Hey guys! GameStop Retro... I don't like what I'm seeing here and really felt the need to talk about it. I think it's a terrible idea. Hope you enjoyed the discussion. What are your thoughts on all this? Also give my friend Seth a look over at his channel Dr. Gamebender. He did a cool ASMR style look at the first issue of Game Informer. Check it out here - ua-cam.com/video/mBRcTBQOYK8/v-deo.html
I still collect for a brand new collection that I started with my daughter. If you rewatch that video maybe you’ll understand the point was to “move on” from that collection which had become like a shrine and start something new with my girl (now girls).
3:10 That Funcoland was in my neighborhood. Right by the Queens Center Mall. That exact store is where my mom purchased my first ever console for me which was the original Nintendo back in 1991. I was 6 years old. Great times. That store became a GameStop in the 2000’s and is now an Optical store.
I'm glad I was alive to see funcoland in a mall before they go absorbed. there was a certain energy. It was the first time I saw a Dreamcast playing Sonic Adventure. Core memory for me. and I think I bought a duke nukem action figure there.
Shout out to Scott. My mom worked part time as her 2nd job at Funcoland here in Indianapolis during the holidays. I was 12 and my mom used to bring me to work with her and Scott would let me sit in the back and play any game I wanted while she worked. He then said I could borrow any game I wanted as long as I brought it back. This was in 2000 and I still haven't forgotten your kindness to us. Wherever you are, I hope you've been blessed.
@@DinoNuggets723 Yup. On Washington Street. Long live the Toys R Us and Funcoland that used to be over there. We had KB Toys in Washington Square Mall back then as well and I used to go in there and dream about being able to take all the toys home with me.
I’ll be 40 years old later this month, I just wanted to say I love your channel man. It’ll be a sad day when physical games aren’t released anymore, GameStop just closed a store close to where I live that my Son and I enjoyed visiting. I really hope for a physical resurgence!! Digital has no Soul imo..
As someone who works for Gamestop currently. I understand your guys' concerns. But we have to go through a lot of training to tell the difference between real and fake cartridges. We don't throw away the boxes or manuals either.
Not trying to hate, but some of your employees got alot of work to do. I ordered a Dreamcast Hydrothunder and got a scratched up Playstation Hydrothunder. This is ridiculous. Somebody either didn't know their job or didn't care about their job.
@@CarlosHernandez-rl2wg Yeah, i don't mean to spew negativity either but one of the content creators I follow on here, Mrmattyplays, he usually does gamestop haul videos and whenever he gets older cartridges sometimes he still gets repos. Hopefully with these new stores there's going to be a bigger crackdown on that
I shutter at the thought of some 20 year old Gamestop employee buying a boxed SNES game and just slapping that infamous sticker right on the cardboard.
"Oh hey Tim, These 5 copies of Link from the past are not selling" Toss them. Procceds to destroy 35 year old games with a hammer to deter dumpster divers.
Enjoying the format! A very worthy topic. I've always ordered my retro games from Amazon third party sellers, Lukie Games and eBay. We don't have game stores in my area since Play N' Trade closed up shop.
I get a kick out of the fact that the GameStop Retro logo takes inspiration from that 80s/90s vapor wave aesthetic, but looks to mostly feature games from the 7th Gen (PS3, 360, Wii Era). lol
F that, im done buying digital, i just started back down the All Physical path, having a digital library attached to my email that can be hacked/deactivated as well as these companies being allowed to pull your access to their games or the games can be delisted all together, the literal cons of an All Digital future are numerous..So im gonna do my part and buy Physical, no problem ordering a game and picking it up from the store the next day like the good'ol days 😊 yall should try to do the same when its reasonable to you, start there people
I just wanted to say thank you so much. Your videos help me connect with my pops alot more and appreciate him while he is still here. I enjoy your videos especially the ones about your dad and how much you and him connected. My dad is in his 60's now. I've got to enjoy him whiles he's here
I feel like GameStop at this point is just doing everything they can to somehow stay relevant. They should have done this retro thing years ago and built upon it but now they're trying to play catch up and hoping nostalgia brings in those 20 somethings or older. And even then what the hell are they going to do when the next generation after gen z grows up who most of which probably have nostalgia for a freaking iPad over a console?
@@wolfman210 Funko toys and branded crap everywhere...I remember walking into my childhood Gamestop (used to be EB Games) and once I left it was depressing.
There are emulators a lot of people play old console games on and the younger generation would rather emulate them anyways so the retro store might really die off faster than one could imagine. I know I'm never going back to consoles after the 360 days ended. PC is just way to convenient if you just want all your games in one place.
I only know one retro store, but that one seems to be doing well, often its even difficult to walk in there cause its so crowded. It were the modern game stores that were always empty and are now gone. But i do miss being able to just go to a store and get a new release.
what my local game stop manager told me it wont be every store and its not going to have GAME STOP retro on the front it will still be regular game stop signage but there will be a small section that is dedicated to retro gaming that is a least what he told me it will not be anything like the independent Retro Game stores or back in the day Funcoland
Greatest channel ever! An asset to the community. Im loving to be able to contribute however I can! -Augie (was living the life in San Antonio while you were in Houston) .
I mostly grew up in Canada, and plus I was born '95, so unfortunately I never fit the time nor place for Funcoland. However, I'm old enough to have remembered renting games and movies from this Candian video rental store called VHQ. I feel so nostalgic for those days 😢
your videos always seemed so special to me and whoa.... I come back after a little bit of time wow!! look at your setup!! crazy clean camera angles, editing 10/10, this is so good
Game Informer had to go. Starting in 2014 it became Game Misinformer by pushing politics into gaming and it simply took the fun out of it. Things only got worse in recent years. The only reason people had a subscription is because it came with GameStop pro membership. So when the magazine was no longer going to be included with that membership, Game Informer put out requests in their last issues begging people to actively subscribe to them and hardly anyone did because they lost so much trust. We simoly looked at pictures of games and ignored their retarded words. Whether it was them publishing about BLM and fanning flames, or scolding SquareEnix for having white people in FF16 ("and rightfully so" they claimed), or having a large DEI article in the back of that very same trash rag issue, they had gone too far in search of the non-existent nonbinary intersex furry modern gamer.
