This Sunday, November 10, 2024, gamers of all kinds descended on Russel Square London to sell and buy rare retro games, collectibles, cards, and consoles. An autumnal feeling was in the air as the grey skies of London hosted an event that occurs more than once a year, and often goes under the radar for games as it is a much smaller event than ComicCon. Because of the potential good deals inside the venue, there is a ยฃ5 fee for entry. The line for entry extended a good few hundred meters and that highlights how keen people were to grab a good deal. Read on for a short review of the event.
Stalls and Sellers
Many of the stalls were being operated by owners of physical brick-and-mortar retro gaming shops. These businesses are notorious for the difficulty that they go through to make money (hence why there are so few of them left), and presumably this event is a good opportunity to make money. I spoke to a few vendors and now know that some of the sellers were private individuals who were selling parts of their collections. The games on sale ranged from NES and Game Boy software, through SNES, and Saturn, N64, GameCube and even PS5.
There were also consoles of all kinds, Pokemon cards, toys, and much more. I spoke to a man who was selling a book that he had published that was a guide to the Game Boy. The book used impressive graphic art and obviously had a lot of work put into it. However, at ยฃ25 it was slightly out of my price range. There were some good deals on offer. I was tempted by Super Mario 64 (since I’m about to receive an N64), but couldn’t find it for lower than that magical ยฃ10 mark. The average price of a boxed game was around ยฃ25.
A potential bargain?
As I was rifling through some loose N64 games at a stall off at the side of the venue, I noticed a bag of loose Game Boy games (many of them Japanese) that caught my interest because of their low price. As I asked the vendor what the difference was between two Japanese Donkey Kong Land games that looked like the same game but had different cartridge art, I noticed Super Mario Land 2 for ยฃ5. I knew that this was a good deal, and I had been looking for this particular game to play on one of my Game Boy Pockets. The gameplay of Super Mario Land 2 is so addictive and I don’t use flash carts with Game Boy Pocket, so I needed a genuine classic to take up that cartridge spot. I immediately decided to purchase it for ยฃ5.
The bag of games had other good titles that I was already familiar with. There was Donkey Kong Land for ยฃ5, an arguably inferior version of Donkey Kong Country that despite not living up to its console brother was still a solid platformer. There was also James Bond, a Game Boy Zelda-like that is meant to be underrated (I’ve never played it). However, there was also the shooter ’em-up Solar Striker. I loved R-Type on the PC-Engine and I thought a similar hardcore shooter would be great to play on Game Boy. So, in the end, I picked up Solar Striker and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Japanese version) for ยฃ10 altogether. I think I made two great purchases and left the venue with my friend soon after to have lunch.
Conclusion
The London Gaming Market is a great place to pick up a bargain or two. If you know how video games are priced you can get a good deal. You do have to pay the ยฃ5 entrance fee to have access to the venue, and it’s debatable whether it’s worth it, particularly if you don’t plan to purchase anything. Some vendors own actual, physical shops at the market, but there are also private collectors, and even artists selling prints of video game-related characters. At this Autumn’s London Gaming Market, I could have picked up more games, and in retrospect, I think I should have picked up more games. I will know what to expect for next year. Overall, the event is a great day out with the family, particularly if you’ve started a collection and want to build on it. Let’s hope next year the London Gaming Market is even bigger than this year.
