Remember how there used to be Blockbuster stores everywhere that threatened to put cooler, mom-and-pop video shops out of business? Well, first came DVDs, and then came the internet, and then came Netflix, and now Blockbuster parent company, Dish Network, is closing down the 300 remaining Blockbuster retail locations nationwide.

It's surprising, first off, that there are even 300 left, but there are! The company's retail operation has been in the death throes for about five years now as fewer and fewer people seek out physical discs to watch — even Netflix has been trying to push people toward streaming, though RedBox seems to be doing fine.

As MarketWatch reports, DISH plans to maintain the Blockbuster brand name via the Blockbuster @Home app, which streams content from 15 cable channels like the Hallmark Channel and Starz; the same Blockbuster @Home block of channels on DISH; and the Blockbuster On Demand subscription streaming service, which works via Blu-Ray players, laptops, etc.

Apparently there will still be a few franchised and licensed Blockbuster stores that will remain open. But we'd have to guess only temporarily.

Blockbuster's Netflix-competitive DVD-by-mail service will also get killed as of December.

DISH CEO Joseph P. Clayton said in a statement, "This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment. Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand."

If anyone still knows where there's a Blockbuster store that we can wander through nostalgically one last time, do let us know.

[MarketWatch]
[Vulture]