The Retro Game Store Map Project!

[Coldguy]

Good news all, the site is up and working click on the blog and go to the "Add a store" page it has clear directions on how to add a store to the map.

http://giantretromap.wordpress.com/

I am also looking for volenteers to help spiffy up the site and help with store entry. If anyone is interested let me know.

[thetoxicone]

I'll be loading some of the best stores in MN very soon. I've actually been planning on trying to do a regional trip where I hit some of the best stores. If anyone from WI, ND, SD, Nebraska, or Iowa has any input I'd love to see them.

I live in Sioux City IA and used live in Sioux Falls, SD too so besides pawns, thrifts, fleas and old video rental stores (see below) there are only the 2 Last Stop Cd Shop locations in Sioux Falls, SD I would suggest that would always have games, in Sioux City, IA the only place that has retro games always is a place called Dewolfe's Junque Shop with old action figures, records, games, cards and what not.

If you are planning on doing a trip around the area I can let you know which pawns thrifts, etc that are worth checking out and not worth checking out in the Sioux Falls/Sioux City area, just send me a pm.

[darkwingduck13]

In response to Artican's earlier post:

I make a yearly trip to The Game Room in Hot Springs. It's almost a religious experience at this point. Last year I made it a point to take my digital camera, and the gentleman who owns the place was kind enough to let me take pictures. If anyone is interested, shoot me a PM and I'll send you a link to the gallery. My site is just a small one, and I'd rather not kill it by linking to it from these forums. :P

[Steve W]

Here's a couple more, to fill in some blanks down in south Louisiana.

Play N Trade - 1209 Albertson Pkwy #B, Broussard, LA
Play N Trade - 496 W Prien Lake Rd, Lake Charles, LA (inside Prien Lake Mall)

I've only been in the one in Lake Charles myself, but it seemed pretty nice. A little more retro stuff than the Play N Trade here in the Dallas area. I plan on hitting the one in Broussard in a month or two when I go down to visit my sister. It turns out that location's right in the path I usually take down there. I must have never noticed it before. D'oh!

[Coldguy]

*pant* *gasp* *pant*

NO MORE PLAY N TRADES! I entered them all, only took me 10 hours to get them all in there, I need rest now.

[Steve W]

Sorry, dude. Didn't mean to overload you. It's just that there's not a whole lot of them around here, so it's pretty new and interesting for me. Too bad the only location I know of in the Dallas/Fort Worth area has almost nothing in the way of truly 'classic' games. Nothing pre-NES, a few Genesis games, and a whole bunch of N64 junk. Too bad.

[Coldguy]

^ Didn't mean to yell at you, it was just a long time to update the map with all the stores for the Trade N Play franchise. Supringly....there are a TON of them around the world...even in Guam. Check the blog for more info about the map.

[Coldguy]

Yay I finally went to Next Level Videogames and did a review of the place....from the store itself. Check it out, now I have another store that I plan to frequently go to.

[Steve W]

By the way, I went to the Console Game Exchange in Irving Mall in Irving, TX yesterday. It's only been open since the 15th. It's a smaller location than the others it seems. I ended up talking to the manager guy there for over an hour about our shared love of vehicular combat games and our shared hatred of stupid customers. (We had a bit of fun making a customer feel stupid for asking how much a PS1 Tomb Raider game was, when it had a clearly labeled price sticker on the front.) He told me that there's also another location in Collin Creek Mall in Plano, TX. I haven't been to that one yet.

Good news is that CGX is planning on opening a couple new locations a year. Right now they're mostly bunched up in the north of Dallas, but hopefully for folks that live on the other side of the city there's hope that they'll be opening more locations near us soon.

[Coldguy]

^ That made my night, check the blog to find out why.

[Steve W]

By the way, I stopped in Collin Creek Mall in Plano, TX, and checked out the Console Game Xchange there. And when I walk in, who do I see but the guy from the Irving Mall location putting up displays! It's a bigger location than the Irving store. Too bad all their locations seem to have a distinct lack of pre-NES goods. They have Atari 2600s, but each store only has a handful each of Atari 5200 or Intellivision games, and virtually no Colecovision carts. Very few Atari Lynx games too. I keep threatening to bring in a bunch of extras just to make their counters look a little fuller. One of these days I'm going to pull the trigger and do it.


