I was lounging around Columbia Mall (Maryland) the other day waiting for the wife to get her nails done when I passed a store with a wall of... Atari 2600 cartridges?? I looked inside and there were walls of retro games... Genesis, SNES, Playstation, NES you name it.
They are called Media Bros and here is their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/MediaBrosMD/
I was really surprised to see a place like this in a major mall but I think it goes to show that retro gaming is strong as ever.
Media Bros. Retro Game Store
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VideoGameCritic
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eneuman96
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Re: Media Bros. Retro Game Store
As someone who also lives in Maryland, I've gone to my fair share of retro game stores. Though their existence is a breath of fresh air compared to places like GameStop, I find that most of the games and consoles they sell are a tad overpriced compared to what they go for online.
However, there is one retro game store in New York City that bears mentioning just for the truly insane amount and variety of games it has: Videogamesnewyork (all one word). Anyone who lives in that area should definitely check it out at least once. I remember it having a Vectrex of all things on sale the last time I visited it.
However, there is one retro game store in New York City that bears mentioning just for the truly insane amount and variety of games it has: Videogamesnewyork (all one word). Anyone who lives in that area should definitely check it out at least once. I remember it having a Vectrex of all things on sale the last time I visited it.
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Retro STrife
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Re: Media Bros. Retro Game Store
It has definitely picked up in recent years. I'm surprised that that's the first one you've seen in your area. Where I live (Connecticut) it is not a big retro gaming scene..yet most malls seem to have at least one store that sells retro games. More stores are popping up in strip malls throughout the state too. Heck, I was at Foxwoods Casino tonight and even the casino had a retro gaming store inside their mall area. Whereas, 10 years ago, the only place to find retro games was yard sales and flea markets... the closest retro game store that I knew of back then was in New Hampshire.
My favorite, though, will probably always be Joe Santulli's Digital Press store in Clifton, NJ. I always make sure to stop when I pass through that area. The store is not large, but it makes up for that by packing it with great selection at very fair prices, and a nice atmosphere.
Still, as eneuman96 pointed out, most of these new stores are very overpriced and/or their selection is very weak. I'd love to support a local store but, sorry, I'm not paying a 33% markup over ebay prices to do it. Any retro game store needs to at least be keeping in line with ebay prices to get business from serious collectors, and most aren't. Especially the ones inside malls. And so they limit themselves to casual retro gamers.
My favorite, though, will probably always be Joe Santulli's Digital Press store in Clifton, NJ. I always make sure to stop when I pass through that area. The store is not large, but it makes up for that by packing it with great selection at very fair prices, and a nice atmosphere.
Still, as eneuman96 pointed out, most of these new stores are very overpriced and/or their selection is very weak. I'd love to support a local store but, sorry, I'm not paying a 33% markup over ebay prices to do it. Any retro game store needs to at least be keeping in line with ebay prices to get business from serious collectors, and most aren't. Especially the ones inside malls. And so they limit themselves to casual retro gamers.
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Rev
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Re: Media Bros. Retro Game Store
I've actually found that things have swapped over the last few years... Online used to have better prices compared to a lot of retro game stores but I've found better prices at a lot of stores for a large percentage of retro games. However, online prices seem to be better for a lot of current gen and past gen games.