie when I can own it for 6-9?

It sounds like the American Blockbuster charges a lot more than the Canadian one.
I purchased Inglorious Basterds, Star Trek and Zombieland at Blockbuster for $15 TOTAL.

Oct 4, 2010#36

CynicismKills

ThatNickGuy said:
Bingo. Which is more than what we had before.

Well, Netflix doesn't stream every movie ever, same for TV DVD's (we don't have currently airing for the most part). Also, some are only streaming for a limited time, and others take months, if they ever, become available for streaming. So I wouldn't worry too much.

Oct 4, 2010#37

ThatNickGuy

Directly above your post, I see an ad for Netflix.

I'm taking that as a sign.

But it's not the only sign of things dropping. As I said, there's been at least half a dozen store closings over the past two or three years.

Oct 4, 2010#38

phil

checkeredhat;442273][QUOTE=Necronic said:
Honestly is anyone surprised by this? First off, if you just look at their stock over the last 10 years it was pretty clear they were going to die hard. On top of that, why in gods name would I ever rent at blockbuster? Their selection was poor, at best, only moderately acceptable for new releases, the rest was godawful. The prices weren't even remotely competitive. For the price of renting a movie I could almost buy one. Then of course there is the convenience of red box for new releases or netflix on demand for 'I don't know what I want to watch exactly.)

Really the killer for me was the pricing. I can buy a movie at Valero for like 7$. And not some crap movie either, something good. I think I saw Inglorious Basterds there for 9, I got Charlie Wilsons War for 6 a couple months ago. I just grabbed Hellboy for 6 at the Randalls. Why would I ever pay 3-6$ to rent a movie when I can own it for 6-9?

It sounds like the American Blockbuster charges a lot more than the Canadian one.
I purchased Inglorious Basterds, Star Trek and Zombieland at Blockbuster for $15 TOTAL.[/QUOTE]

While you can do similarly in the states it's still not that cheap. Well with the going out of business sales most locations have had you can. Those 3 together would probably run you 30 here. I bought animal house, original day the earth stood still and tropic thunder last Christmas for our secret Santa for like 15 ish.

Forums