Hey, is it possible that this thread be made into a Sticky? It would be nice not to have to dig through five back pages to find this thread just to check out game stores. And it would cut down on threads of people asking "any game stores in --------?"

[Coldguy]

^ Seconded on sticky, I'll plug the sticky in the blog if it is made possible....please?

[digitalpress]

^ Seconded on sticky, I'll plug the sticky in the blog if it is made possible....please?

I'm not a fan of stickys and even the ones we do are for a very limited time. You don't have to dig for it. Just click the search button, type in retro store project and you'll be right at the top of the list. That's what I've been doing :)

[wfnjstallion]

Awesome idea! I love DP but I travel a lot on business and now I have access to info hen I am not in NJ.

[GrandAmChandler]

I'm not a fan of stickys and even the ones we do are for a very limited time. You don't have to dig for it. Just click the search button, type in retro store project and you'll be right at the top of the list. That's what I've been doing :)

Or subscribe to it using the subscription method! No more searching ever!

[Coldguy]

Atari, Nintendo, Nec, Sega, Sony with your powers combined I am captain retro!

Soon to be added to map (most likely tomorrow) Australia! Yes the Aussies are going to get a lot of love real soon.

Sorry about the random bit in the beginning, I thought it was funny with the theme music playing in the background and 5 random people saying that....

[Coldguy]

It is now official! Australia has been added!

[Coldguy]

New post on the blog as well as Italy and France locations. Also could use some advice on how to handle the second hand stores too.

[BydoEmpire]

That's a great reference - thanks for setting it up. I'll be adding when I get a chance.

[Coldguy]

W00t! I was on Retro Gaming Radio! Nice to know people can navigate my site easily...

"Make sure you click on 'the map', I didn't get it when I first saw it"

:grumble: I am working on that....

[guitargary75]

Good Idea.

[RJ]

bumped

[Coldguy]

Whoo hoo, domain works now!

http://retromap.net

Update the bookmarks.

[Mason P.]

Software Seconds
4508 St. Andrews Rd.
Suite 3
Columbia, SC 29210
(803) 798-4014

Monday-Saturday 12:00-8:00pm
Sunday 1:30-6:00pm


Lots of Retro gaming to be found here.

[Coldguy]

^ Updated

[Steve W]

I don't suppose that you could use different color pins and post old-school arcades like the 1984 Arcade in Springfield, MO, could you? It'd be nice to know how many genuine arcades there are still out there. Or maybe you (or someone else if it's too much of a burden to maintain another map project) could start a new map just for arcades.

[Coldguy]

I don't suppose that you could use different color pins and post old-school arcades like the 1984 Arcade in Springfield, MO, could you? It'd be nice to know how many genuine arcades there are still out there. Or maybe you (or someone else if it's too much of a burden to maintain another map project) could start a new map just for arcades.

Actually I was thinking about that, there are plenty of pins to make it different, however I feel like arcades should be on another map. Right now I have a specific nitche as just game stores to buy old games. I was thinking about expanding it to yard sales, thrift shops, arcades, etc.

Now if you all think it would be appropriate to add the things onto the map let me know. Also if you are good at KML manipulation PLEASE contact me becuase I would like to split up the map into several smaller files so that it will make the map easier to manage. Thanks.

[Coldguy]

Well due to unforseen events I can no longer maintain this project to the acceptable level that I once had it as. I have opened up the map to everyone to add their information and if you would like to add/make changes/check it out here is the link directly to page 3 of the map.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117176970323808981783.00044aafb9c7cea768d23&num=200&start=400&ll=48.922499,-116.71875&spn=178.961686,360&z=0

[Steve W]

It's a shame you're not keeping it up. I was going to suggest a few more stores, too. I'd found a couple stores around Shreveport, LA and one around Mesquite, TX that I wanted to put in.

