Ivan A Nguyen
Member
I was going to recommend these guys. They visit retro gaming spots all over texas in their first season then branch out to the US and Canada in their other seasons.
Game Chasers
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Texas is full of retro gaming shops. do other states have them?
- Thread starter Krejlooc
- Start date
I was going to recommend these guys. They visit retro gaming spots all over texas in their first season then branch out to the US and Canada in their other seasons.
Game Chasers
Makoto Yuki
Banned
RoryDropkick
Member
It really seems like it, I've worked at 3 different independent game stores here in SA, Game World back in '99, Gamefellas around '01, and I worked recently at Game Over from 2012 until May of last year.
Oh nice. There's one located right near me in DFW and only 11 minutes away.
styl3s
Member
Mckays is the only decent place and they pretty much charge amazon prices. I will at least give them credit for not charging the highest prices like Packards which is a fucking joke ran by shit heads who not only charge high buyout prices they openly buy stolen goods without checking ID.
And when i say they openly buy i mean they have been fined 3 times for not ID'ing people trading in stuff which is a law here.
And when i say they openly buy i mean they have been fined 3 times for not ID'ing people trading in stuff which is a law here.
Seraph_Nicholas
Member
They totally vanished for a decade, but two have opened in Bremerton, Washington in just the last few years. One of which is run by a true enthusiast who has an encyclopedic knowledge of his product, including repairs and reasonably priced 'collection bundles'. Every time I go in there I eyeball the Suikoden shelf, but I don't have the several hundred he's asking.
The other is a guy with too much disposable income who's marked his personal collection at ludicrous rates and fleshed out his shelves with several hundred copies of Mario Paint, without accessories.
There's also Pink Gorilla in Seattle, they specialize in extreme rarities and imports.When I say extreme rarity, I mean, like, sealed LE Saturns, 64s, sealed Panzer Dragoon Saga ($799, I think), and so on.
The other is a guy with too much disposable income who's marked his personal collection at ludicrous rates and fleshed out his shelves with several hundred copies of Mario Paint, without accessories.
There's also Pink Gorilla in Seattle, they specialize in extreme rarities and imports.When I say extreme rarity, I mean, like, sealed LE Saturns, 64s, sealed Panzer Dragoon Saga ($799, I think), and so on.
I live in the western Philly burbs. We used to have a Play n Trade but it closed a couple of years ago. It was pretty expensive from what I remember.
There are two decent retro game stores still in the area. J Street games is in the King of Prussia mall, and I think they have a store in the city as well. They have a decent selection and fair prices, and they have stores in MA as well and are all connected, so if they have a game you're looking for at any of their locations they'll ship it to you.
There's Classic Game Junkie in Glenside. The folks who run that store are nice, great selection and they even do console repairs. Prices are very fair, I've picked up a few gems there which would have cost me $20 more on Ebay.
And at the Quakertown Farmer's Market, Video Bonanza. They get some good stock in but it's pretty broken in most of the time. Not really collector grade but good if you don't want to pay crazy prices for a near mint in box.
But the best thing about Philly is in a pinch I can run up to NYC and hit up Video Games New York. That place makes me feel like I've died and gone to heaven.
There are two decent retro game stores still in the area. J Street games is in the King of Prussia mall, and I think they have a store in the city as well. They have a decent selection and fair prices, and they have stores in MA as well and are all connected, so if they have a game you're looking for at any of their locations they'll ship it to you.
There's Classic Game Junkie in Glenside. The folks who run that store are nice, great selection and they even do console repairs. Prices are very fair, I've picked up a few gems there which would have cost me $20 more on Ebay.
And at the Quakertown Farmer's Market, Video Bonanza. They get some good stock in but it's pretty broken in most of the time. Not really collector grade but good if you don't want to pay crazy prices for a near mint in box.
But the best thing about Philly is in a pinch I can run up to NYC and hit up Video Games New York. That place makes me feel like I've died and gone to heaven.
Badlucktroll
Member
quite a few in the area of michigan i live in.
Also in VA.
The major chain retro game shop have all been closed down here... it was called ReplayGames, it had a lot of cheap awesome stuff. I got a red opaque Dreamcast controller there and a blue opaque VMU for $2 total.
I just found out towards the end of last year though there are many smaller retro gaming shops here, and one is less than 10 minute walk from where I live and I've bought a lot of things there. Got a PS2 and 20 games for $39. I then bought a PSP for 35$, since it has a crack on the glass... I bought the PSP games, Crisis Core:Final Fantasy VII, Need for Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0, Little Big Planet, Daxter, LocoRoco, and Rachet and Clank Size Matters, for about $18 total. None of them had cases or manuals though... :/
The shop is called TheTechExhange. They have on in Richmond as well.
There are also several shops in Happy's Flea Market, one is called "The Record Shop" the other is called "Electronic Expo" there are others but I forget the name of them.
