Retro Shops In Dublin

Chaotic_Forces

It's not too bad at all TBH. I think he pays about 5-10 euro for PS1 games with a box.

alandel2001

Chaotic_Forces wrote: »

It's not too bad at all TBH. I think he pays about 5-10 euro for PS1 games with a box.

I've been in there a few times looking around, and it is my first port of call if I ever have any DVDs to get rid of, because the prices he pays are pretty good. However, the prices he tries to sell stuff at are ridiculous. Never mind the games, the DVDs are priced at three times what they're worth. And he has stock in there that has been knocking around for years precisely because no one wants to pay 25 euro for a Dreamcast game with a broken case.

I didn't realise the guy who owned Gamezone was related. I always thought there was some connection between the two shops. Weird that they set up in such close proximity to each other. Remeber looking around in there when I was younger. The staff always seemed pretty cool.

I actually did my transition year work experience in Gamesworld, and worked with Michael Neary, who I thought was pretty sound.He is in the upper offices now that they've sold out. It still remains my favourite job. I remember loving it so much that I worked through my lunch hour a lot, and at the end I got to buy an N64 at the price it was traded for.

I remember also being in GameSexChange years ago and it having a very different lay out, with the counter at the front of the shop, and it seemed much narrower too. Picked up a few dingy NES carts on one occasion. Anyone remember the shop when it looked like this?

Augmerson

alandel2001 wrote: »

Anyone remember the shop when it looked like this?

No although I was passing by the place for years. They had a fire or smoke damage I think.

CiDeRmAn

alandel2001 wrote: »

I actually did my transition year work experience in Gamesworld, and worked with Michael Neary, who I thought was pretty sound.He is in the upper offices now that they've sold out. #

The man, the legend, just remember not to steal, or he will hunt you down like he's a GameStop sponsored terminator!
I still bump into him in GS from time to time, a gentleman!

alandel2001 wrote: »

and at the end I got to buy an N64 at the price it was traded for.

Wow, you must have been a good boy!

What year was it?
I worked in both the Abbey and Liffey st stores between 96 and 00, just wondered if I bumped into you, Peter was the name I went by in those days!

alandel2001

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

The man, the legend, just remember not to steal, or he will hunt you down like he's a GameStop sponsored terminator!

Now that you mention it, I actually remember hearing the story about him legging it down the road aafter some guys who were shoplifting. Can imagine him doing the T-1000 face while running.

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

What year was it?
I worked in both the Abbey and Liffey st stores between 96 and 00, just wondered if I bumped into you, Peter was the name I went by in those days!

Alan is my name. I was there in 1997 for my work experience, mostly in Liffey Street. I worked with another work experience guy who got sent from the Liffey Street shop to the Abbey Street one for a "long stand" and didn't get the joke until he had been standing there for about 15 minutes. Good times.

I remember one of the guys who worked there had a lot of knowledge of old arcade games. Tall guy, possibly had reddish hair. Wouldn't be yourself by any chance?

o1s1n

alandel2001 wrote: »

I remember one of the guys who worked there had a lot of knowledge of old arcade games. Tall guy, possibly had reddish hair. Wouldn't be yourself by any chance?

If that wasn't Ciderman then he must have a clone.

alandel2001

o1s1n wrote: »

If that wasn't Ciderman then he must have a clone.

Could be the T-1000 at work again.

Balasubbie

alandel2001 wrote: »

I've been in there a few times looking around, and it is my first port of call if I ever have any DVDs to get rid of, because the prices he pays are pretty good. However, the prices he tries to sell stuff at are ridiculous. Never mind the games, the DVDs are priced at three times what they're worth. And he has stock in there that has been knocking around for years precisely because no one wants to pay 25 euro for a Dreamcast game with a broken case.

I didn't realise the guy who owned Gamezone was related. I always thought there was some connection between the two shops. Weird that they set up in such close proximity to each other. Remeber looking around in there when I was younger. The staff always seemed pretty cool.

