RETRO GAMING SPOTLIGHT: 1Up Games
By Shaun Hatton - February 1st, 2008
1Up Games in Hamilton, ON, offers a great selection of new and retro games and consoles.
Classic gaming (or retro gaming as it’s also called) is something that has been quite popular over the last few years. With services such as Xbox LIVE Arcade and the Wii Virtual Console bringing older games to newer audiences as well as the older crowd, it doesn’t look like it’s going to go away anytime soon.
But for purists and others who want to experience these games the old-fashioned way, there’s no replacement for vintage gaming hardware. And for this reason, there will always be independent video game stores. These non-chain stores often carry more than just the last console generation’s titles. In fact, with a little looking, it’s easy to find these great stores all around the GTA. Some, of course, are better than others.
I do have my favourites, and 1Up Games in Hamilton is definitely one of them. Its two locations are stocked full of retro gaming goodness: games, consoles, peripherals, adverts, and even some funky playable kiosks and arcade cabinets. In fact, on any given visit, you’re almost guaranteed to find something you never knew existed. The atmosphere is very laid-back and it’s amazing how they managed to organize so much inventory so neatly. Toronto Thumbs recently caught up with 1Up Games store owner and entrepreneur Marc Nascimento for a Q&A.
TT: How long have you been into video games? How old were you when you first started playing? What was your first-ever video game?
MN: The first video game I ever played was Pong in an Arcade in Cuba. I was three years old. It was huge and green, simple but fun. I couldn’t stop putting quarters in it. The next game that I was obsessed with was Pac-Man. I had an old Mini Arcade Pac-Man with crappy LED lights. But I use to play it for hours!
TT: At what point did you start to obsess over them enough to amass your giant collection?
MN: I can say I’ve always been obsessed with video games! I’ve always had some type of collection and I had some from the newer systems at the time, I think it was 2000, 2001. I had a Sega Dreamcast , an Xbox, a PS2, a GameCube and a GameBoy Advance all with about 10+ games for each. I started to collect Dreamcast games frantically, knowing that the system would soon be dead. From there I picked up an old NES, a Genesis, a Sega Master System and an SNES. Within a year’s time looking for games for these systems, I had around 350 to 400 games.
TT: When did you realize you wanted to open a store? How did you pick the location of the first one? When did the first store open?
MN: I realized that I wanted to open the store while I was working at my former job. It was a video and video game store. I didn’t like where the company was going and there was no more room for advancement. So I talked to my business partner and we decided to open up the store in a commercial space he owned in Hamilton, which was right by McMaster University. It was around May 2005 that we opened.
TT: What kinds of games does 1Up Games carry?
MN: We carry all types of games from past and present consoles; if it’s a console game or system, we try to carry it! We’ve had everything from the Odyssey 2, to the Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision, Master System, Genesis, NES, et cetera. The list goes on all the way up to the new stuff: DS, Wii, 360, and PS3. We’re also looking at doing some gaming T-Shirts with more obscure games and original ideas.
TT: How did you decide on that name?
MN: We were looking for a name that related to video games. We didn’t base it on how our name would show up at the top of the phone book listings. That was just a pleasant coincidence. One word that reminded me of older games was the 1Up symbol that appeared by either getting an extra life or it was the indicator of who was the 1st player in an arcade game. It had multiple meanings in the video game world and it’s an instant connection among many video game junkies. It also has a nice ring to it, and a little more original and suiting than most other video game stores. Example: EB (Electronics Boutique). Come on, that just sounds dumb, or is that just me?
TT: [Laughing] That’s true. I think that connection is something a lot of people don’t make anymore. It’s a weird name for a game store, sort of like Radio Shack is a weird name for an electronics store. Radio Shack should have been called “EB.”
Moving on, though: You sponsored an event in Hamilton a while back and had bands and DJs play at it. Do you have any plans on doing that again?
MN: Well, I’ve sponsored other events in Hamilton. I still haven’t had a chance to host my own original event with Bands and DJs I like. Although I would love to do so, I need more support from some bands and venues.
