The thrill of the shelf.
THOUGHTS ON #4: THE SECOND-HAND GOLDEN AGE
I recently went to a boot sale for the first time in a very long time, I often visited religiously but it had been quite a few years since my last foray into that world. The odd scent of it was instantly familiar… I’m not sure what it is, perhaps a combination of a burger van, damp clothes, and old rubbish that combines to create quite a nostalgic aroma. Anyway, as we entered, I thought to myself that if I was lucky, I might find some games, and they might be somewhat affordable, and prior to going I stuffed my wallet with a few notes - naïve and rather wishful thinking. That’s what I thought anyway, but to my utter surprise, the very first stall we found was full of games! The selection wasn’t too bad and covered a nice variety of generations and platforms, but nothing really struck me, apart from perhaps the SEGA Genesis the guy had tucked in his boot, but I restrained myself. Most of the N64 games looked like they had been rained on at some point, and rather unfortunately, the PS1 selection was pretty poor. I did see a few copies of World's Scariest Police Chases, and that brought back some favourable memories of shooting out tyres and ramming criminals. I placed the game back however, I know for a fact that it resides in my parents’ attic still, and in far better condition. Having said that, they have recently had their roof re-felted, so maybe my collection has been rained on too? Regardless, the experience got me thinking of the fun I used to have in seeking out used games…
There was a great time around 2000-ish when my friends and I had that taste of freedom you get in high-school… this was likely later than most as we weren’t particularly cool, but regardless, we no longer went to school a few minutes away, quite the opposite in fact, having to walk an almost two-hour round trip each day. Every day was a trek, and one without adult supervision. These daily journeys were pleasant enough – apart from the winter months and any time it was raining… or excessively windy, or when I had to carry a large number of books… or a guitar… As it turns out, these were all rather often, actually. Buses were an option, but we rarely took them, opting to walk the five or so miles there, up and down the hilly streets of Brighton. Being soaked from the rain or chilled to the bones from icy winds was the price we paid for saving our bus fares. Looking back, it was a rather meagre amount, but by Friday, ten fares combined with a little pocket money meant that shops were available for shopping, rather than just loitering in.
The second-hand market was plump at the time but decaying even then. eBay had been around for a while, but it didn’t seem to be the place to go yet, or maybe it was and I was just out of the loop? Either way, it seemed that the vast majority of good deals were still languishing on shelves. Fourth and fifth generation games were still affordable, but the prices were starting to rise. PC however seemed to be crashing, and this was great, at least for me. At the time I had most of the consoles of the aforementioned generations, and I was in the enviable position of choice. I bulked out my libraries on occasion, but when it came to PC I was almost starting from scratch. I got my first computer in the late 90s and for the longest time I was quite happily confined to the likes of Age of Empires, Baldur's Gate, and the Sims. I also have vivid memories of playing Incoming, a demo of Motocross Madness, and a submarine game about dropping, or perhaps avoiding depth charges, all of which kept me amused for longer than they should have.
Slim pickings then, but I was happy. I got more games on the PC over the years, but my choice on Windows was diminutive compared to what I had on console. A winder world awaited me… PC games were seen as worthless in the eyes of the likes of the second hand shops, most of which have long since been lost to the fog of time. Games Crib, Jam, Gamestar, HD2 (I think this one is still around actually, but I’ve not been for years), Gamestation, and Virgin Megastores (which used to reside in Churchill Square and is now a Pandora or something). As well as these there was Game (formerly Electronics Boutique) and HMV, both of which still exists of course, but lesser versions of what they once were. There were others too, most notably a rental shop near where my granny lived known as Teknphobia and the likes of Blockbuster, but suffice to say, there were many shops we frequented in our quest for games. The pungent stink of unwashed gamers haunted them all just the same, so not much has changed I suppose, other than the stock and prices. I always thought about opening a second-hand game shop back then, I suppose I made the right choice by not doing so, but I always imagined it being a rather fun endeavour (ignoring the financial stress, and aforementioned stink). Never got around to picking a name though, probably would have been something rubbish like GAMESBYTOM. If I lack in creativity, it’s with naming things.
Steam eventually killed boxed PC games, and going into second-hand games shops these days, I find the missing PC section to be quite strange. A wave of iPhones has appeared to have flooded the void. It’s stranger still that my last console was an Xbox 360, so seeing little of that era left makes it obvious how painfully out of the loop I am. In those old days however, I was in the loop. I was devouring games magazines and demos, talking about and playing games daily, and endlessly exploring shelves in search of the next addition to my collection. Games like Serious Sam were but a few pounds and were added without thought. Others like Max Payne or Deus Ex were a little more expensive and were added only after setting aside a couple of weeks worth of bus fares. Before long it became a challenge to find a game I didn’t own, and picking through the ever-dwindling supply of titles meant that I was picking up oddities or PC versions of games I already owned on console.
It was liberating to be able to buy games outside of the bi-yearly cycle of Birthdays and Christmases, and perhaps that is why I look back on those days pleasantly. Games of that era are probably just as cheap, if not free these days, and I have more disposable income than I did back then… just about, so perhaps they are orders of magnitude cheaper by comparison? But does cheapness and ease of access from digital platforms equate to the thrill of the hunt for physical boxes? I have purchased a few games recently for other posts (some yet to be written) and having raided my old collection for the same reason, I can say with certainty that the answer is, at least for me, unequivocally no. Being digital only has removed me from the experience of gaming in a way that I had not fully realised until recently. Yes, the benefits are huge, of course they are, but the tactile sensation of holding a game box in your hand, appreciating the art of it, the effort of design, the process of it all… Nothing comes close. Quote below on a recent eBay purchase, the feeling is summed up neatly there...
