Surprisingly, I might pick Blockbuster. Having even just one streaming service costs the same as like 8 rentals per month. Idk about the rest of you, but I think I watch more movies than most and it's still not 8 per month. And remember video game rentals?! Game Pass and PS+ Extra are amazing, but the selection is far from endless.

And it's kinda win-win. I'd bet anything that revenue for these media companies would rise since it would be cheap enough and convenient enough to curb some amount of piracy. It's just not worth the effort and risk for lots of people if they can just pop in for a rental while they're already out for groceries. Redbox should be more successful, but there's something about browsing in person through aisle after aisle and seeing what jumps out, and it saddens me that my generation may be the last to have had that experience.

[–] lieuwex@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You can still rent movies via Google Play, for cheaper in today's money than then, it seems.

[–] MrVilliam@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I believe you 100% (and piracy is even cheaper) but browsing in person is something I truly miss. And it makes sense for digital access to be cheaper because there's nothing to rewind/wipe clean and no need to replace stock that breaks/gets lost/gets stolen. I hear you in that it's faster and more convenient to go digital like that, but there's something almost therapeutic about taking your time and walking and using your hands. It's intentional. It's active. It's a whole thing. It's like the difference between getting fast food from a drive through versus walking through a few blocks of a city and choosing a good restaurant and sitting down and enjoying a cultivated experience. I know I'm exaggerating the impact, but not by as much as you might think.

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