After almost a year of bouncing around in pawn shops and thrift stores looking for retro videos games, a brick and mortar store has come to Springfield.

I got a phone call on my way to meet my wife for lunch.  She started the conversation by saying, “I don’t know if I should be telling you this…”.  I instantly knew something good was coming next.

“There’s a new store next to Target in the mall… and it has NES games..” she said.

It was the best new I had heard all month.  Stores that carry retro video games are scarce in NOVA, and are mostly limited to thrift stores, pawn shops, and used books stores (think 2nd & Charles), but the supply has been running dry the last few years.  Most collectors caught on to the idea of staking out places like these almost ten years ago, so the days of finding a bargain (or a rare game) are long gone.

The new shop was called Records & Rarities.  My wife asked me if I
wanted to stop by to check it out after lunch.  My only reply was, “why after?…”

The place was everything I’d hoped it would be.  There were enough Star Wars figures and play sets in the front display window to cover the entire floor of my childhood bedroom.  But more importantly, the entire righthand wall of the store was dedicated to retro video games.

These guys had games for any system that you would want to collect.  Including Atari, NES, SNES, N64, Sega, Dreamcast, Gameboy, ect.  What’s really amazing though is that you won’t be sifting through the same boring sports games over and over.  The owner, Ryan, goes to great lengths to ensure that his stock is kept up, and tries to make sure to host some of the more interesting or elusive items as well (most recently i’ve seen a copy of Snow Brothers, Fire’n Ice, & Duck Tales 2 come through his display cases).

They also had accessories and consoles ranging from a working Atari 2600 and a complete-in-box Nintendo NES Action set to a rare Pikachu Edition of the N64 Console.  The store also has a wide selection of handheld systems and games, including a Micro Gameboy and a great selection of games.  The very back of the store has skateboards and skating accessories, as well as collectible toys and figurines.

They also take trade-in games and classic toys for either cash or store credit.  They offer really reasonable trade-in credit, and it helps to take the sting out of collecting for retro consoles.

While my retro game collecting is focused solely on the NES, this shop is guaranteed to have something for every retro gaming fan.  The diverse titles combined with fair prices makes Records & Rarities a great choice for retro game collectors to stock up on common games or hunt for some of the rarer gems.  Next time you’re in the Springfield, VA area make sure to stop by and say hello to the team.

 

Being a father of three means that most of my time is spent juggling dirty diapers, doctors appointments, and extracurricular activities.  But every once in a while I’ll take a few days off mid-week to just go out and do my own thing.  This past Tuesday, I chose to spend the morning bouncing around retro gaming stores.

First on the list was used bookstore called McKay Used Books.  I found out about them through the directory over at nintendoage.com, and a quick phone call confirmed that they did, in fact, buy and sell used video games (and that they had a few NES titles in stock).

Walking into the store you’re first greeted by a display case with used video game systems.  All of the systems are reasonably priced and come with one controller and all the required power and a/v connectors.  The console selection included everything from an Atari 2600 all the way up to a new Wii U console.

Immediately to the left of the display case was a large collection of comic books for a used book store.  I’m not much into comics myself, so I’ll let someone judge the quality of the selection down in the comments section.

The video game cases were located just past the cash register and boasted a decent selection of everything from Atari games all the way up to some newer Playstation and Xbox titles.  The store keeps all of the game CDs behind the counter as an anti-theft measure, but to purchase a game you just need to bring the empty case to the front.

All of the cartridge based games are stored in a glass display case that the employees have to access from the back.  So picking out your purchases becomes a game of, “no, not that one, the second from the back, third row”.  While it can be a little frustrating to play this human version of the crane game when trying to find the best labels, the employees at McKay Used Books are more than happy to help out and make sure you get the exact game you’re looking for.

They also a pretty good selection of sought after games, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, and a really expansive selection of the Zelda franchise.  There is a good selection of classic games for the NES as well (Double Dragon, Dragon Warrior, Rescue Rangers ect.). They also had a few rarer titles too, like Alfred Chicken (but that one’s in my collection now).

The prices on common games were slightly lower than you’d expect (using PriceCharting as a baseline), but were balanced out by somewhat inflated prices on a few of the more popular games. In the end I would say that the prices were reasonable, taking into consideration the convenience of having the games immediately and not having to pay shipping charges.

With a good selection of games, and a great staff, I will definitely be dropping by the next time I am in the area.