After tidying up their collection, a gamer has found an Xbox 360 game rental nearly a decade overdue from Blockbuster. The almost entirely defunct chain of video rental stores Blockbuster seems to have let one slip through the cracks.
Blockbuster announced Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2010, under the competing pressures of streaming services, video-on-demand services, and Redbox. In the years before then, most households considered Blockbuster a staple in their entertainment needs, as a go-to for new movies, games, and seasons of television. At its peak in the '90s, there were over 9,000 Blockbusters in the United States, with over 65 million repeat customers. In its highest-grossing year, Blockbuster once came away with $800 million in late fees. Gone the way of many brick-and-mortar chains crushed by the tide of online commerce, Blockbuster has been reduced to a shadow of its former glory, with but a single store left standing, located in Bend, Oregon.
User iTzbr00tal took to Reddit to show off their unreturned Blockbuster copy of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for Xbox 360. Typically rented for allotments of a week, a game rental from Blockbuster used to be the de facto way to try out new games without having to commit to paying full price. Their late policy consisted of a dollar a day, however certain exceptions could be made. Reddit user __Pika__ estimated the late fees on the copy of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 to be approximately $3,248, however, if the associated game's late fees totaled the retail cost of the game, Blockbuster would just charge that amount and consider the game sold.
Other posters on the Reddit thread pined for the simpler days of Blockbuster rentals. A few suggested iTzbr00tal sojourn to the last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon, to see what they have to say about it. Most of the conversation centered around the game, itself. Rainbow Six Vegas 2, released in April 2008, was an incredibly well-received title, which, like its predecessor, shook up the classic franchise formula for tactical shooting with an all-new cover system and a hybrid first/third-person camera. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 was the complete package boasting an enthralling single-player and co-op campaign, as well as an intensely competitive PvP multiplayer. Despite the massive departure from previous entries in the franchise, the two Rainbow Six Vegas games are considered by some as the high points of the Rainbow Six franchise.
Sometimes, a snapshot of the past provides present comfort. While some gamers may be too young to remember the heyday of Blockbuster, for those that grew up renting from them, the Reddit post was an endearing slice of nostalgia.