[Coldguy]

^ I am going to try to keep it up, jsut it is not going to be as dodiligent as it once was. Since the map is open for all you can add the stores directly to the map. I thought I was going to have the help of a nameless website who was going to be the new "exclusive home" of it only for them to change their mind at the last minute. Feel free to share the store, I will still add some if any come across in my direction.

[Coldguy]

It's back! Now that I have a paying job I will focus my time on making the map awesome again, so fire away with your ideas.

[Coldguy]

A milestone has been achieved, 4 pages on google maps, thats over 600 stores!

http://retromap.net/2008/09/11/603-stores/

[Coldguy]

Canada updated, US updated, Brazil is welcomed to the map

http://retromap.net/2008/09/19/oh-canada/

[DKTheArcadeRat]

Can you change the description of We've Got Freakin' Video Games in Hamilton NJ?

That place is dirty as hell, selection is extremely limited, I mean the employees are somewhat helpful, but that is because they have to be. I'd say at least 70% of their merchandise isn't priced. They have to look it up, which is kind of odd. The place was a mildly organized mess, not very easy to get around in the small store with so much clutter. The store has a strange odor somewhere between pot smoke, cigarettes, mold, and grime. They have freakin' video games alright, they just have no clue what to do with them or the business.

[Coldguy]

^ Updated with your information

[DKTheArcadeRat]

Thank you very much. =)

[Steve W]

A few months ago I went to Shreveport, LA and stopped off at two local stores called Replays. They do old movies, CDs, and video games. The only problem is that they don't have games older than NES era. And the Shreveport location had more retro games than did the Bossier City location. Here's their addresses:

6601 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA

1605 Benton Road #N, Bossier City, LA

I came across a store in Mesquite, TX a couple months ago called Game Trade. They've got retro games, but the same thing applies as Replays... They don't have anything earlier than NES era. But they had a good selection of cartridges for different systems. And they seemed to have a good selection of Japanese soundtracks, which was pretty unique. They also had a LAN gaming area, if you're into that. Here's the address:

1425 Gross Road, Mesquite, TX 75149

[Coldguy]

^^ Updated with info and credit, seems like Replays is a little chain...

[Tupin]

Speaking of cleanliness-lacking game stores, you have to add Game Trader in St Charles, Missouri at 2 Hawks Nest Plz. The selection is freaking awesome, he has tons of imports of all generations at half the price you get them online, along with a few arcade machines and a large selection of USA games, but good luck if you can stay in there for more than two minutes to actually buy something. The store smells like an ashtray. The games were in decent condition though.

If you can stand the smell, it's awesome.

[Coldguy]

^ Added as well, foul smelling or not they are to be added to the map.

[Tupin]

^ Added as well, foul smelling or not they are to be added to the map.
Yeah, but if you can stand the stench, it's worth it from what I can tell.

[Coldguy]

We are over 700 stores!

http://retromap.net/2008/09/23/cagalanche-and-positions-available/

Also looking for web deisgners and icon makers to actually make the site usable, let me know if you are interested.

[ubersaurus]

You can add Get Your Game On in Ann Arbor, MI. It's on 709 Packard road, with a phone number of 734 786 3746.

As for their selection, it's not bad. Mostly NES and up. I'd give it a 3/5, cuz I've found some decent stuff there.

I also will put up Flipside Records, located in Clawson, MI. Address is 41 E 14 Mile, and phone is 248 585 4090. Although the focus isn't on video games, it does go ALL the way back to Atari era stuff. Selection for games is alright, prices tend to be based on what the games go for on ebay though. I'd give em a 3/5.

[sirhansirhan]

Speaking of cleanliness-lacking game stores, you have to add Game Trader in St Charles, Missouri at 2 Hawks Nest Plz. The selection is freaking awesome, he has tons of imports of all generations at half the price you get them online, along with a few arcade machines and a large selection of USA games, but good luck if you can stay in there for more than two minutes to actually buy something. The store smells like an ashtray. The games were in decent condition though.

If you can stand the smell, it's awesome.

