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Movie/Game Rental Store Memories
- Thread starter Sushigod7
- Start date
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I moved to a small town called Phoenxville, PA in 2004 and there was a video store called Sleepy Hollow. What made this store unique was that it was also a mattress store. Think about that. Beds on one side, movies on the other.
In 1998, I was a broke ass guy living with my wife and I remember renting a PS1 from TLA video for a night. They also had DVD players for rent too which we tried as well.
In 1998, I was a broke ass guy living with my wife and I remember renting a PS1 from TLA video for a night. They also had DVD players for rent too which we tried as well.
AlimNassor
Banned
We had a movie gallery, it was ok. Usually I'd walk up there and look at the game guides for games I didn't even own, and browse around till I was told to get out. my most fond memory was going up there with friends and the associate let us watch a movie and eat popcorn, and then the manager came in and had a coronary and fired him on the spot.
I didn't get to rent games all too often. Mostly movies. Sadly our store shut down when Blockbuster moved in across the street, so i couldn't go to BB because it was across a very busy street.
I didn't get to rent games all too often. Mostly movies. Sadly our store shut down when Blockbuster moved in across the street, so i couldn't go to BB because it was across a very busy street.
Liquidsnake
Banned
PhoncipleBone
Banned
When I lived in NY in the late 80s/early 90s, I loved riding my bike down to Video King to get movies or NES games to play. Eventually, they moved to a new, larger location and had an awesome horror movie section. It was in the back corner of the store and made to look like an abandoned cabin in the woods, complete with spooky lighting.
Through high school and college I lived in NC and worked at Blockbuster, so that was my main source of videos and video games. I still went to a locally run video game shop though, Game Masters, because I could still rent and buy old SNES and NES games from them. Hell, he kept doing that long into the PS2s life span.
Through high school and college I lived in NC and worked at Blockbuster, so that was my main source of videos and video games. I still went to a locally run video game shop though, Game Masters, because I could still rent and buy old SNES and NES games from them. Hell, he kept doing that long into the PS2s life span.
Chainsawkitten
Member
We still have plenty of video rentals over here. When the rental store has you pay for stuff like Transformers and Mammas Pojkar and the library has stuff like Tarkovsky and Bergman for free, you can have a guess where I'm going, though.
TriniTrin
war of titties grampa
I rented Metal Gear Solid from Hollywood video and got to the part where the games tells you to look on the back of the CD case. I thought, well there is no cd case.. WTF do I do! I could not progress further until I went to the store and looked on the display case for MGS! Ended up just buying the game though since it was awesome.
haha, i know. But we were, like, preteens!
NekoFever
Member
The video rental place near my house I think it was called Hollywood Nights had a life-size cardboard cutout of Edward Scissorhands. It scared that crap out of five-year-old me and I refused to walk past the shop for a few months until I was sure it would have gone, wouldn't watch Fox videos in case they had the preview before the movie, and later on when it was on TV I wouldn't go into the living room for a whole week because there was a picture of it in the TV guide. It basically traumatised me, and I didn't watch that movie until 2004.
The same as with buying games today, I kind of miss the mystery of not knowing what every new release was. Nowadays by the time a movie hits home formats I've read all about it. Then looking at the covers of the horror section was filled with the promise of what I'd be watching when I was old enough.
I never really rented games. With movies I had my parents on my side because they liked watching them too, but they were never much into games. I remember renting Killer Instinct once and that was it.
The same as with buying games today, I kind of miss the mystery of not knowing what every new release was. Nowadays by the time a movie hits home formats I've read all about it. Then looking at the covers of the horror section was filled with the promise of what I'd be watching when I was old enough.
I never really rented games. With movies I had my parents on my side because they liked watching them too, but they were never much into games. I remember renting Killer Instinct once and that was it.
I miss them so much. Used to go with my brothers and argue over which movie/game we would rent for the weekend.
Or even more recently a few years ago before Hollywood Video closed, my brother and I would rent 5 movies at a time. They had a great deal going. I consider that my second time falling in love with movies.
Was a lot more fun than redbox.
Or even more recently a few years ago before Hollywood Video closed, my brother and I would rent 5 movies at a time. They had a great deal going. I consider that my second time falling in love with movies.