Gucci Messiah
Banned
Central Ohio has a few but most are being run out of business by Gamestop. Just last month this place by my house closed due to not being able to compete with giant chain stores.
Zen_Arcade
Banned
That's part of why I enjoy it. I like finding games at good deals by chance. Part of the reason I enjoy collecting is the hunt. There is no hunt online for most stuff. I understand why some people would rather just find it really quick and pay for it though.These shops only sell what gamers sell to them. it is entirely a second hand market obvioisly which is something you can gauge in so many different ways. i have better success finding games i want in b/s/t thread than I do at game over
Oddly enough, my city has two retro/independent game stores. One is a local outfit that actually doubles as a tabletop gaming store. The other is a Game X Change that opened just two months ago! We also have two GameStops, but they are not in the same general area as either store.
In... Friendswood? That's not really Houston...
ArkkAngel007
Member
On Rt. 6 in Hobart, IN, there's a place called Video Palace. Lots of stuff there and knowledgeable staff. Wish there was someplace like that around Wilmington in NC.
In NC I expect anything like what OP is talking about as well as decent resale shops are in Raleigh.
jhmtehgamr20xx
Banned
We've got one in Chesapeake, VA that I know of.
That's it.
There might be more. Don't feel the need to go there since, well, eBay.
That's it.
There might be more. Don't feel the need to go there since, well, eBay.
enoki
Member
Movie Trading Company, Game Over, CGX, and Entertainmart.
Bog
Junior Ace
CGJ is the best one around here by far. They just opened another store in Westchester recently, too. The owners are really nice people.
There's also one in Bristol called Game Zombie, but it's a bit of a mess.
Crash Station
Member
There was one within walking distance from my house, but the guys that owned it got evicted, so yeah....
That is a good deal. Great job!
I got Super Smash Bros. 64, Majora's Mask Collectors Edition, Yoshi's Story and Conker Live and Reloaded for $65 at a Flea Market.
The deals exist, it's just very rare, but I've had much better luck personally at Pawn Shops compared to Flea Markets and Mom & Pop stores.
I am mad jealous of the Conker 64 in box for $50 though.
SystemUser
Member
That is a good deal. Great job!
I got Super Smash Bros. 64, Majora's Mask Collectors Edition, Yoshi's Story and Conker Live and Reloaded for $65 at a Flea Market.
The deals exist, it's just very rare, but I've had much better luck personally at Pawn Shops compared to Flea Markets and Mom & Pop stores.
I am mad jealous of the Conker 64 in box for $50 though.
I wish I could see the future. I bought Conker new at EB for $3. They were trying to get rid of them. There was at least 10 more on the shelf.
AlimNassor
Banned
I have one near me too. It's just a crappier gamestop.
If most people knew, that game wouldn't be as overpriced as it is now. It'd just be another N64 game worth owning and it'd be a million copy seller, etc etc. Would not be "rare" like today. Things would be very different.
Fox Mulder
Member
If most people knew, that game wouldn't be as overpriced as it is now. It'd just be another N64 game worth owning and it'd be a million copy seller, etc etc. Would not be "rare" like today. Things would be very different.
it still would have been sought after the same. Mario 64 is the best selling n64 game and still goes for around $25, Mario Kart 64 is like $40.
Where at? There were some solid ones in columbia iirc
notworksafe
Member
Two here in Albuquerque, Gamers Anonymous and Super Gamers Anonymous. They're both awesome spots and Super GA hosts awesome gaming events almost every week. Pokemon battles, Smash tourneys and soon Fighting Game events too. Both are cool spots.
Rochester NY has these http://rocwiki.org/Game_Craze.
The retro stuff cycles so quickly that you need to check in often if you want to get the good stuff (I got lucky and found Super Mario All-Stars once).
I wonder if other places just end up with 99% old sports games like these, though. The SNES selection is like a graveyard of Madden and NBA games.
The retro stuff cycles so quickly that you need to check in often if you want to get the good stuff (I got lucky and found Super Mario All-Stars once).
I wonder if other places just end up with 99% old sports games like these, though. The SNES selection is like a graveyard of Madden and NBA games.
I live in the Central Valley of California. Don't know of any dedicated retro game shops. I know of one in Fresno called BRE Software that's been around forever but they have an absolute shit selection of retro games and it just mostly random if they even have any on any day.
Anyone know of any around here? I'd really like to know. Thrift stores are super barren of any electronics too. I was lucky to see a cheap PoS keyboard in one store.
How about in the East Bay near Concord or Martinez? I visit family up there once in a while and I'd like to stop by a place and pick up some games if I could.
Anyone know of any around here? I'd really like to know. Thrift stores are super barren of any electronics too. I was lucky to see a cheap PoS keyboard in one store.
