Blockbuster putting GTA IV on the 'new release' wall
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Apr 25th 2008 at 1:30PM }
Now, granted, if this were before the advent of Gamefly this news would be much more exciting -- although, we'd still have to worry about pesky late fees. Blockbuster has been hurting in recent years as if faces competition from many angles, not the least of which is Netflix. This move for video games in Blockbuster doesn't seem so much like a sign of respect for the growing games industry, but as another desperate move by a company that's struggling to survive.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Alex Schelldorf @ Apr 25th 2008 1:37PM
Um...
"This move for video games in Blockbuster doesn't seem so much like a sign of respect for the growing games industry, but as another desperate move by a company that's struggling to survive."
I work at a Blockbuster here in Central Florida, and this simply isn't true. The company as a whole is posting record profits. My store isn't even particularly busy, but we're doubling and sometimes tripling last year's numbers.
As far as the new release wall, it's true. And I think the wall looks good. The company's direction is going to be getting rid of the older stuff (anything more than a year old) and moving toward more new stuff and more games.
It also helps that the Movie Gallery, Movie Buffs and Mom and Pop shops around here are struggling to survive. We have raised our rental prices to almost $5 a pop just because we can.
NATO_Duke @ Apr 25th 2008 1:41PM
Wow, just because you can eh? That should make everyone feel warm inside.
Huey2k2 @ Apr 25th 2008 1:42PM
"We have raised our rental prices to almost $5 a pop just because we can."
And this my friends is why I don't rent movies at Blockbuster.
FOXHOUND @ Apr 25th 2008 1:50PM
I don't know why, but I'm reminded just now to water my plants when I get home.
rv @ Apr 25th 2008 2:07PM
You work for Blockbuster? Congratulations! It must be extremely competitive to get a job there, and the pay must be extremely high. What did you have to get a masters in to get that job?
deaftly @ Apr 25th 2008 2:10PM
Gonna suck for you when Netflix finally puts Blockbuster out of business.
tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 25th 2008 2:14PM
Pretty much everything he said is why I use gamefly.
Also helps that they opened that Tampa warehouse so I get them in a day now :D
samfish @ Apr 25th 2008 2:26PM
"Mom and Pop shops around here are struggling to survive. We have raised our rental prices to almost $5 a pop just because we can."
You must be so proud...
Brandon @ Apr 25th 2008 2:33PM
Boo on you rv. He's adding information because he has a first-person perspective, not to brag about the job.
He also states that he 'works at', not 'owns', so there's no sense in anyone bringing down the house around him for letting us know that their business model supports boosting the price of rentals.
If the economy supports the increase, it would be stupid NOT to increase the cost. Remember, you don't HAVE to rent there.
-1 to rv for being a mean person.
Saria the Cat @ Apr 25th 2008 5:21PM
Defensive, much?
ck @ Apr 25th 2008 6:53PM
I also work at Blockbuster - and this is not a company that is struggling to survive. They posted around a $37 million profit this past quarter (granted, not much for a big chain retailer, but when you've posted in the red for the past 5 years, this is a big improvement).
Jim Keyes is the perfect CEO for Blockbuster right now. He's had success with turning 7/11 stores around and he'll do the same with this company. It doesn't hurt that Blu-Ray is helping with our rentals. The New Games Release wall isn't a desperate attempt to survive - but just another way we can generate top line revenue.
And I live in the Detroit metro area - our rentals are $3.69. And that's after a price increase of $.20 from 3 months ago. So hate all you want on Blockbuster, they're not going anywhere soon.
The Fuzz 53 @ Apr 25th 2008 1:41PM
so has anybody else figured out why the hell blockbuster would buy circuit city, because i sure as shit don't know.
NATO_Duke @ Apr 25th 2008 2:01PM
Maybe they think they can get the chain back on track to compete with best buy.
Shagittarius @ Apr 25th 2008 1:41PM
PODCAST STAT!
Donald @ Apr 25th 2008 1:46PM
It's already up, and I have it downloaded and ready to fire.
D_Average @ Apr 25th 2008 2:05PM
Blockbuster is absolutely ridiculous. Its wiser to buy a game and turn around an ebay it a few weeks later, rather than bending over for $8 a rental.
nerrrrrrd @ Apr 25th 2008 2:08PM
Erol's FTW!
Kevin @ Apr 25th 2008 2:20PM
Why would you rent a game like GTA 4? You already should know what its going to be like, and its not like you can even come close to finishing it in 5 days. The $8+ could go towards the inevitable purchasing of the game.