I could only hope that Gamestop execs see this video and offer you a position as their Director of Retro Game Management for all of their nationwide conversions, offering insight, education for proper handling to all employees at these specific locations. In order for this to be successful, it would take an individual that is knowledgable and passionate. This channel is the conduit your dad groomed you for in order to help preserve the childhoods we've all had. He was ahead of his time. This would be a great opportunity to take things to the next level.
every little shop ive ever been in has a trained electrician on staff and a plastic smith working 10 hour days refurbishing everything, and they can still make a profit because their refurbished items will stand the test of time and thats what people who buy retro want, a console that can last another 20 years from purchase. Gamestops just gonna sell the 100 warehouses of left over junk they acquired back when they bought out funco babagges and the rest of their competition.
@@wolfman210 You mean funko pops and Ramen bowls are not a sustainable business model? I'm shocked /s. But yeah absolutely they don't want to do it better than anyone else they just can just see the writing on the wall. Sadly I don't think anyone would be shocked if the PS6 and xbox next is all digital.
@@coryvallad7578 Can't blame you in a lot of ways. So many games are just using the disc for licensing there's no point to it you're buying a coaster like Halo infinite or any recent COD even the new ubi game start wars outlaws requires a download to play on ps5. Personally i often check does it play before buying anything and i still almost always buy switch games physically especially if they are going to be gifts for the kids.
I used to work for GameStop, and yeah they tried to throw manuals, boxes, NES cases and GB cases away. I would always liberate them from the landfill. I now have a huge collection of boxes and manuals for games that I don't even own.
I hate those damn GameStop stickers . I can see them putting those stickers right on labels and places that can damage artwork. Honestly most GameStop employees seem to hate their jobs and I don’t see them caring for these games like a local mom and pop retro store would .
3:24 100% i use to dumpster dive (before it was cool lol) at least a decode and half ago for all those things you speak of Game Guides, Game Informer magazines, Game boxes, Posters! everything was in there! even the merchandise things like shirts, toys and the likes!
If they price it accordingly, take good care of thier stock, and also pay decently for retro stuff, i think it can work. They absolutely cant buy for too little and sell for too much, then its doomed.
Sadly, retro game stores in my area are dying out. We used to have a Packard Games, they were a bit over priced, but they did have what you want. Next Generation Games was owned by a guy that I ended up becoming friends with, but they went out of business. CM Games & Level-Up Games pretty much went to card and board games only and did away with video games entirely. Our best retro game store is actually marketed as a Book & Record store. It's got a lot more than just books and records though...you can get retro games there...rare games, import games, import retro consoles, strategy guides, card games, CDs, movies, comics, and a lot more. I can't go in that place to "just browse", I always end up finding something there I want. I even bought a Neo-Geo AES game from there....
The Retro Gamestop by me was surprisingly well stocked with almost EVERY generation. They had NES, SNES, N64, PS1 along with game systems to match. The only thing they had nothing for was handheld stuff before the DS and the Genesis. And when I got there later in the week, I was told that the stock I just mentioned that they had was actually what was LEFT. They had so much more. But the other two retro gamestops I've been too meanwhile have been deserts.
yes and every last item in their has leaking capacitors and corroded mother boards most likely. they will not be refurbishing the items like smaller shops will and do.
I've found mvc2 on xbox, def jam ffny, dbz budokai tenkaichi 3, shadow hearts, NFL Blitz the league 2, skygunner, and so many more gems. It's a lot of hunting and hit or miss at locations but I've been finding retro stuff at gamestops for over a year now
I don't think I ever spent more time in a store in my life than my local Funcoland. Getting the price guide paper chart, playing games on display, picking up a box of retro games (which at the time were just called "old") for 10 to 25 cents each.
Is there a way to see if a game comes in it is actually working without having it to put it in the actual console of that game? I can't imagine that every shop will have all consoles connected to see if a game is working or not.
Glad you like them! And thank you! I’m still going to do the old style of narrative videos too. Just wanted to evolve a bit. Glad people are digging them
REALLY love the podcast style :D especially for a discussion like this. I completely agree with everyyyyyy point made by you guys. I WANT Gamestop to prove me wrong, but yea… idk man… we’ll have to wait and see!
11:38 GameStop is corporate. Wasting space in stores for items that don't generate profit is not what they do. They try to warehouse as much inventory in the store as possible. That's why those demo stations went when GameStop took over FuncoLand. I imagine GameStop Retro stores might be larger at first with fewer stores overall, but could they cram things in there that create atmosphere, draw potential buyers, but don't ostensibly generate income?
I remember that moment in 2005-ish when Gamestop suddenly ditched all their retro inventory and went exclusively with (what was at the time) current-gen games and systems only. It was a sad, sad day.
If I can get retro games like gamecube games for a lot cheaper at gamestop, I would definitely buy it from there rather than a retro gaming store some of those places, their prices are outrageous compared to gamestop
I am so thankful for Babbage's, ToysRUs, Software Etc., FuncoLand and growing up in the 80's to experience them all! I believe that GameStop is circling the drain. With the move to digital all over the place, there's no nostalgia for buying a software code to play a game with no box, no manual, etc. "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. "Dr. Seuss
There are next to no gamestop locations in my area. And the few I have seen barely have any space. They can't possibly make these retro locations. But I would like to be proven wrong.
Gonna call out the obvious on why this will likely fail spectacularly. So when funcoland was at its peak in the mid 90's the oldest retro consoles and games they were selling were about 15 years old (atari/colecovision) but those made up a tiny percentage of their merch. Most stuff was less then 7 years old to brand new. So consoles and games degrade, a nes from 1985 is now 40 years old, Snes 33 years old a PSone/N64 is 30 years old and an Xbox is 25 years old, hell a PS3 from 2006 is almost 19 years old! The capacitors in the consoles and games are almost guaranteed to be leaking in anything older then 20 years. And if you think cd/dvd games will be the salvation I have 2 words for you... CD Rot. Yes sir most cd's from 1992 onward are susceptible to CD rot, where either the metal film the data is on begins to delaminate from the plastic, Or the metal begins to corrode, or the cd plastic oxidizes and becomes chalky and brittle, or ALL THREE! So unless gamestop has bought a slew of manufacturing warehouses stocked with replacement electrical components, employed several hundred electricians and plastic smiths to refurbish tens of thousands of cartridges, and consoles, everything they sell that's older then 2015, is very likely to either not work from the go or will fail within days of plugging for the first time in decades from short circuiting. Theres a reason retro game shops thrive, its because they work their asses off rebuilding every, single thing that comes through their doors. Gamestop will not be doing that.
