A blast from the past inside Japan's retro gaming shops

The online market remains heavily reliant on retro video games from Japan and neighbouring countries

Nothing sells like nostalgia.

Renewed interest in vintage Japanese video games is drawing buyers to the country’s online markets and retro gaming shops. While enthusiasts have collected old titles for years, even casual gamers are now snapping up cartridges and CDs, as well as gaming machines that they haven’t played since childhood.

Although retro gaming is considered a tiny fraction of the $109 billion global industry, it’s an attractive niche market. Last year’s re-release of Nintendo first NES/Famicom console sold out quickly, and the same is happening for this year’s follow-up, the classic version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Given Nintendo’s