I actually did my transition year work experience in Gamesworld, and worked with Michael Neary, who I thought was pretty sound.He is in the upper offices now that they've sold out. It still remains my favourite job. I remember loving it so much that I worked through my lunch hour a lot, and at the end I got to buy an N64 at the price it was traded for.

I remember also being in GameSexChange years ago and it having a very different lay out, with the counter at the front of the shop, and it seemed much narrower too. Picked up a few dingy NES carts on one occasion. Anyone remember the shop when it looked like this?

As far as I could gather, the guys that own (and owned) Gamezone/Gamexchange were twins (they still would be, obviously).
You're spot on about the layout mind, mate and I spent hours upon hours hanging around between 'Zone and 'Exchange on Saturdays. They used to sell games a wee while before their general release too, got a copy of Pokemon Silver there, a good while before its general PAL release.

alandel2001

Balasubbie wrote: »

As far as I could gather, the guys that own (and owned) Gamezone/Gamexchange were twins (they still would be, obviously).
You're spot on about the layout mind, mate and I spent hours upon hours hanging around between 'Zone and 'Exchange on Saturdays. They used to sell games a wee while before their general release too, got a copy of Pokemon Silver there, a good while before its general PAL release.

Wonder what the other twin ended up doing after his shop closed? Also, how did that conversation go?

Twin 1: "Hey bro, I'm setting up a shop in Talbot Street"
Twin 2: "Yeah, me too"
Twin 1: "Mam, Dave is copying me again"
Mother: "Dave, don't steal your brother's ideas"
Dave: "But it was my idea first"
Mother: "You two boys play nice now"
Twin 1 and Dave: "Fine"

Seriously, who thinks it's ok to set up two games shops within 100 metres of each other? No wonder one of them failed. Still, they were great shops for me while they lasted. I remember being in Gamezone while the guys who worked in the shop played Killer Instinct. I thought that game was so cool. So young and naive.

Balasubbie, I don't remember getting any games there before release dates. In fact, I probably wouldn't have known what the release dates were, so maybe I did. Remember the second hand games being quite expensive though.

Balasubbie

alandel2001 wrote: »

Balasubbie, I don't remember getting any games there before release dates. In fact, I probably wouldn't have known what the release dates were, so maybe I did. Remember the second hand games being quite expensive though.

Gamezone was the gamestore, while Gamexchange (or Book Mart, depending on what signy you're reading) was a used book store, that dealt in video games (still is), as the market for tatty auld copies of Texts + Test 2 would be rather limited I imagine and mo'fos gotta diversify their revenue streams (hence your dialogue comes into effect( sidenote: six years of business classes, and that's the first time the phrase "diversify revenue streams" came in anywhere near useful)

I don't think their pre-release sales were legitimate, mind. I recall having to ask at the counter for one in Gamezone, and the process being a little hush-hush. Still, if memory serves me correct, there was a little sign on the window reading:

Pokemon Gold + Silver on sale here.

Gamexchange always had the same two guys hanging at counter. The clerk and his mate, with the mate bringing in his Jap-import games from home, to brag about at the counter to all us N64-lovin' plebs. Eventually this got rather tedious, and we resolved to taking the mickey, hence:

"Here look, I got FF 8"

"Oh that one? have it, got it months ago"

"No, no, you couldn't have, not this one, it says 8, Ei-gh-ta"

Then pause, and watch his face go beetroot.*

Mind, came back to bite us on the arse slightly, at a Pokemon mini-convention in the Omni Centre, Santry.

*This works at Gamestop also, when you can detect a clerk getting a horn
at the prospect of selling you a game. Do those guys get a commission?
I do suspect, considering the enthusiasm in which they attempt to flog various bits of Wii shovelware.

alandel2001

Balasubbie wrote: »

Gamezone was the gamestore, while Gamexchange (or Book Mart, depending on what signy you're reading) was a used book store, that dealt in video games (still is), as the market for tatty auld copies of Texts + Test 2 would be rather limited I imagine and mo'fos gotta diversify their revenue streams (hence your dialogue comes into effect( sidenote: six years of business classes, and that's the first time the phrase "diversify revenue streams" came in anywhere near useful)

I don't think their pre-release sales were legitimate, mind. I recall having to ask at the counter for one in Gamezone, and the process being a little hush-hush. Still, if memory serves me correct, there was a little sign on the window reading:

Pokemon Gold + Silver on sale here.

