Post by: Darkheart on January 02, 2007, 02:22:14 AM
So I decide since I just own Zelda and Trauma Center that I would go out and rent some games at the nearby Blockbuster. I walk in and I have to walk past the 3 ailes of Ps2 games the 1 ailse of Xbox games the 2 ailses of Xbox 360 games the aisle of PSP games (seriously what the hell they are always stocked no one even rents them . . . .) and shoved WAY WAY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY in the back is the Wii/GC section. GET THIS THO, each ailse is divided into 4 sectons each one with 4 shelves. The Wii/GC was sqeezed into one division of ONE AILSE~! The rest of the Aile was yes you guessed it CHILDRENS MOVIES. . . . . Oh I forgot to mention that the Psp and the PS3 section was one Ailse that they shared 50/50.
So here I am bummed to hell looking at my selection of Wii games. . . . . .
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Rayman
-Redsteel
. . . . . .
THATS IT~! No Zelda No Trauma Center No ELEBITS NO SUPER LOLI GOLF NO NOTHING~! I immediately went up to the cashier and asked what was this crap in the Wii section and a kid about 19 said "Blockbuster refuses to carry Wii games until the Wii system sells a lot . . . . "
That blew my cork off, here they are with a PSP section larger than OREGON and a Ps3 section that was made of every single damn launch game available. I stormed out of the store and another Blockbuster coworker was outside smoking a cigarette and said, "I heard ya inside buddy, I know it sucks. . . . I have been tryin to sell my Ps3 on ebay to buy me a Wii myself, it just won't sell." He then started to talk about Zelda and how he had been waiting out to get a Wii so he could settle down with Link's new adventure. Our conversation eventually came back to Nintendo and Blockbuster. He talked about it for a lil while before stating that he believed Blockbuster just didnt like Nintendo at all. He said whenever the store redoes its layout floorplan all nintendo products are always pushed towards the back and always paired next to the childrens movies. He also mentioned that his boss was just letting the Gamecube games slowly dissappear by letting empoyees take them home. That would explain why the gamecube and wii section were sharing one stupid 4 shelved little division. . . .
Blah Im just so mad if renting has come down to this, I'll just wait out and just purchase my games. . . . or borrow them~!
Post by: ryancoke on January 02, 2007, 02:44:39 AM
Post by: couchmonkey on January 02, 2007, 02:46:58 AM
Post by: Bill Aurion on January 02, 2007, 02:48:23 AM
Post by: Plugabugz on January 02, 2007, 02:51:53 AM
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on January 02, 2007, 03:31:33 AM
Post by: UncleBob on January 02, 2007, 03:35:40 AM
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on January 02, 2007, 03:43:39 AM
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 02, 2007, 03:52:38 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: UncleBob
Blockbuster probably doesn't like Nintendo after Nintendo sued their butts and won.
Sued them over what? I would like to know what happened.
Post by: UncleBob on January 02, 2007, 03:56:04 AM
Post by: NeoThunder on January 02, 2007, 04:21:41 AM
Post by: Rhoq on January 02, 2007, 04:46:57 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: UncleBob
It was quite some time ago, and it's possible I'm thinking of the wrong movie chain, but there was some various chain that was photo copying game manuals and giving them out with the rental games... Nintendo (and, if I'm correct, some other 3rd Parties) sued and won.
I'm pretty sure it was Blockbuster. About 10 years ago, I rented 1080 and Star Wars: Pod Racer for the N64 and both cartridges came with text instructions printed out from a word processor on a sheet of white paper.
Post by: Rhoq on January 02, 2007, 04:48:42 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: NeoThunder
thats kinda messed up if you think about it cause they let you download and print off some of their game manuals off the internet, and I called them one time to ask if I could copy the cover of my games incase the ever got ruined I would have a back-up. They said they don't give out permission to do it but at the same time they didn't care if I did it.
There is a big difference between you making a copy for your own personal use and a corporate entity such as Viacom (which owns Blockbuster) copying these manuals for their rental profits.
Post by: Ian Sane on January 02, 2007, 04:52:31 AM
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Licensed Childrens movie
-Rayman
-Redsteel"
To be fair isn't this pretty much half of the entire Wii library.