I'd just like to go on the record and say that The Game Trader is one of the two best classic gaming stores I've ever been to, and I'e been to a lot. His selection is fantastic, his prices are great, he (Brian, I think is his name... ?) is funny and knows a lot about video games. I could start a thread about all the stuff I've bought from that guy over the years at fair prices (Panzer Dragoon Saga, Dragon Force, Harvest Moon SNES, Rez when it was still impossible to find, a used, complete copy of Rhythm Tengoku on the GBA (!), imports out the ass, etc.).

He does indeed smoke in the store, but it doesn't really bother me, and I'm one of those people who does not handle smokers well at all, so it can't be too bad. I've been in used bookstores that are way worse.

[NayusDante]

The Game Trader had a presence in my area several years back under the name "Gameswitch." They were in Countryside Mall, bringing the total to THREE gamestores in there at once. EB and Babbages are still there, but I seriously miss Gameswitch. I tried to order from them online a long time ago, but their order sumbission system was totally broken and nothing would go through. Is it better now?

[Steve W]

On a trip to visit my sister's family in their new town of Monroe, LA, my nephew told me there was a new Play N' Trade store that just opened. Eventually, I found the place. Not too much classic stuff yet. They at least had around eight to ten Atari 5200 carts (two of them were Q*Bert) and a blue Game Gear (badly scratched screen) with a single game for it. I'm hoping for subsequent visits they will get more classic stuff.

Here's their address, since Google Maps doesn't even have it listed yet:

2500 Arkensas Rd., Suite B, West Monroe, LA 71291

[Coldguy]

To the people who need to do something on their spare times: I am looking for help with the "new" site, if you are interested in knowing more please let me know and I will give you more details.

[Poofta!]

this is an amazing idea, i just wish more than just DPers would update, did you try other websites?

i know of a few but ill have to double check the locations and get back to you.

i think arcades/flea markets etc should be on thier own map.

ill help anyway i can. great idea!

[Coldguy]

this is an amazing idea, i just wish more than just DPers would update, did you try other websites?

ill help anyway i can. great idea!

PM me with your contact info and I'll let you know about what is going on (if you look on the blog you can get an idea).

Actaully yes they include (but not limited to): Destructoid, CAG, PBC, Scewattack, TGWTG, Classic Game Room, NoobToob, VMTV, gamesniped, Chase the chuckwagon, and others.

I have no problem for asking for help on this project if you didn't notice...

[Coldguy]

Calling all testers to come witness the new map....soon. Let me know if you want to be the first to see the revamp maps.

[jjgames]

Calling all testers to come witness the new map....soon. Let me know if you want to be the first to see the revamp maps.

I saw this thread for the first time today and love the project. I will be adding Denver, CO stores soon.

I would love to see the revamp maps too.

[Coldguy]

Ah quick update on a dead thread....

The map was featured on a podcast on Noobtoob, and Google gave me a smile today: :D

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2194&stc=1&d=1236640401

[digitalpress]

Ah quick update on a dead thread....

The map was featured on a podcast on Noobtoob, and Google gave me a smile today: :D

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2194&stc=1&d=1236640401

Great job, Pat! I frequently refer people to your map. Very handy for those who are not local or willing to travel well out of the local area to find vintage goodness.

Keep up the great work. See ya on the 28th!

[obesolete]

I added a new marker for my Torontonian friends.

[Michiganfan2]

Here is a new store:

The Gaming Warehouse
4365 Canal Ave
Suite A
Grandville, MI 49418
(616) 214-8262
http://www.TGWgrandville.com

Just opened last month, huge selection of new and used games, including the largest selection of retro games in the area. Also, 1000's of DVD and Blu-Ray movies as well!

[BetaWolf47]

James Game & More (Lakewood, OH)
16510 Detroit Ave, Lakewood, OH 44107

[JSoup]

Lord Of The Games
919 N Wilson Wy
Stockton CA 95205
209 513-2143

This has been around for a few years, I'm surprised it isn't already on the map.