Great points, I also see people complaining about the selection at these stores. They are forgetting that in the 90's FuncoLand was full of NES/SNES because 90% of people only wanted the newest games/consoles. That is one reason why Gamestop trashed tons of the inventory they got when they merged FuncoLand, EB, and Babbages to from Gamestop. Now there are so many collectors with 1000+ games in our collections, and that combined with all the games Gamestop has trashed over the years leads to a much smaller amount of games to fill up stores. Even most mom and pop videogame stores that seem to have tons of games are full of the games that GameStop does not take on trade because they do not sell well.
When my dad got the ps3 he gave me his ps2 and when my aunt got the Xbox 360 she gave me her original Xbox and I also had the Wii that how I started gaming
The crazy part about this situation with physical media declining is that over the next decades, retro gaming itself will sort of die as well since so much of the modern gaming experience is tied to online functionality, service check-in, etc. It seems like we may hit a hard stop where the only way to play 'older' games after a certain generation will be re-buying whatever titles are ported to the newer systems.
Heed this warning from across the pond...here in the UK we have a chain of shops called 'CeX' that only buy/sell pre-owned electronics and entertainment (video games, consoles, mobile phones, DVDs etc) and over the years they've really f***ed up the cost of retro games. They've marked up the prices of items and so gone are the days you could pick up something cheap from a car boot sale, Facebook marketplace or a charity shop because people see the CeX prices and I think "Yeah! I'll charge that much!" CeX also have/had a nasty habit of re-printing the outer sleeves and not disclosing that the artwork was not original. I also see that they mix up discs and cases e.g. put a platinum edition game in a non-platinum edition case. The only good thing is the guarantee they give the items, although I've never tried to return something so I'm not sure how well they honour that.
To handle rare and classic games responsibly is not always profitable. A retro game collector is willing to take a financial loss for the sake of preservation. A company will not take a chance on a loose disc or empty box. If it's not worth the effort, it goes straight to the garbage bin.
We sometimes in the retro gaming community think we are the end all be all of retro games! What about those "retro game stores" that charge ebay prices and take there trades in (games/consoles) dirty, scratched or with cracked cases and more! And sells them "as is" at market value!? Yet no one in the "retro gaming community" is calling them out for bad practices!
My guess would be they are actually operating in the free market as it was intended meaning they aren’t a huge corporation who has enough money to screw ppl over, make a quick buck, and face no consequences whereas smaller “mom and pop” stores will screw customers which will eventually screw themselves in the long run
@@Gameremporium Retro Game stores that do that are very few and far between though. The only major one that does that off the top of my head is DKOldies, where consoles are overpriced for what their actual value is and you have to pay extra to Guarantee you’ll get a first Party Controller but can still get a third party controller.
Hi tyler.Awesome video and great topic to talk about.I wish i could experience the 90s where arcades, funcoland, eb games, and babbages were at their peak
I live around Pittsburgh. I remember hearing about Funcoland growing up but never got to go to one. We only had EB Games and Toys R Us growing up in the area. Dont know if Funcoland was big in the Northeast.
Game Stop's practice of throwing away inserts, boxes, cases, etc. is not something I thought of when this was announced. That should be the highest concern since people trading in stuff probably don't care either or think it will be perserved.
I wish our stores would be like the stores in Japan. The thrift stores there will buy your stuff and sell it with care. It also doesn't matter how old it is either.
In reality the majority of retro game stores out there are out for the all mighty buck I would say 95 percent of these stores out there and vendors at the cons no doubt about it only difference with game stop is they are huge and will have more money to spend and take from the smaller stores that's it
I wish i had fond memories of funcoland. Unfortunately the only thing i remember was the manager kicking me and my friends out because we were "in the store too long", mind you this is AFTER I bought mvc2 for dreamcast. So we had to wait outside the store until our friend's mom came back to pick us up. Anyway, as ive gotten older I appreciate physical media more and more, hopefully it never goes away. I wish younger me would have done a better job of storing/caring for all the games i had.
Haven't been to gamestop for the later part of a decade. For modern gaming I moved onto being primarily a PC gamer and for retro stuff they never carried anything and when they did it was in horrid ocndition with bad labels and stickers all over everything. They also had no QA for checking fake / reproduction carts.
My dad used to take me to Funcoland to buy used N64 games back in the late 90’s. Now I take my son to GameStop so he can experience it before all the physical games get phased out. He’s young so I record him at GameStop kinda like what your dad did for u, memories for him when he gets older.
I loved funcoland but the thing I remember most is the game list that had this unreleased game called yeah yeah xibis , it's still a mystery to what that game was
Our Ebgames closed down in town. Now all we have is a ma and pop shop, which has been quite successful. I think if you want to own and operate a retro store you need to know electronics or at least have a guy to do the more complicated jobs.
I am a huge fan and I have to agree because nostalgic retro has taken a back seat because of New retro and it's not right and I think we all need to come together Nostalgic retro people and new retro, keep em both. I hope Gamestop Realize they can have both and not alienate the Nostalgic retro because gaming is for everyone.
I think IF they start having arcade cabinets and change it up to feel like a mix or modern and retro then I think they can be successful. But they would also need to change their trade in / refund policy. Cool video. ^_^
The company that is GameStop should have ended a long time ago. It's been limping on for over 10 years now. It really is time to show mom and pop retro shops so e love.
If Tyler has some sort of vision with where this company can go with retro gaming then maybe we might just see a BIG Change occur with this corporate monster called GameStop. But at the end of the day I don’t think I would hold my breath for much to happen. But we shall see.
I stopped at my local Gamestop "retro" recently. After it took me 5 minutes to find the tiny retro section. I was left with a handful of ps3 games (barely retro) and weirdly enough, nintendo 3ds games. Outside of that, literally a few 360 games, and wii. That was literally it. Nothing earlier then 7th gen (so no ps2, ps1, xbox, gamecube, etc) I rolled my eyes and walked out.
R u sure thats authentic cuz I bought crystal a yr or so ago n it was round $100 no box or nothing but hey if u found it 4 that I guess u got lucky that day
During the time when PS3, Xbox 360 and all the PSP, DS, and other olden gen games were in hand and transitioning to the newer gens my Gamestop threw all their games in the garbage because they were just keeping space on shelves it hurts to know they did that and just trashed them.. I'm not sure if all Gamestops did that at the time but mine sure did..
