We Thought Blockbuster Was Over, But It Still Refuses To Die

Man, I miss going to Blockbuster on Friday or Saturday nights. As a kid, it felt as if that was your reward for a hard fought week of school and extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately, the experience of browsing the aisles of your local video store will never be known the current generation of grade school students, except for those lucky enough to grow up in Alaska.

I don't know a single one of my friends who didn't spend a weekend evening going up and down the aisles with indecision, wondering what movie they wanted to watch, or what video game they wanted to play, or both. Oh, and of course bugging their parents to get a bag of candy or popcorn to go along with their rental. But the company filed for bankruptcy in 2010, and the dream died, but not in the snowy white north.

There are only 10 franchise locations currently left in the U.S., and six of those are currently in Alaska. I guess with how cold it gets, and how much snow tends to fall on the most norther of all U.S. states, there isn't much else there to do than visit your local video rental store.

Some people are willing to brave just about anything to see the movie of their choice...

You would think that the people of Alaska would just get with the times and watch their movies and shows through a streaming service like Netflix, and I am sure they would if they could. Internet access in the northern state is spotty at best, and even when you can get it, it can be wildly expensive. It has made Alaska the perfect place to continue the longstanding tradition of renting videos from an actual Blockbuster.

I still remember renting Crash Bandicoot for my PlayStation and playing that game until my eyes bled from staring at the screen for so long. Oh, and there was Final Fantasy 9, the four disc set. I had to rent that game every weekend for a month in order to finally finish it.

What was your favorite memory of going to Blockbuster?