Business Spotlight: What's old is new again at Retro Replay

In an age when consumers go through digital technology faster than a pair of socks, used video games are all too often discarded in favor of the latest and greatest versions. They become archaic within months after having once been cutting edge.

But Nick Posey reminds us that there's still hope for the old games. The owner of Retro Replay specializes in the sale, cleaning, and care of vintage used video games and equipment.

He said the idea of opening a store for vintage video game products was one part passion and another part necessity.

"Video games are something that I grew up with, something I'm familiar with and very passionate about," he said. "You have your Game Stops, Walmarts and Targets of the world where you can buy all the new games and all the new consoles. But this community has been lacking for a place where you can buy retro games in the store."

Posey, a first-time small business owner, said he applied the skills he'd gained from past employment and combined them with his love for video games to open up Retro Replay, located at 200 E. Washington Street in Carson City, on March 1 of this year.

"I started to think about how I could take the skills I learned in previous jobs and apply them to something that I know, in and out, backwards and forwards," he said.

So he came up with Retro Replay, a place where the video game culture not only reigns, it pours.

"I wanted it to be a specialty store," Posey said. "Anything game related we can play it, we can buy it, we can sell it, we can talk about it, we can trade it."

More than that, though, Posey said he sought to re-ignite the same passion in others for older, vintage video games that he has.

From the moment you walk through the front door of the 660 square-foot space, you are taken back to the old -- and even older -- days of Atari, Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Sega games.

A larger than life mural of the Super Mario Bros. takes up an entire wall at the front of the store, conjuring up childhood memories of the wacky, Italian-accented plumbers running and jumping amok through pipework into make-believe lands.

"I really think the nostalgia plays a big part where I don't even have to sell the game," he said. "Someone comes in and sees Super Mario Bros. III, a game they used to play as a kid, and the game is off the shelf and in the hands of someone who wants to play it."

There's even a large, old-school analogue box television set in a solid wood frame situated in one corner of the store where you can see vintage pixellations of the Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog come to life on the screens of yesterday.

"It's the first thing you see as you come in through the door. It's intentionally set up that way," Posey said. "It puts you back in that nostalgic feeling as well when you see an old-school game being played on an old-school TV. It takes you back to your grandparents' living room or your living room where you originally played those games, and that's exactly why it's set up the way that it is."

In fact, Posey encourages customers to come in, play the games on the television, and feel comfortable talking video games with other like-minded people.

"It's about sharing the love and passion of video games with people," he said. "It's an experience, a memory of yours as time goes on. When you turn that game back on it's like being with old friends again. Meeting new people with the same enthusiasm and passion as I have, and sharing with them is awesome."

Posey said his store has appeal to the casual as well as the hard-core gamer, the nostalgia gamers, and collectors, too.

He is seeing a lot of interest for the old video games.

People are beginning to recognize the value of these classic products, he said, which may have since been packed away or even discarded over time as they were replaced by newer, more state-of-the-art versions.

"Just being open in the last two and a half months, we've generated a lot of excitement," he said. "I take extra special care of the older stuff, because without it, you wouldn't have your Next Gen consoles, your Play Stations, or your XBoxs."

While Retro Replay is a retail store, Posey doesn't regard his business as one-dimensional by any means. It's really a hub, he said, for gamers to share in and engage with others their passion for video games.

"It's important that you sell things to keep the lights on," Posey said. "But here it's equally important that people come in and feel that they can be at home and talk about the games."

Besides a full inventory of used and classic, vintage video games, Retro Replay can also clean games, controllers and consoles, as well as perform some repair and restoration services.

"Sometimes I just do it as a complimentary service, and I'll show you how to clean and care for your games," Posey said. "There's a lot of tips and tricks to learn. Really it's about empowering people to take care of their games in order to keep them out of the junk piles and out of the dump."

Posey, sole proprietor of the business, gets help running the retail floor from a staff of four volunteers, including his wife, other family and friends.

"Without help from my friends and famly, without help from everyone who came in and helped me set the store up or who comes in consistently to help me run the store, I wouldn't be able to do this," he said. "I want to say thank you very much to anyone who has helped me achieve my dream of opening this store."

He also wants to be sure people know that his store is a place where young people can come and enjoy themselves while staying out of trouble.

"I found my safe haven in video games. They keep you out of trouble," said Posey, a Carson City resident for the past 18 years. "Part of the inspiration of opening the store is if a 12-year-old walks into the store, he can come here and play games instead of going out and getting into trouble somewhere."

Retro Replay is open noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Visit Retro Replay's web site here, or find it on Facebook.