Closed Gaming Store memories. Which defunct game store do you miss most?

[marvelvscapcom2]

Hello everyone .  I don't know if anyone here remembers Game Crazy or if you had them locally. I don't think they were nationwide.  But for me they are the store I miss the most as I spent most of my childhood looking at this signage right here .



I remember all my fondest console gaming memories coming from this establishment.  From my first PS2, to my first 360.   My dad or mom would go in to buy me M rated games as I wasn't of age.   Me and my best friend from middle school used to go every thrusday and walk from my house which was right down the street, We'd go thursday which was when I would get my allowance and I'd spend 20 bucks on various PS2 games or save up a 2 week allowance and get a new game.   I even had the MVP card for lower prices.


This store went defunct along with Hollywood video and I actually recall crying the day it was torn down lol.  I was young at the time granted but it was an emotional thing for me as it was my favorite store and I loved all the workers.


Out of all the stores that went down.  I couldn't really grasp the reality of it.  I just wish they could come back.  They were so cheap with their deals as well.

Out of all the most popular ones like Funco Land and Blockbuster ect...  which game rental/buy store do you miss most?  Do you miss any at all?

[bikingjahuty]

Oh man, there are so, so many.

The one that I have the fondest memories of and the store where I bought and traded most of my video games growing up was a Software Etc store inside a mall that is no longer around either. I bought 75% of my N64, PS1, Gameboy, GBA, Dreamcast, PS2, and Gamecube games from there until it closed down in 2005. I spent a lot of time there with friends just window shopping and looking around as well. Just typing this is making me feel heavily sentimental about it.

We have a string of video game stores in Colorado that I don't believe existed elsewhere else called Game Force. Growing up there were probably a dozen different Game Force locations around the state and they were all individually franchised, which to my understanding all the locations were owned by five different people who owned different locations. There was one up the street from my high school that I used to walk to on my off hours and I purchased many games from there as well, including my first older console that I bought to get into older video games and game collecting, the Sega Saturn. There was also one in a more affluent suburban area near where I grew up that I really enjoyed going to. Both of these stores have been gone for over a decade now, and all the other Game Force locations are gone except three. Sadly just three or four years ago there was double that, which makes me worry about the future of these independently owned stores.

And finally, like you, I had a Game Crazy near my house from like 2001 to 2005 that was attached to a Hollywood Video store. I made a point to go in there every time I went to rent something, however I can't remember buying a ton of games from them, mostly because I was still buying from Software Etc and an EBX which eventually evolved into a Gamestop and got relocated down the street. Still, it was a cool place that I remember fondly and wish it was still around.

An honorable mention was an Incredible Universe store that was open very, very briefly near where I lived, but it was literally there for a year before it went out of business. I remember it being so cool and awesome even though I think I only went there twice. I wish I was old enough to remember it better and to have shopped there more.

[burningdoom]

Mostly I miss FuncoLand. I want a big store like that, that carries retro games, in my area again. We just don't have that anymore. Thrift shops, the flea market, and Goodwill are my local hunting grounds. (And Goodwill, I think, has just stopped putting out games. It's been a while since I've seen any there besides PC games.)

[hoshichiri]

I miss Game Crazy too. I remember when ours closed down, I actually asked my boss to change my work schedule so I could go to the closing sale. Not only did he do it, he gave me a shopping list.

I guess what I miss most is the old flea market, with its surprisingly numerous gaming booths. So many notable things bought from there... my Dreamcast, my Sega CD, my copy of Klonoa 2 (ended up kind of liking that one ). I'm sure if it was still around I'd be less enthused as the change in the market would have killed the deals. As it is though, it's a fond memory of my earlier collecting days.

[justin8301]

For me it was Babbage's; lots of time spent in that store. I remember being in elementary school saving up all the change I found and walking into that store with a bag of mostly pennies and buying my very first DMG-01 with tetris. Im sure the clerk HATED me; but he sat there with me and counted out every last cent till that grey brick was mine!
My Highschool was across the street from the mall, I used to skip lunch all the time and save my money, walk over to the Babbage's and spend it on games. The clearance bin was my best friend back then. I got some of my most favorite games in that store and they are still in my collection today.

[kamikazekeeg]

Blockbuster for sure.  I use to work at one in the early 2000's.  I'll always prefer physical stores over a digital marketplace.  It was nice just casually browsing around, finding stuff you normally wouldn't because a cover stood out.  Anymore, I'd take any rental store, but they've all shutdown around me.

