Video Game Stores & Arcades in Portland & Seattle?

[Jasonbar]

Howdy-

In the near future, I'll be in Portland for a wedding & then in Seattle to visit a friend.

I've got some arcades on my to-see list, but I'd like to know if there are any more, as well as some classic game stores, too.

Here's what I've got thus far:


Portland:
Ground Kontrol
511 NW Couch St, Portland, OR 97209
M-Su noon-2:30AM


Seattle:
Shorty's
2222 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 441-5449
M-Su noon-2AM

Pinball Museum:
508 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
(253) 205-7273
Thu 6 pm - 9 pm
Fri 2 pm - 10 pm
Sat 1 pm - 10 pm
Sun 1 pm - 7 pm


Thanks!
-Jason

[Drixxel]

I was in Portland about a month ago and visited a handful of game stores. The lack of sales tax is totally rad.

Video Game Wizards had, by far, the best selection. In fact, there was so much stock that it couldn't all be properly displayed - their loose Genesis carts were hiding away in a series of drawers near the till which the friendly staff let me poke around in. Prices were fair and I found a heap of great stuff, everything worked just fine. Favourite find? Operation Logic Bomb, SNES, cart only, $4. Love that game.

Video Game Wizards
9712 SE Foster Rd
Portland , OR 97266
(503) 771-6440
http://www.vgwpdx.com/

There are three CD GameXchange stores throughout Portland, I visited two. The one on Mississippi Avenue had the larger stock and seemingly better deals. Most of the store is devoted to used DVDs and CDs but there are display cases for NES, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, PSX, N64 and more modern stuff. Fantastic prices on some of this stuff, I picked up a number of loose carts in the $1 - $2.50 range. Favourite find? Duck Tales, Game Boy, cart only, $1.

CDGameExchange
3719 N Mississippi Ave
Portland, OR 97227
Phone: 503-287-0382
http://www.cdgamexchange.com/portland.html

Guardian Games is more of a hobby shop for Warhammer, Magic: The Gathering and the like but there was a nook in which was found a humble stock of used games and a bunch of third party accessories. On that note, though, I was told by one of the staff that a massive lot of NES games was on its way. I bought a few things, nothing special at the time of the visit but it was worth a stop. Favourite find? X-Men 2: Clone Wars, Genesis, cart only, $5.

Guardian Games
303 SE 3rd Ave
Portland, OR 97214
503-238-4000
http://www.ggportland.com/

As for Seattle, I stopped by last summer and only had the chance to hit up one game store but, fortunately, it was a quality spot. Pink Gorilla is the name, there's a link to their site on the front page here. There are apparently two locations in town. Regrettably, the store was in the process of being largely packed up for display/sale at PAX but I spotted a handful of must-haves that were yet to be collected by the staff for the gaming expo. Solid prices, nothing crazy. Favourite find? Cardfighter's Clash SNK, NGPC, complete, $16.99.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I stopped in at Ground Kontrol. Awesome assortment of pinball machines but pretty cramped and sweaty in there.

[NaturalChemical]

Drixxel nailed it. I can vouch for Video Game Wizards, they have a ton of stock in both games and DVDs. Very fair prices and a wide array of games. The CD GameXchanges are clean, friendly stores with a decent selection for games, but pricing is hit and miss. Still worth checking out if you're in the area.

Ground Kontrol is the arcade in town, but while they have some good games and a ton of pinball machines, it's a really small, cramped room. There's also still a couple locations for Wunderland, which used to be a good nickel arcade. Haven't been to one in many years, but it's something to keep in mind.

[skaar]

I'm pretty sure VGWizards was a place Evan_G and I stopped in on our way through Portland. Was a nice place, I got some SNES game shelves and a bunch of games while I was there.

[DigitalSpace]

Based on my experience, I'll agree that the Mississippi CD/Game Exchange is the best in terms of retro selection and price, followed by the Hawthorne location (1428 SE 36th ave - right on the corner of 36th and Hawthorne, next to a Ben & Jerry's. 503-233-1708).

