there was no better feeling than coming home from school on Friday night and your parents saying "you want to go rent something at the video store?"

I love that this channel doesnt try to be funny snarky or cute, just the history presented well!

Renting games in the 90s was fierce. We had a local independent store that had all the latest releases. One weekend we got Desert Strike and it was awesome. You'd also meet friends randomly at the video store. Those were the days.

Nintendo: I would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those pesky Blockbusters.

I rented Mario Kart SNES like 50 times from the local rental store; I could've bought it probably twice for the amount of money that I (my mom) spent lol

Rentals are good. It encourages trial and makes for a smarter future purchase. Forces Industry to make good games.

Wow, video game rentals are still illegal in Japan. That one blew my mind.

"Today, there are only 51" Oh dayum, this must be an old video.

I remember renting the SNES console when it first came out. It used to come inside a cool black suitcase.

God, I miss brick and mortar places. It used to be such a good time, going to the Blockbuster or the Hollywood video or the moviestop. It was a night out with the family. Mama and Daddy would get a movie for themselves and us kids would get a videogame and stay up till late trying to get as much fun out of the game as possible for the amount of days we were allowed to keep it. It was always so much fun just going to these places. Digital media is superior - yes. But it is still a shame that my kids will never know the fun of going out with the family to find that one treasure in the video store.

It is always comforting to know that Nintendo hasn't changed at all since then.

the closest i ever got to a N64 is my dad renting the entire console from blockbuster with mario 64 for 3 days.... i remember waking up at 6am just to play lololol

these were merely because if a game was garbage, a person would find that out when renting it, then the devs wouldn't get a profit because no one would want to buy their bad games, it was only to protect terrible programmers, because if a game is actually good, the costumer would go out and get their own copy instead of wasting all that money renting it repeatedly

I work at a video rental store in Nebraska called Family Video, and we still rent out video games

10:19 I'm watching this on August 4, 2019. Today's the 30th anniversary of that lawsuit I guess.

I remember the times in the early 2000’s when rental store were selling their inventories, you could get your dose of nes, super nes and others for dirt cheap

If I remember correctly, Nintendo also sued the makers of the Game Genie. They weren't happy with that device but they lost that case too lol.

Hello and welcome to a brand new episode! Today we are learning about Nintendo's attempt to end video game rentals. I'm sure most of us have fond memories of going to the video store and picking out a game or movie, so enjoy the wave of nostalgia!

I'm actually lived through the time of going to a store to rent movies and video games and it all seems like a very foreign concept to me now and I am very nostalgic for it

For a man that '"didn't like lawyers", Yamauchi sure liked lawsuits a lot 🤔

Nintendo actually hasn't changed so much. Now they target people streaming their games as they feel like they are somehow losing money from people advertising their games.

And to think, Blockbuster was offered Netflix for $50 million and turned them down.

What I loved about Blockbuster was the chance to try out video games that I might asked for Birthday or Christmas. Without Blockbuster or retail stores I might not had the chance to experience many games or barely have many at all… 😢

There really was a whole culture built around rental-shops. I lament that we'll never see anything like it again... =(

Only 51 Blockbuster Video's in the country, and I can confirm 3 of those are in Anchorage, Alaska.

This is TV quality. Extremely professional documentary, keep up the amazing work.

Man I miss going out on Friday w/GF to rent a movie at Blockbuster or Hollywood. Fun times.

Never knew this. Quite incredible actually. And now there is only 1 Blockbuster left

They fought a long legal battle. Ironically, their best fight against rentals was actually making long RPG's that took a while to complete.

I can't get enough of these Gaming Historian videos. Amazingly well done. Thank you so much for putting such time are care into their production.

anyone else remembering having to take back a game like Zelda 2 knowing your saved progress was gonna get deleted. Or going to the video store on a Friday only to find out the game you wanted was rented out.😭😄

Renting games is still illegal here in Japan so people just buy used games. I’ve done it so many times and all of the games are always in very good condition.

So when this video was made 3 years ago there were 51 Blockbusters stores left, now there's only one :(

I had no idea music rental shops existed. The first time I knew you could rent music -- well, it was Spotify.

Getting a movie on a Friday night with a pizza was special, Something you really looked forward to. Having everything at your fingertips sounds appealing but in fact it doesn't make it better.

A good friend was at a mom & pop video store that was going out of business. He bought every game they had (Which was nes & snes) with boxes, instructions & the games in pristine condition. Box upon box of shrinkwrapped nes & snes games. It was incredible to see.

How very much like nintendo to attack something they barely understand at the slightest sign of lost profits.

miss the feeling going to the rental store with my dad

Physical video game rentals were probably the peak of pro-consumer availability in gaming. The cost to play a game for a few days was fair but not cost-effective after. I bought so many games I would have never had if I didn’t just sample them first.