But we’ve supported quite a few events! We’ve supported the DMC in Hamilton, a few Hip-Hop shows, some McMaster gaming events and some Guitar Hero Competitions downtown. We’ll continue to do so as long as we believe in the event and we can reach more gamers.
TT: What games are you currently into?
MN: As far as specific genres, I’m into RPG, FPS, Action Adventure and Puzzle Games. As for games themselves, I have way too many going at the moment. The one that’s eating up most of my time would be Rock Band! The songs are great, much better than the last version of Guitar Hero (in my opinion) and the different instruments are fun. Come on, who doesn’t want to drum or sing? Another would be Mass Effect, that’s eating away quite a bit of time. The story is written better than some Sci-Fi movies and television shows I’ve seen in the last ten years. And I’m also revisiting Burnout Revenge for the 360 and Nocturne for the PS2.
TT: Classic gaming is something that’s really getting a lot of attention these days as a lot of people are rediscovering old favourites. Do you find that the Wii’s Virtual Console has affected the number of people who come in looking for the actual copies of these classic games? If so, has it increased or decreased the amount of questions you get?
MN: I don’t find that the Virtual Console has affected sales too much. For a few titles like the Mario games, maybe. But those will always be in demand. For the most part the hard-to-find titles are all Square Enix RPGs for the SNES, which will not show up on the console since Square won’t put them up there. It’s also hard enough to find TurboGrafx games, so it’s nice that the VC allows people to get a chance to play them. The Genesis games that are up on the VC are either really hard to find or they’re really crappy so that’s no sweat off my back! If anything, it’s increasing people’s knowledge about the older games and they now want to get their hands on the original version on the original console. It just feels better in my opinion. Try playing Super Mario Bros. on the NES with the old square controller and then with a GameCube controller. Its not the same.. The response is very different.
TT: One thing about older systems that’s unfortunate is that they tend to break down after a lot of use. This is especially true with the NES. I’ve seen that you do some repairs on consoles. Which ones can 1Up Games repair?
MN: Well, no system is perfect. And yes, sometimes some systems falter after a lot of use. I find that the CD/DVD based systems tend to break down much earlier than older cartridge based systems did. But I find it usually boils down to the treatment of the system.
A good example would be the NES. The system can last a very long time, as long as it’s kept clean and the games are stored away properly. A lot of people would leave the game in the system when its not in use. When you do that you just put more pressure on the NES pins causing them to curl up. Hence, it won’t work properly from that point on. So in certain cases we do pin replacements for the NES, which more than likely fixes the system. But ultimately its how the person treats the system and their games. Regular cleanings to the games and the system will prolong their life!
Sadly enough, 1UP Games had to stop repairs on most systems. We were flooded with systems repairs, so now we just stick to NES and disc repairs.
TT: One last question: Since you’ve already opened two stores, do you have any plans to open a third? If so, where would it be?
MN: Eventually we would love to do a 3rd store, maybe in the GTA area. But it depends on the market, location and funds we have available. So we’ll see how it goes in the new year and we’ll keep you posted. Ideally we would love to do one in Toronto but that’s some serious cheddar, son!
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4 responses so far:Cool interview, do you guys have any plans to do more of these? Maybe on stores that don’t sell video games. Maybe on a store that sells mostly comic books but also features some video game related merchandise like cards, action figures, and various other cool game related things?
Hi, Bobbo. Thanks! As long as they’re a gaming or Canadian (specifically Toronto/GTA) connection, we will continue to do these interviews. 1Up Games carries a few non-gaming products as well, but we chose to not focus on those as much.
Because gaming and comics are two hobbies that are intertwined, a lot of comic stores carry gaming merch, and that’s something that Toronto Thumbs and its readers would be interested in.
But wherever will we find such a comic book store?
;)
We need to check out more of the independent shops in and around Toronto. As far as I know, all comic shops are independent, though some are actually owned by the same group of people. Actually a lot of comic shops I wouldn’t bother with. But there are cool ones out there.