NYC lack of old school game stores sucks

[demen999]

Ok I work in NYC, and like buying the good old games. But there is only one place that I have seen and know of here that sells them(Multimedia/St. Marks games). They are getting too expensive, and have alot of crap too. Is there no hope anymore in NYC for old systems?

[poloplayr]

I would also love to know, since I'm moving to NYC in a couple of months. Also, what are the best arcades? Preferrably with some older games...

[Jive3D]

I'm a NYer myself - and Multimedia 1.0 is really the only place that concentrates on old school material - other than Gamestop or EB maybe having a few Oldschool games (which to them means PSone! Blasphemy!).

Multimedia 1.0 is a cool place though. I'm in that area often, so I usually stop by, but I'd say that I don't buy each time I go in there. They overcharge for new stuff and overcharge for old stuff too! Even though, sometimes it is worth it for the older stuff. I found Shenmue II for Xbox there sealed for $20, which I thought was worth it. I also got the horii SNES style gamepad for Gamecube there for about 25, which I thought was also not that bad, considering that I didnt have to ship it from japan via www.playasia.com or Liksang.

a side note. If you are in the area, there's a great japanese place right accross the street. I forget the name of it but there is a HUGE raccoon statue outfront which has glowing red eyes. There's also a Chipotle (burrito place) on that street as well - surprisingly they are owned by McDonalds, but the food there is top notch!!

yeah, no good stores in NYC for oldschoolaz!

[demen999]

It sucks bigtime man. I went there the other day to buy or find Rise of the dragon and some other stuff......Nothing. And all their sega cd stuff is 20 and up! lol truly overpricing it. I am left to depend on you guys and online stores for my old game fixes

[DJ_DEEM]

yah multimedia was great but didnt it shut down recently?

[demen999]

Its called St. Marks games now or something. But you know how it goes with old names, and new faces.

[Immutable]

The Gamespots/EB's of northern NJ/NYC disposed of most of their NES games. I guess that's why so many flea market sell NES games like hot cakes. Heh.

[demen999]

Yeah, I might have to see if I find some flea markets here or something. Or go to garage sales in Clifton. NJ (Where I'm from)....

[klausien]

This is a bit OT, but If you go to Multimedia 1.0 n/k/a St. Marks Games in the Village, you need to go one block over to McSorley's Old Ale House. It has been around for over 150 years and is as much a historic site as it is a saloon. Outside of the excellent beer that is only served correctly there, the prices are very sensible for food for NYC as well. It is one of those places that just does what it does, almost untouched by commercialism despite being a tourist attraction. My Dad first took me there when I was 17 (10 years ago), and we still go at least once a year. Go during the day during the week if possible, or Sunday afternoon, and you will avoid the crowds.

But back to topic, the video game market in NYC is terrible. Mainstream only at this point, and even then it is tough to find stores. I remember how exciting it was to go into an Asian Electronics store in Chinatown or even up by Penn Station in the late 80's, and gawk at all the curious looking, but egregiously overpriced import gaming items and toys in awe. I really miss the joy of the not-so-corporate NES through 16-Bit era of gaming. Large PC game stores were also a cool part of that era. I was not really cognizant of the dynamics of the Golden Age (though I spent most of my pre-school and early grammar school years playing too much Pitfall, Combat, Keystone Kapers and Asteroids), but I look fondly on the pre-PSX, late 80's/early 90's.

[WanganRunner]

Dude, there's some place down in Chinatown that is incredible.

Don't recall where it is exactly, what street. Elizabeth maybe, is that a street there? It was right off Canal, on downtown-facing side. Like a block down.

I actually mentioned it in another post I made here, so if you search around for posts by me, you'll get the name, I don't remember it now. I was up there visiting a friend and stumbled across it.

I got a bunch of Japanese N64 games, complete & mint for $10/ea. They had a fantabulous PS1 selection, I picked up Aquanaut's Holiday for $5 complete.