This actually seems quite different from what Blockbuster usually does, or at least the ones in my area do. Usually all they get are the big titles like Mario and skimp on the more minor games. But the problem is that the big titles are rarely the games I want to rent. Why rent Zelda? It's f*cking Zelda! I'm going to buy it the second I get a chance unless there was some hugely negative reviews coming in which thus far has never happened. The games I want to rent are the more obscure titles that everyone doesn't buy. Some people won't like them. It's a game that sounds promising but you really want to try first. On the Cube I rented games like Ikaruga and Skies of Arcadia. I heard they were good games but they weren't necessarily something I knew I would like without trying first. If I had a Wii I would want to rent Elebits. That seems like a rent-first type of game. Usually Blockbuster doesn't have titles like that.
Still this is a crap selection. Let's hope it's because the Wii is so new. I wouldn't really expect many places to rent any Wii games right now.
Post by: rutledgek on January 02, 2007, 04:56:30 AM
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 02, 2007, 05:04:48 AM
*game Crazy is like a EB Games inside of the Rental Store, it has its own walled off/self enclosed area and its own outside entrance too.
Post by: UncleBob on January 02, 2007, 05:23:26 AM
Game Crazy is actually good. Perhaps it's just because my local Game Crazy is so well ran, but I actually make a point to go into the store just to browse, as opposed to going for a reason...
Post by: The Omen on January 02, 2007, 05:33:05 AM
Post by: Smash_Brother on January 02, 2007, 05:37:06 AM
Post by: Adrock on January 02, 2007, 05:41:56 AM
Not every Hollywood Video has a Game Crazy, but that's besides the point. HV is also the most poorly run, ass backward company ever. For example, corporate geniuses decided that being able to connect phone calls between both stores was too convenient and made too much sense. I could go on and on.....
Post by: segagamer12 on January 02, 2007, 05:59:03 AM
And Unclebob is quit correct, Nintendo sued them twice and lost one and won one and cost Blockbuster tons of money.
Post by: utarefsoN on January 02, 2007, 05:59:55 AM
Post by: JonLeung on January 02, 2007, 06:26:07 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: utarefsoN
damn people still rent games....
And why not? I finish games, typically to 100%, even when game rentals were just three days. Some RPGs might take a little longer, like closer to a week, but it'd still save a lot of money comparing to owning every game I'd want to play.
Here's my Blockbuster rant. Blockbuster is really close to my house, so I love it for its convenience, but in the past couple years they made questionable choices about games.
They had a dozen Ribbit Kings. WTF. And then they didn't get Mario Superstar Baseball, even when I made a big stink about how idiotic it was that it's a MARIO game, a guaranteed good rental - I probably should've pointed out the ridiculousness of stocking up on Ribbit King. I asked them if any other Blockbuster had Mario Superstar Baseball, and the manager made some calls and told me there were only eight copies - for ALL OF CANADA. None in Edmonton. I'm thinking this is some kind of BS because I know our store alone has like that many copies of every Mario Party game that comes out, so why not Mario Superstar Baseball? The idiocy was that it was featured on the web site as the GameCube game of the month back in September 2005, so that really should mean that most if not all stores should have at least one copy! >_< They told me to go to Rogers Video (their competition!) which I eventually did, like a year later, just for that game.
On a related note, the Blockbuster employees knew how frustrated I was and felt really bad the first night they got Super Mario Strikers, another Mario sports game. I took it to the till and said they couldn't rent it out because it "wasn't received properly". So first you don't get baseball, and now that you get soccer, you wait until I make it to the front of the line to tell me I can't get it. Thanks a lot. Sure, it's not any individual's fault but you'd think they'd give me something for my trouble since they knew they were frustrating my brains out over the same series of games. They used to give me things like $15 in credit when disputing late games (I never return games late) but now all I get are weak apologies. Not even like a free rental or a bag of popcorn or even a dollar off coupon or SOMETHING.
This year, they didn't get Chibi-Robo, and they didn't get Odama. I thought they gave up on GameCube games but they recently got copies of Flushed Away and after the Wii came out, some copies of a recent LEGO Bionicle game. So they won't get Nintendo's own last GameCube games, but they'll get some third-party and licensed crap (though I may be wrong about assuming Bionicle is crap, the LEGO Star Wars games were good). Oh, yeah, they also didn't get Baten Kaitos Origins. Pac-Man World Rally was actually the best of the last few GameCube games I rented.
