Hello my fellow gamers:

Before i begin. ( Please no forum flaming ) just my opinion and im also looking for other people's

Ok well it finally hit me after years of feeling that something has been missing from my childhood. I ( like most of you im sure ) spent countless hours and wasted youth dropping quarters into the arcade games and loved every moment i spent there. Favorite games were Neo Geo games ( however i could never afford a system much less find one here in the US that easy ) and as time went on of course Mortal Kombat , Street fighters and on and on.

I remember being a teen and myself and all my friends would count down the days when a new game came out in the arcades like MK2. We played MK1 all the time and were counting the minutes till 2 was released. Was so fun ... Anywho my point being this ... Have you been to an arcade lately? Same old games you played years ago. Nothing new :( a real bummer ( good thing there is still air hockey and whack a mole lol ) I always thought video games were more like movies as in Its released in the arcades for awhile then hits consoles.. hmmm if this were still true then it would more then likely boost arcade business again.

My only take on this matter is that consoles have taken over all and killed the arcade scene. If that be the case it makes me sad ( true i love my consoles and still own em all ) but i have always had consoles be it an atari ( going way back ) to the NES and so on and i still went to the arcades cause thats were all the new games were and it was really a blast.

Now onto my take on video game stores *cough cough* I can not really verbalize my utter disgust in what has happen here. Keep in mind ( my personal opinion ) Ok going way way back ( NES days ) games were bought at retail stores mostly were i lived. Nothing big and flashy for us gamers but it was ok. Then as time went on and i hit my mid teens there came ( Funcoland ) Still in my mind it was and will always remain the best place ever. How could you go wrong? they had everything you could ever want. Every month they printed out a newspaper of sorts that had the prices for every NES cart game and every Sega game ect . and even though at the time it was alittle aged ( since newer systems and all ) it had it all. The systems, the games old and new. You could walk out of there with a Sega saturn a few games and some NES games. you get were i am going with this i hope. This is what a video game store should be. anything gaming be it old or new.

Now what do we have ( in MA anyway ) Funco closed years ago and now everything ( and i do mean everything ) is a Gamestop. And in my own personal opinion an evil empire. They don't sell anything that has not been made before the PS2 or XBOX anymore and the place is a scam. price wise you are going to find the same prices anywere else im mostly talking about selling some old games or systems you don't play anymore. True i still go there to buy used ( older ) PS2 games ect and sometimes you find some good used games but when i sold my XBOX 360 PRO cause i was laid off at the time and kinda needed cash i sold my XBOX360, 2 pads, and 7 games that were really really good like NHL08, Lost planet, Forza 2 ect and i did'nt even get $200.00 for it all but what was i to do? Bills don't pay themselves and like it or not i am an adult now so toys are not something i can play all the time ( but i wish i could ) I felt so cheated when i left with my $180 and change i think and it got me to thinking how many kids / teens have felt the same? You know there going to make a killing off all that stuff i sold em. The 360 alone they must sell for almost $200.

I feel sad by all these new changes and makes me feel like its never going to be the way it was or get better. But i promise you all this lol if i hit millions and get rich i will not forget my fellow gamers. I would open up my own chain of game store and kick gamestops @ss. And there would be games for every system retro or collectibles or new it would'nt matter.

Thanks in advance for any opinions and feedback and much thanks for taking the time to read this. Keep gaming alive!!!!