Gamexchange always had the same two guys hanging at counter. The clerk and his mate, with the mate bringing in his Jap-import games from home, to brag about at the counter to all us N64-lovin' plebs. Eventually this got rather tedious, and we resolved to taking the mickey, hence:

"Here look, I got FF 8"

"Oh that one? have it, got it months ago"

"No, no, you couldn't have, not this one, it says 8, Ei-gh-ta"

Then pause, and watch his face go beetroot.*

Mind, came back to bite us on the arse slightly, at a Pokemon mini-convention in the Omni Centre, Santry.

*This works at Gamestop also, when you can detect a clerk getting a horn
at the prospect of selling you a game. Do those guys get a commission?
I do suspect, considering the enthusiasm in which they attempt to flog various bits of Wii shovelware.

Lol, the guy in bookmart has diversified his revenue stream so much that I'm not sure what the shop is anymore. Last time I was in there he had a coffee machine, trying to sell coffees to people on their way to work.

Remember them playing some weird games alright. It actually put me off going in, cos it seemed a bit cliqueish.

Think I was at that same Pokemon "convention" in Omni. That was the one where they were loading Mew onto your Pokemon cartridge, right? I was so addicted to that game. I caught them all, so I did

Balasubbie

alandel2001 wrote: »

Lol, the guy in bookmart has diversified his revenue stream so much that I'm not sure what the shop is anymore. Last time I was in there he had a coffee machine, trying to sell coffees to people on their way to work.

Remember them playing some weird games alright. It actually put me off going in, cos it seemed a bit cliqueish.

Think I was at that same Pokemon "convention" in Omni. That was the one where they were loading Mew onto your Pokemon cartridge, right? I was so addicted to that game. I caught them all, so I did

That's the one indeed. I agree on the cliqueish note, mind being a young chav, you tend not to notice these things.

cedomination

I was also at that pokemon thing in the omni, glad someone else remembers it

bugs

Balasubbie wrote: »

As far as I could gather, the guys that own (and owned) Gamezone/Gamexchange were twins (they still would be, obviously).
You're spot on about the layout mind, mate and I spent hours upon hours hanging around between 'Zone and 'Exchange on Saturdays. They used to sell games a wee while before their general release too, got a copy of Pokemon Silver there, a good while before its general PAL release.

They weren't twins, just brothers. Simon (the owner of gamezone) has since moved to australia.
Some early release games came from the distributors and shouldn't have been sold early, which lead to some unpleasantness with the distributors.
Other games (particularily the dreamcast stuff) came from individuals working where they were pressed in finglas liberating some from the production line. Hence MSR about 2 weeks before release date......

CiDeRmAn

alandel2001 wrote: »

Tall guy, possibly had reddish hair. Wouldn't be yourself by any chance?

That was me, happy days!

At least the description wasn't "tall guy, reddish hair, manky beard, bad breath and a passion for causing small animals pain".

Good times.
The guy to have sent you for a long stand was probably Eddie, he had a special relationship with some of the young people who worked there, and by special relationship, read couldn't stand them!

SirLemonhead

Is that new shop in Dublin, The Rage (?) open all week? any idea what the hours are? Fancy checking it out but don't want to appear when it might be closed.. I think I heard it isn't always open?

Atavan-Halen

It's open on Saturday anyway. No idea about other days or closing times, sorry!

landsleaving

Tuesday to Sunday, around 11 to 7 according to facebook.

SirLemonhead

Thanks!

readyletsgo

GameSexchange is rubbish on Talbot st, every time I go in he just has loads of ps2/xbox1/DC/MD games that have not moved in years now, for €15 or more each! I think if he had a good look on the net/ebay and got real prices for the fifa etc games he would clear them pretty quick indeed and be able to get some new retro games in we want to see.
Lol I have to stop going into GameSexchange, it makes me so angry every time, although I did get that zelda collectors edition for €20 a few months ago and sold it on for a tidy profit lol, I want it again but to many fakes on ebay as far as i can see.