It's worth your time to go look for it. They had 2 of the BIG ZOE LE boxsets, for like $70 each, NEW.

EDIT: Honestly, I had a BUNCH of *nice* finds just cruising around Chinatown in the one day I was there. I'm going to go back specifically to go game shopping, it was that good. I keep seeing NYC people bitching about not being able to find good shops....you're not looking hard enough.

All those little electronics places in Manhattan with the shxt behind the glass, go in EVERY ONE of them. A lot of them have new old stock lying around. I scored like 2 dozen sealed longbox PSX titles at one, a Japanese GB Pocket, new & sealed at another for like $30 (dunno why they had that), blah blah blah.....

I mean it's not Hong Kong, but it's still damned find game shopping. You gotta do the legwork, but the deals are definitely there.

[Aussie2B]

Maybe you're willing to pay a bit more than me because I've been to just about every store in Chinatown with games and I've found they're all rip-offs. It's confirmed when I talk to my boyfriend and his bro; they've been here since around 89, and they often talk about how great Chinatown used to be for games.

So as I always say, NYC sucks for games. If you're looking for relatively recent releases, it's fine, perhaps even better than most. A couple weeks ago I went to a couple fancy looking GameStop and EB stores in Manhattan (first time I've seen an EB here actually), and I was very surprised to see just how large their GameCube selections were.

For old stuff, pfft, nothing. It's really sort of the mentality of the city. There's a reason why you're not going to find much of any thrift stores in Manhattan - the residents are rich; they don't want to buy used goods, and heck, if they have the option they'll go to some fancy store and pay a boatload of money for something they could get cheaper elsewhere. They're all yuppies, and they'll turn their noses up to a used, old video game.

And then if you're talking about the urban kids in Brooklyn and the Bronx and Queens, they all want the latest and greatest Grand Theft Auto or Madden. If they'll pay $300 for a pair of sneakers, they're not going to buy old, used games... not unless they're dipped in gold and chained around their necks. :P

Staten Island is just full of wannabe Manhattan people, who have slightly less money, so it's a no-go there too.

So yeah, welcome to the world of online shopping. The only real game hunting I do is when I visit family for the summer in Washington.

[demen999]

good post^^

Seriously it's so bad, taht I'm considering opening one up.....

I was trying to find Game Express on 34th and its gone. I remember I went there once, and they had stacks and stacks of genesis, GG, 32x, sega cd and saturn stuff with layers of dust on it. I didnt get anything cause when I saw it I was broke haha.

[WanganRunner]

A lot of those Chinatown stores are fairly negotiable.

Some old lady in one place wanted $70 for a CIB Sega CD Model 1.

I offered half, $35, and they took it. It looked like it had been sitting there forever.

As for the little electronics shops farther uptown (I was in garment district, times sq area, etc..), you just have to look, and ask the people who work there.

I mean, if you're looking for $5 NES top-loader thrift store finds and crap like that, then you're SOL I suppose, but that kind of thing isn't common anywhere.

[WanganRunner]

A lot of those Chinatown stores are fairly negotiable.

Some old lady in one place wanted $70 for a CIB Sega CD Model 1.

I offered half, $35, and they took it. It looked like it had been sitting there forever.

As for the little electronics shops farther uptown (I was in garment district, times sq area, etc..), you just have to look, and ask the people who work there.

I mean, if you're looking for $5 NES top-loader thrift store finds and crap like that, then you're SOL I suppose, but that kind of thing isn't common anywhere.

I think there's a fair number of shops over in Flushing too. They seem to all be doing some pretty brisk ebay business, so they must have the inventory.