Kangstarr @ Apr 25th 2008 2:23PM
Good Riddance. Blockbuster's late fee tactics of the 90s is finally catching up with them. The fact that they would edit some really great films to make them more "Blockbuster-friendly" was also pitiful. They also had a horrible selection of foreign films and rarely carried any of the really good Criterion releases.
I really can't think of anything good to say about them.
Ethan @ Apr 25th 2008 5:00PM
A shout out to Criterion! Those guys are great.
Alex Schelldorf @ Apr 25th 2008 2:26PM
That came off as really arrogant, and it's true, as a company, they can pretty well charge what they want. That wasn't me personally being arrogant. I'm just a lackey within the company. I am its puppet, and it sucks, but it's a job.
Did I say I agree with it? No. I think rentals should be significantly lower, half that sounds reasonable to me. Especially considering how many people shuck rentals in favor of just downloading the thing.
Should game rentals not be 8 bucks a pop? I don't know honestly. I had GameFly for a minute but the Tampa center wasn't open yet so I wasn't getting them fast enough. Considering games now are 60 dollars, the company did have to raise the rental rates based on the fact that there are some games that simply will not rent well. i.e. Vampire Rain. I can see that. Do I agree with it? No.
I just disagree with some of what the original post had to say. Blockbuster as a whole is not hurting for cash.
D_Average @ Apr 25th 2008 2:40PM
Dude...back in the 90's N64 games were usually $70, and a rental was around 3 or 4. Additionally, many Wii games now are 30 or 40 bux. Charging $8 is pure stupidity, and indicative of Blockbuster's increasing irrelevance to entertainment, technology, and society as a whole.
That said, the company is a big dumb ogre prawn to choking on its own vomit any day now.
caustic @ Apr 25th 2008 2:31PM
This is a good move by "The Block," as i've been calling them since we slept together.
Now all they need to do is hire a big corporate law firm, sell all of their commercial real estate, lay off all of there employees, and sell off all inventory to some predatory liquidator ... then the turnaround will be complete.
Much success!
Duffin @ Apr 25th 2008 2:32PM
Unfortunately, I am a member of Blockbuster's online rental deal. I would join Netflix, but with Blockbuster, you can return a movie you got in the mail to the store and get a free rantal. And they still ship out the next movie in your queue.
Really, they should adopt the policy of those rental kiosk machines. Charge a dollar a day, period. If you keep the movie for a week, you pay 7 bucks. And if you keep it for a certain amount of time, they'll charge you for the price of the movie and you can keep it. It's simple and a lot better than crappy late fees.
Alex Schelldorf @ Apr 25th 2008 2:44PM
Some of the stores are getting that this summer, all of the stores will have that implemented by the end of this year/middle of next year.
For the older movies, anyway. Not much has been made mention of the new releases.
Drago Dracini @ Apr 25th 2008 2:58PM
They just need to add games to their online service in my opinion.
Ethan @ Apr 25th 2008 4:58PM
I'm pretty sure I saw 'Into the Blue' on that 'sacred' wall.
theclaw @ Apr 25th 2008 6:12PM
I get a lot of used games there. Batman Begins (GC) for $2.99, Super Dragon Ball Z (PS2) $6.99, Bioshock (360) $29.99...
I'm into bargain hunting. =)
bbvEmployee @ Apr 25th 2008 6:42PM
the idea behind this and the circuit city buy are the same: they are trying to enter the market as an all-in-one media service provider. Imagine walking into Circuit City and being able to rent from them instead of buy a movie, or walking into a Blockbuster and being able to buy an HD TV, blu-ray player, and rent a blu-ray movie. Putting GTA IV on the wall is a way to draw attention to the fact that Blockbuster sells games. Trust me, we'd rather you buy the game than renting it, as we rarely make back our money on the game before it's scratched and ruined.
With that said, I'm getting tired of the company. Jim Keyes has some decent ideas, but they are going about it in a piss poor way, focusing on presales and special rental deals rather than fixing their selection and customer services. They want money. Oh well.
Levi @ Apr 25th 2008 7:10PM
I was in Blockbuster a few days ago, and I noticed that one of the new release walls where movies go was set up for GTAIV boxes. An old woman who was in front of me in line asked why there weren't any copies of that movie on the wall. As she was trying to explain to the clerk how much she wanted to see that movie, the clerk told her that it was a video game, not a movie, and it was goin to come out next week. The confused old lady simply walked away after hearing that. The whole exchange made me giggle.