Rocko Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 You could rent NES-Xbox games at blockbuster, so back in the day, could you also rent 2600 games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The MilkMan Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 They must have. Although I never saw/rented as a kid, I have a dead 2600 that has Rent-A-Center on the bottom. Could be why it's dead. I imagine it went through alot of abuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariboy Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 When did renting VHS movies become popular? Mid to late 80's? It might of missed the glory days of the Atari 2600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I have a dead 2600 that has Rent-A-Center on the bottom. Rent-A-Center is a rent to own place, so they probably didn't rent the games out. People just pay a fortune for electronics that aren't worth it. A kid at work wanted a big-screen TV, but didn't want to wait to save the money on lay-away, so he went to Rent-A-Center. In the end, if he kept up payments, he'd end up paying $7000 for what was essentially a $1500 TV. Not even HDTV, either. Stupid kid. He eventually wised up and had them pick it up, after he'd paid them about $1500. Not the smartest guy on the face of the earth. This was the same guy who tried trading in his 4 month old car to get a different car, because his car was "old". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Scottie Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Wow, this is going to be my first post here, and I actually get to add something of value (I hope)... There were not one but two locations that rented 2600 games during the heyday here in the Orlando area. Waaaaay before there was a Blockbuster. The first one was a video store that also did VHS stuff, and the other was Video Game World, which as you can guess from the name only dealt in game consoles. I got one of the very first ColecoVision systems in town from them, but that's a story for another post... I can't begin to recall what the cost was, or how long you could keep them for (I was 11 at the time, and stuff like that wasn't really important). I just know the drive to get to Video Game World felt like forever, since we had to go from south Orlando all the way to Altamonte Springs - about 30 minutes one way, an eternity at that age. And with that, Disco Scottie had accidentally introduced himself to AtariAge... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Welcome aboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 And with that, Disco Scottie had accidentally introduced himself to AtariAge... Welcome! Good to see another Floridian on here! I used to live in Altamonte Springs, went to Altamonte Elementary, Milwee Middle, and I just graduated UCF. I lived in Lake Wales/Winter Haven since 1983 or so. Wow, I sure don't remember any stores that rented 2600 games... I DO remember seeing 2600 games for sale at the Altamonte Albertson's though. First games I saw for rent were NES ones just after I became aware of VHS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Scottie Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I used to live in Altamonte Springs, went to Altamonte Elementary, Milwee Middle, and I just graduated UCF. I lived in Lake Wales/Winter Haven since 1983 or so. My schooling was Pineloch Elementary, Memorial Junior (before it became Middle), Oak Ridge High... none of that silly higher-ed stuff for me, thanks. I do know a lot of people with UCF connections. Wow, I sure don't remember any stores that rented 2600 games... I DO remember seeing 2600 games for sale at the Altamonte Albertson's though. We're talking '81-84 range, so if you were active then, you missed out in your own backyard! The store was on 436, kinda between 427 and 17-92. I live in Longwood now, and drive by there all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hat Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I remember a local independent video store in my old neighborhood rented atari games (northwest burbs of chicago). My dad never let me rent anything though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 We're talking '81-84 range, so if you were active then, you missed out in your own backyard! The store was on 436, kinda between 427 and 17-92. I live in Longwood now, and drive by there all the time. Well, I was 10-13 at that time, so the only getting around I did was via my bicycle. We lived off of Palm Springs Drive on Ridgewood St. about 2 miles from the Altamonte Mall. I did get busted for riding up there once. Ah, memories... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Wow, this is going to be my first post here, and I actually get to add something of value (I hope)... There were not one but two locations that rented 2600 games during the heyday here in the Orlando area. Waaaaay before there was a Blockbuster. The first one was a video store that also did VHS stuff, and the other was Video Game World, which as you can guess from the name only dealt in game consoles. I got one of the very first ColecoVision systems in town from them, but that's a story for another post... I can't begin to recall what the cost was, or how long you could keep them for (I was 11 at the time, and stuff like that wasn't really important). I just know the drive to get to Video Game World felt like forever, since we had to go from south Orlando all the way to Altamonte Springs - about 30 minutes one way, an eternity at that age. And with that, Disco Scottie had accidentally introduced himself to AtariAge... Welcome to the boards, Disco Scottie! I never knew that 2600 stuff could be rented. All I saw in my area was NES stuff back in the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamerz Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I did know of a couple places back then that rented Atari games...most video stores didnt rent games until Nintendo NES was out, then everyone rented games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Scottie Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Well, I was 10-13 at that time, so the only getting around I did was via my bicycle. We lived off of Palm Springs Drive on Ridgewood St. about 2 miles from the Altamonte Mall. I did get busted for riding up there once. Ah, memories... Yeah, I know where Ridgewood is... your parents should be ashamed! My mom drove me all the way from south of downtown Orlando to get up there. They wouldn't take you down the street?