The Rise and Fall of Blockbuster|百视达的美丽与哀愁

The Rise and Fall of Blockbuster

by Daniel Howard

The rise and fall of video rental could be seen in a single company.

　　Blockbuster Video started as a single store in Dallas, Texas in 1985. By 1994, it was a multi-billion-dollar company, renting out movies and video games all over the world. Then in 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy.

　　Blockbuster's success and failure were both based on rapidly changing technology. In the beginning, the company did brisk business renting out VHS video cassettes. This was the first technology that made it practical for people to watch movies in the comfort of their own homes. The simultaneous invention of video game consoles added another home entertainment option, but VHS tapes and game cartridges were expensive to buy. In 1987, Blockbuster won a lawsuit against Nintendo to be allowed to rent out their game cartridges. Between videos and video games, the company's business boomed, even after VHS cassettes transitioned to DVDs and video game systems changed. It was able to open more stores around the world and even acquired other video rental companies as it expanded.

　　In the early 2000s, Blockbuster started having problems. As the Internet grew more sophisticated, people started downloading and streaming movies. Many games became so complicated that simply renting them for a few days was not enough. In what is probably its biggest mistake, Blockbuster passed on purchasing Netflix, an online service allowing customers to watch TV shows and movies for a membership fee. Without the additional revenues Netflix may have offered, Blockbuster couldn't compete any longer. Now, Netflix is on top and trying to change the way TV shows and Hollywood movies are watched. Technology was the basis of Blockbuster's original successful business model, but technological change was its downfall as well.

 

百视达的美丽与哀愁

录像带出租业的兴衰可以在一家公司的身上一览无遗。

　　百视达录像带公司在 1985 年于美国德州的达拉斯创立时只有一家店。到了 1994 年，它成了一家资本额数十亿美元的公司，在世界各地出租影片及电玩游戏。而 2010 年，百视达向法院声请破产。

　　百视达的成功和失败都是由于日新月异的科技。一开始，该公司从事的是当时相当繁荣的 VHS 录像带出租业务。这是最早让人们实现在自己家中舒舒服服地看电影梦想的科技。同时期发明的电玩游戏机则是另一项可供人们选择的家庭娱乐设施，但 VHS 录像带和电玩卡带都所费不赀。1987 年，百视达赢得了和任天堂公司之间的一场官司，并获准出租该公司的电玩卡带。百视达的录像带和电玩卡带出租业务相当蓬勃地发展，即使在 VHS 录像带转变为 DVD，电玩系统也有所改变之后还是如此。在该公司扩展规模的过程中，它有能力在世界各地开设更多的分店，甚至买下其他的录像带出租公司。

　　二十一世纪初期，百视达却开始产生了问题。由于网际网络的高度发展，人们开始下载并在在线观看影片。且许多游戏变得相当复杂，因此光是租个几天已经不够了。而百视达错过了买下 Netflix 这家让客户可以透过缴交会员费用来观赏电视节目及电影的公司，这或许是百视达所犯的最大错误。少了 Netflix 可能可以提供的额外收入，百视达再也无力和其他公司竞争。现今，Netflix 已是市场龙头，并试着要改变人们收看电视节目及好莱坞电影的方式。科技是百视达最初成功商业模式的基础，但科技的变迁却也造成了该公司的没落。