Was a lot more fun than redbox.
revolverjgw
Member
Paying a dollar to play Mario 64 for 10 minutes at a kiosk at Gameworld (local ma and pa game store, RIP). Couldn't play it for long because tons of kids were clamoring to try it. Things were never the same after that game, I tell you what
BattleMonkey
Member
My childhood! So many awesome bad movies! Ninjas!
Professor Renegade
Banned
I only had a blockbuster where I lived, had some good memories playing pokemon snap on the demo N64 they had set up.
And then there were the rare occasions when my parents would rent the N64, good times.
And then there were the rare occasions when my parents would rent the N64, good times.
My parents ran a video rental store long before the big chains moved in and sucked up all the business. Our basement was our overflow storage. Was pretty awesome to have a massive collection of movies and promotional items available to us. Going to college and losing it all was a tough transition.
punkmaggit
Member
Vegas? GameWorld is still around but is now run by a complete asshole.
Anyway, our local place was right next to a comic store and a 7-11. Summer was awesome because I could go pick up the newest Ren & Stimpy comic, grab a coke slurpee, and rent a great SNES game all in one shot. Not knowing if it was going to be good or not was half the fun (if that makes any sense).
When I was very young, winning a StarFox tournament runner-up prize in the Blockbuster in Mississippi. The prize was a card with two free game rentals a month for a year. That was so goddamned awesome I tell you what.
Later on in life when the N64 was the new hotness, I took every single pamphlet from a couple of Blockbusters in Atlanta and instead of waiting for Nickelodeon to show the SPECIAL RED CIRCLE you needed to hold your pamphlet up against to see if yours won, I just turned on my SNES with Battle Clash (Super Scope game) selected the calibration screen (which was a big red circle) and casually checked each pamphlet to see if they won. Won 3 times, each giving me a week to rent the N64 + game for free.
Best 3 weeks of N64 gaming EVER.
Then there was that one time a Blockbuster threw out a crapload of VHS animes. I took them. I took them all. And then I watched one at random called Urotsukidoji.
I don't know how I feel about that.
Later on in life when the N64 was the new hotness, I took every single pamphlet from a couple of Blockbusters in Atlanta and instead of waiting for Nickelodeon to show the SPECIAL RED CIRCLE you needed to hold your pamphlet up against to see if yours won, I just turned on my SNES with Battle Clash (Super Scope game) selected the calibration screen (which was a big red circle) and casually checked each pamphlet to see if they won. Won 3 times, each giving me a week to rent the N64 + game for free.
Best 3 weeks of N64 gaming EVER.
Then there was that one time a Blockbuster threw out a crapload of VHS animes. I took them. I took them all. And then I watched one at random called Urotsukidoji.
I don't know how I feel about that.
These stories are awesome! Once I got older and moved a few times all I could visit was Hollywood and Blockbuster. Such a sterile environment although I do give them credit for movie selection back in the day rented my first anime's from Hollywood. If you guys love those old school movie covers as much as I do look up Drew Struzan who did a lot of classics we all love. I'm reading one of his books I'd highly recommend.
For a while I rented Top Gun every weekend for like 5 weekends straight when I was like 10. I was utterly obsessed with that movie.
Sometimes I'd watch it 2 times in a row. After a while my parents refused to rent it for me.
Back in the eighties, in Mexico City we'd rent movies at a now defunct Video store chain called Videocentro. This was before Blockbuster basically killed all the competition in the mid 90s. One time my dad got really mad at what he thought were abusive late fees at Videocentro. He vowed he'd never rent another movie there so we had no choice but to go to a small rental store that had nothing but porn and cheesy 80s B movies you've never heard of.
It was awesome and horrible at the same time.
Sometimes I'd watch it 2 times in a row. After a while my parents refused to rent it for me.
Back in the eighties, in Mexico City we'd rent movies at a now defunct Video store chain called Videocentro. This was before Blockbuster basically killed all the competition in the mid 90s. One time my dad got really mad at what he thought were abusive late fees at Videocentro. He vowed he'd never rent another movie there so we had no choice but to go to a small rental store that had nothing but porn and cheesy 80s B movies you've never heard of.
It was awesome and horrible at the same time.
Yeah watched the hell out of this movie my parents did buy it on VHS when it was released my Dad was in the Air Force so I was lucky. Wore that tape out.
dreamcastmaster
Banned
Waiting outside the video store to ask one of the older boys if they would rent Die Hard for me. I really wanted to see that movie but was too young. Lucky one guy helped me out. Good times.
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