In a long overdue move Blockbuster has announced that now video games will have a New Release section as movies have always enjoyed. Now gamers looking to rent a game at the store can quickly and easily find the new games and browse what they might look at trying out of the newest games on the market.
Even if you haven't been in a Blockbuster store in a while, you probably remember the importance of that "new release" outer wall. I know when I was a kid, before Netflix and before Xbox Live video downloads (the two ways I rent movies today), going to Blockbuster on a Friday and scanning the outer walls for anything new and exciting to bring home and watch that weekend was always a big and exciting event (surmise what you will of my social life as a child).
That's why it's a pretty big deal for gamers -- albeit not nearly as big a deal as it would have been a decade ago -- that Blockbuster Video is adding videogames to that valuable "new releases" real estate on the outer wall. During an interview I did with Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes about "GTA IV," he confirmed to me that his troubled chain is using the game to launch video games on the "new release" outer walls:
The magnitude of the "GTA IV" launch is a real springboard for us in some ways. Based on the huge expected popularity of this game, we made the decision to use it as the centerpiece for our move to the wall. This is a big event for Blockbuster. The new release wall is sacred ground for us. With the introduction of "GTA IV," we are going to launch a new release section of the wall with all three major platforms represented. We think that's going to attract a lot of people to our game offerings.
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I swear, the chain is floundering and they think this will save them?
You have to be crazy then. You know how much money they would get then...