Sega aisle at Toys R Us in 1990 (video)

[Boyward]

Good memories of walking those aisles, wondering what each game was about. Back in those days it was a guessing game and making child-like assumptions. "Do I get the weird looking Phantasy Star thing with the old man on the box? No way. It has an old man on the box. It must be a game for old people, because only old people with jobs could afford to pay $80 for a video game." See what I mean about the child-like logic? If it had an exciting anime cover I probably would been more inclined to pay attention to Phantasy Star.

"Do I get Golden Axe for $60? That was fun to play at my friend's house. But mom's in the store with me and she'll never go for it because of the bikini lady on the box and the violent weapons they're all holding. Plus I'd have to shell out another $20 for a second Genesis controller to play with my sister, and I'd rather spend my money on just games."

Because my mom went with me into the store I shied away from games with creepy or violent box art. I had to "settle" for more harmless-looking games like Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse or Quackshot Starring Donald Duck. It turns that for the most part I wasn't missing out because those games held my attention for years.

Toys R Us is where I bought my Sega Genesis console (with Altered Beast pack-in and a coupon for a free copy of Sonic the Hedgehog that was mailed to me when it was released). Did anybody else get that deal?

[aaron]

Toys R Us is where I bought my Sega Genesis console (with Altered Beast pack-in and a coupon for a free copy of Sonic the Hedgehog that was mailed to me when it was released). Did anybody else get that deal?

my parents got this deal at Children's Palace right before they went under. I remember a post-christmas conversation where they were bummed that they spent $149.99 on a Genesis for me then a month later a family friend got one when they announced they were going out of business for $49.99. this was also the conversation that led me to the conclusion that santa claus wasn't real.

[Violent By Design]

How? Reverse inflation? It's like over 120$ with adjusted inflation...

Oh yeah, I did it backwards.

[MulishaSoldier929]

Awesome vid! Can only imagine the size camera he was lugging around in 1990 to get that shot lol the thing probably weighed 30 pounds. As great a trip down memory lane this is, I wonder tho what he was doing filming games at a toys 'r' us? Price checking perhaps?

[CFFJR]

All I can say is this brings back good memories.

I don't know why, but I really liked that ticket system they had back then. It was just fun in a way, I guess.

[SNKnicotine]

**IDEA**
If GameStop implemented a variation of this method, maybe the issue of selling vandalized GUTTED copies of games as "new" would be resolved.

[FerretGamer]

*sigh*

That video really brought back some very close to the heart memories. The paper slips for purchasing/pre-orders just makes me feel like it was yesterday. I remember bringing the slips to the register, paying, and then going to a separate pick-up area/window with your console or game waiting for you.

Bring back the slips! Who wants to start a petition?

Awesome vid! Can only imagine the size camera he was lugging around in 1990 to get that shot lol the thing probably weighed 30 pounds. As great a trip down memory lane this is, I wonder tho what he was doing filming games at a toys 'r' us? Price checking perhaps?

I believe he mentions it in the description but he was doing for a Christmas shopping list.

[Boyward]

*sigh*

That video really brought back some very close to the heart memories. The paper slips for purchasing/pre-orders just makes me feel like it was yesterday. I remember bringing the slips to the register, paying, and then going to a separate pick-up area/window with your console or game waiting for you.

Bring back the slips! Who wants to start a petition?

Interesting you should say that because at my Toys R Us store in Waterloo, Iowa, they still use the slips. Not for the budget games, which are bins or lined up on the bottom shelf, but for the current full MSRP games they use the slips and you take the slip to the register, pay, and then go to the pick-up window, just like we were doing back in 1990. I assumed all Toys R Us stores still did that.

[johnny turbo]

The Toy's r Us in jackson tn is still the exact same way. I just went in there like 5 months ago. It is like a trip down memory lane to walk through there. the layout has not changed one bit since i was a kid. I can just imagine staring at all the atari jaguar games when it first released. We had a kiosk running AVP on the jag. It blew my freaking mind at the time. I almost got the system for christmas, but im so glad i waited for the saturn instead.

[ninjainspandex]

anyone know where i can find more videos of video game stores back in the day?