Were you able to rent games as a kid?

[Luftwaffles]

I was surprised to hear that videogame companies fought tooth and nail against the ability to rent games from video and convenience stores through most of the 80s and 90s, even going to court on several accounts over stuff like coping manuals and offering non-exclusive carts for rent (and renting was downright illegal in Japan -- can you believe it?).

Personally, I never had a problem with this (and, in fact, I owe much of my love of gaming to rentals), but it's nonetheless interesting to hear that this was the case in some places.

What about you?