They couldn't even handle the 360 gen with respect. They put the damned price stickers on the spine, and UNDER the plastic cover directly on the artwork!
I was there around 2018 to 2019ish after my last Midnight release was Red Dead Redemption 2. We were talking to our Gamestop guy we known for years about how they were installing a back table for PC gaming and they would host lan tournaments as a prototype store for it......Then covid hit. Im still surprised to this day how they are still surviving. They have a oppatunity to BE the game store from the past and care for older games and consoles. But that takes effort and capital that I do not think the shareholders want to see. I see them bankrupt in the next gen cycle for sure if things do not change.
GameStop give fair market values? They’re completely irresponsible when I comes to handling and appreciating retro games. I remember dumpster diving being a big thing at GameStop because they would throw away the video game boxes, inserts & manuals because they took up too much space in stores, horrifying.
They’re seeing the writing on the wall. The PS5 pro doesn’t have a disc drive. Most likely the next consoles won’t have a disc drive, except for Nintendo.
Yep and they will only sell hardware, accessories, and gift cards. They can’t start doing PC hardware and the like because micro center will eat them alive on that area. The problem is that a lot of retro games on cart will need electronics works. Especially some consoles. They can turn away a SNES that doesn’t work but a smaller shop will take it and be able to fix it.
Between 1997 up until around 2003 me ,my cousins and friends used to drive all over Houston to every Funcoland looking for games for NES, Super NES , Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Playstation. During that time I bought a couple of games that are now very expensive nowadays like Bonk's Adventure and Rescue Rangers 2 for NES and Popful Mail and Snatcher for Sega CD and some others for cheap prices like for example I bought Power Blade 2 on NES for $12.99. Around 2015 I ended up selling most of the High dollar NES games I had because I was short of money and my son needed clothes for school. My cousin had the Sega CD and unfortunately I regret not hanging on to Snatcher which she had lost somewhere in their parents house but luckily I still have Popful Mail with the instruction manual but not the original case it came in.
They are in the know about where the industry is attempting to go (no physical). This is the bandaid to keep their stores temporarily relevant to some people.
I find it funny Retro Rick had been contacted by gamestop or was the the Pixel game squad guys. and they were like, no. I think gamestop was trying to outreach Im sure they didnt show their cards, but now that GSretro is here maybe they were trying to do that. and Gamestop will NOT do the right thing and per their track record screw it all up in a year or two.
In addition to NES, SNES, Genesis Games, FuncoLand had Sega Master System Games. During the 90's the and part of the 2000's, game players were into new consoles, new games that were released. So the older game consoles and games for NES, SNES, Master System, and Genesis were ignored. I purchased Phantasy Star 1 for the Sega Master System from a FuncoLand in Minnesota (I lived on the West Coast). I was happy when the game arrived a couple of months later (back then, things took a long time to get to your home). It doesn't seem like GameStop fully understands how older consoles and games are appreciated. I don't think Gamestop knows how to restore or properly clean hardware and any software. The company does not have much information about the games they are selling, and they have no idea as to how the hardware can undergo wear , burn out, and rust. The consoles and cartridges have metal components that can burn and rust and must be inspected and taken care of (with minimal humidity in the stores).
I remember when Gamestop used to still sell Sega Genesis games. It was absolutely wonderful for a kid who still had a Genesis, PS1, and Gameboy to find older stuff. Then, one day, it all just disappeared. I asked one of the employees if they still had any Genesis games, and he just laughed at me. Really good way to lose a customer buddy...
![The Sega Master System Collection HAUL of 1995 - My Retro Life [Extended Cut]](/img/n.gif)
Hey guys! GameStop Retro... I don't like what I'm seeing here and really felt the need to talk about it. I think it's a terrible idea. Hope you enjoyed the discussion. What are your thoughts on all this? Also give my friend Seth a look over at his channel Dr. Gamebender. He did a cool ASMR style look at the first issue of Game Informer. Check it out here - ua-cam.com/video/mBRcTBQOYK8/v-deo.html
I still collect for a brand new collection that I started with my daughter. If you rewatch that video maybe you’ll understand the point was to “move on” from that collection which had become like a shrine and start something new with my girl (now girls).
@@MyRetroLifeTyler brother I have to ask do you do the voice over for the gain scent beads commercial??? I swear it sounds just like you 😂
Why dont you check Estarland? They have literally everything. And their trade valies are higher than Gamestop most of the time
3:10 That Funcoland was in my neighborhood. Right by the Queens Center Mall. That exact store is where my mom purchased my first ever console for me which was the original Nintendo back in 1991. I was 6 years old. Great times. That store became a GameStop in the 2000’s and is now an Optical store.
I'm glad I was alive to see funcoland in a mall before they go absorbed. there was a certain energy. It was the first time I saw a Dreamcast playing Sonic Adventure. Core memory for me. and I think I bought a duke nukem action figure there.
Shout out to Scott. My mom worked part time as her 2nd job at Funcoland here in Indianapolis during the holidays. I was 12 and my mom used to bring me to work with her and Scott would let me sit in the back and play any game I wanted while she worked. He then said I could borrow any game I wanted as long as I brought it back. This was in 2000 and I still haven't forgotten your kindness to us. Wherever you are, I hope you've been blessed.
was it the funcoland near the toys r us if so your moms prob sold me my pokemon games as a kid she the goat for that
@@DinoNuggets723 Yup. On Washington Street. Long live the Toys R Us and Funcoland that used to be over there. We had KB Toys in Washington Square Mall back then as well and I used to go in there and dream about being able to take all the toys home with me.
I’ll be 40 years old later this month, I just wanted to say I love your channel man. It’ll be a sad day when physical games aren’t released anymore, GameStop just closed a store close to where I live that my Son and I enjoyed visiting. I really hope for a physical resurgence!! Digital has no Soul imo..
im 25yo and i feel the same, itll be a terrible day buddy..
As someone who works for Gamestop currently. I understand your guys' concerns. But we have to go through a lot of training to tell the difference between real and fake cartridges. We don't throw away the boxes or manuals either.
This is GREAT to hear. Maybe we'll do a followup video down the road after the brand has been around for a while. Thanks for chiming in.
as some one who shopped a retro location, I can vouch for this. I bought some retro titles from a GSR recently that still had their box and manual.
