Editor’s take: Limited Run Games, an American video game distributor that specializes in the release of digital games in physical form, is opening its first ever physical retail store. That may seem like a risky proposition in the age of digital distribution and the pandemic, but nostalgia is a heck of a drug.
Limited Run CEO Josh Fairhurst said in an interview with Polygon that ever since opening online in 2015, they have dreamed of trying their hand at a physical store. “There [are] certainly stores left, but it’s nothing like the glory days of having a Babbage’s, Software Etc, FuncoLand, and Electronics Boutique in every town,” Fairhurst added.
The store is expected to open this April in Cary, North Carolina, in the MacGregor Village shopping center. It is being modeled after 80s and 90s video and department stores, with roughly 75 percent of the products on offer coming directly from Limited Run. The other 25 percent of stock will consist of games, vinyl soundtracks, trading cards, books and merchandise from other publishers and distributors.
Fairhurst told Polygon that opening the shop has taken longer than expected, so they hosted an event in the parking lot last summer. More than 1,000 people showed up to support the store, giving Fairhurst confidence that the store will be a success once it does open.
Should the shop prove to be a hit, Fairhurst said he would eventually like to have a presence on the West Coast – preferably in the Bar Area. Beyond that, expanding internationally with a location in Europe and Japan would also be of interest.