Play N Trade

I saw my first Play N Trade last year, at a local mall. Since then, they've been growing at a pretty rapid pace for what appears to be a small franchise, adding 3 stores in my town alone.

Play N Trade is a typical game store in the GameStop model, but unlike GameStop they focus on retro systems and trading. They even sell their own hybrid NES/SNES console, the Retro Duo, which plays both North American and Japanese games and even has an S-Video output (for the SNES). I bought one last week, and I'm quite happy with it so far. There's also a combination Genesis/SNES model, which I haven't tried (why couldn't they make an SMS/Genesis model?).

They also emphasize community-building, with frequent game tournaments (Guitar Hero, Super Smash Bros, Soul Calibur, etc.).

They seem to be a great brick and mortar alternative to Gamestop. One store even had the balls to open up right across the street from my neighborhood GS. Anyone else have any Play N Trade experiences to share?

Sounds pretty cool, though the only one in my state is in some county I've never heard of.

While not exactly retro, do they also have PS and Saturn games? There seems to be this dead space where 32-bit games would go, too old for GS/EB but too new for other old-school places. Kind of annoying as I'd like to have a store I could still go to for those.

We don't have them around here, but it's all a franchise. You pay the company $X, and they set you up with the store, fixtures, and product. It's up to you to make sales and then they get a percentage. They contracted Yobo (yobogroup.com) to manufacture the Retroduo, which is just a remodeled FC Twin with shittier controllers and S-video; and their PlayNTrade off-brand accessories. Apparently the franchise isn't taking off as well as they hoped because they stiffed Yobo with thousands of PnT branded PS2 controllers, that Yobo then had to try to off load on their other customers at a severely discounted price.
I wish them good luck. :)

AFAIK, they also tell you what prices you sell the games at, and that's why PnT's prices are insane.

I have been able to get some complete Genesis games there though.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

Sounds pretty cool, though the only one in my state is in some county I've never heard of.

While not exactly retro, do they also have PS and Saturn games? There seems to be this dead space where 32-bit games would go, too old for GS/EB but too new for other old-school places. Kind of annoying as I'd like to have a store I could still go to for those.

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My store has PS games(though not a great selection) and none for the Saturn.
I don't really like them all that much; the sales people are kind of pushy. Even when you literally tell them to go away, they keep on trying.

Mine has some PS1 and DC games, as well as Genesis, Sega CD, and a shit ton of carts for all Nintendo consoles. I like the selection, but their new stuff is just too expensive. $33.99 for TMNT 360? GTFO.

Interesting, guessing this East coast only though. I think the closest store in my area to sell pre-32 bit games is 60 miles away. bleh.

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Originally Posted by Low

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Who?

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Originally Posted by taloony

My store has PS games(though not a great selection) and none for the Saturn.
I don't really like them all that much; the sales people are kind of pushy. Even when you literally tell them to go away, they keep on trying.

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They're VERY pushy, yeah. Must be a company-wide directive. Every time I set foot in there I get asked five or six times if I need anything, if I want to try anything out, etc. I've decided that I hate talking to game store employees about gaming. I just want to buy my shit and get out.

I do appreciate their try-before-you-buy policy, though.

In response to SSJN, the RetroDuo controllers feel pretty solid. They certainly beat the worn-out old NES pads you usually find in the used controller bin.

Haven't seen one of these around here yet. Which is really surprising considering just how many games shops come and go in the area. I'm sure I'll see one pop up here in the near future.

I've been considering opening up my own shop for a while now and I looked into the franchise option and I really can't see it being much help to me at all. It seems like they're going after people who know almost nothing about video game retail.