There's Now Only ONE (ONE!!!!!) Blockbuster Left In The Entire World

Gizmodo - According to the Australian Associated Press, the Blockbuster located in the Perth suburb of Morley has finally succumbed to the tide of competition from video streaming services and notified customers that it will be closing its doors by the end of the month. You can’t just close overnight, customers need to return those overdue DVDs. And starting on March 8, the various Blockbuster-branded swag will go on sale for collectors and sentimentalists.

Once the Walmart of the video rental industry, Blockbuster had 9,000 locations at the height of its domination. But as its business disappeared, the remaining stores turned into something more like the locally owned community shops where you could shoot the shit about movies with the clerks. “We get customers all the time pleading for us not to close as they still enjoy the experience and service that we provide,” store owner Lyn Borszeky told the AAP. “Firstly, the number of customers that have been disappointed when stores have closed and secondly our industry was a great employer of university students, who loved their movies and showed their passion when talking to customers.”

The last remaining Blockbuster brick and mortar store on Earth is located in Bend, Oregon, and it’s turned its rarefied status into a benefit, attracting tourists and selling its own signature craft beer.

One last Blockbuster, my friends. One. One singular relic of what was once one of the happiest places on Earth. Jumping into the mini-van on a Friday night and going to Blockbuster to pick out a movie to watch that weekend was an indescribable feeling of happiness. Perusing the aisles looking at the boxes, checking to make sure they weren’t rated R, and finally deciding on a movie and taking it to the counter is a feeling that might not ever be replicated. Kids these days will never know the feeling of popping a tape into the VCR. Not watching the movie, but simply the feeling of feeding the VHS into the VCR and then running over to the couch and settling in for a great night. The whole Blockbuster experience was just wonderful.

Now what? They just pull up Netflix and choose between those movies? So boring. There’s no fun in that. There’s no excitement. Except for the one lone Blockbuster still standing in Bend, Oregon.

That last Blockbuster is a treasure and needs to be protected as such. We should treat it how we treat national parks. Because I don’t think any of us want to live in a world without Blockbuster. It means too much to the fabric of society. Like when we only have a few rhinos left and they try everything in their power to keep them alive, we should be doing the same with Blockbuster. I know it’s unlikely to happen, but I guess this growing up, the feeling of wanting to hold on to the past. No wonder old people are so sad. To quote my friend Chuck, “this sucks”.