G2K GAMES — Local services in Johnson City

EDIT 5/30/24 BOTTOM OF POST

I'm basing this review on the fact that G2k sells retro games. If you play magic or any other card games, ignore this review.

I've been to G2k many times over the years. Back when they were by red wings shoes, then when they were in the shopping center with target, I even worked there for a short time. The old G2k ceased to exist when they went bankrupt and closed most of their stores (the ones who know, know how horribly that went). Seeing what's come of G2k is sad to say the least.

They pulled a total DKOldies and lost their minds with the pricing, almost as if the prices are made by scalpers. I understand retro game prices fluctuate wildly, hence why they crossed out all of the price tags. But it leaves a very sour taste in the customers mouth when they see a game, go to the computer, look up the game, and are met with a ludicrous price. I get it that you gotta make money wherever you can as a business, but they mark up games at least 20 to 30 percent higher than what you could easily get on ebay or mercari plus shipping. Do not get your retro games here if you're looking for a deal.

If you collect pokemon cards, they do have a slightly higher markup on more desireable cards than what you could find on tcgplayer.

NONE of this review is aimed at the employees, they are all great and very friendly. They are available and able to provide help or answer whatever questions you may have.

TLDR: Use mercari or ebay if you want retro games, even dkoldies doesn't have pricing this bad. Great employees though.

EDIT: Since I can't reply to G2ks response, I'll put it here. Absolutely world class reply, I greatly appreciate the people at g2k. I do not under any circumstances want g2k to fall on hard times like in 2019. If you need a volunteer or any help, I'd be happy to swing by for a bit to help out whenever I can. Being a customer since I was 14, g2k has always...

Their whole system seems to be set up to mitigate the most annoying aspects of running a retro game store, but in doing so they've completely wrecked the customer experience.

Games are stocked on shelves on the other side of counters with a foot or so of distance between them. They don't want you touching anything without an employee being there, probably to reduce theft and damage. But it's hard to see the labels on the cases of some systems like the PSX and SNES, so you're left leaning over the counters and squinting.

NOTHING has a price on it. You're expected to make note of games you're interested in, and then check the price on a computer in-store. About half the games I tried to check weren't even in the inventory, and even when I asked an employee to check, all the prices were just exuberant. I get the retro market is volatile these days, but I've never a retro store strive so much to avoid giving the customer a good deal.

I love retro stores and was very happy to see G2K back, but I walked out feeling like they were doing everything they could to rip me off. I hope they address...

I had spent the last month and a half piecing together my father's day gift for my Dad. I ordered a clone console off Amazon, then started trying to find all the old nes and sega genesis cartridges that we had once upon a time. I knew our nes along with all the games had been giving to family in the late 90's, but knew the genesis and all the games were put away somewhere at my parent's house. Long story short. I never located our sega stash, and with father's day weekend at hand I was afraid I wouldn't be able to acquire any genesis items before Sunday. So I hit up Google with "sega genesis product near me", and like a lighthouse cutting through the fog I saw G2K Games. Not only was I able to find a decent chunk of our old sega library, I also snagged up a genesis controller, all for $53. And after paying the internet's markups on retro games. I was overjoyed to have found them when I did. Great group of guys, knowledgeable, helpful, and were just a pleasure to deal with. I'll be stopping by G2K Games before I look online for anything...