We all knew that this was bound to happen. Blockbuster has announced plans to close between 810 - 960 stores by the end of 2010. That's up from a past report stating they wanted to close 380-425 stores. Blockbuster is trying to recover from the blows it's been feeling from Netflix, Redbox and cable on-demand services. Add to that the Sony Playstation3 and iTunes video rentals and it's no wonder they are having trouble. Netflix is a great service that is very reliable (I have it...my patents have it and love it) with reliability on it's side. You have so many movies to browse from the comfort of your home...and all you need to do is click a button and map out your list of movies. However...Blockbuster does have a similar 'mail' option. It might be 'too little, too late' though. The good thing is that they might be offering some sweet deals soon to gain new members. I found this one for a free trial of the service:


It's sad to think that video rental stores might be way of the Dodo Bird. But, a trip to Blockbuster is always a must for those collage movie parties, theme parties and even your kids' sleepovers. Actually...some movies can be found on DVD at such a low price...why rent when you can buy (see www.DVDTVSource.com ).

I think the best option for Blockbuster would have been to sell to BestBuy. BestBuy could have a Blockbuster section in their existing stores...making it a one stop entertainment shop. That deal fell through earlier this year, which is one of the reasons Blockbuster has to close stores. If they end up closing 960 stores...that would be about 20 percent of their 4,365 US stores....stinks that we'll be seeing some empty stores next year.