Not trying to hate, but some of your employees got alot of work to do. I ordered a Dreamcast Hydrothunder and got a scratched up Playstation Hydrothunder. This is ridiculous. Somebody either didn't know their job or didn't care about their job.
@@CarlosHernandez-rl2wg Yeah, i don't mean to spew negativity either but one of the content creators I follow on here, Mrmattyplays, he usually does gamestop haul videos and whenever he gets older cartridges sometimes he still gets repos. Hopefully with these new stores there's going to be a bigger crackdown on that
They still sell fake games lmao
I shutter at the thought of some 20 year old Gamestop employee buying a boxed SNES game and just slapping that infamous sticker right on the cardboard.
Yep, they are dirty & would do that.
"Oh hey Tim, These 5 copies of Link from the past are not selling" Toss them.
Procceds to destroy 35 year old games with a hammer to deter dumpster divers.
My brothers and I used to love going to funcoland and then reading that paper list at home ya know? Man… great times
So nostalgic for that list!
So wish I still had some of those news papers
Jeeze pal, you just made me feel real old. I can still smell the paper.
@@wingman-1977 feels like a lifetime ago.
@@jeremyblackwater439 More like a couple of lifetimes.
Funcoland, ahhh! Where I sold my Yoshi’s Story N64 cartridge for $12, and saw it for sale at $40 the next day
Funcoland was my childhood. Really miss them.
Enjoying the format! A very worthy topic. I've always ordered my retro games from Amazon third party sellers, Lukie Games and eBay. We don't have game stores in my area since Play N' Trade closed up shop.
Glad you’re enjoying the format
I get a kick out of the fact that the GameStop Retro logo takes inspiration from that 80s/90s vapor wave aesthetic, but looks to mostly feature games from the 7th Gen (PS3, 360, Wii Era). lol
Yeah, that logo makes me roll my eyes. Basically young guys thinking that's what the 80s and 90s were, but also the 2000s.
F that, im done buying digital, i just started back down the All Physical path, having a digital library attached to my email that can be hacked/deactivated as well as these companies being allowed to pull your access to their games or the games can be delisted all together, the literal cons of an All Digital future are numerous..So im gonna do my part and buy Physical, no problem ordering a game and picking it up from the store the next day like the good'ol days 😊 yall should try to do the same when its reasonable to you, start there people
I just wanted to say thank you so much. Your videos help me connect with my pops alot more and appreciate him while he is still here. I enjoy your videos especially the ones about your dad and how much you and him connected. My dad is in his 60's now. I've got to enjoy him whiles he's here
I feel like GameStop at this point is just doing everything they can to somehow stay relevant. They should have done this retro thing years ago and built upon it but now they're trying to play catch up and hoping nostalgia brings in those 20 somethings or older. And even then what the hell are they going to do when the next generation after gen z grows up who most of which probably have nostalgia for a freaking iPad over a console?
@@wolfman210 Funko toys and branded crap everywhere...I remember walking into my childhood Gamestop (used to be EB Games) and once I left it was depressing.
There are emulators a lot of people play old console games on and the younger generation would rather emulate them anyways so the retro store might really die off faster than one could imagine. I know I'm never going back to consoles after the 360 days ended. PC is just way to convenient if you just want all your games in one place.
Yup should have started this 15 years ago at least…
I only know one retro store, but that one seems to be doing well, often its even difficult to walk in there cause its so crowded. It were the modern game stores that were always empty and are now gone.
But i do miss being able to just go to a store and get a new release.
what my local game stop manager told me it wont be every store and its not going to have GAME STOP retro on the front it will still be regular game stop signage but there will be a small section that is dedicated to retro gaming that is a least what he told me it will not be anything like the independent Retro Game stores or back in the day Funcoland
Greatest channel ever! An asset to the community. Im loving to be able to contribute however I can!
-Augie (was living the life in San Antonio while you were in Houston) .
Thank you for the support! Truly
@@MyRetroLife Dude anytime...your channel kicks ass.
I mostly grew up in Canada, and plus I was born '95, so unfortunately I never fit the time nor place for Funcoland. However, I'm old enough to have remembered renting games and movies from this Candian video rental store called VHQ. I feel so nostalgic for those days 😢
your videos always seemed so special to me and whoa.... I come back after a little bit of time wow!! look at your setup!! crazy clean camera angles, editing 10/10, this is so good
Thank you! Glad you noticed and appreciate the extra effort
Game Informer had to go. Starting in 2014 it became Game Misinformer by pushing politics into gaming and it simply took the fun out of it. Things only got worse in recent years. The only reason people had a subscription is because it came with GameStop pro membership. So when the magazine was no longer going to be included with that membership, Game Informer put out requests in their last issues begging people to actively subscribe to them and hardly anyone did because they lost so much trust. We simoly looked at pictures of games and ignored their retarded words. Whether it was them publishing about BLM and fanning flames, or scolding SquareEnix for having white people in FF16 ("and rightfully so" they claimed), or having a large DEI article in the back of that very same trash rag issue, they had gone too far in search of the non-existent nonbinary intersex furry modern gamer.
I could only hope that Gamestop execs see this video and offer you a position as their Director of Retro Game Management for all of their nationwide conversions, offering insight, education for proper handling to all employees at these specific locations. In order for this to be successful, it would take an individual that is knowledgable and passionate. This channel is the conduit your dad groomed you for in order to help preserve the childhoods we've all had. He was ahead of his time. This would be a great opportunity to take things to the next level.
I think GameStop saw smaller shops with retro games and figured they can do it better.
And they never will.
every little shop ive ever been in has a trained electrician on staff and a plastic smith working 10 hour days refurbishing everything, and they can still make a profit because their refurbished items will stand the test of time and thats what people who buy retro want, a console that can last another 20 years from purchase. Gamestops just gonna sell the 100 warehouses of left over junk they acquired back when they bought out funco babagges and the rest of their competition.
@@wolfman210 You mean funko pops and Ramen bowls are not a sustainable business model? I'm shocked /s. But yeah absolutely they don't want to do it better than anyone else they just can just see the writing on the wall.
Sadly I don't think anyone would be shocked if the PS6 and xbox next is all digital.
or they havnt made real big money since 2012 lol I have not bought a physical game for the newer consoles since the start of xbox one.