Anyone else thinking digital rentals is bullshit? If I'm looking for a particularly old movie and maybe less popular movie, I have to filter through like 3-4 services before I can find it, and then its something ridiculous like a $10 rental. Then I realize torrent is free... EDIT: Also try your public libraries if you want to recreate the video rental feel. My library has some really awesome old VHS & DVD selection.

When our Blockbuster went out of business, my buddy bought it and runs it as a locally owned store. He still does great to this day renting movies and games.

this was so cool and informative! I grew up in the 90s, and never knew this war was going on behind the scenes.

Nintendo has always been behind the times; I especially love the fact that Saga was making marketing deals while Nintendo was suing everyone... even today. There wasn't any free trials, demos or KZfaq back then, so the only way to trial a game was to rent it or if you were lucky, you knew someone who owned it. Most games I rented, I ended up purchasing.

First Nintendo I bought was from blockbuster in that metal case. That new foam and plastic smell still is one of the best memories I've ever had as a kid.

Blockbuster: *dies due to internet popularity* Nintendo: "This... does put a smile on my face"

Blockbuster is still alive and well in Mexico. you can rent ps4 games and all

Wish we could all go back to those days for a little while

Now, history repeats itself in 2020 with AMC and Regal movie theaters going after Universal Pictures (and banning their films from playing at their movie theaters) over the "Trolls: World Tour" streaming media fiasco...

A trip to blockbuster on Friday during the summer as a kid was everything.

*Meanwhile, at the Legion Of Doom....* "Hello, you have called Nintendo's Legal Office".....

I love the wording that was used by the lawyers. It's always so beautifully said to tell their clients story. LOL

It's so cool to see your videos progress over the years, awesome job!

Dude your videos are so relaxing to watch, thanks for your channel

These videos are so refined and academic, I feel like I should be watching them on a CRT on top of a cart. Good job cheers.

I'm total in love with this channel!!! All videos are so good and well done!!! Thanks for the subtitles, it help me a lot (I'm not a english native speaker)

There were still 51 blockbusters when this was released

I feel like movie and video game rentals were a very family/friend oriented occasion. I remember getting together with my friends every week deciding who was going to rent what games and movies, then deciding who’s house the sleep over was going to be at. Then spending the entire night watching movies and playing games and sleeping the entire next day. Loved when it got dark early and sunrise was late. Just more time to get no sleep playing games and watching movies.

What's really surprising is that there are 51 stores left.

2019 and only 1 blockbuster left

Man y’all remember when blockbuster would give you a discount for rentals if you had good grades? Sheesh i used to love when I got my report card back

Good topic to talk about. Should've mentioned how Nintendo eventually had a Championship through Blockbuster at one point (There's a DK-Country Blockbuster Cartridge) and there were even Blockbuster exclusive N64 games.

I love watching your show! I feel like I'm watching a legit PBS show. I have a love for games and this really helps me reflect on the games that I loved so much

This could also be the main reason as to why games back then were made to be ridiculously challenging and at often times unfair. To prevent kids who were renting these games from beating them in one rental period.

I miss Blockbuster, I didn’t rent many video games back in the day, but I did purchase a lot of second hand games in their used games bin. I bought a lot of awesome games that people for some reason didn’t want to hold on to, like Eternal Darkness and Viewtiful Joe for the GameCube, amongst other awesome little treasures.

I was Blockbuster CEO from 86 to 89. Blockbuster employees consider those the Golden Years.

Now, if only a group of people can stop Nintendo from filing copyright claims on KZfaqrs who do LPs of their games. I mean, both Sony & Microsoft are okay with them, and they're aware that most Let's Plays out there are pretty much free publicity to promote their games.

"Today, there are only 51." Oregon says hello from 2020

I think the most surprising thing in this video was that there were still 51 blockbusters at the time it was being made.

Sega does Nintendon't wasn't just their ad slogan. They really did do everything Nintendo would not.

I'm surprised Nintendo never tried to sue me for letting my friend borrow River City Ransom for 3 months in 1991

When u said there were 51 blockbusters left I was like HOLD UP Then I saw this video came out in 2016

It's nice going back to old content on this channel, some of which I've never watched. And it's just as highly produced back then as it is today

Fascinating topic! I wasn't aware of this. Great work as always, Norm!

Am I the only one that see the humor of Nintendo hating the rental world? A good 95% of my SNES games and all but 1 of my games for the N64 were the results of renting games from Blockbuster. A new game would come out, I'd rent it to see was it good. If I liked it, I bought it. If the game sucked, I would avoid it like the plague.

I remember my dad coming home from blockbuster one night with Goldeneye 007, Smash Bros, and some N64 wrestling game that I don't remember. It was magic.

I remember walking in blockbuster first time and it felt like a video library museum. It was epic

R.i.p Hollywood Video & Blockbuster

ahhhh good ole nintendo always fighting the american way!

Man. I can't even begin to tell you how sad I felt when my childhood Blockbuster closed down. I still have my membership card somewhere. It's a rent-a-center now. 😟

Video game rental was like piracy with a time limit. A true "try it before you buy it" system with additional fees. But if your game was good, you'd get a full purchase. If your game was bad, make a good game. Among my friends there were very few people who repeatedly rented a game, even if they liked it. They'd either convince their parents to buy a copy or they'd play something else. A shame about those royalties, though.

