Death of the Video Game Store

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VideoGameCritic
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Death of the Video Game Store

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 3rd, 2021, 2:31 pm

There are a lot of fond memories rekindled by this article and the comments.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/09/ ... ame-store/

At this point, I feel like physical media has far exceed the lifespan it was predicted to have.
That said it continues to erode, so every day that we still have physical media feels like a gift.
Enjoy it while you can!

Thoughts?

jon
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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby jon » September 4th, 2021, 10:17 am

The part that I miss is how video game stores (and music stores) were sort of centers for creativity. When you walked into a store the whole vibe was about art, whether music or video games. I have to admit that's the furthest feeling in the world for me when I'm in Gamestop.

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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby VideoGameCritic » September 4th, 2021, 12:10 pm

Great point! When I would walk into Funcoland, everybody would be talking about the latest big game. I remember they had Conker's Bad Hair Day (N64) hooked up to a monitor in there, and some guy was laughing his ass off playing that.

Same thing with record stores. I remember when Nirvana's Nevermind came out everybody was raving about it.

I kind of wish I could go back in time to appreciate stuff like that, because at the time you just took it all for granted.

Teddybear
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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby Teddybear » September 4th, 2021, 12:36 pm

Miss these monthly price lists for Funcoland's used games. They certainly were a fair indicator of what would become some of the rarer games in the years to come.....

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Matchstick
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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby Matchstick » September 4th, 2021, 4:01 pm

Maaaaan, do I ever have fond memories of FuncoLand! I miss those little newsprint price sheets, too, Teddybear. Some items had laughable prices, like how the 4-Player Adapter for the Game Boy regularly retailed for nineteen cents.

I also liked how they kept a small list in the back of the store of their buy-back prices for games. I could look over the list and get a general idea of whether or not any of my games were worth anything, then decided if I wanted to bring them to the store to trade in.

I was never a fan of having to take a stack of games to the store, not knowing what they were worth, and hoping for the best. It's a total "Gotcha!" moment, when they add everything up and spring the total trade-in value without breaking down what everything is worth, individually. Really puts you on the spot. Come to think of it, I'm sure this is why they made that change, and stopped giving out trade-in values ahead of time...

My local store (circa 1998) had a least five or six different kiosks where you could try out games before you bought them - even brand new titles! I was there late one night around closing time, and noticed they had gotten Body Harvest for the N64 in stock. I asked if I could give it a go, and the guy behind the counter admitted he was curious about it too, took the sealed box, cut it open, and popped the game in their N64 demo kiosk for us both to try.

We both came to the conclusion that it was fun and different than we expected, and even though I didn't have the cash on me that night, there was no pressure from the salesman to buy it. At all. We tried it out, had a good time, and then back on the shelf it went. Maybe not the best business practice, but great from a customer service point of view.

djc
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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby djc » September 5th, 2021, 12:23 am

I miss the variety more than anything else. There was a sort of "golden age" in the mid-90's where you were able to walk into a store like Electronics' Boutique and find games on the shelves for every system from the Atari 2600 to the Playstation. I have very fond memories of walking through these stores in the mall and moving from console section to console section just admiring all the games on display.

Toys R Us had that first aisle display case with all video game consoles and higher end electronics (e.g. PXL cameras). It was almost like a museum and definitely an inspiration for how I wanted my game room to look.

Nowadays, it's not the same. I can't overstate enough how much I hate what Gamestop has become. I'm sure that someone somewhere appreciates it but man what a terrible store now. It has almost nothing at all to do with video games anymore.

Herschie
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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby Herschie » September 22nd, 2021, 6:50 pm

I had a friend who would always insist on me going to Gamestop with him for some reason. Once we got there it became apparent that the reason was he was a few bucks short and needed me to chip in the rest.

I'll bet he's cooking up a scheme to pull the same thing digitally.

Jascott72
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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby Jascott72 » September 23rd, 2021, 12:05 pm

Don't feel too bad guys. While I miss these stores as well let's not forget about the independent retro video games stores. In fact it seems like there are more now than there once was.

comchia
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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby comchia » September 23rd, 2021, 9:54 pm

I miss the days of having big box computer games, and all the contents they'd have, but I also like having the instant access of digital titles as well. Either way, I'm happy for retro game stores that keep that flame of cool-ass physical games alive. Me recently getting a special Limited Run copy of The House in Fata Morgana reminded me of why I love getting a physical copy of a game.

Where I'm more malcontent, and I think VGC shares this one, is when a non-MMO/multiplayer-only game straight-up requires me to be online, even when the game shouldn't be dependent on online connection! It's especially bad for future preservation.

JohanOberg
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Re: Death of the Video Game Store

Postby JohanOberg » September 24th, 2021, 5:06 pm

I appreciate online shopping and auctions and stuff, I do, but I also do miss browsing a store and sometimes I just want to go and get a game immediately without having to watch for an auction to end, wait for shipping (and customs sometimes..).
I live in Stockholm Sweden and since chains Gamestop and Game both closed down here, the only game shop in town that's left is GameShop(great name right) a single store with terrible prices 90% of the time. Boo.


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