@@coryvallad7578 Can't blame you in a lot of ways. So many games are just using the disc for licensing there's no point to it you're buying a coaster like Halo infinite or any recent COD even the new ubi game start wars outlaws requires a download to play on ps5.
Personally i often check does it play before buying anything and i still almost always buy switch games physically especially if they are going to be gifts for the kids.
I used to work for GameStop, and yeah they tried to throw manuals, boxes, NES cases and GB cases away. I would always liberate them from the landfill. I now have a huge collection of boxes and manuals for games that I don't even own.
I hate those damn GameStop stickers . I can see them putting those stickers right on labels and places that can damage artwork. Honestly most GameStop employees seem to hate their jobs and I don’t see them caring for these games like a local mom and pop retro store would .
3:24 100% i use to dumpster dive (before it was cool lol) at least a decode and half ago for all those things you speak of Game Guides, Game Informer magazines, Game boxes, Posters! everything was in there! even the merchandise things like shirts, toys and the likes!
I hope it works, Gamestop needs to get the trust back. Its good to see people excited
If they price it accordingly, take good care of thier stock, and also pay decently for retro stuff, i think it can work. They absolutely cant buy for too little and sell for too much, then its doomed.
Sadly, retro game stores in my area are dying out. We used to have a Packard Games, they were a bit over priced, but they did have what you want. Next Generation Games was owned by a guy that I ended up becoming friends with, but they went out of business. CM Games & Level-Up Games pretty much went to card and board games only and did away with video games entirely. Our best retro game store is actually marketed as a Book & Record store. It's got a lot more than just books and records though...you can get retro games there...rare games, import games, import retro consoles, strategy guides, card games, CDs, movies, comics, and a lot more. I can't go in that place to "just browse", I always end up finding something there I want. I even bought a Neo-Geo AES game from there....
The Retro Gamestop by me was surprisingly well stocked with almost EVERY generation. They had NES, SNES, N64, PS1 along with game systems to match. The only thing they had nothing for was handheld stuff before the DS and the Genesis. And when I got there later in the week, I was told that the stock I just mentioned that they had was actually what was LEFT. They had so much more.
But the other two retro gamestops I've been too meanwhile have been deserts.
yes and every last item in their has leaking capacitors and corroded mother boards most likely. they will not be refurbishing the items like smaller shops will and do.
How were the prices though?
@@Phoenixesper1 I bought two n64 games and had to return one that wouldn't boot. So yeah lol. That DID happen.
@@LotoTheHero They were honestly good. Everything felt priced a little under the average on ebay.
I've found mvc2 on xbox, def jam ffny, dbz budokai tenkaichi 3, shadow hearts, NFL Blitz the league 2, skygunner, and so many more gems. It's a lot of hunting and hit or miss at locations but I've been finding retro stuff at gamestops for over a year now
I don't think I ever spent more time in a store in my life than my local Funcoland. Getting the price guide paper chart, playing games on display, picking up a box of retro games (which at the time were just called "old") for 10 to 25 cents each.
Your videos are the best, Tyler! God bless all of your family and friends! May everyone be happy and healthy! Thanks for having such a cool channel!
Thank you very much! I really appreciate the comment
Is there a way to see if a game comes in it is actually working without having it to put it in the actual console of that game? I can't imagine that every shop will have all consoles connected to see if a game is working or not.
Really digging these new style of videos man. Keep up the hard work man ❤
Also why does gamestop have a sega saturn listed for 10k but out of stock?
Glad you like them! And thank you! I’m still going to do the old style of narrative videos too. Just wanted to evolve a bit. Glad people are digging them
Over here in the UK, the repros sadly slip through in the CEX market. It’s shocking that this happens 😢
Interesting CeX in Australia won't take anything pre dating the ps2/Xbox/PSP/ds
What systems do they take there?
REALLY love the podcast style :D especially for a discussion like this. I completely agree with everyyyyyy point made by you guys. I WANT Gamestop to prove me wrong, but yea… idk man… we’ll have to wait and see!
Loving the new format guys!
At the 9:57 mark, the music playing is from Black Hole Assault (SEGA CD).
Good catch! Really
11:38 GameStop is corporate. Wasting space in stores for items that don't generate profit is not what they do. They try to warehouse as much inventory in the store as possible. That's why those demo stations went when GameStop took over FuncoLand. I imagine GameStop Retro stores might be larger at first with fewer stores overall, but could they cram things in there that create atmosphere, draw potential buyers, but don't ostensibly generate income?
I remember that moment in 2005-ish when Gamestop suddenly ditched all their retro inventory and went exclusively with (what was at the time) current-gen games and systems only. It was a sad, sad day.
Hey Tyler
If I can get retro games like gamecube games for a lot cheaper at gamestop, I would definitely buy it from there rather than a retro gaming store some of those places, their prices are outrageous compared to gamestop
I am so thankful for Babbage's, ToysRUs, Software Etc., FuncoLand and growing up in the 80's to experience them all! I believe that GameStop is circling the drain. With the move to digital all over the place, there's no nostalgia for buying a software code to play a game with no box, no manual, etc. "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. "Dr. Seuss
There are next to no gamestop locations in my area. And the few I have seen barely have any space.
They can't possibly make these retro locations.
But I would like to be proven wrong.
Gonna call out the obvious on why this will likely fail spectacularly. So when funcoland was at its peak in the mid 90's the oldest retro consoles and games they were selling were about 15 years old (atari/colecovision) but those made up a tiny percentage of their merch. Most stuff was less then 7 years old to brand new. So consoles and games degrade, a nes from 1985 is now 40 years old, Snes 33 years old a PSone/N64 is 30 years old and an Xbox is 25 years old, hell a PS3 from 2006 is almost 19 years old! The capacitors in the consoles and games are almost guaranteed to be leaking in anything older then 20 years. And if you think cd/dvd games will be the salvation I have 2 words for you... CD Rot. Yes sir most cd's from 1992 onward are susceptible to CD rot, where either the metal film the data is on begins to delaminate from the plastic, Or the metal begins to corrode, or the cd plastic oxidizes and becomes chalky and brittle, or ALL THREE! So unless gamestop has bought a slew of manufacturing warehouses stocked with replacement electrical components, employed several hundred electricians and plastic smiths to refurbish tens of thousands of cartridges, and consoles, everything they sell that's older then 2015, is very likely to either not work from the go or will fail within days of plugging for the first time in decades from short circuiting. Theres a reason retro game shops thrive, its because they work their asses off rebuilding every, single thing that comes through their doors. Gamestop will not be doing that.