The Wii? Sure, they've got it. It's a small section, and it cuts into the former GameCube section, but at least it's not as tiny as some of you guys say. They've got a few copies of Zelda (though I do own that, actually) so it's not like they snub Nintendo's own games. However, they charge more for Wii and PS3 games now. It's like $10 (Canadian) to rent a game now. Why? It's not like next-gen games are actually longer or anything. Sure, they tell me I can keep it for two weeks now but Trauma Center and RRR are collecting dust at home, I should probably return them...
If they come out with Wii Player's Choice games, if and when Blockbuster charges any more, owning more games will become a likely prospect. Or Gamefly. Sheesh.
That Rogers Video I mentioned, where I started up a membership JUST for Mario Superstar Baseball? I've never rented anything else since. Their selection and Blockbuster's is like night and day. What is this crap? I've never heard of some of these games, and I'm sure there's a reason why. Scaler? Bad Boys II? Blockbuster is still smarter in this regard but it boggles the mind how and why they can be oblivious to certain titles.
Post by: Smash_Brother on January 02, 2007, 06:28:56 AM
Post by: JonLeung on January 02, 2007, 06:36:02 AM
I don't have that much time on my hands. Okay, maybe I do but I spend too much time playing games as it is. If I get some games from Gamefly, I can take my time with them without worrying about late fees, however, it's more worth my money to finish a game ASAP and get the next game on my queue and then try to finish that ASAP. The constant flow of games means that I'll be more addicted to video games than I already am. I may save money, but I'll be spending too much time. And if I take my time with the games, I'll feel like the subscription isn't worth it.
As I said, it's always looking more and more like a better alternative to Blockbuster, but still not yet.
Post by: Smash_Brother on January 02, 2007, 06:40:17 AM
I love the damn thing. It allows me and my boys from the Medacast to review games without having to even spend the $6 at BB to rent them.
It's also ideal for renting additional copies of a multiplayer DS game to try it multiplayer without buying more copies.
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 02, 2007, 07:52:52 AM
Quote.....and please do.
Originally posted by: Adrock
Not every Hollywood Video has a Game Crazy, but that's besides the point. HV is also the most poorly run, ass backward company ever. For example, corporate geniuses decided that being able to connect phone calls between both stores was too convenient and made too much sense. I could go on and on.....
Post by: Shorty McNostril on January 02, 2007, 09:50:26 AM
Post by: segagamer12 on January 02, 2007, 09:52:59 AM
Post by: IceCold on January 02, 2007, 11:46:22 AM
Post by: JonLeung on January 02, 2007, 12:00:08 PM
Another thing I forgot to mention is that they didn't have any handheld games. Then when the GBA was new, they got some GBA games, and surprisingly, some GBC games. Then they stopped carrying handheld games shortly after, so we never saw any DS or PSP games. Their logic was that "kids kept losing the handheld games". If there's any truth at all to that, I think kids are stupid for perpetuating the "handhelds are for kids" thing and doing something dumb like losing them. >_< But really I think it's just BBV making a big case out of a few GBA games lost - I'm sure someone could lose several PS2 games and it wouldn't shut down the whole section. And even after games like Brain Age made handhelds more common among non-kids, the DS doesn't even register on their radar.
Blockbuster's presence killed off another video rental place in the same shopping complex because they couldn't compete. I think the other store (it kept changing names and ownership, I don't know what it was before it finally died) might've lasted longer simply by having all the games that Blockbuster didn't. Or at the very least I would be going there. But that store, last I saw, still had N64 games and didn't have any GameCube games. I'm sure some people rent them (it's not like video stores don't have old movies) but I think it's really bad when they can't keep up with new stuff.
Post by: Michael_82 on January 02, 2007, 12:00:23 PM
And as for the game manual thing, I used to hate when the game came with that photo-copied thing. Or some places you had to ask for the manual or you didn't get anything.
Post by: UncleBob on January 02, 2007, 12:11:55 PM
Post by: Michael_82 on January 02, 2007, 02:09:58 PM
Post by: Rancid Planet on January 02, 2007, 04:30:15 PM
If the Wii continues on it's current path I'm sure that the Wii section in nearly everyone's local rental outlet will have an appropriate amount of titles in stock. Okay I'm not really SURE but I'd bet money on it, we'll put it that way. It's just too soon for any stores to have really adjusted their fiscal perceptions of what the Wii can/could do for their business.
