What happened to Chipshop 2000 in Liverpool?

[J0e Musashi]

I really liked an import gaming shop called 'TORC' in Feltham High Street. Used to go there now and then in the early to mid-90s. Great prices and would swap games if you returned them quick. I remember they really pushed the 3DO and then the Saturn. True enthusiasts.

I also went to 'Raven Games' in Beckenham a few times -- it was like an Aladdin's cave for import gamers. But a bit too pricey for my liking.

Raven quickly changed their stance. They went from an OG import shop to an elevated store that still wanted to charge you £600 for a Super Famicom when everyone else was £180.

[Leon Retro]

Raven quickly changed their stance. They went from an OG import shop to an elevated store that still wanted to charge you £600 for a Super Famicom when everyone else was £180.

I was saying TORC had reasonable/great prices. Raven always charged too much. £600 for a Super Famicom....

I also used to visit 'ACE' in Carnaby Street, but the prices were also really high. A lot of shops in London charged way over the odds. But you had people prepared to pay £10-£20 over the odds for new games. I always made sure to pay a fair price when the exchange rate was so strong for the pound.

[tokyochojin]

I remember the one in Liverpool, but I preffered the Chips in Middlesbrough. Had quite the import and retro selection in its day, and I remember dumping my entire DVD collection there just before they became worthless - managed to swap them for a brand new import Nintendo DS with Gyakuten Saiban and Kimi no Tame nara Shineru(feel the magic).

Also, memories of ElectricBoogaloo doing a sprint out of there straight into a cab with his launch Xbox360 as he was terrified of being mugged.

[hudson]

Does anyone remember the game shop that opened later on in St John's Market? I remember going in there and buying imports such as Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure and Ringside Angel. I cannot remember what it was called and everyone I mention it to doesn't seem to remember the store at all. I don't think it lasted long - a few years across the very late eighties/early nineties. I went there a lot.

It was a bit more organised looking compared to other indies. They seemed to have all the main imports in as they came out, I mean Ringside Angel lol. I think the sign on the shop was lit up yellow with maybe green text. It wasn't the Beatties toy store (woah, legendary store where I got my Subuteo teams ), but it was a store that was situated branched off the from the centre.

[endo]

Yeah, I remember it. Someone earlier in the thread said it was Microbyte. I don't remember the name, but I definitely remember popping in there a few times. Wasn't there a jeweller's next door/nearby? I remember the window getting put through by some wag with a shotgun.

In the early 90s, though, I mainly went to Games Magik behind Cavern Walks, Bits and Bytes, and Computer Adventure World in Birkenhead, which was amazing back then.

[Yakumo]

Does anyone remember the game shop that opened later on in St John's Market? I remember going in there and buying imports such as Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure and Ringside Angel. I cannot remember what it was called and everyone I mention it to doesn't seem to remember the store at all. I don't think it lasted long - a few years across the very late eighties/early nineties. I went there a lot.

It was a bit more organised looking compared to other indies. They seemed to have all the main imports in as they came out, I mean Ringside Angel lol. I think the sign on the shop was lit up yellow with maybe green text. It wasn't the Beatties toy store (woah, legendary store where I got my Subuteo teams ), but it was a store that was situated branched off the from the centre.

Yeah I also remember it. Wasn't it on the same floor as Microbyte but further down in yo the precinct? I can't remember what it was called though.

[Yakumo]

Yeah, I remember it. Someone earlier in the thread said it was Microbyte. I don't remember the name, but I definitely remember popping in there a few times. Wasn't there a jeweller's next door/nearby? I remember the window getting put through by some wag with a shotgun.

In the early 90s, though, I mainly went to Games Magik behind Cavern Walks, Bits and Bytes, and Computer Adventure World in Birkenhead, which was amazing back then.

I remember when GamesMagik was going under. Doug the big guy there let me buy loads of brand new stuff cheap. Like a fiver each! He then moved to HMV where he helped me get a job there too.

[endo]

You lucky get!

[Nu-Eclipse]

Raven quickly changed their stance. They went from an OG import shop to an elevated store that still wanted to charge you £600 for a Super Famicom when everyone else was £180.

I heard about their rip-off prices BITD, but to be honest Raven kinda get a pass from me for fixing my Panasonic Q cheaply and quickly.

As Leon stated, most import/retro stores in London were overcharging to varying degrees...ACE, Game Focus, Skill 2000, Retro Gamer X, even the legendary CeX Retro on Whitfield Street took the p1ss towards the end.

All of that is/was still far more palatable than how the very few remaining indie import/retro stores today try to justify selling dog-mauled PAL copies of Super Mario World for £60 by citing eBay - pathetic.

[fuse]

Skill 2000

I'm still salty about these guys shutting up shop about a month before I moved to the neighbourhood. With other mates who were similarly dorky import gamer types, no less!

[112]

I vaguely remember going to an indie game store by Cavern a Walks, but I’m pretty sure it was actually in Cavern Walks in Liverpool.

It was where I brought my first import bridge adapter for my SNES and picked up Royal Rumble on the SNES at the same time. It was there where I spotted an NTSC-J version of the mega drive 2 for sale.

There was a time when a local video rental store decided to start selling / renting NTSC-U SNES and mega drive games, that the owner would purposely pick up from the united states and bring back to his shop. This was during the time, when a lot of snes games were not getting released in the UK or delayed for whatever reason. The dude made a savvy killing renting whatever he could lug back in his suitcase, in the brief period that the games were sort after. It was here where I first sampled Chrono Trigger (what a magical experience that was).

I guess these days CEX and the other 2nd gaming stores are the nearest we can come to an actual gaming store in the high street.

112

[dvdx2]

anyone remember Charles at CA games?

[fishbowlhead]

Thatz Entertainment in Lakeside was the closest one to me and my mate. Man we spent some dough in there in our early 20’s on all the latest imports.

[Leon Retro]

CeX Retro on Whitfield Street took the p1ss towards the end.

(Rathbone Place. It had a 'retro' basement in the late 90s onwards)

That's where CEX was before moving to Rathbone Place. I remember they charged around £45-55 for 3DO games when I could get them for £35 from somewhere else. They just relied on people not being bothered about paying £10-£20 more.

They did have some bargains at times though, so I grabbed stuff now and then. PC Engine games were £5 each around 1993. Then AES games were £40-50 around 1998. Wish I had bought loads of AES games. A mate of mine bought loads of 3DO games for £5-£10 each in 1996.

Bought an NTSC Dreamcast from SKILL in Ealing. Was cheaper than the PAL version. So you could get reasonable deals if you shopped around. I never stuck to one place.

[_SD_]

I remember the CEX adverts that appeared in Mean Machines and C&VG… they were pretty bonkers. I wonder who the artist was?