Great points, I also see people complaining about the selection at these stores. They are forgetting that in the 90's FuncoLand was full of NES/SNES because 90% of people only wanted the newest games/consoles. That is one reason why Gamestop trashed tons of the inventory they got when they merged FuncoLand, EB, and Babbages to from Gamestop. Now there are so many collectors with 1000+ games in our collections, and that combined with all the games Gamestop has trashed over the years leads to a much smaller amount of games to fill up stores. Even most mom and pop videogame stores that seem to have tons of games are full of the games that GameStop does not take on trade because they do not sell well.
GameStop retro I don’t think that’s going to be a bad idea old gen vs new gen
Fingers crossed. I don't have much faith in GameStop.
When my dad got the ps3 he gave me his ps2 and when my aunt got the Xbox 360 she gave me her original Xbox and I also had the Wii that how I started gaming
The crazy part about this situation with physical media declining is that over the next decades, retro gaming itself will sort of die as well since so much of the modern gaming experience is tied to online functionality, service check-in, etc. It seems like we may hit a hard stop where the only way to play 'older' games after a certain generation will be re-buying whatever titles are ported to the newer systems.
Heed this warning from across the pond...here in the UK we have a chain of shops called 'CeX' that only buy/sell pre-owned electronics and entertainment (video games, consoles, mobile phones, DVDs etc) and over the years they've really f***ed up the cost of retro games.
They've marked up the prices of items and so gone are the days you could pick up something cheap from a car boot sale, Facebook marketplace or a charity shop because people see the CeX prices and I think "Yeah! I'll charge that much!"
CeX also have/had a nasty habit of re-printing the outer sleeves and not disclosing that the artwork was not original.
I also see that they mix up discs and cases e.g. put a platinum edition game in a non-platinum edition case.
The only good thing is the guarantee they give the items, although I've never tried to return something so I'm not sure how well they honour that.
To handle rare and classic games responsibly is not always profitable.
A retro game collector is willing to take a financial loss for the sake of preservation.
A company will not take a chance on a loose disc or empty box. If it's not worth the effort, it goes straight to the garbage bin.
I love retro stores in my area
We sometimes in the retro gaming community think we are the end all be all of retro games! What about those "retro game stores" that charge ebay prices and take there trades in (games/consoles) dirty, scratched or with cracked cases and more! And sells them "as is" at market value!? Yet no one in the "retro gaming community" is calling them out for bad practices!
My guess would be they are actually operating in the free market as it was intended meaning they aren’t a huge corporation who has enough money to screw ppl over, make a quick buck, and face no consequences whereas smaller “mom and pop” stores will screw customers which will eventually screw themselves in the long run
@@Gameremporium Retro Game stores that do that are very few and far between though. The only major one that does that off the top of my head is DKOldies, where consoles are overpriced for what their actual value is and you have to pay extra to Guarantee you’ll get a first Party Controller but can still get a third party controller.
Hi tyler.Awesome video and great topic to talk about.I wish i could experience the 90s where arcades, funcoland, eb games, and babbages were at their peak
Thank you Tyler!
I live around Pittsburgh. I remember hearing about Funcoland growing up but never got to go to one. We only had EB Games and Toys R Us growing up in the area. Dont know if Funcoland was big in the Northeast.
Game Stop's practice of throwing away inserts, boxes, cases, etc. is not something I thought of when this was announced. That should be the highest concern since people trading in stuff probably don't care either or think it will be perserved.
Many thanks My Retro Life🤘
I wish our stores would be like the stores in Japan. The thrift stores there will buy your stuff and sell it with care. It also doesn't matter how old it is either.
This new format is seriously awesome, love it, keep up the awesome videos!
Glad you enjoy it!
A new Zelda game came out on Switch yesterday. It’s the first game you can play as Zelda. Your daughter might like this.
In reality the majority of retro game stores out there are out for the all mighty buck I would say 95 percent of these stores out there and vendors at the cons no doubt about it only difference with game stop is they are huge and will have more money to spend and take from the smaller stores that's it
I wish i had fond memories of funcoland. Unfortunately the only thing i remember was the manager kicking me and my friends out because we were "in the store too long", mind you this is AFTER I bought mvc2 for dreamcast. So we had to wait outside the store until our friend's mom came back to pick us up.
Anyway, as ive gotten older I appreciate physical media more and more, hopefully it never goes away. I wish younger me would have done a better job of storing/caring for all the games i had.
I had to cut the Happy Console Gamer short on his new upload when I saw your Thumbnail.
Great episode. Thanks for sharing your thoughts bc I’ve had similar ones with the news about GameStop retro.
Haven't been to gamestop for the later part of a decade. For modern gaming I moved onto being primarily a PC gamer and for retro stuff they never carried anything and when they did it was in horrid ocndition with bad labels and stickers all over everything. They also had no QA for checking fake / reproduction carts.
Retro gaming Is one of the reasons i keep living...de eso vivo
Just got a copy of Jade Cocoon cib for PS1 in good condition for $28. That is well under the premium price.
Seems promising so far!
My dad used to take me to Funcoland to buy used N64 games back in the late 90’s. Now I take my son to GameStop so he can experience it before all the physical games get phased out. He’s young so I record him at GameStop kinda like what your dad did for u, memories for him when he gets older.
I loved funcoland but the thing I remember most is the game list that had this unreleased game called yeah yeah xibis , it's still a mystery to what that game was
Our Ebgames closed down in town. Now all we have is a ma and pop shop, which has been quite successful. I think if you want to own and operate a retro store you need to know electronics or at least have a guy to do the more complicated jobs.
I am a huge fan and I have to agree because nostalgic retro has taken a back seat because of New retro and it's not right and I think we all need to come together Nostalgic retro people and new retro, keep em both. I hope Gamestop Realize they can have both and not alienate the Nostalgic retro because gaming is for everyone.
Mom and pop retro game stores are ALWAYS the way to go! 😎
I think IF they start having arcade cabinets and change it up to feel like a mix or modern and retro then I think they can be successful. But they would also need to change their trade in / refund policy. Cool video. ^_^
The company that is GameStop should have ended a long time ago. It's been limping on for over 10 years now. It really is time to show mom and pop retro shops so e love.