How about in the East Bay near Concord or Martinez? I visit family up there once in a while and I'd like to stop by a place and pick up some games if I could.
GKSilKamina
Member
There are a couple that I know of in the central Florida area.
Out in the Orlando area:
Gamers Inc., near the Waterford Lakes shopping area. Pretty good selection and prices.
Cybertron Games, down near Full Sail University. I only went there once and their selection was alright at best (employees are super nice, though).
Play N' Trade...but it was pretty awful.
Hobby Spot is primarily an old collectibles place (Disney, Star Wars, etc) but has a small game collection.
Down towards the Tampa area:
R.U. Game?. They're alright. Got a lot of old imported Famicom/Super Famicom games.
Sound Exchange is primarily retro music, but they usually have a decent game selection too.
Out in the Orlando area:
Gamers Inc., near the Waterford Lakes shopping area. Pretty good selection and prices.
Cybertron Games, down near Full Sail University. I only went there once and their selection was alright at best (employees are super nice, though).
Play N' Trade...but it was pretty awful.
Hobby Spot is primarily an old collectibles place (Disney, Star Wars, etc) but has a small game collection.
Down towards the Tampa area:
R.U. Game?. They're alright. Got a lot of old imported Famicom/Super Famicom games.
Sound Exchange is primarily retro music, but they usually have a decent game selection too.
Rapscallion
Member
Austin has some great retro video game stores, went to a few when I was there for a week.
There's a few decent one's in the CA bay area:
Alameda Video Game exchange
Phoenix Games in Concord
Phoenix Games > AVGE
Still, not as crazy as the one's I've seen in Austin and New York.
EDIT: There's one in Hayward too called Games & Electronics. Forgot about it. It was alright.
If you find yourself in Concord, you may as well check out Phoenix Games. You won't be blown away, but you may find some good games.
There's a few decent one's in the CA bay area:
Alameda Video Game exchange
Phoenix Games in Concord
Phoenix Games > AVGE
Still, not as crazy as the one's I've seen in Austin and New York.
EDIT: There's one in Hayward too called Games & Electronics. Forgot about it. It was alright.
If you find yourself in Concord, you may as well check out Phoenix Games. You won't be blown away, but you may find some good games.
Chezzymann
Member
Are you sure about that? At least the one near me sells a bunch of PS2, Xbox, NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, gameboy, and game gear games. Not to mention they have all of those consoles in stock along with some accessories. Sure they have modern games too but its not like they only have recent games like Gamestop does.
CrAzY FiNgErS
Member
I live in the Cincinnati area and we have Game Swap and Games Galore, and though it's not a mom and pop store we also have a Play N Trade store which sell current and retro games as well. You can also find retro stuff at Traders World and Ceasers Creek Flea Markets.
EdwardTeach
Member
I am not aware of any specialist 2nd hand game retailers in the UK as in that is all they do. I am amazed that you have so many in the states. I think it must be because real estate and therefore business leases are far more expensive in the UK, and this kind of business wouldn't be viable.
Perfect! One place is better than no place. I'm saving Phoenix Games and AVGE. I was in concord yesterday. Wish I would have asked then
Superblatt
Member
Anything in or close to Pittsburgh? I travel there quite often for work.
Brilliant Disaster
Member
Love living in Austin, so many places to shop. GameOver, PlaynTrade, Gamersz Galaxy, Apollo Games.
And we have the Classic Game Fest.
Coupled with all the good food and music it makes Austin the best place.
Wait....this place sucks.....don't move here.
And we have the Classic Game Fest.
Coupled with all the good food and music it makes Austin the best place.
Wait....this place sucks.....don't move here.
Superblatt
Member
Don't forget People Play Games in Lakeview. By far and away the best in the metro area, albeit pricey.
Bogard
Member
In the Ohio/Kentucky/West Virgina tri-state area here. Not a lot to be found except a few scattered small retro shops and flea markets or garage sales. I think one indoor flea market near me in Kentucky has about 2 or 3 retro shops.
Only big city remotely close is Hungtington, WV and I can't even go there.
Only big city remotely close is Hungtington, WV and I can't even go there.
doctorblurg
Banned
It's not just the major cities either, my hometown of 30,000 has one. They've showed up about four years ago and they seem to be doing great. It feels like these shops weren't really popping up a lot until a few years ago
CrAzY FiNgErS
Member
eStarland is just so awesome for buying online. I just bought Timesplitters 2 for Gamecube in near mint condition for $14.99. I have ordered through them for years without issue. There prices for most games seem very reasonable. If you create an account there you can put games on your want list and when it becomes available they will notify you.
CrAzY FiNgErS
Member
Lol that's a heck of a combination. Also in Dayton Ohio near University of Dayton is a place called Second Time Around. They sell music, movies, videogames and consoles from retro to current.