Department Stores Remembered.

[Rob Mitchell]

Shall we list the stores from which you have purchased 2600 games?

 

Sears Roebuck and Company: Sporting Goods Department (1977-1979).

 

Big Lots (1997)

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Ed Siegler]

Clover. A division of Strawbridge's & Clothier.

 

Electronics department and it was a long time ago, as it was an origional heavy sixer. Maybe 1978.

[Christophero Sly]

Coast-to-Coast hardware--1981

Ben Franklin--1981

Sears--1981

[+Random Terrain]

Placed we bought games:

 

Woolco

 

Hills

 

A few Drug Stores

 

Kay Bee or K-Bee (I can't remember)

 

Big Lots

 

 

That's all I can remember at this time.

[Brad2600]

I knwo that stores around here that had Atari and other classic games were

 

Woolworth's

 

Ames

 

Sears

[Robert M]

Sears

Johnson Hills

 

 

- Hey, does anyone else remember when Sears even had full blown video arcades inside their stores. That was truly the peak of the first video game boom. Everyone wanted a piece of the action.

[NovaXpress]

JC Penney sold games as well, my local store even stocked the Astrocade.

 

I actually got many games at a home repair store much like a Home Depot called Anderson's in Toledo Ohio. That's the first place I ever saw Activision games.

[moycon]

Some stores I can distincly remember.

 

Sears - Euclid Square Mall

K*Bees - Euclid Square Mall

T-R-Us - Richmond VA

Kmart - Somewhere in Wisconsin

Red Owl Grocery Store - Oshkosh WIS

[khryssun]

Well,

 

Casino (Berzerk, E.T., SQ Earthworld)

Darty (Hounted House)

Toys'R Us (vaguard, galaxian)

 

And there was this toys shop but I can't remember it's name where I bought SW The Empire strikes back and where My Mother bought me Yar's Revenge and Star Raiders both for christmas... Thanks Mom, I miss you

 

I don't remember for the other games

[Osmeroid]

Woolworths

 

Co-operative

 

Beatties

 

Menzies

 

Aaran Video Stores

 

 

Happy memories, especially Beatties....

[privateers69]

Sears <--(original starting place, but the hardware wasnt a sears model)

 

K-Mart <--(Main store of all my carts, when my mom worked there)

 

Thrift Drugs <--(during the video crash $5 or under)

[+Nathan Strum]

I lived in Seattle at the time...

 

Sears (bought quite a few there... they had great game displays in the early 80's, plus I threw more than a few quarters into the Space Fury they had there)

 

Although a lot more stores carried video games. JC Penny, Woolworths, Pay 'n Save, etc. It seemed almost every major store in the mall carried them at one point. Video game heaven. Even 7-11 was selling Activision carts for awhile (which is when I began to get a little worried).

 

Besides Sears though, I mostly bought games at:

 

Toys 'R' Us (I worked there in the video game booth thing for awhile during the '83 Christmas rush)

 

KayBee Toys (picked up a lot there for cheap after the crash)

 

And a local store called Video Hut. They started out as a video rental place, but moved into video games. The great thing about that place was the guy who worked there played all of the new games, and always had them out in working displays so you could try them out before buying.

 

It was eventually wiped out by 1) the crash and 2) Blockbuster.

[foxglove9]

I remember buying Atari and Coleco games at:

 

-Century's

-Toys R Us (where I got most of my stuff)

-Odd Lot (built up most of the collection when they had the 99 cent sale)

-Crazy Eddie (I think it's where I got my supercharger)

[Artlover]

Zayre's

PlayWorld

K-Mart

Path Mark

Sears

Woolworth's

[lonesome_pa]

Shop-Rite (yes the grocery store). My parents bought my first Atari there. Jamesway, K-Bee, and some "mom&pop" store that I can't remember the name of.

[Cassidy Nolen]

Juvenile Sales (toy store that was for a brief time after the crash a cat hospital)

 

Montgomery Wards

 

Zayre's (I can still see that game wall in my mind)

 

Caldor

 

Kay-Bee

 

Sears (always from the catalog though, never in the store)

 

There used to be a computer store in the mall (something like Enchanted Place Computers; had animatronic bears in the window. Freaky.) that I used to look, but prices were really high.