[Purkeynator]

Fun Unlimited
Ste 1103, 1300 North Main Street
Logan, UT 84341-2225
(435) 752-4352

This place is a warehouse of old games. They have games for pretty much every system including obscure ones. They have plenty of old systems such as Turbo Grafx, Jaguar, and Vectrex. They also have lot of old movies and books and tons of cables and accessories for your old systems if you can find them! Prices are a tad high on some items but reasonable on others. I just bought a perfectly functioning Sega CD2 console for $30 there last week.

[Baloo]

Added the four places posted to the map, and deleted two or three locations that seemed to be locations that weren't actually video game stores (One had a picture that was just a strip of highway). Let's keep this going guys!

[pacmanhat]

A bit of an update for this:

There's a listing for Game Cauldron on Lexington Ave. in Roseville, MN. That store has gone out of business, but a different store just opened in the exact same location. Here's the exact info for them:

Media Traderz - 1747 Lexington Ave N, Roseville, MN 55113

Here are some others in the Minnesota area that aren't listed:

Toyriffic (x7):
Maplewood MN - 2950 White Bear Ave N
Hastings MN - 1207 Vermillion St
Forest Lake MN - 1144 1/2 Broadway Ave
Hudson WI - 2113 Coulee Rd
Eau Claire WI - 2919 Mall Drive
Rice Lake WI - 2304 S Main St
St Croix Falls WI - 2161 US Hwy 8

Games N Go (x3)
7605 W Broadway Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55428
10 Rosedale Center #596, Roseville, MN 55113
1178 Burnsville Center, T-11, Burnsville, MN 55306

Game Central (x5)
3840 Southdale Center, Edina, MN 55436
12401 Wayzata Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55305
4101 West Division Street, St. Cloud, MN 56301
8251 Flying Cloud Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
1850 Adams Street, Mankato, MN 56001

Cedar Cliff Collectibles - 1960 Cliff Lake Road, Eagan, MN 55122
Discland - 822 W 98th Street, Bloomington, MN, 55420

[lazyhoboguy]

Awesome idea. I found this independent game store in San Francisco last year.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/star-games-san-francisco#hrid:zg9OVAPicQ_yDaCHtY1xng/src:search/query:gaming

I visited it once, and they have lots of older games and systems, although they are a bit overpriced.

[PapaStu]

I'm going ot stick this for a while, see if we can get some fresh updating to the map, and hopefully cut down on those 'game stores in insert city here' threads.

[Dirkfunk]

Here are a few I go to:

GameFellas SOUTH LOCATION
Suite #240, 5510 S I-35, Austin, TX 78745(512) 441-4412‎

The guy who runs this store is great. Not terribly overpriced and always has buy 2 get one free on Retro games (all locations do)!

Gamefellas - Mall
11200 Lakeline Mall Drive, Cedar Park, TX‎ - (512) 250-0808‎

This one is mostly modern games. Has a retro case though.

Gamefellas - North Location
134, 13770 North Highway 183, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 302-3021‎

I haven't been to this one.

The D-Pad
1024 West San Antonio Street, New Braunfels, TX‎ - (830) 643-0440‎

This store is kinda dirty. More of a LAN business, but they have a decent selection of retro games. RIDICULOUS mark ups on Genesis games with box vs. without. . . like loose will be .99 but with a box will be $8.

I don't know if people are still adding to the map but I figured I'd offer these few locations.

[Dirkfunk]

Replay Music Movies Games
1254 County Road 42 West, Burnsville, MN 55337(952) 898-4955‎

Forgot this one. This was my favorite place when I lived in Minnesota. I got my $3 copy of Mega Man: The Wily Wars here. As well as my complete 32X. They had a Vectrex at one point and A boxed Nomad.

I got my sealed Game Gear at the thrift store across the street.

[Drewskiwannabrewski]

C&C Games
518 E Wooster St
Bowling Green, OH 43402
419-353-2612

Allied Record Exchange
1710 South Reynolds Rd.
Toledo, OH
(419) 474-3472

[CYRiX]

Two local columbus ohio stores:
http://vgmx.com/

Prices aren't always the best but they have coupons to combat that.

[ambriglia]

anyone know any from the philadelphia area? that is where i am from and the map is lacking stores in that area...

