There’s nothing like the feeling of popping in and old video game and seeing the lights of the T.V. flicker on. Dave Smith wants to help relive that nostalgia.

In this age of digital downloads it can be easy to overlook the authentic experience of owning the original console and games: playing them how they were meant to be played.

Smith is the owner of Dave’s Retro Games at the Folsom Flea Market on 8521 Folsom Boulevard. A store specializing in video game consoles and games dating back to the inception of home consoles in the 80’s, Smith has amassed a collection of thousands of games for all platforms, hundreds of consoles from all companies, and controllers to fit all of your needs.

When you enter the store the first thing you will notice is his massive collection that he built up over ten years, games covering every shelf and hundreds of controllers strung upon the wall. Even if you are there to browse there will always be something new in a corner to find and admire. The shelves are chock full of games, obscure and best sellers, DVD and VHS from all eras, and consoles from every generation.

The staff is extremely helpful in assisting find, test, and clean games. Dave’s Retro Games only employee is Smith himself, there are a handful of volunteers who love the atmosphere so much they dedicate their free time to helping the store run smoothly.

Smith will help you find the game you want, for a good price, and make sure that it works. There are consoles set up ready for you to test the games and ensure there are no scratches or issues with the disc.

This is one of the advantages of buying game consoles from Dave’s Retro Games, when ordering consoles and games online through sites such as Craigslist and eBay, as many do there is no way to ensure that you get all the necessary parts and in what condition. By allowing the buyer to test what they need at the store guarantees quality.

Smith first started selling games at the Roseville Flea Market in the early 80’s with only a few  games and they sold really fast, this led him to buying and selling games more and more the business continued to snowball for ten years until his retro games was making more money in two days on the weekend than his day job did in five days, so he quit. If that isn’t the American dream I don’t know what is.

The store is dedicated to the industry and the love of games, every worker there has been playing video games since the beginning, and with the introduction of Virtual Reality games, it is even more important to have respect for the classics.