The last Blockbuster delivers what Netflix can't

Shawn Knight

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In brief: Video stores are nearly extinct but as the last Blockbuster store in the US demonstrates, they still offer some benefits that online options like Netflix and Hulu can't replicate.

Visiting the local video store was once a regular ritual for millions of Americans. Racing into the store in hopes of finding that last copy of the latest release (or if you were smart, calling ahead to reserve a copy), flashing your membership card like a badge of honor and grabbing a tub of popcorn at the checkout counter all felt like second nature.

Then the Internet came along and decimated the industry.

How we consume movies and TV shows today is far more efficient than practices of yesteryear but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is better. As The Verge recently found out on a visit to the last Blockbuster store in the US, video rental stores still have a couple advantages over Internet-delivered options like Netflix and Hulu.

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Sorry, but locally Blockbuster got what it deserved after infilitrating our town and causing two independant Vidoe store to go out of business. All Blockbuster could offer was dozens of copies of the same stuff, a narrower selection of films, but they didn't have the knowledgeable staff who could recommend films based on your tastes if you had a chat with them; they did however have a lot of overpriced food (impacting on other independant businesses). It might sound harsh for the few underpaid fresh-out-of-school types that lost a job but I was happy to see them close.
 
Screw Blockbuster. I remember renting a few movies there and the price would be around $20. Or getting hit with their outrageous late fees. Or buying popcorn for $5. Those guys were only around to rip people off. Screw 'em.
 
The advantage the article seems to be talking about is that it's easier to pick what to watch in a physical store, and I disagree with that.

While I dislike Netflix's tendency to push me to try new stuff all the time, at the expense of watching things I already started or put on the watch list, I find it a lot easier and less time consuming to discover things on Netflix than in a physical store -- or even a virtual store like Amazon (for movies on physical media, not Prime Video).
 
It's not Blockbuster that I lament the loss of, it's Hollywood Video:
-- cheaper prices
-- better selection of new releases
-- longer rental times for some new releases
-- & the major reason: much larger collection of older movies (& I don't just mean, "these were 'New Releases' up until last month", I mean, "these movies were released years ago")

Although I also do lament the loss of some of the independent video stores -- there was one that was pretty much at the time the only store if you wanted to rent anime titles, or if you were looking for cult classics (horror or otherwise).
 
"Then the Internet came along and decimated the industry."

And by "Internet" you mean DVDs from Netflix.
 
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