In 2018, the last Blockbuster stores in Alaska closed, making the location in Bend, Oregon the final Blockbuster in the United States. The only other place people could go if they wanted to visit Blockbuster was one remaining location in Australia, but now that store has closed down as well. This means that the resilient Blockbuster store in Bend, Oregon is now the only Blockbuster store left in the entire world.

Speaking to CNN, the last Blockbuster's general manager attributes the Bend, Oregon store's longevity to its selection of older titles along with the latest movie and video game releases. "You can go to Redbox and you can get the new titles, but they don't have the older ones," she explained.

While Harding is sad to see the other Blockbusters close down, the Bend, Oregon location's status as being the only Blockbuster left in the entire world is drawing in new customers. The video rental store has become a sort of tourist destination, as people travel there from all over to relive Blockbuster's glory days in the 90s.

Video rental stores like Blockbuster have largely been wiped off the map thanks to the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. However, there are still some video rental stores that are doing well in the midwest and rural areas of the United States that don't necessarily have access to the high speed Internet required to regularly stream movies and TV. One such chain is Family Video, which has managed to survive not only due to its location, but the fact that the company actually owns many of the buildings it's operating in, allowing it to rent out space to other businesses and opening additional revenue streams.

If Blockbuster had adopted a business model like Family Video's, perhaps it could have survived the rise of streaming. We'll never know for sure, but in the meantime, it will be interesting to see just how long the Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon can hang on and continue renting out movies and video games to its dedicated customers.

Source: CNN

Image Credit: KTVZ