Retro Chase Games — Local services in Barrie

If I could rate this establishment 9 stars, I would. I discovered Retro Chase Games through an ex-boyfriend of mine and I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that finding RCG was the only good thing to come out of that relationship. Skip the competition, spend your money here and you won’t be disappointed. Pricing is very fair and competitive. As soon as you enter the store, you are greeted with a wall of CRT televisions that are hooked up to classic gaming systems. If you are lucky, like I was tonight, you could catch a glimpse of a kid unlocking a core memory with their parent, playing on a SNES system. Instantly brought a smile to my face and reminded me of the days when I would watch my Dad play video-games for hours. The kids gotta know that Duck Hunt walked so that COD could run! Plushies and Amibos stand proudly at the back. All sorts of different trading cards line the register, truly if they (unlikely) don’t have what you are looking for they will work hard to find it. The storefront is clean, well organized and the stock is very comprehensive. I love the video game OSTs playing from the speakers at the back. This review would not be complete without mentioning the very thing that makes this shop 9 stars: The customer service.

Jorge and Bobby (and co-op kid, forgive me I didn’t catch his name) are what make this place the only store I will ever buy games from again. I am new to retro-gaming, chasing a wave of nostalgia (pun intended) and both owners are extremely helpful, knowledgeable and friendly with my interrogation amounts of questions. I know my strange obsession with finding the obscure “Urbz” on GameCube would never be judged by these two. They get it. They are so helpful in fact, that they arranged a stock exchange at a convention with another collector to make sure I got that copy of the Urbz. This evening, I brought in my badly scratched copy of Haunting Ground with little hope it could be revived. Jorge ran it through his doo-dad that buffs out scratches, handed me a controller and I was flooded with emotion. The game started up, and I was giggling uncontrollably, in disbelief that such an important game from my childhood and adolescent years was playing flawlessly when before the disk would skip and was unplayable. Tears welled in my eyes, and Jorge begged me not to cry because he might be next to join me!! In that moment I felt so seen, understood and felt like I just became a part of an unofficial community. That’s what I believe makes RCG a step above the competition: they have heart. You can tell they understand the significance gaming has on an individual because they feel it too. To gamers, these aren’t CD’s or cartridges reading information, they are portals to another world where the player is free. Video games do not care about your gender, age, race, or creed, they are for everyone. And that is the atmosphere at Retro Chase Games: come as you are and leave skipping and kicking your heels. These guys know what they are talking about, and truly care about their collection and their customers. The fact that they have a customer that they work with that drives all the way from Niagara Falls to shop with them should tell you enough!

I could sing RCG’s praises all night, but I have hours of games to play thanks to these guys. To co-op kid, I take it back, I won’t be getting any sleep tonight. And for that, I am so grateful!! Thank-you immensely, Retro Chase Games, you have made my wildest dreams come true with so much kindness...

I am expanding my PS2 game library and Retro Chase Games came up on Google as a new game shop in Barrie. Interested in checking it out, me and my girlfriend dropped by to give it a look. Upon walking in we were greeted by a clean, well taken care of and intelligently laid out store with an amazing selection for more than just the PS2, but for all different consoles, newer and older. The prices were also very competitive as Bobby, one of the owners told me. He is a great fellow and said they hope to have the best prices they can and it's true. I bought a game at this location then went to another store in town for a few other games I've had my eye on. After talking with Bobby again over the phone to compare prices, Retro Chase Games prices were much lower and enough for me to hop back in the car and drive back just so I could buy them here for the cheaper price.

Bobby is great and very knowledgeable and I look forward to meeting his business partner who is the second owner as I will likely become a regular. By looking at the few games I got, their disk resurfacing machine (which is a service they also offer) appears to do a great job of keeping the games looking close to if not, completely factory fresh.

Overall, for a new business in town, it has a great owner, great prices, and a great selection. This is the first time I've ever felt the need to leave a google review so that should tell you how smooth and good of an experience it was. If the same standards are upheld going forward, me and my girlfriend will definitely be coming back to bring more business in the future.

Side note - A website that helps customers check on stock and availability of games online would be a stellar addition. Many other game stores in Simcoe County and the GTA have adopted this tool. The business is new so in good time I hope this might...

Stumbled upon this shop by searching for it on Google while in the area and what a great find! First and foremost the owner is super nice, friendly and willing to chat about the hobby with absolutely no pressure to buy anything. The store is organized by console and alphabetically and is super easy to browse around. The prices are incredibly fair and the selection is vast. There is so much to find and they utilize the space incredibly well. It was definitely one of the best experiences we had in a retro game shop just browsing around and chatting with the owner. We came in just to look around only to walk out with a sealed Barbie game for the Genesis of all things. That just speaks to the variety they have. We'll definitely be back when in the Barrie area. Thanks for a great,...