[President Shinron]

And then if you're talking about the urban kids in Brooklyn and the Bronx and Queens, they all want the latest and greatest Grand Theft Auto or Madden. If they'll pay $300 for a pair of sneakers, they're not going to buy old, used games... not unless they're dipped in gold and chained around their necks. :P

wow!! i know what u mean they buy jordans for like $200 and then they buy an $80 shirt and only wear it once. then the next month comes and a new pair of jordans come out. Kids need to find a hobby (video game collecting) so they dont waste that much money on clothing that only cost few cents to make in another country.
p.s. i bought a top loader nes in a flea market in long island for $10

[kainemaxwell]

Dude, there's some place down in Chinatown that is incredible.

Don't recall where it is exactly, what street. Elizabeth maybe, is that a street there? It was right off Canal, on downtown-facing side. Like a block down.

I know whaich store you mean, almost right across from the Elizabeth Center? Damn, now I can't think of the name either!

[PC-Famicom64]

Ok I work in NYC, and like buying the good old games. But there is only one place that I have seen and know of here that sells them(Multimedia/St. Marks games). They are getting too expensive, and have alot of crap too. Is there no hope anymore in NYC for old systems?

That's whey Nintendo is opening up a Nintendo World Store .

[Aussie2B]

Well, it would be awesome if they had old Nintendo games, but I highly doubt it. Heck, a huge portion of their business these days is porting and remaking their old games. It would be silly to have a $1 SMB cart next to a $20 NES Classic SMB. :P

[howdoin]

Dude, there's some place down in Chinatown that is incredible.

Don't recall where it is exactly, what street. Elizabeth maybe, is that a street there? It was right off Canal, on downtown-facing side. Like a block down.

I know whaich store you mean, almost right across from the Elizabeth Center? Damn, now I can't think of the name either!

I think it's J&L, the store has stacks of great stuff but is well known to be overpriced for a lot of things.

PS: Manhattan people are not necessarily all rich, I make a decent living but still live in a studio with my wife and I would love to find stores for good used stuff in the city (and I am sure I'm not alone).

[youruglyclone]

This is a bit OT, but If you go to Multimedia 1.0 n/k/a St. Marks Games in the Village, you need to go one block over to McSorley's Old Ale House. It has been around for over 150 years and is as much a historic site as it is a saloon. Outside of the excellent beer that is only served correctly there, the prices are very sensible for food for NYC as well. It is one of those places that just does what it does, almost untouched by commercialism despite being a tourist attraction. My Dad first took me there when I was 17 (10 years ago), and we still go at least once a year. Go during the day during the week if possible, or Sunday afternoon, and you will avoid the crowds.

But back to topic, the video game market in NYC is terrible. Mainstream only at this point, and even then it is tough to find stores. I remember how exciting it was to go into an Asian Electronics store in Chinatown or even up by Penn Station in the late 80's, and gawk at all the curious looking, but egregiously overpriced import gaming items and toys in awe. I really miss the joy of the not-so-corporate NES through 16-Bit era of gaming. Large PC game stores were also a cool part of that era. I was not really cognizant of the dynamics of the Golden Age (though I spent most of my pre-school and early grammar school years playing too much Pitfall, Combat, Keystone Kapers and Asteroids), but I look fondly on the pre-PSX, late 80's/early 90's.

wow another mcsorley's patron...I usually go there for the burger...damn fine burger.

as far as classic gaming yeah I amassed most of my stuff from ebay and online forums...there are some nooks and craney (sp) places but they're all slowly disappearing...I mean there used to be a great use game stand at coney island, but then they started the renovation of the station sent it packing...I haven't seen it since.

J and L is a great place, saw it grow from a small store in elizabeth center to a pretty sizable shop across the street from the 5th precinct. Pretty friendly folks...I mean I left a 50 on the counter one day and the next time I went back weeks later they returned it to me...sure prices a slightly higher (because of "no tax" on cash purchases), but their friendliness draws me back...and occasionally they do have sweet deals.

Penguin Village/EVO/Initial D, the other game place in Elizabeth Center is a great store as well...so needless to say my gaming cash is split. I missed the days when they rented Super Famicom Games...but strangely enough I managed to buy one of their rental games at multimedia one!