Blockbuster Nearing its "End of Days"

News has broken today that movie rental giant Blockbuster is not only having a rough go of it financially, but is in danger of shutting down altogether:

The article talks specifically about some loans that are coming due. It appears though that this is just a sign of a more systemic problem within the company:

Times are bleak for the major chain. For this happy little movie nerd, however, this is a bonus. Long known for its strong arm tactics towards the mom and pop video shops in smaller communities, its nice to see the big bully on the block finally take some knocks of its own.

With the digital age upon us and a failing economy, it's worth noting that Blockbuster's ever increasing rental prices had to have played a large part in its downfall. While the convenience is nice to be able to grab a movie locally, there are new options available to give you said convenience for a fraction of the price. Red Box for $1 a day, anybody?

To finish this up, I will make brief mention that there is a history of censorship issues surrounding Blockbuster and (especially) horror releases. Most recently, fans were outraged to discover over 7 minutes of footage had been cut from "Inside", the French horror hit everyone was talking about last year. Any blow against censorship is a good thing for us horror heads out there so as far as I'm concerned, the eventual death of Blockbuster is a boon for free speech advocates everywhere.

And if I may do some shilling, if you're a user of Blockbuster's online service, it may be time to try out something new!

Source:
Blockbuster says it may not be able to continue.