Any memories of the old shops we used to visit?

[m4cc45]

With the tape games (Spectrum/C64,etc.) apart from the big stores already mentioned there were a lot of paper shops that also had a pretty good selection.

For people in Stoke (I can’t remember most of the names) there was one under the bus station in Hanley (like a Games Workshop but had arcade machines downstairs as well). There was one on Hope St. opposite a supermarket at the time (Kwik Save or Tesco or something it might be a Go Outdoors now) which I used to spend my money in. Again you went downstairs to it.

there used to be loads. Obviously the move to digital games killed it all offf. I do miss it though.


M.

 

[ODuffer]

In Heswall on the Wirral, there was shop at the top of May Road. It had racks of tapes, mainly ZX Spectrum games.
I remember buying Horace goes skiing. Pedro (a game a about a Mexican gardener?!) & 'The Pyramid' from there. ~1983-84

 

[SexyGreyFox]

For people in Stoke (I can’t remember most of the names) there was one under the bus station in Hanley (like a Games Workshop but had arcade machines downstairs as well).

In the 70s that same shop used to sell records and I used to buy a lot of bootleg vinyl

There was one on Hope St. opposite a supermarket at the time (Kwik Save or Tesco

No supermarket on Hope Street, that's where all the music shops are/were but on the road behind.
In the 80s the store opposite used to be called Video 2000 and it was broke up into different parts - eg video, video rental, computer games etc.
I used to do some work for the video part,

 

[m4cc45]

In the 70s that same shop used to sell records and I used to buy a lot of bootleg vinyl

No supermarket on Hope Street, that's where all the music shops are/were but on the road behind.
In the 80s the store opposite used to be called Video 2000 and it was broke up into different parts - eg video, video rental, computer games etc.
I used to do some work for the video part,

Might be the A5006 - it looked like it was a continuation on from Hope St. Here is the link to Google Street View - it looks like it's been knocked down now. I know it a carpet company took the shop over. Can't remember the name of it:

5 A5006 - Google Maps



M.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Might be the A5006 - it looked like it was a continuation on from Hope St. Here is the link to Google Street View - it looks like it's been knocked down now. I know it a carpet company took the shop over. Can't remember the name of it:

5 A5006 - Google Maps



M.

Video 2000 was go down turn right, I forgot about those shops there.

 

[FlamBango]

grew up in Plymouth and there was a shop called Computerbase that was set up and ran by a couple of teenagers, where we went to get all my tapes back in the day, its still there now, no idea who runs it but well done chaps, its stood the test of time!

 

[Retro6]

Woolworths was good for cheap PC games and also Sainsbury's used to sell PC games, I used to buy the PC magazines sometimes that had a CD included with games and other software. Maplin was good for buying hardware bits, not high end but cheap and cheerful like Windows 9x supported sound cards etc. There was also the computer fairs that sold lots of computer things. CeX is the only place left now. I might pop in there to see if they have any cheap low capacity SSD's and I'm also looking for the Roller coaster Tycoon game the later 90s version.

I was thinking... there must be a reasonable market out there for retro gaming. If CeX started accepting old PC stuff they would be making more money. If China were to start producing Windows 9x supported motherboards for retro computer cases they be making lots of money.

 

[Oz!asM!dwinter]

Erol computer games, Walthamstow High Street in the mid 80's - Where I went to buy my Zx Spectrum Ultimate Play the Game / Digital Integration tapes of fun.

Front window advert for 'Alein 8' (yes it was misspelled in the window) and Vic-20s / Commodore 64s all playing various different versions of 'Axel F'

 

[elh_2009]

Erol computer games, Walthamstow High Street in the mid 80's - Where I went to buy my Zx Spectrum Ultimate Play the Game / Digital Integration tapes of fun.

Front window advert for 'Alein 8' (yes it was misspelled in the window) and Vic-20s / Commodore 64s all playing various different versions of 'Axel F'

OMG someone else who remembers Erol! used to love that shop, i got my SNES NTSC adapter from there as well as many other games

 

[Mark1989]

GameStation before game group bought and ruined them

 

[Whiskers]

That shop was BAGNALLS!

I remember it well, first Scalextric from there back in 1962 or thereabouts. Then on to model control line airplanes around 1965. They had everything you could possibly need or want back then on the modeling side. Miniature diesel and glow plug engines. All the super fast slot racing cars, scalextric on steroids. I had a Chaparral and a Ford GT40. Moved to Cornwall in 1968 and I missed that shop.

 

[Stripedcat]

During the 1990s, the main one for me was Computerworld in Canterbury. They were a Commodore specialist, and sold the Amiga for the slightly cutdown price of £375 - and that is where I got my "Flights of Fantasy" pack one from. Great times spent there. They used to have a basement filled with Amigas and you used to pay £1 for an hour to play on them, from a selection of games. They eventually expanded into the shop next door, and moved into making their own PCs and the PC DOS era with CD-ROM gaming, then on to the PS1. They did used to sell the consoles(SNES, Megadrive, etc.) as well. I think they started in 1989 and sadly closed in 1999, mainly due to a PC World opening a store nearby in the city, and thus taking away their PC building business. They also managed to open up some other branches in Ramsgate, Maidstone and Walthamstow. I think a few people from the demo scene used to work in there.

 

[ristac]

Woolworths on a Saturday for singles and pick and mix and the Virgin Megastore or Our Price records.

Movie night a trip to Blockbusters.

Dixons and Tandy where I always had a look around but purchased very little

 

[Retro6]

I bought an old Woolworths desk lamp the other day from ebay.

 

[jrwagh333]

Got kicked out of Toys'R'Us once with my friend when the original Xbox came out as we used to go every Saturday and play Halo Co-Op.

 

[lakitu]

Got kicked out of Toys'R'Us once with my friend when the original Xbox came out as we used to go every Saturday and play Halo Co-Op.

Toys 'R' Us is returning to the British high street in 2023, with the retailer revealing plans to open nine new stores across the UK. Toys 'R' Us will open nine stores within WHSmith branches across the UK

It's a shame you won't be able to visit them now that you're banned. I'll let you know what they're like.

 

[Ollie83]

The likes of Game and GameStation didn't exist as far North as I live so I had to make do with Woolworth's as a staple, back in the day. The one good thing about this was that I didn't have the facility as a kid to trade in all my current Gen games for pennies towards the next Gen. I now have a dedicated games room housing my Retro collection... Not sure my wife sees it as a benefit though, haha.

 

[Shadowness]

I still vividly remember my dad taking me to a shop in Malvern to buy Lemmings for the Commodore. Of course that shop no longer exists

 

[Stripedcat]

I also remember the old computer games shop chain "Software Plus". There used to be a branch in Canterbury(on Palace Street). I bought Elite and Battle Command in that shop.

 

[Jim99]

I remember one in my hometown, no idea what it was called or where it was. But I remember it had a computer in the shop, and for any of the popular titles you could mention them and the owner would get it going on the PC so you could test it out and see whether you liked it before buying. No idea how they made any money - perhaps they didn't.

Came out of there once with Grand Prix and played it for many years afterwards.