Gamer’s Gold at the End of the 1-Train Rainbow

For most hobby enthusiasts, coming to New York is like coming to Mecca—no matter what your hobby, there’s some specialty group or club that meets with 6,000 members entirely devoted to it. While the Columbia University neighborhood offers quite a taste of this extracurricular diversity, one group of hobbyists will find Morningside Heights wanting a bit: gamers. Though Morningside Heights is a little lacking, any aspiring gamer who isn’t afraid to leave his or her session of World of Warcraft idling for a few hours should definitely have no problem finding a retailer that offers anything you could possibly want.

For starters, every gamer should be well aware of the GameStop at 106th and Broadway, which should be your primary base of operations for most big releases. If it’s Guitar Hero you’re after, the not-so-friendly folks staffing the somewhat disgusting establishment down the street from campus will have what you want. They’ll also have a variety of used games in terrible condition, and a large number of children patrolling the aisles because their parents consider GameStop a free babysitter. Still, they’re close, and, with a preorder, you can get most of what you’re after.

So where do you go for everything else? The most avid gamers in New York City should all know about Video Games New York on 202 East Sixth St. The store, which moved from its famous St. Mark’s location in June of 2006 (where it was “Saint Mark’s Games”), has an incredible collection of new, used, and imported titles that would make any gamer squeal with glee.

In addition to having almost everything ever made—from the Japanese only Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix+ to the DS Japanese smash hit Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, known this side of the Pacific as Elite Beat Agents—Video Games New York is also a hotspot for gaming aficionados looking to get into import gaming and gaming tournaments. The store frequently runs tournaments for fighting games, racers, and other shooters. Occasionally, a major release like Assassin’s Creed or Grand Theft Auto 4 manages to leak out of Video Games New York early. Getting a major release a few days early is always great—you can impress your friends in Street Fighter IV on the Tuesday it comes out next spring with an extra four days of practice.

The strangest thing about Video Games New York is how few Columbians are actually aware of its existence. Most Columbia gaming circles (small as they may be) don’t venture downtown to buy their games and are therefore generally unaware of the plethora of shops downtown. Though Video Games New York is a bit out of the way, it’s definitely worth it just to immerse yourself in the culture of being a hardcore gamer or one of the other 15 breeds of otaku.

It’s not your only option downtown either. J&L Game Trading Inc. at 28 Elizabeth St. sells an absurd number of products imported from Japan, including games and anime. They are a little pricier than other stores in the area, but they do like to haggle so you can get a good deal if you’ve sufficiently leveled up your mercantile skill. They also carry related video game toys and gadgets like action figurines and Gundam-style mecha figures. The incredibly close Elizabeth Center from 13 to 17 Elizabeth St. is also stocked with models, videos (that you can even rent), import games, and game soundtracks, many of which are near impossible to find legally in the U.S.

When it comes to finding the center of the gaming retail universe in New York, don’t just stay in the Morningside Heights bubble. In addition to not supporting the gigantic GameStop corporate empire (which, I am told, some activist Columbians dislike or something), you get top-notch service and a selection that only the most hardcore stores in Japan’s Akihabara district can match. Take the train downtown to Video Games New York or J&L Game Trading, and die in gaming heaven.