[Sosage]

The Google maps page keeps crashing my browser. So I'm not sure if it has been mentioned yet:

Phoenix Games
4425 I-A Treat Blvd.
Concord CA
925 682 GAME

If you know where the last Matt's Game Exchange location was, it's about a mile or so more down Clayton (away from Downtown Concord). We're all collectors here at DP, so we know where to get stuff on the cheap compared to brick n' mortar stores: with that said, the prices are fair here. The atmosphere is really nice. The owner and the two employees are friendly. In fact, the owner seems to be one of the "collectors gone store owner" guys. Covers every era, as long as he has stuff in stock. Also has a Tempest, Neo Geo and multi-pac/galaga/donkey kong machine (there is a lot of competition for the Donkey Kong score on that machine...a couple of hardcore guys keep coming in and point pressing the hell out of the machine).

Also, if you're into pinball he has a row of four in the front (DarkKnight, Pirates, Lord and Medieval right now), with an additional row of five in the back for league players only. Speaking of pinball league, we run it every Thursday night between 8-10pm. It's been going on for about a year now and everyone is mainly there to have fun (compete...but in a laid back sort of way). Machines in the back swap regularly so things stay fresh, with some tables coming from different operators while others are some of the league player's own machines. So if you're interested, stop by Thursday night. Ask for Kevin (league coordinator...not me, I'm Stephen :P).

[somesortofrobot]

Great Games
1701 North Missouri Street, West Memphis, AR 72301-1752
(870) 735-1057

Gotten some good SNES and NES games from these guys relatively cheap. They also sell N64 games and have FC Twins. Strangely, they don't sell Genesis games, when I asked them about it, they said they just never get them.

[lagartija_nick]

Outside of the DP store, I only know of one other in my area. It's called Fun N Games in Pompton Lakes, NJ. It's a nice mom & pop operation. Small and very cramped but the family that owns it is friendly.

Fun N Games
239 Wanaque Ave
Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442
973-616-8967

On a scale of 1-5 I'd rate it a 4. It has a surprising amount of merchandise for a store with so little floor space and the prices are fair. They deal in a lot of vintage toys and cards but the video games seem to be the primary focus.


I went to this store a couple of years ago.

I tried recently a few months ago to make a return visit, but the place is never open.

I called the store at least 5 times a week for a solid month, nobody ever picked up the phone.

Finally at 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon somebody answers the phone. I ask what time do you close and I am told 3:00! WTF!!!

There is no indication on the store window of the store hours.

Has anybody been to this store recently, maybe give me some insight about the hours Fun n Games are open?

[Sinizar]

Here is my game store:

Nomad Game Center
303 East Clairemont Ave,
Eau Claire, WI 54701
715-833-8020

(formerly known as Chaos Computer Internet Gaming Center)

We buy sell trade pc games, mac games, console games from pre-Atari to the latest generation.

The oldest retro system purchased and then sold at Nomad is the Coleco Adam. It was complete with computer, controllers, printer, and tape drives. Sold it in February 2010 for $40. We love the old stuff and pay extra to our customers that can bring it in with the box and original manuals.

Our prices are mostly based from the Game Collector Magazine. Other things to know, we are also a PC Game LAN / WAN Center.

[RJ]

Though the Hugo MN branch still shows on the map, the Oakdale MN Hi-Score Video Games is gone. Charging $8 for loose Atari 2600 games, can't say I wonder why.

Their Mall of America kiosk is also still open.

[robotriot]

I added the first store for Germany - I didn't know how to change the marker colour to green though, maybe somebody else can fix that. I'll add a second one later this week once I visit it for the first time :)

[Animaniac]

Have a NJ one to add:
Game Zone‎
108 Broadway
Hillsdale, NJ 07642-2055
201-358-6800‎

Small store but usually has a nice selection of games especially SNES and N64 as well as current games. They'll usually give you a discount too if you buy about 4 or more cartridges. There's also some non video game stuff here too like action figures and baseball cards. Owner is a very nice guy.

[Urzu402]

Man there are no stores near where I live, the only store that I knew of closed down. I live in South New Jersey like an hour north of Atlantic City, does anyone know any stores in my area?