Sudden Impact — Local services in Winthrop

Sudden Impact is an amazing little retro gaming shop that has everything from retro games, Pokémon cards, stuffed animals, stickers, and even custom made items by the owner himself.

Edit 2/27/23: Since my original review I've had the opportunity to visit Sudden Impact several more times over the past ten months or so, this is my updated review.

When I started getting back into retro gaming this was the first place that I visited. I was awestruck at how much Dom, the owner, had packed into his little shop. It's most definitely sensory overload. However, after you've visited a few times you get a better idea of the layout and where to look for items that might have come in since your last visit.

To be honest, my first few visits to Sudden Impact were very good. Dom seems to be a nice guy and includes little gifts when you buy things be it vintage stickers, branded shop merchandise, or other little trinkets. This is clearly a passion project for him and he puts a lot of time and effort into his store.

As far as trading in items, I've had mixed results. We weren't able to agree on a price for some really amazing items that I brought in one time, so I left without buying or selling anything. I went to Replay'd in Allston with the exact same items and they paid much more than Sudden Impact was willing to pay even taking into account if it was just for store credit, it shocked even me.

Minus .5 stars

On another trip, I traded in items for some different things from the store. I felt pleased, but, when I arrived home, I discovered that one of the Animal Crossing plushies that I traded in for ended up being counterfeit. No big deal. Nobody will know unless they look at the tag.

Minus .5 stars

On another trip, a game I bought off the NES wall didn't work. I brought it back and Dom cleaned it and told me to try it at home. He didn't have an NES set up to test it, which seemed odd for a retro gaming store. It didn't work and I never bothered to bring it back in again since it was a $4 game. Games really should be tested before they're sold. Having to make multiple trips back and forth if a game doesn't work isn't convenient for the customer.

Minus .5 stars

As other reviewers have noted, the phones are NEVER answered. I've called multiple times on multiple different days and the phone has never been answered once. It doesn't matter if the shop is open, or if there are customers inside the store, he just doesn't answer the phone.

Minus .25 stars

The other issue that I have is that most of the time when I walk into the store the music is really quite loud. I'm not about to tell the owner of his shop to lower the music as it would be an awkward exchange.

Minus .25 stars

Another important thing to note is that Dom doesn't hold any items as he believes it to be unfair. He also post lots of old photos mixed in with the new photos on social media. Therefore, it's quite possible that something you saw posted may have been already sold long ago.

Here's the thing. I want to like this place more than I do as the owner is genuinely nice and is really passionate about the business. I don't think that he's doing this purely for the money. I think he really does do it mostly for the fun of it. A great deal of the items in the store are from his personal collection, and when you come into Sudden Impact you're not just visiting a place to buy things, you're visiting somebody's gameroom and admiring their collection at the same time.

I know that he reads these reviews, so I have tried to not be overly harsh, but these are my honest thoughts. An unbiased review that is honest and to the point.

With that being said I would recommend Sudden Impact if you're visiting the Boston area as it really is a unique and interesting experience. The owner will give you a great deal if you buy anything he has in stock and will include little gifts as well. The phones are never answered, he doesn't do holds, the music is loud, and trade-ins are going to differ based on what you are willing to accept.

Three stars. Definitely...

I went to Sudden Impact a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful place filled with wonderful things. I was captivated, every direction I turned there was something else I wanted. I bought a sega/32x combo, a N64, and a significant amount of games. This store has anything you could ever want for retro video games. The problem occurs when the euphoria wears off and you realize that what you have when you open the zip lock bag packaging. This store claims that everything is tested, but I strongly doubt that. The reset button on the Sega was stuck in a pressed position. The Sega would not work without the 32X attached to it. I had to delicately repair the system so the reset button was not pressed down. The reset button can not be pushed because it will get stuck again. The controller I received with the N64 is useless. The analog stick is loose beyond reasonable expectations. If you have the time you will be taking care of by Dom. I know this because a buddy of mine went through 2 Sega CD setups that did not work and received a full refund. Sadly, I do not have the time to go and get refunded.

My other gripe with Sudden Impact is the prices. I am 100% to blame for accepting the prices and exact the responsibility with all the regret it comes with. The prices truly are the highest around. Games are over priced, and accessories are over priced. After making my purchase, I researched prices and realized I could have saved close to $100 by buying everything on Amazon. Land of Electronics in East Bridgewater also has prices that are more in line with market prices. I bought Virtua Racing for 32X at SI for $16 after the "discount," LOE had it for $7 sticker price. Before you make purchases do not make the same mistakes I did. Research what you want and know what you should be paying for it.

UPDATED AFTER OWNERS RESPONSE:

As I said in my review I am fully responsible for the choices I made and the acceptance of those choices. If you tested the system I bought from you wouldn't you have told me the reset button was stuck? The N64 Controller I received from you is far from an 8 or 9. The analog stick is a wet noodle, 2 or 3 is more like it. I'll say it one more time. Your prices are high. You charge a premium. You are trying to make money and have every right to charge what you do. I am a cautionary tale for those who proceed me. Do the research before buying items from sudden impact. I guarantee an option 40-50% cheaper will...

You will be overwhelmed the moment you step inside this place! The floor, walls, and even sealing is packed to the brim with amazing video game memorabilia. Both me and my girlfriend have been looking for a place to purchase old super nintendo, gamecube, gba, and rare ds games. Usually the only way to obtain these is from ebay, but it can be hit or miss because you can't see/hold the game in person. The man who owns this store has a fantastic selection running from atari all the way through ps4. He has excellent prices and will even lower prices depending on how much you spend/want. He also is a passionate gamer who cares about what comes in and goes out of his store. A great example of this, is from a purchase I made from him of a number of gba games. I have been looking for many rpg's and he happened to have quite a few great ones for the gameboy advance, one of these games was Pokemon Firered. Two weeks later I started to play it and I noticed something odd, a "the game is now being loaded" message as soon as I booted it up. I than took a closer look at the cartridge and quickly realized it was a bootleg version. I called him up (do not get annoyed if he doesn't answer the first few times. His phone is also how he processes credit cards, if he is doing a credit transaction the call goes straight to voice mail. Not to mention he is the only one working in the store....please have patience) and explained. He was very upset that he sold me a fake game and said to come in so he could see it. I showed him the game a few days later and he tried it out on one of his gameboys and refunded the amount ( I decided to use it against a purchase that day). This is the big thing that matters, HE ASKED HOW I KNEW IT WAS A FAKE! We spent 15 minutes discussing the ways to notice if a gba or ds game is fake, while he marked the Firered as bootleg and dramatically lowered the price and returned it to the case. He actually made the effort to learn so he wouldn't do it in the future, HE ACTUALLY CARED. This should mean a lot to any hardcore game player/collector. If you purchase a product through him and something is wrong, he will back up his product. He survives off of customer satisfaction and good will. I live an hour away from his shop, but I make the trip because I have never found anywhere with as good of a selection, or...