A bit different, but it still looks pretty interesting. Never saw it in the UK. Then again the only stuff we got were games that were popular enough in Japan and then the US. We were lucky enough to get Secret of Mana 1, but not 2 (I managed to pick up a copy of that in Taipei). There was also a really good Mario RPG, but there were so few copies that came to the UK. In fact I never saw one copy on any of the shelves of my local stores - new or second hand. The other annoying thing was that most of the Japanese game box art looked better than the US or European versions.
I think Japan saw the most games overall and I am happy to live nearby. I think sometimes that I should have chosen to live in Japan but it’s all good, much cheaper here in Taiwan, just less games and collective toys that I like.
We hit up another store that I had info on but they were closed today so we will go back another day and hopefully it’s what I am looking for.
Went by that store today, they claim to be an antique store now. I asked but it wasn’t clear to me what the difference is except that they won’t buy second hand stuff. Stuff I could see looks about the same. Not sure what’s upstairs now.
We didn’t go upstairs and just asked the lady if they had any old games and she didn’t seem too nice so we just moved on. I look forward to going to another store that we found after the holiday.
I kinda got that feeling too.
I kinda got that feeling too.[/quote]
Luckily there are other places to go and people like that will just lose business if they choose to have a poor attitude. Thanks to my wife, we have found several other shops, as my Chinese is poor at the moment until I start studying at either Taiwan Normal University or Providence in Taichung. Considering either school as they are both accepted on the Gi Bill.
This might not be based on Taipei, but it would be an interesting import.
Hyperkin Retron 5 combines ten consoles into one on December 10 for $99
[quote=“TexMex”]This might not be based on Taipei, but it would be an interesting import.
Hyperkin Retron 5 combines ten consoles into one on December 10 for $99
[/quote]
Putting money on that system being made in either Taiwan or China. I am researching now as the website for the company shows the distribution center is in California, probably meaning its not actually made in the US.
The company makes a bunch of different game items. I remember the name of the company but haven’t heard much of them for a bit since I haven’t been paying attention to the aftermarket brands.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_videogames?_encoding=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=Hyperkin&node=468642
i visit taiwan once a year and have spent some time searching for retro stuff. i stay in the town of Houli, which is a district of Tai Chung. I have found one store in Houli which i have already gone through (i am a collector of 8-16bit console and stuffs).
the Taipei city mall still has a lot of stuff, but the best store which had an amazing museum of hardware and software (famicom peripherals and all) had tons of games but all just crazy high prices. there were consoles in pieces (half repaired?) all over the place, total mess.
at the moment i am in Kaohsiung and am going to try and locate the street with some retro game shops (as discussed on this forum thread).
If anyone can enlighten me to any still-existing (large or small) retro game stores or retro game-anything, around KH or Taichung or Taipei, please comment or message me, it would be greatly appreciated 
As this is a pretty old thread, I’d be curious to hear any updates on how the retro gaming scene in Taipei has developed. The only place I know of that sells a decent amount of retro gaming stuff in Taipei is the already-mentioned place in Taipei City Mall. It sells some good stuff, but the prices are ridiculous. Most items aren’t actually priced in the store, so you have to ask the clerk for the price, and he checks the going rate on eBay and Yahoo Auctions to figure out whatever he thinks the price should be that day. A good shop to look around in, but not somewhere to find a good deal. The one time I spent money there was on some of the original Japanese video game advertisement posters they have (going back all the way to PS1 era!). Quite pricey, but I was able to haggle him down.
Some of the nearby Taipei City Mall video game shops sell bits and pieces of retro, but not much at all. When I lived in Taiwan, I’d just save my money and stock up in Japan. But, sadly, retro game hunting in Japan isn’t nearly as cheap as it used to be.