 

Cassidy

[heavy-sixer]

Children's Palace -- Greensburg, PA 1979/80

[DeV0]

Some aussie and some US stores over here

 

Kmart, they had the best test machines for customers. Or kids who didnt want do their homework

 

Grace Brothers, These guys where great. they used to sell me the ex demo carts and had a 5200 in a perspex cabinet. Of course it was never released as PAL

 

Tandy which is just a renamed Radioshack

 

Target, eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww

 

David jones, the up market Grace Bros

 

Dick Smith, like tandy/radio shack

[landsmarra]

I lived in the Bronx, NY as a kid and here's where I got my stuff:

 

Honig's (non-heavy six-switch that I still have from 1980)

 

Corner's (5200 console, $199 new in 1982 I believe)

 

I still remember going into Corner's looking for some 2600 cart and when I found out they were out of it, I took 2600 Basketball! Boy I had fun with that game.

 

Of course I got games from Sears too. In fact, I recently picked up a complete copy of Off The Wall that had the original Sears packing slip on it. Ahhh, the memories of the big Christmas Wish catalog.

 

Steve

[black dog]

My most distinct memory is of Sears,going in the store,drooling over the big display case, and then wondering which game to buy with my allowance.Thats why it killed me when I ended up picking a really sucky game, cause I would have to wait another week to buy another game. Also remember buying game at Kay Bee.

[+Cafeman]

Ouch, it hurts to dig into my brain that deeply.

 

J.C. Penny's: big Atari Kiosk, with Intelli and CV and 5200 and others setup around the corner.

 

GeeBee's: there was this big store in Johnstown, PA. They always had great new Atari games set up. Sometimes 2 or 3 2600's set up next to each other.

 

Sears: same as J.C.Penney, except the one in Johnstown (Richland mall) had a video arcade and a big computer section too (Atari 8bit/commodore 64/Apple).

 

Hills: same as Penny's.

 

TheOtherStores: remember, back then just about every store had videogames for sale and on display. What a great time that was. I remember seeing the Supercharger on display at a magazine/tobacco small mall store!

[+wavemotion]

In addition to places like Sears and T-R-U which are already mentioned... there was 2 very neat video game stores where I grew up in Eastern MA. The one I remember most was in the mall - I have no idea of the name, but they had awesome flashing neon lights and lots of glass cases with the "new" games and a more general section of shelves for the older stuff. Games were not kept behind the counter like they are now - just pick up your game, go go the counter and pay for it!

 

You-Do-It-Electronics... a local electronics store which still exists today (like Radio Shack but much bigger) used to sell Atari games. I remember my brother driving me up to this place after my birthday in 80 or 81 and spending a big chunk of my b-day money on a copy of Adventure! Awesome game. Awesome memories.

 

Also, Child World was a big source of games for the Atari and Intellivision in our area. Not sure if that's a local store but it was like Toys R Us before they went under many years ago.

 

Ames and Zares were also places I got games.

[Dolt]

Abraham & Straus (aka A&S)

 

Caldor

 

Barker's

 

I remember how you'd be so psyched if you wandered into the TV department of a store while your parents were shopping. Maybe no one would be playing the Atari--and if they weren't, yay, you'd get to try a game as long as you wanted! I remember playing Breakout for at least an hour once uninterrupted--utter nirvana. My parents must have been relieved to know that I was safe in one spot, not bugging them trailing them around the store.

[MrRetroGamer]

-Crazy Eddie (I think it's where I got my supercharger)

 

Now there is a store I haven't heard mentioned in a LONG time!

 

I remember purchasing Atari and Coleco stuff at MACY*S, and some local Brooklyn Electronics stores like DEE'S SOUND TEK and PARKWAY VIDEO.

[Godzilla]

-Crazy Eddie (I think it's where I got my supercharger)

 

Now there is a store I haven't heard mentioned in a LONG time!

 

I remember purchasing Atari and Coleco stuff at MACY*S, and some local Brooklyn Electronics stores like DEE'S SOUND TEK and PARKWAY VIDEO.

 

I remember seeing a huge display of discounted arcadia 2001 stuff there after the system quickly died. (brooklyn ny,) there prices never compared to Odd Lots though, that was my no. 1 source back in the day. Later on, I was pleasently surprised to get cheap atari & inty stuff at Toys R Us, Radio Shack, and Zayre's. (Oh, and MANY dollar stores, and even Big Lots at one point (which is like Odd Lots all over again.)