[oldgamerz]

The only Game Crazy store I'd been to was in 2007-2009 a complete rip off all games were for modern mostly systems (back then). and My new Game Boy Advance SP was $250.00 in year 2007 plus tax. and they only had crappy gameboy advance games for $15.00 and up used.

In fact if you were to find any (used) for any console or handheld. in their store at all it was always $15.00 and up and that was everything they sold at the Game Crazy location

The location was in Highland Park Michigan a run down community at the time with violence and robberies and crumbling building. then came Game Headz in which was a discount retro store for things usually $1.00 to $5.00 used. i was few  more blocks down highland park location in which I was living at the time

Game Headz even had retro gaming competition on a tv for free, at Game Headz in highland park used to let you play a few consoles with your buddies in the store it self. but they went out of business faster than Game Crazy at a different address on the same exact street in Highland park Michigan.

Both stores were on Detroit and Highland Park's main street called Woodward Ave

Game Headz entire franchise I think is out of business at least in Michigan

[sworddude]

I was quite a poor man back in the day, no fond memories of specialized game stores since I didn't have the money anyways. maybe I bought 2 or 3 games a year.

[pizzasafari]

Gamestation! They were great. Their prices were really low and they always had a vibe of being passionate about games. After Gamestation went under all of its stores were replaced with Game, who are overpriced as balls and their staff talk like politicians. Christ.

[wartoy]

Definitely got to second Game Crazy  best store ever Imo. I remember the classic plastic sale all retro games were 5.00 each no matter what game it was I took the day off from work  and went to 5 different stores. Got panzer dragoon saga,burning Rangers, shining wisdom,mega man 8,shining force 3 and many more all for 5 bucks each .Just to show the scope of the deals I got that day I'll tell you I spent over 2 grand of my savings which destroyed my savings but it was well worth it. I got so many rare hard to find games from snes,saturn,jaguar, nes,ps1,etc. It's not possible for me to write them all down. Best store ever!

[shfan]

Gamestation! They were great. Their prices were really low and they always had a vibe of being passionate about games. After Gamestation went under all of its stores were replaced with Game, who are overpriced as balls and their staff talk like politicians. Christ.

This, definitely, picked up so many cheap games for older systems from these guys, I'm pleased GAME are still going at least, but I rarely have any cause to buy games from them (too expensive).

[undertakerprime]

My local mall had both a Babbage’s and Software Etc in the mid 90’s, around the time I started buying my own games. Both chains were bought by a holding company and they didn’t want to compete against themselves in the same mall, so Babbage’s closed.

One of my first jobs was at that Software Etc. A big perk was we could “check out” games, meaning we could take them home and try them out. Then we’d use the shrink-wrap machine in the back to wrap the game back up like new
Occasionally local Atlanta sports stars came in. I also got to meet the pro wrestler Raven when he came to the store to promote ECW Anarchy Rules. The midnight Dreamcast launch happened while I worked there, but fortunately I wasn’t working that night
I actually kinda liked working there.

I didn’t have any Funcoland stores around me, but when we went to Minnesota on vacation I would buy things from the Funcoland stores there. I also fondly remember the big 2-page ads for Funcoland in game magazines, and they would have a huge price list for all these old games. Actually, I think that’s how I got some of my games, like Ninja Gaiden Trilogy and Dracula X, by mail-ordering them from Funcoland.

[Warmsignal]

Well, I suppose the main store we had was Software Etc. I have to be honest though, in admitting that I didn't even realize they sold console games. I can't tell you why, but I never occurred to me. I went in their mainly to look at PC games back in the day, and never browsed the store enough to even realize they had console games too. Crazy, but true. That location is now a GameStop, it was converted after the buyout.

But on a similar note, a lot of my game shopping did take place at now defunct store, if not game stores specifically. KB Toys of course, always looked at the games and bought from there, including my original Dreamcast console which I still own today.

Department stores were another major source of video games for many towns which didn't have specialty retailers around to buy games from. We shopped and bought many of our games from Kmart back in the day, the very same location that is going to be shutting down this January in my town. We also bought games from Hill's (long gone), and Sears which just recently shut down. A lot of our game shopping was done at those places.

[cirno]

I miss Blockbuster and the experience of renting games in general.  Good, bad or just weird-I'd play whatever on the shelves just because I'd want something new to play, and I ended up discovering a lot of new series I liked through that, and since it was obviously cheaper than outright buying the original game I got to try new things much more often.

Nowadays I know what something is before I buy it and while of course it's a good thing to not waste money on bad games, that sense of discovery is kind of lost.