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 There were no Blockbusters around me when the Atari was popular, but I do remember a video store named Video Ranger that did indeed rent out Atari 2600 and 5200 games in the early to mid 80s. There was a chain video store around me that was in direct competition with Blockbuster when Blockbuster first emerged, who's name escapes me that rented Atari games for short while as well. I think it's name was RKO Video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ussexplorer Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 In a town about 20 miles away from my parents lived after they moved. Was a appliance store. They sold Televisions and rented movies. I remeber going in their and seeing vhs, beta and laser discs. I remeber the store was at least half beta and half vhs. My parents purchased their first color tv their. Over the years the store turned into just an appliance store now is a rentel place. They use to repair televisions and stuff. Up until about 5 years ago they still had pictures on the glass showing beta/vhs/laserdisc and oneday when I drove by they was removing the sign to change it over the the rental place and you could still see the highlights of the old sign faded into the store. Betamax, vhs, laser disc and a few other things. laters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Long before Blockbuster or any chain video rental places were around (In VA anyways) there was an independant video store near my house (One of only 2 in the area) that did rent and sell video games. It was $5 for 3 days. The only 2 titles I can remember renting were Space Cavern and Q*Bert. I also remember this store had a poster advertising Custers Revenge. Probably had it behind the counter so the kiddies wouldn't get their dirty little hands on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari-dj Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Well I can remember the atari 2600 games being available for rent back in 1984 certainly in my area of the UK anyway. I used to walk to the store, during my lunck break at school, to see what game(s) I could play during the evening - I used to do this about twice per week. Games then used to cost a whole £0.50p per evening. Can't remember the store name but it used to rent video's also and at one point they moved all the atari 2600 tittles out of the video store and into it's own shop.. Our very own atari 2600 renting store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Not a store but back when I lived in Jackson, Michigan the county library used to loan out 2600 games along with VHS tapes. I remember borrowing Laser Blast, Fishing, Boxing, Haunted House and others from the library. Both the games and VHS tapes were VERY popular and you often had to get your name on a reserve list to be able to get a new release. Don't think there were any Blockbusters or anything like that around back then, at least in Jackson. Only rental places were just a few "Mom & Pop" stores. I do know that when the Video Disks (by RCA) came out that there were quite a few stores renting those things out. I almost bought one of those machines since they made owning movies CHEAP compared to the cost of VHS tapes. Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassidy Nolen Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 In my area there were not games available for rent until NES. I used to spend the summers in Dallas (Irving to be exact) and there was a library I used to go to that rented games. The only one I can recall was Haunted House, but I know there were others. They were in Ziploc bags with the manual and some official library looking stickers all over the bags. As a side note, I do recall our library having movies. The only place to get rental films was a place called Erols. They had a lifetime membership for like 800 bucks, and then movies were rented for like 5 bucks a night. No kidding on those numbers. I can recall in High School (88) how amazing it was that I got a membership for FREE! (every once in a while while thrifting, I find an old red foam lined box for a VHS from that place). They got out of movies and games when Blockbuster and Hollywood Video came around. Cassidy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolenta Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 When did renting VHS movies become popular? Mid to late 80's? It might of missed the glory days of the Atari 2600. Renting tapes (VHS & Beta) became popular in the late 70's because at that time new pre-recorded movies cost $100! (For trivia fans, the first 'cheap' tape was Top Gun and it made history because it was under $20). Renting videogames bcame popular with the NES. Nintendo tried to stop it but the only thing they could do was sue the rental outlets for copyright violations because they photocopied the instruction manuals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeybastard Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I can't remember anybody renting VCS games but my local library let you borrow them for a week That was really great for me because my family could only afford like 2 games a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I remember a store that rented NES games AND 2600 games. This was some time in 1986 or so. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian M Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Growing up in New England during the 1980's, there were no Atari cart rental places anywhere near me. Damn shame too...I would have had the opportunity to sample more games that way. Game rentals took off in my area with the release of the NES. The Jaguar could be found in certain area Blockbusters when it was released, but I never once saw them renting out 2600, 5200, 7800 or Lynx games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bivotar Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Here in Omaha, NE there was at least one video store that rented 2600 games. It was called Applause Video, which later was swallowed up by Blockbuster. I recall renting Asteroids when it came out. I think it was a multiple day rental, maybe up to a week. I remember playing the crap out of it before we had to take it back. Applause also carried NES games for rent, once the NES came out. It used to be a great way to "try before you buy", as it is today with the new console games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I lived in Lake Wales/Winter Haven since 1983 or so. man .. there sure are several thrift stores within a block of the old McDonalds in Winter Haven. Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.