Also why is Twilight Princess for gamecube so god darn expensive on ebay, €80!? yeah right!

Balasubbie

readyletsgo wrote: »

Also why is Twilight Princess for gamecube so god darn expensive on ebay, €80!? yeah right!

Here's a kick in the balls:

Some guy sold it on Adverts.ie for 15 yoyos, a few weeks ago. Poor chap had no idea of its worth, agreed the sale, and then, BOOM! Thread got spammed with "Ye gorra ripped loik" sort of posts.

Cheapest I've seen it for since would be about 40 quidish, but that's with a scratched, unboxed disc and a waterdamaged manual.

SirLemonhead

Balasubbie wrote: »

Here's a kick in the balls:

Some guy sold it on Adverts.ie for 15 yoyos, a few weeks ago. Poor chap had no idea of its worth, agreed the sale, and then, BOOM! Thread got spammed with "Ye gorra ripped loik" sort of posts.

Cheapest I've seen it for since would be about 40 quidish, but that's with a scratched, unboxed disc and a waterdamaged manual.

I got a free copy of it recently

readyletsgo

Jaysus really? €15! Poor fella. Ah I'd buy it to play it only, I wouldnt be looking for a mint copy, just one that plays. But there is so many fakes on ebay with cd only I find.
I do really wanna play it after I play Windwaker so I might as well just save up for a copy and get it after xmas or something.

€82 here its sealed though, I guess for collectors thats what you want. Would you spend that much on it?

Atavan-Halen

The thing with having sealed things though is always the dilemma of whether to open it or not

pdbhp

atavan-halen wrote: »

The thing with having sealed things though is always the dilemma of whether to open it or not

Savagly rip that sucker open with your teeth pop it in the cube and play the sh1t outta it otherwise get yourself a Darth Vader hat and stay in your room wishing you had a woman:D

We all love a sweet collection but games are meant to be played and enjoyed, leaving them in the packaging on the off chance that they'll be worth a few quid some day is not for me.

Balasubbie

I dunno if it's been mentioned elsewhere, but that new video game place of Grafton Street, just on the left past Captain America's going toward the green, 3D games, is dealing a bit in retro gaming, they've got a bit of PS1 stuff, Dreamcast/Gamecube hardware for sale, and older stuff in the counter case near the cash desk (Megadrive and N64).

It's not the most awe-inspiring retro place I've seen, but it's cool to see an independent trader making a go of it. Hope that and Rage goes long enough to encourage others to get into the market. I mean, they're both smart, in that all their stock isn't based on retro gaming, but just enough to be a draw.

CiDeRmAn

Whats more surprising is that for a retro gaming retailer to be opening in that site at all.
Rents on Grafton St are the most expensive around, and that translates into the vendor having to make every inch of shelf space work hard, generate the most profit to go towards paying that rent.
If someone can make some tatty copies of Fur Fighters pay that off, good luck to them!

o1s1n

That's the thing I can't understand. A few years back I was talking to the guys in Game after they moved from Grafton street to Dawson Street. They were saying they just couldn't afford the rent. And they're a pretty big store. Good luck to them indeed.

I keep meaning to drop in on the way home from work but forget!

landsleaving

It's not worth it, the Mega Drive games are all sports, and there were only 5 of them. The Ps1 games were again, all sport except a copy of Time Crisis, and were all €15. Absolute rip off prices, I assume thats how they think they'll pay the rent, but the place was empty when I was there, and the staff weren't exactly welcoming, they looked at me like I'd interrupted their private conversation.

TomG29

Hi lads,

Stumbled on this thread and just out of curiosity if a new independent retailer were to open up selling retro games (and I mean serious stuff, not one tacky shelf devoted to it) how much business do you think it would do? Or would it be better just to operate as a website basis? It seems that it's difficult for Irish gamers to get a hold of old games withoiut importing from the UK (at best) as it is at the moment.

Any input appreciated, cheers!