The Greatest Retro Game Store in World History is Closing

[senseiman]

I got a bit of a shock yesterday. Omocha Souko (Fukuoka Honten), the greatest retro game store in world history, is closing at the end of this month.

I have visited this store almost every day (it is on my way home) for the past couple of years. The retro gaming bargains I have found are amazing. I put a list of the top 15 bargains I have scored there in an attempt to prove my statement that the place was the greatest retro game store in world history:

http://famicomblog.blogspot.com/2012/03 ... -game.html

I`m still in shock at the news of its closure. Anybody else lose a good retro gaming store recently and want to commiserate? Or think they have another candidate store for the title of world`s greatest?

[hashiriya1]

Greatest? Maybe in Kyushu. Mandai Shoten rules them all. Don't know if they have them in Kyushu or even western Japan, but I've been to all of them in Touhoku, Kantou, and Hokuriku and was never let down. Except the one in Furukawa (Miyagi-ken), that one sucks.

Who knows, maybe they're pulling that stunt that all the shops in Japan pull. They put a big "heitense-ru" (store closing sale) sign out front but they remain open for years to come.

[Xeogred]

Thought you were going to tell me Vintage Stock was closing down! Phew...

[senseiman]

Just looked up their home page, I had never heard of Mandai Shoten. It seems they are only in Eastern Japan.

Quick question: what is the best retro game bargain you`ve ever gotten at a Mandai Shoten?

[hashiriya1]

Just looked up their home page, I had never heard of Mandai Shoten. It seems they are only in Eastern Japan.

Quick question: what is the best retro game bargain you`ve ever gotten at a Mandai Shoten?

CIB SuperGrafx for 500 yen. The thing was in pristine condition. I think they made a mistake, though. Their bad, I scored.

My favorite location was the Tagajo one which was gutted by the tsunami. They're finally reopening on the anniversary. That place had great deals.

[senseiman]

CIB SuperGrafx for 500 yen. The thing was in pristine condition. I think they made a mistake, though. Their bad, I scored.

My favorite location was the Tagajo one which was gutted by the tsunami. They're finally reopening on the anniversary. That place had great deals.

That is an insanely good deal, but I don`t know if that beats out Omocha Souko. THey put their consoles out in the junk bin for 300 yen each and I fished out a few beauties from there (CIB Virtual Boy, CIB CoreGrafx, AV Famicom, Twin Famicoms, etc). I will say that it is at least in the same league as Omocha Souko though

[hashiriya1]

CIB SuperGrafx for 500 yen. The thing was in pristine condition. I think they made a mistake, though. Their bad, I scored.

My favorite location was the Tagajo one which was gutted by the tsunami. They're finally reopening on the anniversary. That place had great deals.

That is an insanely good deal, but I don`t know if that beats out Omocha Souko. THey put their consoles out in the junk bin for 300 yen each and I fished out a few beauties from there (CIB Virtual Boy, CIB CoreGrafx, AV Famicom, Twin Famicoms, etc). I will say that it is at least in the same league as Omocha Souko though

It looks like their low prices got the best of them. They're done.

Good deals are common at those souko/kanteidan/otakara-style recycle shops. You just have to dig. I've been to a few shitty ones, though. Good thing all the shitty ones are in one place, the toilet bowl of Japan: Saitama Prefecture.

[diesel_dan]

That is an insanely good deal, but I don`t know if that beats out Omocha Souko. THey put their consoles out in the junk bin for 300 yen each and I fished out a few beauties from there (CIB Virtual Boy, CIB CoreGrafx, AV Famicom, Twin Famicoms, etc). I will say that it is at least in the same league as Omocha Souko though

This is infuriating.

You said it, though--looks like they should have priced their stock high enough to at least keep the lights on.

[xan_racketBOY_fan]

[senseiman]

Yes, I think the low prices were at least part of what did them in. Its a shame though, they really were the best game store I have ever been to in terms of bargains.

Very good point about having to dig. Actually at Omocha Souko it was more about waiting than digging. If you got there when they were putting newly arrived merchandise on the shelves then you could score some major bargains. If you got there the next day you were probably out of luck since somebody else already beat you to it.