Retro Game Store Directory & Nominate Your Favorite Stores
Even though retro-styled games are making a comeback of sorts, important establishments that are part of retro gaming culture such as arcades and stores that stock retro games and gear are still on the decline. Since these establishments are becoming such a rarity, we need to keep retro gamers educated where existing places are located and make sure they are supported sufficiently.
We just started taking nominations for the best remaining arcades in the world, but for this post, I wanted to highlight our community’s effort to document all the game stores that sell retro games. RB Forum member, lisalover1 started our Retro Game Store Directory over a year ago and other forum members have shared the names and locations of their local shops to be added to the directory. We now have hundreds of stores from around the world listed. (If your local shop is missing, please post in the forum thread)
In addition to rounding out the Retro Game Store Directory, I wanted to take nominations for the very best of these Retro Stores so we can build a Best-Of list and I can try to set up tours and/or interviews with the top selections.
So, if you have a retro game store that you think is especially impressive, please post your recommendations in the comments below. Please include some reasoning for your selection (what makes the store so special). If you have links to photos and/or video of the store, please share those as well.
If you’d like to see some examples of what I think is important in a good retro game store (and my two personal nominations), check out these two reviews.
I look forward to seeing your nominations – thanks for your help!
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GamePlay – Los Angeles (Culver City)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/game-play-los-angeles#hrid:t9_sRYBPDU2EicHLMO06aA/src:self
The works here are really nice, very friendly and a gamer, and reasonable prices
A & J Games – Los Angeles (Culver City)
I nominate this place for their selection, great selection, but overpriced and workers are either distracted teens or a mean owner.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/a-and-j-games-los-angeles#hrid:X-6d7UZJ3fTMFRJUa7xHVQ/src:self
I think Digital Press is a great store with a great site: http://www.digitpress.com
They host multiple guides on their site and they have a monthly meetup : http://www.digitpress.com/nava/
Destiny Games in Canton is a awesome place to go in the area for games. They go all the way back to the atari 2600. People that work there know what they are talking about and will help you find anything your looking for.
Universal Collectibles in Germantown, WI is a good store for gaming in general, from Atari to the Wii. Hours are decent, and the owner cleans/shrinkwraps all the games so they stay in good condition. Slightly pricier, but it’s worth it. Also goes to lots of conventions, like MGC.
Play It, Trade It in Columbus, OH. Small chain of stores in Columbus, there’s three now and will be a fourth soon. They have a nice selection, good staff who are knowledgeable and helpful. They will ship games between stores and are very cheap compared to a lot of places that I have been to.
People Play Games in Chicago IL is probably the best retro game store in the Chicagoland area. It is a little bit better than the other one I know of (Videogames Then and Now) in terms of game selection. They have a great selection of games of all sorts of systems pre current stuff. Worth checking out if you are in the area.
I agree with People Play Games in Chicago. It’s an awesome store. Very well organized with good prices.
“La Planque Jeux Vidéos” in Quebec City in Quebec, Canada. I think it opened two years ago!
Pictures of the store can be seen on their Facebook page (along with all the info), it’s a nice place, well lighted (I say this because I find this unusual among retro stores I’ve been!) and they organize events from time to time, they’re lucky to be in a video game-ish part of the town, with video game schools right in front of them and lots of developers around : http://fr-fr.facebook.com/pages/La-Planque-Jeux-Vid%C3%A9o/135458652914
Pastime Legends in Albany, NY ( one of their 2 locations ) is a great store full of very friendly and knowledgeable employees. They give the maximum amount for trade-ins and have EVERY vintage/retro system.
http://www.pastimelegendsvideogames.com/
There’s a shop in South Jersey called Next Level Videogames. Their website does not do them justice:
http://www.nlvideogames.com/
They have a very knowledgeable staff on hand. They carry a little bit of everything, and that includes plenty of imports. They update their facebook page often, so if they get some new vintage games in, they are quick to let everyone know! It’s great because they’re usually getting new stuff in periodically. I also have to hand it to them on their pricing. They know the market, but they never seem to jack the prices up astronomically. Often times, they will sell their games for less than eBay. I mostly see the opposite of that in other stores I check.
They’ve even hosted events like a concert with X-Hunters, a Mega Man X series metal cover band, and they have meetings with vintage collectors in the region monthly.