Post by: JonLeung on January 03, 2007, 02:06:04 AM
If they're all about money (which most businesses are) how cheap is Ribbit King for it to be worth to stock up so many that are all going to end up in the used game bin in two weeks than a few of the first-party games? Even if first-party games tend to be owned by Nintendo fans (as is the case for me) they must certainly be rented at a high rate for Nintendo fans on the fence about certain games (I still don't know if I would buy Chibi-Robo or Odama, and my Blockbuster won't give me a chance to try them - again, if I was the "trying" type and didn't end up finishing the game on a rental...maybe I'm not a good example of a renter after all, actually).
Sure, head office makes decisions. But sometimes they're silly decisions and often it seems like stores don't follow them - except when it means more inconvenience for me. >_<
Post by: MLS_man_64 on January 03, 2007, 02:58:22 AM
More games for the PS3 were rented out though, I guess since their systems were financed and they need to save money :/
Post by: Adrock on January 03, 2007, 03:06:06 AM
Quote
Rancid Planet wrote:
Rental outlets are only going to stock what their corporate head office sees as being a profitable catalog.
You'd think so...
Hollywood Video has games I've never even heard of.... Amazing Island on Gamecube, for example. What the crap?
Post by: JonLeung on January 03, 2007, 03:25:25 AM
But like I mentioned earlier, my few trips to Rogers Video were an eye-opener, even if there wasn't anything I would want to rent. Scaler, Bad Boys, some other strange games that even I haven't heard of. It's like Rogers Video was almost seeking out games not advertised or mentioned in Nintendo Power, IGN, Planet GameCube (or NWR now, I guess), or any other publication that I might stumble upon. Seriously. But they did have Mario Superstar Baseball which Blockbuster didn't.
Maybe in some cities there's an exclusivity agreement that says that they can't carry a certain number of the same games? I don't know how else to explain it.
Post by: Nick DiMola on January 03, 2007, 03:53:47 AM
Post by: segagamer12 on January 03, 2007, 03:54:50 AM
It wouldnt matter if Block buster, hastings, or Hollywood had the games to rent or not, they are a 100 mile round trip distance from me and when you add cost of gas and cost of game I rather just buy the game used at GS and trade it back in if it is crap or sell online.
Post by: Rancid Planet on January 03, 2007, 05:16:45 PM
If this is not the case though and for some reason the Wii still feels no love from rental outlets despite the huge amount of success it might have then I suggest we all make like villagers in an old horror flick and go rampaging with lit torches.
...or we could just like, make an online petition or something...those work right?
Post by: Smash_Brother on January 03, 2007, 06:29:59 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Rancid Planet
...or we could just like, make an online petition or something...those work right?
Yeah, but I already took the initiative and bought the torches, pitchforks and sickles.
Do you know how hard it is to get decent sickles in this day and age? No WAY we're stopping now...
Post by: JonLeung on January 04, 2007, 01:47:00 AM
Supposedly the big difference that they make a big deal about is that if you want another movie, instead of putting it in the mail and waiting, you can go to a Blockbuster location and swap it for another one.
Though I guess where games are concerned, and with a mail service I don't have to be loyal to anyone by default - just as long as they operate in Canada - I would guess that even with this service, even if it includes games, Gamefly sounds like a better choice since they'll probably still have a better selection as that is their focus. But I'm still on the fence because of the whole time/value issue. If I subscribe I'm going to feel like I'm obligated to play all of the games that I want practically constantly.
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on January 04, 2007, 02:05:21 AM
Post by: Rancid Planet on January 04, 2007, 10:24:41 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Smash_BrotherQuote
Originally posted by: Rancid Planet
...or we could just like, make an online petition or something...those work right?
Yeah, but I already took the initiative and bought the torches, pitchforks and sickles.
Do you know how hard it is to get decent sickles in this day and age? No WAY we're stopping now...
Oh totally! Why just the other day I was at Sickle Surplus looking at the new models and I tell you brother, they just don't make old fashioned mob/rioting villager gear like they used to. And the PRICES they ask for torches these days! What am I? A shoe cobbler or a black smith?
Post by: JonLeung on January 05, 2007, 07:56:18 AM
I finished the game Christmas Day (I rented it on Christmas Eve but my brother played it that day) and I certainly would've returned it much earlier. But the girl I like wanted to try Trauma Center and she's coming over this weekend, maybe. That's what frustrates me. >_<
I could still hold onto it 'til Sunday, but I won't take a chance with ending up having to purchase it. Not that it's a bad game...
Just another example of another annoying BBV experience.
