CEX Retro

[HC_O]

Was discussing CEX back in the day on another forum and thought to start a thread here.

CEX is these days a massive high st chain with stores all across the UK, but who here used to go there back in the day? got any stories?

I used go there once a week from 1992 to their first store which was called "Tottenham Court Road Computer Exchange" which was on Whitfield st.

In the other forum thread I was trying to find old pictures on google and stumbled on this page https://uk.webuy.com/about/history.php

[VR46]

I used to once every few months (ie when I had some spare cash on the hip), down to the dark and dingy basement where all the retro stuff was back in the day. Happy days indeed. They certainly knew how to charge for import consoles etc back then.

CEX are a worldwide force now, with shops across Europe, India, USA, Australia.

[Colin]

Was never out of the place when I moved to London in '99. The little offshoot retro store they ended up with was like a dream come true for me, having only ever bought my stuff mail order up to that point. I dread to think how many PC-Engine games and consoles I bought from those guys. When the two retro guys opened the X store in Shepherds Bush, I then used to go there and buy about 50 PCE games per visit they were so cheap! How times change.......

[Leon Retro]

I used go there once a week from 1992 to their first store which was called "Tottenham Court Road Computer Exchange" which was on Whitfield st.

In the other forum thread I was trying to find old pictures on google and stumbled on this page https://uk.webuy.com/about/history.php

I have clear memories of the Whitfield Street shop, which was really small but always packed with people buying the latest import games. The prices weren't the best around, but I bought a few games over the years, as you could get a good price if you were lucky.

Then they moved to Rathbone Place and I used to pop in there around once a week from 1993 to 2000. I remember when they opened the retro section downstairs and I thought "Why would people want retro stuff?"

They were great, exciting days, as all the import consoles & games created a huge buzz. It really was a completely different gaming scene back then and I cherish the memories.

I down to the dark and dingy basement where all the retro stuff was back in the day.

It was like the London Dungeon down there but I still ventured into the depths and chatted with some of the staff.

I then used to go there and buy about 50 PCE games per visit they were so cheap! How times change.......

I also bought quite a few PCE games from them around 1992-1993, as the prices were cheap. I think a lot of games were ?3-?5, so it was easy to buy 10, or even 50.

I also have a strong memory of them selling off AES games for ?20-?40 - many of which are over ?200 now. I wish I had bought some, but I was too focused on the Playstation & Saturn at that time. If only I had known retro gaming would become a huge thing.

[buster_broon]

weird thing is i bet we've all at some point past each other in the shop if we've spent so much time there

when I was on HMS Newcastle 1992-1994 i used to go into London from Portsmouth once a month and go to CEX to get some games for my Neo, there was also that store on Goodge street (might be wrong) which was also good, im sure that was nearer 1994 though

[Leon Retro]

weird thing is i bet we've all at some point past each other in the shop if we've spent so much time there

I was the guy wearing this.

there was also that store on Goodge street (might be wrong) which was also good, im sure that was nearer 1994 though

I think that shop opened around 96, maybe 97? It had a more minimalist, boutique design that didn't appeal to me much. But they did have consoles to play, so I did go in there quite a bit.

[dyer60]

I also have fond memories of the Whitfield street store, I used to live in south London and travel in every few months, the place was a cave of wonders for me! Must of been 2000 ish I would think.

I remember it being a wonderland for me all the imported stuff was intriguing, downstairs was a big display behind glass they had a few FM Towns Marty consoles and games, I'm sure the price was around ?600. Saturn and Dreamcast stuff was in plentiful supply. I recall picking up a Metal Slug box set for the Saturn set me back ?65.

The AES stuff amazed me, out of my price range at the time and in 2000 still looked quality.

I went one Sunday and there was a large crowd at the counter on the right as you went in, I wondered what was happening and after pushing my way to the front some guy was trading in his Jap Dreamcast with around 10 games for a Saturn with Marvel vs Xmen!!!!! Most of the staff couldn't believe he wanted to do it and we're trying to talk him out of it, he was so adamant that it resulted in raised voices and hence the crowd, people wanted to know what was happening. They kept on at him about the anount of money he was losing and how Dreamcast was the future!!!!! How right (and wrong) they were.

A great place and sorely missed nothing like it anymore and CEX is now just another cash converters!

[speedlolita]

First found CeX Kingston in 2003, on Easter Sunday of all days, because GAME wasn't open.

They gave MUCH better credit than GAME did. Until I started to get my own income I would buy/sell/trade in their practically weekly. Store was awesome. This was just before they got rid of imports and all that other cool stuff. Used to ogle the likes of Final Fantasy Tactics in the display cabinet. I never had a chipped console or anything so imports/backups eluded me.

Guess I would have been around 12 years old that Easter. CeX was amazing when I got into PC gaming too. An extra 256MB stick of DDR PC2100 RAM and a GeForce FX5600 made the 2002 prebuilt that we had into a half decent PC circia 2005/2006.

[Leon Retro]

some guy was trading in his Jap Dreamcast with around 10 games for a Saturn with Marvel vs Xmen!!!!!

He must have really badly wanted to play Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. It just goes to show that despite the Saturn being seen as a "flop" at that time, some people still saw value in it. As much as I like the Dreamcast, I'd choose a Saturn over it. But back then, I was drooling over Soul Calibur.