Very interesting conversation.
If Tyler has some sort of vision with where this company can go with retro gaming then maybe we might just see a BIG Change occur with this corporate monster called GameStop.
But at the end of the day I don’t think I would hold my breath for much to happen. But we shall see.
I wish Funcoland would make a comeback with the proper employment and respect the retro
Good ole Funco Land aka the original Game Stop…nostalgia at its finest…what an era it truly was 💯
I was curious if you would talk about this!
I stopped at my local Gamestop "retro" recently. After it took me 5 minutes to find the tiny retro section. I was left with a handful of ps3 games (barely retro) and weirdly enough, nintendo 3ds games. Outside of that, literally a few 360 games, and wii. That was literally it. Nothing earlier then 7th gen (so no ps2, ps1, xbox, gamecube, etc)
I rolled my eyes and walked out.
San Jose, CA Santa Clara Funco Land dad bought me Knockout Kings 2000 ps1 I remember the paper slip the game came in❤😊 good times
I worked at Software Etc (which got renamed to Gamestop) and Funcoland from 2000-2001. Those were clearly better days for the company.
This new format is great!
Glad you’re enjoying it! We have fun doing it
Big agree looks great
Gamestop Retro is amazing. I found Cib Castlevania 4 for 47 bucks as well as an authentic Pokemon Crystal for 45.
Authentic Pokémon crystal for 45 is an actual miracle omg
R u sure thats authentic cuz I bought crystal a yr or so ago n it was round $100 no box or nothing but hey if u found it 4 that I guess u got lucky that day
During the time when PS3, Xbox 360 and all the PSP, DS, and other olden gen games were in hand and transitioning to the newer gens my Gamestop threw all their games in the garbage because they were just keeping space on shelves it hurts to know they did that and just trashed them.. I'm not sure if all Gamestops did that at the time but mine sure did..
Game
Stop just started a collectible cards purchasing a few months ago. I haven’t heard an update.
They couldn't even handle the 360 gen with respect. They put the damned price stickers on the spine, and UNDER the plastic cover directly on the artwork!
I was there around 2018 to 2019ish after my last Midnight release was Red Dead Redemption 2. We were talking to our Gamestop guy we known for years about how they were installing a back table for PC gaming and they would host lan tournaments as a prototype store for it......Then covid hit. Im still surprised to this day how they are still surviving. They have a oppatunity to BE the game store from the past and care for older games and consoles. But that takes effort and capital that I do not think the shareholders want to see. I see them bankrupt in the next gen cycle for sure if things do not change.
GS came to the retro party late (probably too late because they should have done this over a decade ago). I like my retro game stores like boutiques.
While watching this i've just seen an article titled "fake retro video game ring worth 50m smashed in italy"
Great discussion, I’m really liking this new format! Hey if you ever need a guest I’m in North Texas 🤷🏼♂️
GameStop give fair market values? They’re completely irresponsible when I comes to handling and appreciating retro games. I remember dumpster diving being a big thing at GameStop because they would throw away the video game boxes, inserts & manuals because they took up too much space in stores, horrifying.
What song is playing at the end?
They’re seeing the writing on the wall. The PS5 pro doesn’t have a disc drive. Most likely the next consoles won’t have a disc drive, except for Nintendo.
Yep and they will only sell hardware, accessories, and gift cards. They can’t start doing PC hardware and the like because micro center will eat them alive on that area.
The problem is that a lot of retro games on cart will need electronics works. Especially some consoles. They can turn away a SNES that doesn’t work but a smaller shop will take it and be able to fix it.
Babbages, Funcoland and Software Etc warms my heart 😃
Between 1997 up until around 2003 me ,my cousins and friends used to drive all over Houston to every Funcoland looking for games for NES, Super NES , Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Playstation. During that time I bought a couple of games that are now very expensive nowadays like Bonk's Adventure and Rescue Rangers 2 for NES and Popful Mail and Snatcher for Sega CD and some others for cheap prices like for example I bought Power Blade 2 on NES for $12.99. Around 2015 I ended up selling most of the High dollar NES games I had because I was short of money and my son needed clothes for school. My cousin had the Sega CD and unfortunately I regret not hanging on to Snatcher which she had lost somewhere in their parents house but luckily I still have Popful Mail with the instruction manual but not the original case it came in.
Snatcher was awesome. I kept my copy through the years. I got mine at funcoland too. Best $24.99 my mom ever spent on me.
They are in the know about where the industry is attempting to go (no physical). This is the bandaid to keep their stores temporarily relevant to some people.
I already hate that they are touching tcg. Being a ex gamestop employee..corporate isn't to be trusted PERIOD
Its a wonderful idea. Gamestop has fumbled many times ..lets hope they dont drop the ball
I find it funny Retro Rick had been contacted by gamestop or was the the Pixel game squad guys. and they were like, no. I think gamestop was trying to outreach Im sure they didnt show their cards, but now that GSretro is here maybe they were trying to do that. and Gamestop will NOT do the right thing and per their track record screw it all up in a year or two.
In addition to NES, SNES, Genesis Games, FuncoLand had Sega Master System Games. During the 90's the and part of the 2000's, game players were into new consoles, new games that were released. So the older game consoles and games for NES, SNES, Master System, and Genesis were ignored.
I purchased Phantasy Star 1 for the Sega Master System from a FuncoLand in Minnesota (I lived on the West Coast).
I was happy when the game arrived a couple of months later (back then, things took a long time to get to your home).
It doesn't seem like GameStop fully understands how older consoles and games are appreciated.
I don't think Gamestop knows how to restore or properly clean hardware and any software.
The company does not have much information about the games they are selling, and they have no idea as to how the hardware can undergo wear , burn out, and rust.
The consoles and cartridges have metal components that can burn and rust and must be inspected and taken care of (with minimal humidity in the stores).
I remember when Gamestop used to still sell Sega Genesis games. It was absolutely wonderful for a kid who still had a Genesis, PS1, and Gameboy to find older stuff. Then, one day, it all just disappeared. I asked one of the employees if they still had any Genesis games, and he just laughed at me. Really good way to lose a customer buddy...
At the time this happened, you weren’t a customer to them. They wanted people buying $60 titles for Xbox 360 and PS3. Not $5 NES games