Game Zone270 Essex St, Salem, MA 01970
Salem, Massachusetts
978-744-2630
A lucky find! One second we were touring the hallowed streets of Salem Massachusetts and learning about the prosecution of alleged witches. Then, BAM! We find what is probably the best retro video games store in the United States (or at least it's in the top 3). The serendipitous encounter would become the first retro gaming shopping trip on our travels.
A small, unassuming brick facade houses the culmination of decades worth of video game history. Just name it. Commodore 64? Of course it's here! Neo Geo AES? You want the box with that? If I had to pick out one fatal flaw (besides not being within walking distance of my house), it would be that they do not appear to have any sort of website. I can't complain too much though. The harder it is for me to buy from there the less likely I am to drive myself broke. Sadly, I did not buy anything here. Not because they didn't have anything I wanted, just because money was a little tight this trip, and there was plenty more to see on this trip without blowing my wad here.
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| If you've been looking for it, chance are these guys have it. |
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| No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is in fact a boxed Neo Geo. $600 and she could be yours. |
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| Speaking of boxed stuff... This is one unit I coveted in my youth above most others. The box was as big as I was, and promised a whole new world of mind-blowing entertainment. I finally got one of these a few years back but no original box sadly. |
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| I don't actually recognize that grey sucker in the center. You learn so much traveling to these places. |
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| BAM! You've been Robbed! |
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| The unusual suspects. Speaking of unusual... |
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| Fuck! Just when I thought you guys were on the ball... |
There are a few more pictures (including the one I teased this series with), on my flickr photostream if you want to see some more of this amazing store. If I ever find myself in Salem again, you'd better believe I'm going back there.
Do check in next week when we visit Digital Press!
Wow, looks like a great store! And they don't have a website? Crazy! Of course, that seems to be par for the course with these kinds of shops. There's a great retro (and Japanese) gaming shop here in Seattle that has a bare-bones website, but you can't search their inventory on it or order products from it. So it's basically useless.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm with you RE: the Turbo CD. The box is HUGE, isn't it? I still remember walking into our local Toys R Us back in the day and buying that sucker. I felt like a superstar! Of course, no one I knew gave a hoot about the Turbo, but that didn't bother me. I'm still kicking myself for selling that beast a few years later (although, to be fair, I did so to make money for an import Saturn).
Other than that, the boxed ROB made me swoon. I really need to get one someday, even if the ROB games suck. It could be a conversation piece, or a piece of furniture -- or both! Right? :P
I'm with you on beautiful vintage games shops. The only one I've seen with a decent website (that you can actually order from), is e Starland, but they also switched to being an online store primarily, so their storefront is less than ideal now.
ReplyDeleteI always saw the box for the Turbo CD at 29th street video in Pueblo, CO growing up. I would flip through Turbo Play Magazine and dream of the day I would actually get to play classics like "It Came from the Desert," and "Sherlock Holmes." I too would talk about my TurboGrafx at school and always got "A what?" "That's not how you spell graphics." or "Is that a game on Nintendo?" All I know is that "Vigilante" is still way more fun than "Kung Fu," and Bonk was the most unique mascot we could hope for (if not the most dynamic).
I've also been looking into get a ROB. I'd probably never play either of its crap games, but it would make a grand conversation piece.