I’ll second Jim’s Destiny Games recommendation. It is located in Canton, Michigan, BTW. Destiny Games is the best retro game shop I’ve found in southeastern Michigan in terms of ease of browsing and overall selection. The only area they really lack in is keeping packaging in good shape, since cases and manuals are out in the open for everyone to handle. http://www.destiny-games.com/
My favorite local shop with cases and manuals in better condition is Time Travelers Comics in Berkley, Michigan. Most of their video games are in glass cases, so browsing isn’t nearly as easy as at Destiny Games, but the cases and manuals also aren’t handled to death. http://timetravelersshop.com/
Gamebusters in Granite City, IL is a great spot, great prices, a few arcade cabs are up, A ton of retro, and cool events like fight club tuesdays and warhammer wensday. Here’s the site
gamebustersvideogames.com
I’d like to 2nd the Destiny Games nomination. Amazing store, with even cooler staff.
Universal Collectibles in Germantown, WI I second that place, its decent but like Nik said it can be pricey. They have tons of stuff
Game Freaks in both Lacey and Aberdeen, WA:
They stock games from the NES to modern consoles and regularly have in rare titles. For a bit of perspective, they have pretty much all of the rare PS1 RPGs (Suikoden II included), and carry a decent selection of Saturn games as well as boxed NES, SNES, and N64 games. In fact, when the Lacey branch first opened up they had 3 copies of Panzer Dragoon Saga, 2 of them complete. Via trade-ins i bought (well, bartered) the entire Panzer Dragoon series, Guardian Heroes, and Shining Force III there all complete and in excellent condition. The prices range a bit on the expensive side for many older RPGs, but they never get outrageous, and are quite good most of the time (Panzer Dragoon Saga was $300, Shining Force III $120, Guardian Heroes $125, and Suikoden II is $140 if i remember correctly-and those are on the expensive side). I’d also mention that most of their inventory is in solid condition. They also stock systems and have a JVC X’Eye and several Saturns in stock. They also repair and customize modern consoles.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, people don’t have many options for getting retro games, as everything has either been shuttered, or turned into a Gamestop. However, the Goodwill Computer Store (http://www.goodwillsp.org/shop/computer-works) ALWAYS stocks a lot of used games, usually at a price of $2-4 for NES, as an example. They have consoles too, and everything they sell is guaranteed… if your NES game is rattling, and turns out not to work, they’ll give you your money back or let you grab something else.
Actually I live in Charlotte, and if your wiling to drive 20 minutes or so to Fort Mill SC you can go to one of the best vintage game stores I’ve ever seen. They have an awesome selection of console game AND arcade units. I’ve even been known to go down there just to play one of thier classic arcade that they restore in house and sell affordable prices! I know I sound like a commercial for them, but the place is very very good. Check them out at http://www.joesvideogames.com/
Game Over Video Games in Austin, Round Rock, and San Antonio, TX. They even have a video game museum
Hocus Pocus in Traverse City, MI has the best prices of any game store I’ve ever visited. New stuff comes in every day, and Tom, the owner, has created a fantastic atmosphere.
@Apex381 Good suggestion, hadn’t heard of them – but you said Fort Mill? Their site says Rock Hill – do they have a second location?
@Matthew Only one location for some reason I thought Fort Mill but they are in Rock Hill. If you have the time and gas money, they are well worth the drive.
The Video Game Store in Scranton is a fantastic place to buy retro games. It doesn’t have the most varied selection of consoles or video games but their prices are absolutely fantastic. All Genesis games are 3 dollars max. NES games are 2 for $5. SNES games range from 1 dollar to 5 dollars. Atari 2600 games are all 1 dollar too. N64 games can go from 2 dollars to 13 dollars with some really valuable ones being dirt-cheap.
I hate to double post (sorry about this, really). The Video Game Store is located in Scranton, PA. Once again, I apologize for the slip-up.
This retro game shop is called “Game over” and you can find it in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Europe.It’s near Central Station and it usually has many great items. So if you ever visit Amsterdam do something “different” and visit this store. It obviously has a lot of PAL games and systems but also has US, Asian and Japanese games and systems. So check it out!
Anyway I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do this but copy this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-84fKEHT0k to see what the shop looks like.
My vote goes to Video Games New York on 6th St. in Manhattan. They may be known for their prices being high, but I have found that only to be the case for mainstream titles like your Super Marios and Final Fantasies. If, on the other hand you are looking for something more hardcore, especially imports wise, they are the best.
I bought my Japanese 360 from them along with numerous impossible to find PC-Engine games for far below ebay prices.
Every time I’m in the city I stop by and end up hanging out for an hour or two; the staff is extremely knowledgeable friendly and sincere. Best store on Earth in my opinion.