FLORENCE, S.C. — New Games Plus is a retro gaming store that has just opened. It has a variety from older games like the Atari to modern gaming systems.
Christian Blackburn is the owner and Joey Porter is the store manager. The two were good friends before going into business together.
New Games Plus has over 2,000 retro games and current games in stock. There is a selection of gaming systems from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the PlayStation Five. It is a one-stop-shop for all of your gaming needs– from controllers to accessories.
“We have a wall full of Ataris,” Blackburn said. “We have games that date back to as far as we can go, and we are always looking for more to add.”
Blackburn said they make sure to have the current games on the market in stock as an effort to bridge the gap between the older and modern gamers. New Games Plus has a retro feel when you enter and that’s the shop’s trademark. From the neon colors on the ceiling, to the shapes on the wall, to the music that is playing, everything is done to make the customer feel as if they have taken a moment from the present and have been sent back to their childhood, Blackburn said.
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“We want you to feel as if you are in your childhood living room,” Blackburn said. “We want to take you back to when you were gaming at your mother’s, grandmother’s, or aunt’s home.”
There is a living room in the shop that seeks to have the effect on customers that they have been teleported to their childhood home on the couch playing their favorite old school game. Blackburn said the gaming industry is currently very commercial centered and has an atmosphere of coldness. He said he wants to bring back the simpler times of gaming and allow people to escape to times when the world was in a better place.
The store manager, Joey Porter, said the shop also serves as a place to play the games that people couldn’t afford growing up or that your childhood friend may have had, and you didn’t.
“People in Florence have a way to find that game and get that part of their childhood they never had,” Porter said. “You can also share a special part of your childhood with your kids and that’s a big thing.”
There are also accessories that allow you to plug in the retro games to modern day smart TVs.
“A lot of smart TVs have composite and component hookups,” Porter said. “There may be a few screen stretching issues, but overall, you can hook up the older modeled games to the newer televisions and you will still be able to play.
Blackburn said the shop is constantly buying games, consoles, and accessories to update and keep its catalog competitive and interesting. People who have old game systems are able to sell their games for money and New Games Plus is able to repair broken game systems. Blackburn said do not underestimate the game consoles you have a home because it could sell and add money to your pocket.
Blackburn and Porter are lifelong gamers and collectors. They have a lot of knowledge about gaming and use their knowledge to make the gaming community in Florence more informed to have a better experience gaming.
“We want to help people get into gaming who don’t have a lot of knowledge,” Blackburn said. “We want them to find a game they are interested in, take it home, and be happy with it. That is our main priority.”
Blackburn said everything in the shop is reasonably priced and they beat their competitors when it comes to the price of their games. He also added that their quality of games is top notch.
“Everything in this store is fully tested when it comes in,” Blackburn said. “When it leaves and you do have an issue, you can always bring it back and you will be refunded. We stand behind everything in this store and it is all about a good experience.”
Retro gaming is not something that is far-fetched and too expensive. Blackburn said he wants to combat that myth of mystique and expense to retro gaming and allow gamers to indulge in their love for games. Blackburn has lived in Florence for 22 years and has been an avid video game collector all of his life. He travels to conventions and has been up and down the coast for work. He noticed a place was needed in Florence for his love for retro gaming to grow and for other retro gamers to gather and have a safe place.
“I wanted to bring the experience of nostalgia back to the greater Florence area,” Blackburn said. “We didn’t have anything like this and that serves this purpose.”
Gaming serves as an escape and customers at the newly opened shop agree. Kenneth McFadden, who is an avid gamer said the shop allows him to pause and gives him a peace of mind.
“I love this shop,” McFadden said. “It really takes me back. Most of the games here I played growing up when my older brother was alive.”
McFadden said he and his deceased brother would often bond over video games. Porter said his brother was his only friend growing up. When his mother moved to Florence in 1991, he met his first best friend, Preston, over video games and a lot of his friends to this day were made over gaming.
“Places like this keep me going,” McFadden said. “I get my parts here to restore my collection and it is what keeps me going. Whenever I have a bad day at work or it gets to be too much, I come to places like this, and it takes me back and calms me down.”
Another customer, Ty Buckman, traveled from Maryland to check out the New Games Plus collection and to sell a few items in his collection.
“They have a really good selection of things that are hard to get,” Buckman said. “They have things here that I haven’t seen anywhere else.”
Buckman said the drive from Maryland to Florence is a tough one, but he said it is worth it. He said he has been collecting games since a child and the store has everything he is looking for.
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