NES, Master System, SNES, Mega Drive, PlayStation ... new Boston store spans decades of gaming

A video game enthusiast from Boston has opened up a shop in the town dedicated to his passion, selling items dating from across five decades.
Thomas Steadman, owner of Games Central, Boston.Thomas Steadman, owner of Games Central, Boston.
Thomas Steadman, owner of Games Central, Boston.

Thomas Steadman, 34, opened Games Central in High Street last Saturday in the site previously home to the Traditional Shoe Shop.

It followed a five-week overhaul to the premises, completed by Thomas and family members.

The business sells video games and consoles dating from as far back as the late 1970s (thanks to the Atari 2600) to the present day, as well as TVs and electrical appliances.

Thomas has been running the business with his wife online for more than 10 years, supplementing other work.

It was a venture which developed out of a nostalgia for the gaming of his youth.

“I just wanted to relive those times again,” he said, saying after getting hold of a Sega Mega Drive console it ‘snowballed from there’ to the point where he was selling items, not just buying them.

Now, he has made the decision to go full time with it and step out of the virtual realm and onto the high street.

“I want to give something back to the gaming community round here,” he said on his reasons for opening the shop. “Not only have I got a good variety of stock, my prices are matched locally and with online as well. The price has got the gamer in mind.”

Thomas said early feedback has been positive to the store.

“It’s been very much ‘a wow’,” he said of people’s reaction when they visit.

In addition, the store’s Facebook page (search for Games Central at www.facebook.com) has, at the time of writing, almost 300 ‘likes’.

“The customer interaction has been brilliant,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of lovely people.”

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