Locally owned retro video game store opens in north Austin

August 16, 2026 - 16:40

Walking into the new store, you might catch the faint hum of a CRT television warming up. That is exactly the feeling Christian Amador wanted to recreate. His shop, which opened quietly last month in a small strip center off Research Boulevard, is packed floor to ceiling with cartridges, consoles, and controllers from the 80s and 90s. Amador grew up in the area and says he always wanted a place where people could actually hold a game box in their hands again, not just scroll through a digital menu.

The store carries everything from Atari to the original PlayStation, plus a wall of used games for current systems. What sets it apart is the seating area in the back. There are two old couches, a stack of games, and a few working CRTs hooked up to a Super Nintendo and a Sega Genesis. Customers can sit down and play for free, no purchase required. Amador says he has already seen kids who had never touched a wired controller figure it out in about ten minutes, and parents who used to play these same games come in and get emotional.

He also buys and trades used games, which keeps the inventory rotating. The shop is open seven days a week, and Amador plans to host small tournaments once a month. For now, he is just happy to see people walk in and smile. He says the goal was never to be the biggest store, just the one where you feel like you are hanging out in a friend's basement.