fergojisan
01-26-2005, 10:09 AM
(Mods, I thought this would be okay in here, but feel free to move it to Off-Topic if need be)
I don't know if anyone will care to read this, but I'm feeling nostalgic today so you must suffer. :P
I started working for Kay-Bee in September of 91, in the midst of NES mania and the waning years of the Atari generation. I still bought and played the occasional NES game (it was my sister's NES), but the Atari 2600 was a long-gone memory to me then. I was not collecting at this point (didn't start until 94), so be prepared for lots of collector-cringe moments.
Here's some random things I remember about my time there:
-When I first started, we had a glass case at the end of the register area with fringe games in it. This is where I first saw a Lynx ($149.99) and we had an opened returned game, and I thought that the cart was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. When the SNES came out that year, all the games went into that case because there were so few of them. I think the Game Gear games were in here at this point as well.
-The rest of the games (NES, Genesis, and Game Boy) were hanging on the wall behind the register. The managers had to count them every morning to make sure none were stolen (in the next year, the GG games were moved to the pegs on the left, and you could actually lean over the display and rip them off the pegs and run away, which happened many times. This was years before they had the checkpoint alarm thingy in the front). I got to count them once when the manager was hung over. :)
-I remember we had scads of NES Monster in my Pocket, Barbie, and Waldo games sitting there forever. We could not keep NES Monopoly, Tecmo Super Bowl, and Genny Joe Montana Sportstalk and Madden Football. I don't know about GB games since they were not on my radar at the time.
-We had an end cap with marked-down U-Force ($5.99) and the voice recognition thingy for NES. Lots and lots.
-I took home the countertop Nintendo Power magazine display, because we weren't using it anymore. That sucker was pretty heavy. Unfortunately, I gave it up to my mom, who stripped it of all NES goodness and made a planter out of it. :angry:
-We had at least 2 storage boxes full of Atari software. 800 (probably the highest box-to-cart ratio EVER), and probably XE because I remember seeing a lot of blue in there. There may have been 7800, I'm not sure. I think they were a penny each. Both boxes (along with any others) went into the dumpster. :angry: :angry:
-I remember seeing a few Atari Trakballs in the clearance section.
-We had a small tv/vcr combo given to us by Nintendo or Sega, to play their promotional videos in. We also played movies that we had for sale and the other company's promo vids. This usually was what was in there when the company rep came into the store, and they would get mad and make us put their video back in. He he.
-In 91, already, we had a shitload of NES licensed junk that was clearanced out in the back of the store, all stuff you see on eBay now.
-I never bought any NES games at my job, I always went across the hall to Captron because the games were cheaper, even with my discount. :P
-I was put in charge of the StarFox Super Duper Weekend, or whateverthefuck. I watched kids play StarFox all day long, and I had to wear a stupid apron. Having some hindsight, I actually still have this stupid apron, with two StarFox pins on it, and it's one of my prized possessions. The manager wouldn't let me keep the cart though, I asked. :(
-We had a big SMS closeout in 92. The system (SMS 2) was $19.99, and the carts were $4.99 to $14.99. We had a ton of carts, but they went really fast. I still was not collecting at this point, but I thought it was cool (I had never heard of it before this), so I picked up the system and a bunch of carts. That's why I have a Buster Douglas Boxing now. :rocker:
-My wife also worked for Kay-Bee at this time, and she became a manager later on. Her store had a bunch of reissue NES carts in 94-95. I remember Final Fantasy, Metroid, Punch Out!, Mega Man 4, and a bunch of other stuff. When they got rid of this display, they were supposed to take down the fiber-optic World of Nintendo display sign also. She asked me if I wanted it. Now, I was collecting at this time, but I was heavy into the Atari stuff, and the NES was NOT a classic system to me. You see where this is going, right?
/me repeatedly kicks himself in the ass :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:
Anyways, that's pretty much what I can remember. I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane, please feel free to post your own videogame retail memories!
I don't know if anyone will care to read this, but I'm feeling nostalgic today so you must suffer. :P
I started working for Kay-Bee in September of 91, in the midst of NES mania and the waning years of the Atari generation. I still bought and played the occasional NES game (it was my sister's NES), but the Atari 2600 was a long-gone memory to me then. I was not collecting at this point (didn't start until 94), so be prepared for lots of collector-cringe moments.
Here's some random things I remember about my time there:
-When I first started, we had a glass case at the end of the register area with fringe games in it. This is where I first saw a Lynx ($149.99) and we had an opened returned game, and I thought that the cart was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. When the SNES came out that year, all the games went into that case because there were so few of them. I think the Game Gear games were in here at this point as well.
-The rest of the games (NES, Genesis, and Game Boy) were hanging on the wall behind the register. The managers had to count them every morning to make sure none were stolen (in the next year, the GG games were moved to the pegs on the left, and you could actually lean over the display and rip them off the pegs and run away, which happened many times. This was years before they had the checkpoint alarm thingy in the front). I got to count them once when the manager was hung over. :)
-I remember we had scads of NES Monster in my Pocket, Barbie, and Waldo games sitting there forever. We could not keep NES Monopoly, Tecmo Super Bowl, and Genny Joe Montana Sportstalk and Madden Football. I don't know about GB games since they were not on my radar at the time.
-We had an end cap with marked-down U-Force ($5.99) and the voice recognition thingy for NES. Lots and lots.
-I took home the countertop Nintendo Power magazine display, because we weren't using it anymore. That sucker was pretty heavy. Unfortunately, I gave it up to my mom, who stripped it of all NES goodness and made a planter out of it. :angry:
-We had at least 2 storage boxes full of Atari software. 800 (probably the highest box-to-cart ratio EVER), and probably XE because I remember seeing a lot of blue in there. There may have been 7800, I'm not sure. I think they were a penny each. Both boxes (along with any others) went into the dumpster. :angry: :angry:
-I remember seeing a few Atari Trakballs in the clearance section.
-We had a small tv/vcr combo given to us by Nintendo or Sega, to play their promotional videos in. We also played movies that we had for sale and the other company's promo vids. This usually was what was in there when the company rep came into the store, and they would get mad and make us put their video back in. He he.
-In 91, already, we had a shitload of NES licensed junk that was clearanced out in the back of the store, all stuff you see on eBay now.
-I never bought any NES games at my job, I always went across the hall to Captron because the games were cheaper, even with my discount. :P
-I was put in charge of the StarFox Super Duper Weekend, or whateverthefuck. I watched kids play StarFox all day long, and I had to wear a stupid apron. Having some hindsight, I actually still have this stupid apron, with two StarFox pins on it, and it's one of my prized possessions. The manager wouldn't let me keep the cart though, I asked. :(
-We had a big SMS closeout in 92. The system (SMS 2) was $19.99, and the carts were $4.99 to $14.99. We had a ton of carts, but they went really fast. I still was not collecting at this point, but I thought it was cool (I had never heard of it before this), so I picked up the system and a bunch of carts. That's why I have a Buster Douglas Boxing now. :rocker:
-My wife also worked for Kay-Bee at this time, and she became a manager later on. Her store had a bunch of reissue NES carts in 94-95. I remember Final Fantasy, Metroid, Punch Out!, Mega Man 4, and a bunch of other stuff. When they got rid of this display, they were supposed to take down the fiber-optic World of Nintendo display sign also. She asked me if I wanted it. Now, I was collecting at this time, but I was heavy into the Atari stuff, and the NES was NOT a classic system to me. You see where this is going, right?
/me repeatedly kicks himself in the ass :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:
Anyways, that's pretty much what I can remember. I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane, please feel free to post your own videogame retail memories!