Just over a decade ago, the purchase of four video games from a thrift store in cottage country spanned a lifelong fascination with retro video games in 21-year-old Brodie Beamish.
Now, that early fascination has lead to Beamish opening a store in Guelph.
At the time, the purchase of the four Super Nintendo Entertainment System video games from the thrift store was solely out of a fascination with the boxes and artwork.
“I had no clue what retro gaming was, I bought them because I liked the box art and then I heard there was a (video game) swap a couple of days or weeks after that,” said Beamish. “I figured I’d bring them along and see what I could get and ended up selling those four games.”
After the sale, the four video games which were bought for a couple of dollars ended up netting Beamish roughly $600 - and starting the now decade-long entrepreneurship dedicated to the buying, selling and swapping of videos games.
Having continued to grow, Beamish has now opened his own store in Guelph to sell retro video games, including a Nintendo ClayFighter game worth thousands that he keeps safely tucked away in a safety deposit box off-site.
As for inventory, Beamish has purchased several lots over the years, resulting in boxes of retro videos games from the 1988 NES video game Platoon to the 1997 first-person shooter Nintendo 64 game Goldeneye 007.
It's not just video games Beamish has in his shop.
Branching into the collectible cards sector, Beamish has unopened packs of rookie season starter cards which, if opened, could hold a golden ticket rookie Sidney Crosby rookie card.
“He got his name out there and people started to know him so they would sell him games, or friends of him would sell him games,” said Brodie’s father Eric Beamish. “That’s the one thing that happens when you're fair with people, they tend to come back to see you.”
Located in unit 304 Stone Road West, unit 10, Brodie’s Gaming was the next logical step in the interest that Beamish started when he was 11 years old.
Although the idea had been in mind for some time now, the locking down of a location proved to be a challenge when the pandemic, and some construction, began shuttering potential locations.
Beaming with pride for his son, Eric Beamish said it is a rare find to see someone as young as Brodie who has built up the equity and capital to not only open his store but have the inventory already paid off from hard work.
“His mom and I have always said do something you enjoy, because it doesn't matter how much money you make, if you enjoy it and like going to work every day that’s important,” said Eric Beamish.
Spurred on by a re-connection with the games that shaped their childhood, the retro gaming community has seen an increase in nostalgia-driven older millennials wanting to relive their past, gravitating towards the games and systems they played as children.
As for why, Beamish said he thinks people want to relive a piece of their past, and stores such as his with complete collections can cater to the needs of many enthusiasts.
“They’re complete games, you get the whole game, you’re not buying part of a game at the start of the year and part at the end, you get the whole game,” said Beamish.
