Official rental games

edited March 2013 in Games
Back in the day (1983ish), a video rental shop near a friend had a range of games that were made exclusively for rental customers.

We hired a couple - and they were rotten!

As I recall, the inlays and cassettes were professional looking, I think I can recall black and purple stripes, but not any of the games!

Does this ring any bells? Are they on Infoseek anywhere?

Ta!
Post edited by mickmog on

Comments

  • edited February 2013
    Am I going dotty, or did anyone else ever encounter a range of games in their video rental shop that were not available for purchase anywhere...? Please let me know it's not me losing it!
  • edited February 2013
    Errrrm....may have lost it?!
  • edited February 2013
    I did hire Spectrum games (from a local video rental shop) back in the day, but they were all 'proper' games. Stuff like 'Worse Things Happen At Sea', 'TLL', and 'Bruce Lee'.

    Did these games you mention all have the same style of packaging? Could they have been games the shop bought via mail order from some small software house (or software bedroom!)? Maybe they were taken from listings in various magazines, which might explain their crappiness.
  • fogfog
    edited February 2013
    you are maybe thinking of the "arcade" games.. I have a few I list on ebay.. so NO you aren't losing it .. you could only get them by hiring them (well at least one brand was like that) .. *BUT* I notice they also have adverts where you could buy.

    games like http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0004001


    http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekpub.cgi?regexp=^Arcade+Software$&loadpics=1

    errm there is another 1 with a rainbow logo.. someone here can say what it is... they were rental only .. can't recall the name .. I have a few of em here.
    it was a rainbow + cloud on the logo.. and did say rental only on them.
  • edited February 2013
    Gulpman wrote: »
    I did hire Spectrum games (from a local video rental shop) back in the day, but they were all 'proper' games. Stuff like 'Worse Things Happen At Sea', 'TLL', and 'Bruce Lee'.

    Did these games you mention all have the same style of packaging? Could they have been games the shop bought via mail order from some small software house (or software bedroom!)? Maybe they were taken from listings in various magazines, which might explain their crappiness.

    They were all packaged professionally and in a corporate style (I wish I could remember more). And, I was addicted to the speccie, so I knew all of the releases that were made by know companies, so they weren't repackaged well known games.

    I wonder if some business had just set up and typed in lots of listing games, they seemed basic. Wish I could remember more :cry:
  • edited February 2013
    fog wrote: »
    you are maybe thinking of the "arcade" games.. I have a few I list on ebay.. so NO you aren't losing it .. you could only get them by hiring them (well at least one brand was like that) .. *BUT* I notice they also have adverts where you could buy.

    games like http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0004001


    http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekpub.cgi?regexp=^Arcade+Software$&loadpics=1

    errm there is another 1 with a rainbow logo.. someone here can say what it is... they were rental only .. can't recall the name .. I have a few of em here.
    it was a rainbow + cloud on the logo.. and did say rental only on them.

    Many thanks. I don't think it looked quite like this, but at least I know there were rental games!
  • edited February 2013
    I used to borrow games from my local libary. They were usual box games (providing that they cam in those slightly large rubber box type boxes). I gave trying to borrow them after a few attempts though as they never seemed to work. Hypersports was the only game I can remember getting from them, but I know I tried at least 3 others without any luck :-(
  • edited February 2013
    My mate nicked Harrier Attack from the Central Library in town when I was a kid, it's the same guy who swapped me the +3 (and about 200 games) for a T-Shirt (Never get tired of telling that one :D).

    I may still have the same copy of Harrier Attack somewhere back in England, and it still has a Barcoded "Newcastle Central Library" sticker on the case :lol:
    Every night is curry night!
  • edited February 2013
    My mate nicked Harrier Attack from the Central Library in town when I was a kid, it's the same guy who swapped me the +3 (and about 200 games) for a T-Shirt (Never get tired of telling that one :D).

    I may still have the same copy of Harrier Attack somewhere back in England, and it still has a Barcoded "Newcastle Central Library" sticker on the case :lol:

    i saw the thread title , and that you had posted.

    i knew it would be about nicking something. :p
  • fogfog
    edited February 2013
    mile wrote: »
    i saw the thread title , and that you had posted.

    i knew it would be about nicking something. :p

    can't trust anyone eh? mile McBann :) (cousin of bready Mc Bread)
  • edited February 2013
    mile wrote: »
    i saw the thread title , and that you had posted.

    i knew it would be about nicking something. :p

    Oi! You'll give me a bad name :lol:

    It's just like people expect me (or the people I know) to nick stuff :D
    Every night is curry night!
  • fogfog
    edited February 2013
    I went to pick up a job lot of spectrum games a year ago.. the covers were lifted out of the shops prolly... as the inlays were fine.. + "home taping" boots c15 specials as the tapes were behind the counter out of their way, no doubt.
  • edited February 2013
    Oi! You'll give me a bad name :lol:

    It's just like people expect me (or the people I know) to nick stuff :D

    well steal it, or set it on fire. :D
  • edited February 2013
    mile wrote: »
    well steal it, or set it on fire. :D

    Not it's steal it...Then set it on fire once you get bored :D
    Every night is curry night!
  • edited February 2013
    Not it's steal it...Then set it on fire once you get bored :D

    steal it and if anyone asks any questions, set them on fire. :-)
  • edited March 2013
    mile wrote: »
    steal it and if anyone asks any questions, set them on fire. :-)

    I flicked a lit match into somebodies eye once.......Complete accident! :D
    Every night is curry night!
  • edited March 2013
    I flicked a lit match into somebodies eye once.......Complete accident! :D

    ...Though it did provide the much-needed distraction for your mate to leg it out of the central library with a copy of Harrier Attack. :-P
  • edited March 2013
    So, this ancient mystery remains unsolved......

    mickmog, maybe you need to be subjected to hypnosis in order to dredge your memory for more information.
  • fogfog
    edited March 2013
    Gulpman wrote: »
    So, this ancient mystery remains unsolved......

    mickmog, maybe you need to be subjected to hypnosis in order to dredge your memory for more information.

    yes n no.. yes there are rental games.. I found some earlier when I was looking for jetman to post :)

    http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekpub.cgi?regexp=^Wildest+Dreams$


    but not the ones he was after.
  • edited March 2013
    Gulpman wrote: »
    So, this ancient mystery remains unsolved......

    mickmog, maybe you need to be subjected to hypnosis in order to dredge your memory for more information.

    God knows what they'd discover!

    Seriously though, I knew all of the games in Boots and Smiths and was shocked to see some I'd never heard of before in a video shop - and they seemed to be printed as being for hire.

    They we awful, mind you!

    They probably are on here somewhere in the archive, but I just wondered if there was a software house known for having a rental range.

    I'd go back to the shop and ask, but it became a hairdressers, then a pet shop, then an arts shop.......
  • edited March 2013
    Blaby games who made gotcha and hirise harry, were a video shop that rented their games out
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