3 Day Rentals
In a world where the public sphere continues to shrink, the library remains steadfast. “Come in,” it whispers. “We have air conditioning."
You walk in the door with one of the year’s hottest new releases. You grab a few snacks, some water, and plop on the couch. Finally, you are ready to play the newest Final Fantasy game on PlayStation. If you’re a gamer of a certain age, this will sound familiar, recalling trips to Blockbuster or another video store on Friday nights in grade school. But in this scenario, we aren’t talking about 1996. It’s 2024 and your favorite video store is gone, probably replaced with a dispensary. No, we’re talking about renting video games - and much more - from the library.
90s kids remember renting games. You’d check something out, sight mostly unseen, relying on scant word of mouth or the box art. Sure, everyone played a Super Mario, but it was a real one who knew about Earthbound. I owe my particular introduction to the genre to a video store - this one, an odd little strip in the corner of my local Kroger. Sandwiched between the liquor aisle and a bank, this ugly strip of about 9 square feet led me to Chrono Trigger. In a hurry to get home, my mom suggested the game to me - because she liked the box art.
A generation or two ago, people lived to hit the video store. Millions of Americans spent their Friday nights renting a movie or a game - or both - choosing between a 1, 3, or 5 night rental. Picking out some microwave popcorn and Swedish Fish, anyone? The SNES era was the best kind of chaos, too, with the save data store on the physical cart. Haven't finished Super Mario RPG yet? Better hope you come back to get it before someone else rents it - and saves over your file.
On the other hand, there was always something special about booting up a game and checking out the save files left behind. You could load your predecessor’s game, checking out their party preferences and builds for a preview of the future or even a comparison against what you were up to.
Before the arrival of Blockbuster Video - the Netflix of home video rentals, if you will - in 1986, video stores were typically individually run stores with little fanfare, and maybe some porn in the back. Blockbuster continued to grow, reaching nearly 6,000 locations across the United States in 2005. Living in Michigan, I was also privy to a handful of Family Video stores with their iconic design.
But then Netflix happened - first, via disc until launching into streaming a few years later. Suddenly, driving to the video store no longer seemed appetizing when Reed Hastings was bringing the video store into your living room. Even gamers were brought into the fold, with GameFly offering games through the mail. Pretty soon, Blockbuster and its cohort lost their allure and slowly faded away. Now those once hallowed grounds of commercial space have been repurposed, living new lives as a physical therapy office or hair salon. A true loss for culture.
While there once may have been an exotic allure to a monthly subscription allowing one to consume as much content as they can consume especially in lieu of paying per night for specific movies, consumers are now over-subbed. People are awash in price hikes, new subscription tiers, and worse. That’s why your local library is the perfect antidote to the mid-summer streaming doldrum - especially since it’s free. And wonderful.
Libraries are oddly one of the few public functions that seems savvy enough to keep up with technology and culture. My library has way more than just conference rooms, toddler play time, and computer access. It has free 3D printing, incredible multi-media collections, board games, puppets, and more. You name it, and my library - and probably (hopefully) yours - has it. Hell, you don’t even have to physically live or be present to secure access to online databases and other resources. And did you know most libraries have gotten rid of late fees? Simply an incredible third space for all members of the community who are able to find commonality with others but also things to tickle their individual interests.
It is such a shame libraries don’t get the love they deserve, especially lately. Rather, it seems the institutions itself is under attack from multiple fronts. There is a documented and significant increase in attempts to ban books in public and school libraries, with groups like Moms For Liberty orchestrating large scale efforts to ban specific books across the country. Some states have imposed draconian laws that impose civil - or even criminal - sanctions for those who could disseminate materials that were arguably sensitive. School board meetings are infiltrated by boisterous residents decrying the availability of books like the Kite Runner or Judy Blume in public school libraries - even when they don’t even have kids in the district (if at all). Instead they purport to be doing it as an exercise of their rights as a taxpayer. No wonder librarians are quitting the jobs they love. Remember when the biggest issues facing the library were budget cuts? Don’t worry, they still have those to contend with, too.
When I moved in 2018, I was excited to check out my new library. I wasn’t exactly an active patron of my former library, but once I started having children, it became a hot spot. Before long, I was signing up for toddler dance classes, science shows, petting zoos, and more. I was hopeful the new library would have similar offerings.
I walked in and eyed a large tower of Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 games. Not just mainstream games, but I found major RPGs, niche virtual novels, and a smattering of titles from nearly every genre. PlayStation, Microsoft, and Nintendo consoles were well represented, even boasting a healthy collection of games for the first Wii.
It’s here I played Ys VIII, my introduction to the series. When I was curious about a new game or a niche title, I could simply borrow it from my library. New games are quickly added into the rotation, with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and other new releases quickly establishing a waitlist. Don’t see the game you want? They probably have a request form. Blockbuster may be long dead, but your local library is here to serve. You should really join your library.
I am here to preach the gospel of the librarian. Do you know if your local lib carries games? Most of the time when I tell a friend, they are surprised. Reddit is full of posters surprised to find a PS5 game sitting in the stacks. This new-ish frontier has been a long time coming: New York Public Libraries were hosting video game parties and events as early as 2007. The University of Michigan has a Computer and Video Game Archive, archiving and making available a wide range of games, consoles, and board games from as early as the 1970s. Even without regard to game preservation and history, from a less esoteric perspective there is ample reason for libraries to carry games, especially as video gaming represents a larger section of the general population: As of 2013, nearly three quarters of American households have gaming systems, with the average age of a gamer being 37.
Not every game is appropriate for every gamer or patron. There’s plenty of objectionable content in your local library - that’s kind of the point: not everything on this planet is made for you. Yet video games are a part of modern life. Libraries should be commended for embracing and incorporating them into their offerings to the general public.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a Blockbuster video; ages since I had to check for a box-behind-a-box to discern if a movie was available or if a stranger had just left with the last copy. But I’m still able to rent physical games in 2024, for free, and it’s all because of my local library. Your tax dollars, finally at work for you.