Back when the game you rented was almost always chosen based on the cover art!

Great idea for a video. As a kid, I could afford to buy any games so when my stores started carrying games to rent it was a dream come true.

Man, the nostalgia of this! I remember that being a highlight of family time, going to the video store to rent a couple of movies to watch during dinner or just for fun on the weekend. Also, going to the video store or store within a grocery store to rent video games and hoping you get the same cartridge so your save data is still on it. Before memory cards and console storage that's all we had to save data, so yea it was an awesome feeling to re-rent the same cartridge to continue my playthroughs. I actually kind of miss it. Kids today just won't know that feeling. Wow I'm getting old lol

i miss these times, I remember my first Nintendo rental too. Mischief makers ❤ shake shake will be forever embedded in my head

I remember when Blockbuster in the UK started doing game rentals, it was nearly entirely EA games on the Mega Drive (Genesis), virtually nothing else... stuff like Sword of Sodan, Budokai, Dark Castle and James Pond. I know EA produced their own carts, so maybe they did a deal with Blockbusters before anyone else. :S Interesting.

I will forever love Nintendo's colorful and lovable characters and games but they make some of the shittiest and dick move business decisions

Being a kid who's parents couldn't afford an NES or SNES, the few weekends that we rented one were a serious treat. But any game with saves didn't make a lot of sense unless you grinded it the entire weekend and still didn't finish it and had to start over next time.

I love your videos! I hope you keep making them.

When Blockbuster closed down around the corner from me, Family Video swooped in and bought the building. I go in there a couple times a week and it's always packed! Video rentals are alive and well in Canada.....for now.

fun fact: Blockbuster was still incredibly profitable in Canada when it was dying in the US. what did Blockbuster corporate do? instead of supporting the healthy limbs in the form of Canadian stores, they gutted them and sold them off. the only thing it did was keep the US stores afloat for something like 1-2 months. now here in Canada we don't even have redboxes any more. there are now no options at all for rentals in most Canadian cities.

My family rented the Genesis multiple times at Blockbuster before my parents finally bought one for us kids. Memories...

I still rent video games all the time, and it doesn't cost money anymore. My local public library lets you check out video games. Everyone should check if their nearby libraries do too.

This is fascinating. I always wondered why games switched to those game case printed instructions instead of booklets.

i just saw the title in my subscription feed and got really excited. i'm gonna wait til lunch time, get a nice hamburger, and sit down to this. cant wait.

And now there are None. :( RIP Blockbuster Video, I will miss the many hours I spent walking your isles looking for the 1-2 movies my foster parents would let us rent for the weekend. I will miss sprawling out on the floor with my hands on my chin staring 2 feet away at our32 inch Tube TVs enthralled by the movie playing in the VCR. I will miss the late nights and popcorn, we still have them but they just aren't the same.

One of my favorite past times in the 80’s was visiting the local video store - not Blockbuster - and renting a game for my NES. It was the only way we could play new games as we really couldn’t afford to buy them.

"Banned in Japan" would be a great album title.

I really enjoyed the video! Blockbuster themselves were fought with lower priced video chains like Family Video, and my local store Movie Mania.These stores rented out movies and games for half the price that Blockbuster was charging. The last thing I remember is Blockbuster charging $5 for rentals, which was insane because the movie itself was $20 new. Keep the great videos coming!

the quoted part at 5:25 is so Ken Burns documentary, i love it hahaha

Wasn't it cute back when people thought they could have property rights? The game industry has cured that now. Now, when you buy a game, you get no rights! I'm not exagerrating. I mean that. None. Read the license agreement that you click through without reading sometime. Look for some clause that obligates the game publisher to do things like let you play the game, or give you access to the game. They don't exist. They assume absolutely no legally-binding obligation to permit or enable you to play the game you "bought" (and they still illegally advertise it as "buying" a game, yet when in the courtroom are adamant that all you are doing is licensing access, not buying anything). They do reserve the right to take the game away at any moment for any or no reason, and define a slew of things you are forbidden from doing, but there isn't a single thing in the agreement that requires the game company to do anything at all. TONS of other industries tried this. Even the automobile industry claimed aftermarket parts were illegal, selling cars used was forbidden, etc. And every single time, it went to court and the industries lost. Property rights of purchasers were always enforced by the courts. Not so with videogames, though. Gamers are on the side of the game publishers. They actually BELIEVE the moronic propaganda games publishers spew claiming rentals, used sales, and things like that would harm the gaming industry. (In truth, every single time in every single industry through all history, secondhand markets and rentals MASSIVELY boost sales of new products. Consumers get used to having new products to try. They form a habit of buying new games instead of it being a rare luxury. Their friends experience more products, and provide much more of the most valuable advertising in existence - word of mouth.)