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The blue-and-yellow torn-ticket empire where Friday nights meant wandering the new-release wall, hoping the big movie wasn't rented out, and dreading the late fees. At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster dominated home entertainment with 9,094 stores worldwide—until Netflix and streaming dismantled the whole business model.
The video rental chain that played Blockbuster's biggest shadow competitor, with blue-and-gold membership cards that lived in junk drawers nationwide. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Oregon, it grew into a national Blockbuster rival — and gave gamers GameCrazy, the buy-sell-trade store-within-a-store. It was the other card to carry, the place that often had the tape you needed when Blockbuster was cleaned out.