About the whole LAN thing. There's a place out here called Netzone that basically has a bunch of computers set up, the computers themselves are like windows 2000 and they have counter-strike, diablo 2, etc. It's really fun to go with friends and stuff. Some people also go for internet acess. I don't know just some ideas. I can take pictures of the set up if you want.
Some people are really weird at the LAN place I go to. They do not have WOW at home, so they pay 15 a month + 2 an hour just to play it at the LAN cafe. It must be some game.
I registered just to make this comment, mostly because I love your story so much and aspire to run my own video game store someday myself.Originally Posted by digitalpress
Go with your instincts on game selection. Going with 'blockbuster' titles is only going to burn you down the road. Sure, you've got to have a few copies to bring the casual gamer in, but pricing-wise you'll be in trouble.
For reference, Call of Duty 2, True Crime NY, Gun, and another new ActiVision title were $49.99 up to the 24th. 12/26? $29.99. Call of Duty 2 went back up, but the others did not. You probably can't afford to lose $20 per copy of those titles, it adds up quickly.
The 'eclectic' games have a built-in failsafe: major retailers stop ordering them almost immediately. Growlanser Generations, Lunar, Guitar Hero, older DDRs, Steel Battalion, Ace Combat 5 bundle, just about anything Konami, KOEI, or Namco makes that isn't mainstream. All of these games you don't have to worry about pricing cometition on, because EB/GameStop/Wal*Mart/Target only carry them between a week and a month then switch over to used only.
Make it your business to stock things nobody else does. Go out of your way to have one of everything. When you get a guy in the door looking for a Virtual Boy and you've got it, he'll come back for every other oddball thing he's looking for, and he'll come there first.
Except that's still one person vs the majority of people who are coming in looking for those GTA, Call of Duty, etc.
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Hey Joe I just wanted to congratulate you on the awesome christmas season
I am glad the store is doing so well, I would love to make a trip out but just not feasible at the moment.
I wish you all the best and I will definitly be showing up in the future to check the store out.
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The closest I have ever been to New Jersey was Colorado...so it's hard to get there with me living in Cali. But I was thinking about a road trip and your store is on the list for sure.
Is there a possibility for any online buying yet. Just a question. Don't flame a newb.
Welcome! GREAT comments, here's hoping that you'll stick around the board and share some more!
Selling collection, Atari through XBox. Send a PM with whatever games you're looking for.
i hope to hit up the store in the summer when i have enough money to take a vacation. i'll hit that up, the jay an silent bobs secret stash.
Right, right. I wasn't saying buy the entire stock of Katamari Damacy, just that concentrating on high-depreciation games isn't necessairly the way to go either.
Especially considering who he is and what kind of gamer knows his name, he should try to have one of everything. No amount of marketing or good will can replace your customer thinking of you as a one stop shop.
Rule of thumb: the rich customers are lazy and vice versa.
you dont know me but if i win the lottery i'll be over to buy a bunch of stuff
Just read through this, and I have to say, well done for making a go of this! Over where I live (Sheffield, UK) there's a huge lack of decent gaming establishments, only the big chains such as GAME and Gamestation. I'd certainly much prefer to visit a shop like yours for my gaming wares
I'll be sure to stop in your store probably sometime in the next month. Just a thought, there is an independent game store near me with a lan area, me and my friends used to go their constantly, but they stopped having a server for the lan and their prices and quality of their inventory declines constantly. They were able to bring in people with CS tournaments when they had a Server. When you get your LAN area up and running, try to have a server and run tournaments. Anyways, I hope to stop in there soon. Also, what the store near me at one point was a set of xboxes set up with a system link so you could play 8 (i think) players against each other playing halo 2. They had charged $5-7 an hour depending on the time of day and weekday or weekend. They also offered a discount card similar to eb and gs. Just a few ideas for thought.
mgriff
Hey Joe I was actually at the store and afterwards i signed up for the forums. I was there with my fiance getting all nostalgic.
I must say the store was very very impressive! And ive reccomended it to family and friends that are into games to go check it out at least once its almost like a museum for video games!
About the Lan thing, i think its an awesome idea and if you need any help as im a systems engineer let me know and of course im offering my help free!
Just to help out is cool enough for me!
PM me and ill stop by the store some time to shoot the breeze without the misses while shes at work lol.
AKay
Hey Joe, how about moving your webcam to the store. That way we could see DP memebers stop by or just watch the store for you while you are away.
Sadly, that's the case I've had with most younger folks but I've found if you put one in front of them with a truly entertaining game, they'll change their tune.Definitely not. Every once in awhile a kid will point to something like the Atari 2600 and say "what's that?" but they're bored halfway through my explanation
When we did our "Retro Retro" classic gaming night, we ended up with our biggest turnout with 9 kids 12 and younger attending.
It's pretty special to see young kids having fun with Killer Bees on the O^2 and River Raid on the VCS.
I've got pics and some video up on the greeleycgn.com site if anyone's interested in seeing a 9 year old kicking our collective asses in Combat.
I have a retro gaming store where I live, but they're bunch of rip-offs. The last draw was for Castlevania - Bloodlines (Genesis) for $18 cart only! I was in the hurry, so I purchase it. This game reminds me often that the store is full of rip-offs! They were selling Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Dreamcast) used for $30! It sad because the store has a huge collection of VCS, NES, SNES, Genesis, PSX, and current-gen software.
Believe me, I can relate. I'm a young preteen interested in classic games. When I tried to get my friends interested though, well it just won't happen. It's sad to see young kids just pass these awe inspiring systems by and leave them. For god sakes, I play tons of classic games. And anyways Joe, that's great that your store has been a huge success. Hey, I'm on the East coast, so maybe I can make it to NJ.Sadly, that's the case I've had with most younger folks but I've found if you put one in front of them with a truly entertaining game, they'll change their tune.Definitely not. Every once in awhile a kid will point to something like the Atari 2600 and say "what's that?" but they're bored halfway through my explanation
When we did our "Retro Retro" classic gaming night, we ended up with our biggest turnout with 9 kids 12 and younger attending.
It's pretty special to see young kids having fun with Killer Bees on the O^2 and River Raid on the VCS.
I've got pics and some video up on the greeleycgn.com site if anyone's interested in seeing a 9 year old kicking our collective asses in Combat.
Wow, I was thinking about taking a drive down there until I learned how piss-poor my geography was. It's a nine hour drive according to Mapquest.
At the very least, I can window shop from here on the site. Keep 'em updated Joe!
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