Blockbuster Inc., the No. 1 video rental chain, will revamp more than 4,300 of its outlets in the next month to include an area dedicated to sales of video games and game equipment, the company said on Monday. The move comes at a time when the retail chains that specialize in video game hardware and software have posted record revenues and impressive growth rates, building on the game industry's sales of more than $9 billion last year. Dallas-based Blockbuster, which is controlled by media giant Viacom, is betting that it can take a bigger share of that booming market by allowing consumers a chance to buy game consoles and rent or buy the games they play, all in a single location.

"We have excellent market share in games rental (and) it becomes fairly apparent that this is a big growth opportunity for Blockbuster," said Nick Shepherd, Blockbuster's executive vice president for merchandising, in an interview. Shepherd said the new video game mini-stores will be in 90 percent of the more than 4,300 stores by Memorial Day, with the rest rolled out by mid-June.