With the video game industry now over 50 years old, there are a lot of games from past home consoles and handhelds that were once sold in London and UK high street stores that are now getting harder and harder to find. Many of these old games have been preserved through emulation, while others can be delivered by ordering online as pre-owned games. The internet has facilitated both of these forms of service. We do owe much to the internet for preserving games. Without the internet, we probably wouldn’t be able to play many games from past systems. The shutdown of the Wii-U and 3DS E-shops a couple of years ago is a testament to this. We could have lost many games hosted in the E-shop forever if we hadn’t had emulation and mechanisms to store the ROMs and data of those games. However, for all the ease of access to emulation and the internet, there is something quaint and nostalgic about physically walking into a shop and picking up a physical game to play at home on an original system.
The stores that sell retro games are getting rarer, and rarer as time goes on. Hopefully this changes in the future, but we don’t know. It’s possible that at some point we’ll have to visit antique shops to pick up retro games. Fifteen or 20 years ago, retro and independent game stores were a lot more common than they are now. I’ve done some searching and have found five places in London, the UK, where it is possible to buy physical retro video games. Not all of these are independent gaming stores, although there are a few. I have physically visited each of these places and encourage you to visit them too (especially the independent stores). Read on for a short guide on where to buy video games in London, UK.
CEX
Let’s start with a shop that can now be found on most high streets in London, as well as in many other parts of the country. I’m referring to the video game, tech, and gadget second-hand store, CEX. This store has proliferated in the last ten years and has replaced GAME (the UK’s equivalent to Gamestop) as the go-to place to find video games on the high street. What’s great about CEX is not only that you can trade your old games (only if they’re PAL versions), but that you can buy and trade in games from retro systems as old as the Master System and NES. That means that unlike the old Games Boutique (you might remember it if you were around the UK in the 90s) and GAME, you’re likely to spot anything from old boxed Game Boy games to Dreamcast games at this common high street store. However, as I’ve said, they only deal with PAL versions at CEX, and the selection can be a bit limited (expect a cabinet or a couple of shelves full of retro games at each store).
Retro Giant
Retro Giant has two premises. One, on the edge of east London in Romford (near the east end of the Elizabeth Tube Line). Another slightly further east in the Essex town of Brentwood. The Romford location is the one I’m more familiar with. It is a small shop in the Quadrant Arcade in Romford and is full of retro gaming goodness. Being an independent video game shop, there’s a different vibe in Retro Giant in comparison with CEX. It feels more friendly and offers a more “old fashioned” experience of purchasing video games, consoles, and accessories (they also do Pokemon cards). The shop is run by a lovely couple, and there’s a Street Fighter Arcade machine in the store that is often available to play.
Also, being an independent venue, you can usually buy and trade in games from multiple regions, as well as modded consoles (although don’t take that as a guarantee). I’m yet to visit the Brentwood branch but if you are visiting east London or Essex, and are keen to check out somewhere that sells games, Retro Giant should be near the top of your list.
Crazy Thumbs
Crazy Thumbs is an independent video game store, located in Tooting Broadway, south London. Easily accessible from the Northern Line, the shop is currently located in the market part of Tooting Broadway, where you can also pick up fast food such as East Asian style noodles, and Portuguese-style chicken (and draught beers or ales). When I visited, I was told by the shop owner that they had previously been located a few streets away in a bigger venue. Despite its current venue being small, I was not disappointed with the range and quality of retro games that they had on offer. I was looking through lots of NES, SNES, and Sega Megadrive games. I also noticed PS1, N64, Game Boy, and Dreamcast games, as well as modern games. There was a SNES mini connected to a TV and I was offered to play a game that I was thinking of picking up. Overall, it was well worth the visit for me, and I’d recommend visiting Crazy Thumbs.
PlayNation
An independent videogame store in Croydon, south London, Playnation occupies a large space. To get to Croydon, you can get the overground train from Waterloo or Stratford. Within the shop floor of PlayNation are retro games and consoles of all kinds. I remember picking up a PS1 (the second iteration) for £40.
While the price wasn’t an amazingly good deal, the console was in great condition. There were many Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and even Neo Geo Pocket games on sale for quite good prices. Next to PlayNation is the Heart of Gaming arcade which is a large arcade space. It was closed the day that I visited but I do plan to visit again. It looks really fun and impressive. Since the Namco Funscape in Waterloo shut down a few years ago, video game arcade spaces are also becoming rarer and rarer in London. Overall, if you visit London, PlayNation and Heart of Gaming are great places to visit if you want to buy or play retro games.
CashConverters
The last place to pick up retro games that I’ll cover is somewhere that doesn’t always have a great reputation. A chain store that you can find in many places in London, CashConverters allows the public to trade in objects. From garden tools to TVs, to video games, the store also sells traded in objects. If you wish to sell your games in this store, you’ll have to bring ID and sign up, and the prices are usually not as good as in CEX (and definitely not as good as in the independent stores). However, you can sometimes find rare retro games here, since people trade in items that have often been left in attics and garages so keep an eye out for NES and other old retro games. I’ve also seen quite a good selection of accessories at CashConverters. Such as N64’s transfer pak and arcade style fightpads. Overall, it’s not a must visit destination, but, if you pass one, they can be worth a look.
Conclusion
In 2024, independent retro video game stores are quite rare to find in London, and the UK more generally. Twenty years ago, they were a bit more common but the state of the economy and the proliferation of digital game sales has meant that they are almost endangered in the UK. In this guide I’ve discussed the independent stores that I know of in London, as well as some other places where you can pick up old games and consoles.
There are probably some that I’ve missed, and there are definitely lots outside London that are awesome and I’m really hoping to visit at some point. Physical video game media will become rarer over time and these discs and cartridges will become relics of the past. Even if they do end up as antiques, they will always have nostalgic value to those that grew up playing old console and games from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Happy gaming.
