Featured Game Collection: Jason from Trade N Games
I get a real kick out of talking to owners of independent game stores. They always have so many interesting stories to tell, and often, cool things to show off.  During my visit to Trade N Games while in St. Louis this past summer, I was treated to lots of both.  I actually recorded about 80 minutes of footage while I was there and had a hard time cutting it down to fit it into the one Youtube clip I posted a little while ago. Because of this, I’m breaking out a couple other conversations I had – this being the first.
About Jason’s Collection
Between starting his collection years ago and opening his own game store with a great buying (pays cash) and trade-in policy, he’s been able to accumulate a large number of games from platforms of various vintages. (As surprising as it is, Jason actually avoids buying games on eBay or other places online – only buys them locally as he encounters them)
As you will see in the video, Jason is most passionate about collecting Atari 2600 titles and other older platforms that were an influence on him in his younger years. However, that hasn’t kept him from putting together near complete boxed collections of most of the popular platforms from the NES to the Genesis to the Dreamcast. His PS1 collection is massive, but he’s still on the lookout for a few elusive titles.
Since he gets quite a few trade-ins on a regular basis, he gets a lot of titles that he already has, but he will often swap in better boxes when he gets them.   This helps him build a rather pristine collection of boxes – even the old cardboard ones that seem hard enough to find in ragged condition.
Using The Collection to Write A Book
Since Jason has worked so hard at building so many near-complete collections, he’s been able to also document much of it.  His book, Classic 80s Home Video Games, covers the Atari 2600 VCS, Atari 5200 SuperSystem, Atari 7800 ProSystem , Coleco Vision, Intellivision, Odyssey-2-, and Vectrex gaming systems.  Between Jason and his co-author, Robert Wicker, they’ve been able to documents not only every games in the libraries of the featured consoles, but also photos and estimated values of the different variations.
I haven’t had time to fully review the book (and I’m not especially knowledgeable of those older platforms), but here’s a little except from From Amazon.com’s Description: “This guide takes an in-depth look at the classic consoles, games, accessories, and related merchandise manufactured between the introduction of the Atari VCS in 1977 and the great video game crash of 1984… More than 2,000 full-color photographs complement detailed listings for loose and boxed items. Consoles, cartridges, manuals, accessories, and related merchandise are listed and priced in an easy-to-use, checklist format. Products are listed by console and manufacturer for easy reference.â€
I also recommend checking out some of the reviews on Amazon’s page as well.  While there are some complaints mentioned in there, so are also some supportive rebuttals.  At the inexpensive price, it’s hard to deny that the book is a worthwhile resource for anyone interested in collecting those platforms.
What Else Would You Like To Know?
Because Jason’s store and collection are both so impressive, I’m sure I’ll be following up with him sooner rather than later (either in a video or perhaps the podcast).  So, I thought I would ask the Racketboy community to pitch in potential questions to ask him next time we’re talking games.
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I have a question: how does his personal game room effect his business when he is keeping all the best stuff for himself when customers trade it in, rather than putting it up for sale?
Well, the bulk of his collection was put together before opening the store. The trade-ins have just helped polish it up…
Hi my name is David Carrington AKA Moggiecatmog from Nottingham England.I would like to know? In the game collection he has does he have some old period tv,s which to play them on as many game collectors miss this out.Like old black and white and color crt,s to play lightgun games on.
Jason, LMK what game you’re missing for the DC, and if I have it, it’s yours, shipped gratis.
That is a massive collection. I’d be interested to know- 1: What is his most outrageous story concerning aquiring games, and 2: How much is the estimated value of his collection?
Obviously, he focuses his attention on collecting video games. But how often does he still play them – and what are some of his all-time personal favorites?
Hi everyone Jason here. I Love my vintage games the most. I Play atari 2600 all the time. I can go Insane on a good game of Kaboom. I grew up playing atari 2600 and friends had Coleco and Intellivision systemes. Played and beat many Master Systems games back when it was out. I still play a lot of games. Level 40 sniper on PS3 MAG. Very good at Halo still and love racing games on my 360. Big voids from my collection are Saturn and 3do just never really interested me. Hint; Ebay has been my friend for finishing off my Genesis collection. Its amazing how hard a few games are to find for genesis. But most of the bulk of collection has come from other collectors doing trades and some very lucky scores in years gone by.
Do you think there is any way he would give a discount to Racketboy members? For his website? I saw a couple of items that grabbed my interest.
I’d get lost in there for a little bit, clean collection.
That is an amazing collection. Really neat and well ordered. I have a few questions for Jason:- If he was to start collecting for a any system, he doesnt already own, what would it be? Is the PS1 collection American NTSC or a worldwide, PAL + NTSC + JapNTSC collection?
http://www.Tradengames.com has our annual holiday sale going right now for the best deals of the year. 10% off used games and free shipping.
And I only collect NTSC PS1 games. I think I need about 50 PS1 games to finish it up. My next collection might be 3do or Saturn.