The Legend of the Video Store

I cannot believe there are now people walking this planet (my own kids one of them) that have never set foot in a video rental store. What used to be the weekend plan of every kid growing up has faded into the ethos of time. The invention of the internet eventually introduced streaming media directly into our homes and the need for the video store quickly vanished. As I get older, the feeling of nostalgia creeps up on me and this is something from the good old days I missed dearly. So this blog entry is dedicated to the video rental shop.

Growing up in the 90s there was nothing more exciting than a trip to the video store. Whether it was a mom and pop operation; or one of the big chains, it was just such an awesome experience. The movie posters in bright lights in the window pulled you in like a moth to the flame. I can still see the rows of VHS tapes on those black wire racks. The smell of popcorn floating in the air as you navigated the labyrinth of movies and games. You just had to have been there. Back in those days renting a video game was such a gamble. Unless you knew a kid with Nintendo Power magazine you were really going in blind. There was no internet review sites or Youtubers doing first impressions. It was word of mouth and analyzing the cover art of the game box. You could rent a game and it be the greatest thing that have ever graced your eyeballs. You could also rent a game and it is the most agonizing peace of garbage to stink up your living room. Sometimes the game is horrible, but your young and to you its amazing like the 10 times I rented Boogerman.

I asked AI to create a video rental store and it is pretty bang on

My parents used to take me all the time on the weekends to pick out a game. We used to have a Jumbo Video we frequented on the regular. Jumbo Video was a Canadian chain of video rental stores similar to Blockbuster. Their logo was a cartoon elephant (hence the name Jumbo) and they were the "Home of Free Popcorn!". Why is that you ask? They had a movie style popcorn maker where you could grab yourself a small bag of popcorn. Free butter popcorn you say? Yes you read that correctly. Grab a small bag of popcorn and wander the aisles of VHS tapes and game cartridges. Do not own a VCR or that game console? Don't you fret, you can rent them along with the associated media. What a time to be alive my friends.

When I got older in my pre-teens and my parents let me go places with my friends we hit up the video store all the time. My friends growing up were all video game and movie nerds so we practically lived in in that store. Sometimes we would grab a Jackie Chan flick, sometimes we grab an N64 game, all the while trying to sneak a peek into the adults only section. So many great games rented from that place: Road to World Cup 98, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2, Jedi Power Battles. This was the era of N64 and PS1, we had entered the 3D era, we where hooked, and the video rental place was our dealer. We would rent a game on a Friday, grab some snacks, drinks, and play that baby all weekend. It was glorious.

It is crazy to think now the video rental store has gone the way of the dinosaur. Today if I want to watch a movie I have 4 or 5 streaming services at my finger tips and within minutes I am watching the moving in high definition. With Xbox Gamepass I can stream a video game from the world wide web right into my living room with the same convenience. I do admit these advancements in technology have made our lives a lot easier and I love having all this media at my fingertips. I do miss the nostalgia of leaving the house with a friend and going to the video store. Who knows though records have made a comeback, maybe one day we will be going back to the local video store with a bag of popcorn in one hand and our membership card in the other.

Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me gamers. Until the next post god Speed and stay safe out there.

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Jumbo Video is the intellectual property of the Quebecor Media Inc.

This article is subject to Fair Use (US Law) and Fair Dealing (Canadian Law) as it is informational in purpose and is a critique of the product. All rights and credits go directly to the owners. No copyright infringement is intended