I bid farewell to the £20 that was happily living in my bank account. I watch as it disappears into the void. That money is probably already chumming it up with the recipient and they are most likely laughing at me – the sucker, for buying what is quite possibly a really shit PlayStation game. Anyway, it eventually arrives, and I experience something I have missed in the past decade or so. Looking over the box art and flipping through the manual, I find myself getting excited. A new game in my hands? Well, it must be mine, or Jesus’ birthday! It’s neither, but the feeling is comparable.
And finally getting your hands on that title you’ve been seeking out for months, well, it was like panning for gold, and finding it! Some of this remains with purchasing online but coming across something unexpectedly and finding a rare title without prior knowledge… well, you’re not getting that when typing in and finding exactly what you were looking for online. Like I say, this way is probably better overall, but definitely less exciting.
I did once find a really cheap copy of Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes in a second-hand shop and rather smugly took it to the counter. The sound of Velcro from my child wallet can still be heard to this day in my mind. I pulled out what was likely about 17% of my capital then, and waited patiently as the disgruntled teen dug about in the drawer for the disc. He came back a few minutes later and explained that unfortunately the game wasn’t there, and the box must have been put on the shelf in error. Bollocks I thought, not only in frustration, but for the story. Reckon he thought it too good a deal to let go to a meek school child. Well, I got a copy eventually, from Blockbusters no less - the last offering from the dying beast.
So, here’s to the second-hand market. It still exists, but it’s not the same. If you’re lucky you might find something mistakenly slipped amongst the DVDs in a charity shop, or sitting behind the prison bars of a Cash Converters, but if you need a reliable source, your best bet is the Complete Entertainment Exchange, but even then, you’re on shaky ground – just take a look at how much they want for Cindy’s Fashion World, I mean, I’m sure it’s almost as good as Symphony of the Night, but £800 might be a tad too fucking much. Suck it CEX… I suppose being mostly a PC gamer these days has removed me from the second-hand market, at least when it comes to digging about on shelves on the high street, and if I were an owner of a current generation console, perhaps I’d be getting my hands on exciting deals still, who knows?
I’m an eBayer now, and there is no going back…
I met my wife in town the other day, she had been shopping with her mum and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. When I arrived, I racked my brains for any shops I fancied going in, and I couldn’t think of any I was excited to visit, save perhaps for a few bookshops. I looked over the railing from the upper level of the shopping centre and saw Game, but as I have mentioned, I have no recent consoles at the moment, and as I am not interested in small plastic dolls with giant heads, there was no reason for me to visit. I looked up the closest second-hand game shop (other than CEX) and there was one, but it would have been shut by the time we got there... Even Curry’s, which was vaguely interesting to browse (even just to put my website on all the laptops), has since closed. Turns out, that without more second-hand videogame shops, the high-street has lost much of its purpose for me.
A few weeks later we popped back to Brighton once again to visit the old homestead (my parents too, not just the structure) and the next morning we wandered into town for some pick’n’mix and as we passed out through the far end of the North Laine, we went for a mooch around TOM (or The Open Market as it is known). Lottie purchased some buttons for her jacket there and I visited what might be one of the last bastions of second-hand gaming in the city. In unit 3 sits Magic Whistle Gaming. It’s as diddy as Diddy Kong in terms of square footage, but it’s holding its own, and for that, I salute it! Unfortunately I didn’t pick up anything special to show off here during that visit, and I felt it a little too intimate to go snapping photos inside, but for the size of the shop, it’s very well stocked. If you’re ever in Brighton, be sure to pop on by and browse their classic and retro collections - I will certainly be making a return visit!
I also thought, seeing as I had been somewhat set against CEX, that I had better visit it too. Upon entering I found myself pleasantly surprised to find that they actually had a PC section… although it was barely a couple of shelves, they at least had some space dedicated to it. And finding the likes of Max Payne there transported me back a good decade or two. Maybe some things don’t change… There was also a decent number of PS2 titles, as well as a swath of Xbox 360 and PS3 games. Perhaps I should turn my attention to that generation before they disappear too? Looking to anything older and the prices really are a no-go. Pokémon Stadium for £70? Seems steep even for the gold plastic. I’ll give you a pass for now CEX. You’re a shadow of what pre-owned gaming used to be, but you’re still here, and I’m sure there is something worth buying amongst all the languishing DVDs and still-the-same-price-as-new Switch games. But you better not muscle out (with your mafioso ways) Magic Whistle Gaming, or any other shops that might pop up to offer a haven for people such as myself who are seemingly stuck in the past. The more second-hand game shops we have, the better.
I ended up in CEX again before posting this and there were a few more decent bits and bobs, still overall more expensive than eBay for most things. I asked how much Silent Hill on PS1 was, as it was ensconced within their glass display cabinets, and I was happy to leave it on the shelf for the £90 they were asking for it.
Do you seek out old titles? Or are you happy with new offerings? Hard to find an affordable middle ground with physical copies these days, old or new, things are (for the most part) quite pricey. Anyway, if you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing and sharing - remember, my dopamine levels are all that matter. Also, read some of the old stuff I’ve written, otherwise, what was the point?
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