(Also, both of those stores are right in the heart of two of the hippest business districts in Portland, so if you check them out, prepare yourself for some "Portlandia"-style sightings. And remember: shell art is OVER!)

Wunderland is pretty much a modern arcade, filled with DDR, modern racers, and ticket-redemption games. You'll have a much better time at Ground Kontrol.

And if you have time to make a stop in the Longview/Kelso area, there's a couple places up there that are worth checking out.

Classics - owned by fellow DP member coreys429. Along with video games, the store carries everything from records to movies to toys.

201 Allen St, Kelso WA, 98626
360-747-2393
Tues-Thur 12-8
Fri-Sat 2-8
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Classics-Kelso-WA/372890150556

There's also the Minus World arcade in Longview:

1052 14th ave, Longview, WA, 98632
360-442-4158
M-Thur 11-9
Fri 11-11
Sun 11-8
http://www.facebook.com/minusworldusa

[Jasonbar]

Thanks for all the helpful info--I appreciate it!!!

-Jason

[mobiusclimber]

You have to check out GameWorks (1511 7th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101) for a quality arcade experience. You can also join in the bitchfest about how they replaced the arcade cabs for classic cabinets with wood-paneled ones. Fuckers.

As for stores, Pink Gorilla has two locations, one in the U-District (UW) and one in the International District (Chinatown). You CAN find good deals, but they're mostly overpriced. Fun to look around in tho, and they definitely do have good deals hiding in unlikely places (this is where I picked up Shantae CIB for $15).

Other good stops include Game Gurus (used to be the cruddy Game Town - 9901 Aurora ave. north, Seattle, WA 98103, but the moron who used to own it went out of business - he wanted $40 for Pokemon Stadium 2, gee I wonder why he failed hard) and Another Castle (23303 Highway 99 Suite C, Edmonds, WA 98026). If you head up to Game Gurus, I'd suggest checking out the numerous pawn stores and thrift shops from there to Another Castle along Aurora. There are several, including a St. Vincent's and a Deseret. Both usually have overpriced worthless junk, but occassionally have treasures. And hey, if you're out that way, might as well, right? Another good place to hit up along the way if your friend has a card for it is Costco. Unless you're going to be staying awhile, forgo the bulk groceries and hit up their food stand. Pizza slices are cheap and the chocolate dipped ice cream bar with fresh roasted almonds is huge, cheap, and amazing.

You can also come visit me if you're looking for cheap video game deals. Seriously, I will hook you up. Send me a PM if you're interested.

[cheesystick]

Ground Kontrol is an absolute must - my favorite bar in Portland by far. There are two Portland Wunderland locations. If you decide to visit, go to the Belmont location. There is a Star Wars Trilogy in there, House of the Dead 6, tons of light gun games, and a retro-cade that has like 50+ games on it. Everything else is a bunch ticket redemption crap, but there is a small amount of fun to be had there, obviously nothing to compared to Ground Kontrol, but still fun. The "damn near Gresham" location is a complete waste of time; don't go there.

CD Game Exchanges are hit and miss, but I would still really recommend them. The way that they price their games is that they usually list games in increments of $5.00 and knock the price down in conjunction with how many copies they have. So, for example, they might list a Mario Kart for $15, but if they get two more of them in at one given time, you can pick one up for $5.00. I have gotten a lot of great deals from them by being patient, making return visits, and going to all their locations when I'm bored. My only beef is that all of their locations cram all the Sega stuff into the smallest corner of the store, if they take it at all. Maybe it doesn't sell as well, but my guess is that they stop taking it some time soon.

Wizards is the shit, nuff said. However, even though I love them, you'll never find a screaming deal there; they obviously know what they have and what it is worth. That being said, the selection is amazing and if you spend over $100, (which I don't think I've ever been able to spend any less than that in there - Be careful about the whole kid in a candy store thing), they will usually cut you a break. Great staff and and a great place - a must visit.

