Retro Road Trip Part 2: Digital Press

Digital Press Videogames
387 Piaget Avenue
Clifton, New Jersey
973-772-1111
www.digitpress.com

Anyone who's visited the massive retro gaming forums over at digitpress.com has at least heard of their brick and mortar store out in Clifton New Jersey. If you haven't, that's a problem I recommend you remedy ASAP! Digital Press Videogames is not only one of the largest vintage game stores in the country, it's also one of the most well known. Out of all the incredible stops on our road trip, this was by far the one I was most excited about. The store plays host to the North Atlantic Video Games Aficionados (NAVA), which has entitled them to some retro-gaming celebrity visitors such as James Rolphe (The Angry Video Game Nerd), and the late Bill Kunkel (the game doctor). The unique nature of the store also made it the perfect place for Capital One to shoot one of their commercials some time back.

Why all the fuss over just one game store? Sadly, without going there in person you can't truly know, but hopefully the following photos will give you some idea of why I got so excited at least.

Behold! Your last stop for that thing you couldn't find anywhere else.

The miniature arcade that greets you on your way in is a nice touch.

I was lucky enough to catch them in the middle of maintenance. These people know what they're doing!

Imagine visiting a museum where you can buy the exhibits straight from their case. That's what this felt like.

I played on one of these kiosks as a boy. It's more impressive now than it was then.

The first time I played on one of these I couldn't figure out how to turn on the other two color channels...
Then they told me it's supposed to be red. 32 bits, one color.

An incredible retro 3DO advert. The sheer amount of vintage POP was staggering.

This POP is more in my wheelhouse.
Sadly, I only own the Sega CD version of this classic. Muted colors and shit music for me.

The hand-painted pixel art in the gallery at the back of the store is worth a look;
especially if you're looking for that unique addition to your game room that no one else has.

Their bargain bin actually had a better selection than some stores I've been in. *cough Gamestop *cough!

Sorry for the terrible iPhone 3G picture here.
The mini-museum was far more impressive in person.

Yes. That is indeed a SuperGrafx running Ghouls n' Ghosts.
I know, I never thought I'd see one in person either.

Ah yes, the successor to my beloved PC-Engine. One of these days... You will be mine.

Neo Geo MVS carts! The perfect gift for that bat-shit crazy collector that has everything.

That wraps up my tour through the hallowed halls of the Digital Press store in New Jersey. Very knowledgable staff who were incredibly accommodating to my pregnant wife and I. I was pretty close to buying an Arcade card for my PC-Engine Duo R here, but then the responsibility bug bit me. Ah well, next time!

Check out the world's largest arcade on the next exciting update!

Retro Gaming Road Trip

Back in July, some friends of my wife and I were married and the two of us stood in their wedding. On the way there, we came up with a meticulous site-seeing tour that covered Salem Massachusetts, Intercourse (heh heh heh), Pennsylvania, the oldest hamburger joint in the country and other interesting stuff. Beyond the typical site seeing fare however, we also marked some incredible retro gaming locales down in our travel itinerary.


These stores and attractions are so massive that cramming them all into one post would not do them justice. Therefore, over the next few weeks I'll be detailing such exotic retro games paradises as:


Game Zone: Salem Massachusetts

Humble outside,
incredible inside.

This stop was not on my list originally. In fact, I had never heard of this shop until I found myself walking in and seeing piles of old games in mint and near-mint condition. Along with the only boxed Neo Geo AES I've ever seen in person. Sadly, they don't have a website where you can purchase from them directly, but if you find yourself in the area you owe it to yourself to go in and have a look.








Digital Press: Clifton New Jersey

If it's good enough for James Rolfe...

The infamous homebase of the Digitpress.com retro gaming forums and the "North Atlantic Videogame Aficionados" monthly gathering. Not only do they have a working SuperGrafx on display under glass, butJames Rolfe (The Angry Video Game Nerd), has been known to drop in from time to time. 






Fun Spot Arcade: Laconia New Hampshire

Think arcades are dead?
Say that to its face!

Gamer or not, Fun Spot is one place you need to go before you die. Not only is it the largest arcade in the world, it's also a functioning retro-arcade museum! They have a working Space Harrier machine that actually throws you around like a rag doll! Why the hell aren't I there now?






I also visited an assload of Goodwill's between here and New Hampshire. While none of these really stand out, I will detail some of the sweet shit I managed to score while there.


Starting at the end of this week I'll talk about my trip to Game Zone with a huge photo gallery and information about the joint. Next I'll go into Digital Press and explain why it's so important to the retro gaming community (if for no other reason than their incredible forums). And finally we'll take a ride through the largest arcade in the world. It's going to be a fun trip through memory lane.