About a half hour north of Portland in Beaverton is another awesome store called Game Trader. The guys are there are really nice and the selection is pretty massive. They also have a little more floor space to work with than Wizards. Prices are about the same as Wizards and it is worth the jaunt up there. The fact that the employees are so cool keeps me coming back. They are one of the few stores I've seen that knows how to display gameboy games the right way - no more hovering, kneeling, or digging through bins.

There is a new game store across the river in Vancouver called Gamer's Edge. You could not ask for employees that were more knowledgeable and helpful, but I hate to say it, all of their prices are actually about 15-20% above eBay/market prices. I consider myself very knowledgeable about current games prices for all systems and I just couldn't find a good deal in there to save my life. I bought a few games begrudgingly as not to be rude, but I actually didn't even feel good about that. I looked at nearly their whole stock from 2600 to 360 and I could hardly justify any of the purchases. They also suffer from the, "How much is this? Oh wait, no sticker, let me look up every game online in a database to see how much we'll sell it for" syndrome. I wanted desperately to like this place, but that being said, I just can't recommend them. In some ways I hope that they read this, We want to like you Gamer's Edge, but you gotta offer us better deals than our smartphones if we are going to journey up there.

Lastly, I'd like to plug a very small bar called Billy Ray's. They have five pinball machines and a Mrs. Pac-man upstairs, but you couldn't ask for a better selection of machines or ones that were in better condition. They have a Medival Madness, Mars Attacks, Bass Fishin, Sopranos, and that one will all the old movie monsters - great game. There is a good vibe in that place and their machines are in kick-ass condition. Ground Kontrol is cool, but you can never hear anything in there and you can't be very social because of it. Billy Ray's is a good option if you want a more quiet night out with friends. Clinton Street Pub also has some nice pins if you are looking for a smaller bar vibe.

PS: We just gave away all of our trade secrets.

[Jasonbar]

Thanks for all of your input & advice. I had a great time in Portland & Seattle.

Here's a summary of my gaming adventures:

PORTLAND (wow, the public transit, coupled with an Android phone, is amazing!):

Sat 8/6/11:
Video Game Wizards: pretty good, awful crowded for me & my fat luggage, decent selection of mostly newer stuff (mind you, I was looking mostly for TG16/PCE, Vectrex, Virtual Boy, & maybe some Atari/Intellivision).

Ground Kontrol: AWESOME! Pinballs in great condition. Everything I tested worked great (Star Wars out of order), got some good Asteroids & Tempest games in. Played the 4-player Pac-Man: Battle Royale by myself...awful as a 1-player game...Played a good half hour on Discs of Tron before giving up & throwing my game--was it set on easy or did I suddenly become awesome at it???


SEATTLE (had a rental car):

Sat 8/6/11:
Tiger Lounge: closed (permanently?) Saw it listed on a Seatle Pinball Zine that I found on a game in Ground Kontrol. They didn't answer their phone or have a message, either. Stuck in an industrial area--didn't look too safe

Shorty's: Grrreat! Lots of the pins needed some love, but there was a good selection & a great atmosphere.


Sun 8/7/11:

Another Castle: great! Really nice staff, good selection, decent arcade game selection attached to store. Got a few items.

Game Gurus: pretty good selection. Like VGW, mostly "newer". Wasn't too excited--didn't get anything here.

Pink Gorilla (International District): JACKPOT!!! I cleaned them out of a *LARGE* portion of their PCE section. 10% discount if you show up in a Pink Gorilla shirt. Or, if you spend a mad amount of money & chat up the staff, you can just buy a shirt on the spot & get your discount. I went overboard here.

Pink Gorilla (University): FURTHER JACKPOT!!! They'd already receied a call from the other PG that some nut was on his way over to buy tons of PCE games, so I got good treatment. Bigger store, but selection was no better (still awesome). Stage set up for Chip Tune etc. bands, selling local Chip Tune artist CDs, great store.

Shorty's: went back for more Sunday night--it was only about 10 blocks from my hotel. They'd fixed the Tron Legacy pin between Sat night & Sun night, so it was actually playable & fun.


Thanks,
-Jason