1. interest, especially in Dubai and
AbuDhabi.
To his surprise, even the “Play-
Station generation” has heeded
theretrocall.
“I’ve started to get requests
from young people – like they
are 12 or 15 years old, in high
school,”hesays.
“They told me they want to see
thestartofsomefamousgames,
suchasPokemonandMario.”
Yousef’s local competitors
include Retrogamer.ae, an on-
line store founded by 28-year-
old oil and gas worker Rami
­Qaddoumi.
“I’ve been collecting and play-
ing retro games since I was 12
years old,” says Qaddoumi, a
­Dubai-based American, who is
ofJordaniandescent.
“When I moved to the UAE
about four years ago, my col-
lection was sitting back home,
­prettymuchcollectingdust.”
He did not have space to house
the 600-piece collection he had
amassedovereightyears.
Within a week of putting it up
for sale on dubizzle, he had sold
everythingforaboutDh12,000.
“I kind of regretted it immedi-
ately,”hesays.
However, he did spot a huge
gap in the UAE’s emerging
­retro-gamingmarket.
“I know a lot of people in the
industry from around the world
– from the US, Japan, Egypt, Jor-
dan and Lebanon, and I decided
togiveitashot,”hesays.
He began importing retro
games, via his network of collec-
tors, and selling them – first on
dubizzle,thenInstagram.
But like Yousef, Qaddoumi
onlysawthetruepotentialofthe
marketwhenhetookpartinthis
year’sComicCon.
“We had 10-year-olds who were
extremely interested and who
were actually collecting,” he
says.
Following this revelation, he
decided to “go official”, register-
ing his business and launching
awebsite.
Since then, the company has
enjoyed rapid growth, now serv-
ing more than 200 customers a
month.
In the process, Qaddoumi
has been slowly rebuilding
his ­personal collection. “Even
though I have more than 3,000
piecesuponthewebsite,Idohave
myowncollectionthat’sgrowing
againontheside,”hesays.
He has about 200 pieces –
­focusing only on “the really rare
items you can’t just go on eBay
andfind”.
“One rare piece I have is the
Sakhr model AX 650 – this is an
MSX computer that also plays
Sega Genesis – or Mega Drive –
games,”hesays.
The Sakhr was the name given
to the MSX when a regional ver-
sion was launched by a Kuwaiti
company,AlAlamiah,withanAr-
abicoperatingsystem.
HealsoownsanAtariNAJM,the
onlyAtaricomputerlocalisedfor
theMiddleEast,whichhas“won
aspecialplace”inhisheart.
Whileeverygamerfromhisgen-
eration seems to recall a child-
hood ambition to own every vin-
tageconsole,hesaysit“isbecom-
inganexpensive­hobby”.
He estimates his collection to
be worth between Dh50,000 and
Dh60,000.
The rarest game he ever owned
was Magical Chase, which he
boughtamongacollectionofTur-
bografx16gamesforDh800,and
soldwith30othergamesoneBay
for$7,000.
“I regret selling that game
every single day,” he says.
“Something like that, you do not
sell. Every day you should wake
up, go to your collection and
admireit.”
HiscompanyfocusesonAmeri-
cangamesandconsoles.Because
theyareinEnglishandharderto
sourcelocally,theytendtohold,if
notgrow,theirvalue.
Virgin, meanwhile, is not the
onlylargeretailertospotthemar-
ket potential for vintage games.
Retrogamerrecentlystruckadeal
with Meraas’s Hub Zero – a cut-
ting-edgeentertainmentcomplex
boasting rides, games and more
–todistributegamesthroughits
outlet,CachePoint.
Allinall,itisanexcitingtimefor
retro gaming and collectors – if
the growing market is anything
to go by, old-school gaming is
backwithavengeance.
ĝĝ halbustani@thenational.ae
N
ostalgia is a powerful
force, one that car-
ries us back to pre-
cious memories in
romanticised Technicolor. It is
also, ­according to a Journal of
­ConsumerResearchstudy,apow-
erfulmarketingtool.
“Feeling nostalgic weakens a
person’sdesireformoney,”write
Jannine Lasaleta, Constantine
Sedikides and Kathleen Vohs.
“In other words, someone might
be more likely to buy something
whentheyarefeelingnostalgic.”
It is precisely this power that
retail chain Virgin Megastores
hopestoharnessbylaunchingits
first foray in the region into col-
lectableretrovideogames.
Toufic Eido, Virgin’s regional
channel manager, says nostal-
gia is driving customer c­­hoices
across all product lines – be it
fashion,music,furniture,­­­­decor–
or,morerecently,gaming.
“We wanted to tap into every-
one’s nostalgia and bring our
childhood memories back to
life,” he says. The company’s
first stock of retro games and
consolesarrivedinAprilandthe
store has already sold three of
thefivemost-expensiveitems.
Theyinclude:aDh2,999copyof
Super Mario Bros Deluxe for the
Game Boy Color, the condition
of which is graded at Mint 95; a
sealed copy of Pokémon Gold for
Game Boy, graded at Mint 90,
which cost Dh2,499; and Super
MarioLand2forGameBoy,grad-
edatNearMint80+,forDh2,199.
TheVideoGame­Authority–the
video-games arm ofagroupthat
aims to provide consistent and
accurate grading of the quality
of collectables – grades games
based on a large range of vari-
ables, including date of manu-
facture, rarity and the condition
of the game and its packaging.
Theperfect grade is aGemMint,
followed by Mint, Near Mint, Ex-
cellent, all the way down to Very
Poor. Many collectors, however,
prefer to grade their collections
themselves, based on condition
and­functionality.
In an age of high-speed digi-
tal downloads, some fans feel
somethingtangiblehasbeenlost
in the pursuit of convenience.
“Nothing beats the feeling of
actually owning a physical copy
of an old, nostalgic game,” says
Eido.
Some of the fondest childhood
memories of many residents
born in the 1970s, 1980s and
early 1990s are of sitting in front
of the television playing video
games – much to the chagrin of
theirparents.
Whether zipping around as
Sonic the Hedgehog or finally
completing the indomitable
Contra, they were immersed
in the on-screen action. Over-­
coming the pre-programmed
odds not only set imaginations
free, but also challenged play-
ers’ rhythm, reactions and
­
puzzle-solvingskills.
The games came in elaborate,
colourful boxes, often with
beautifullydesignedinstruction
booklets. They had their own
feel and smell – there was a pow-
erfulphysicalitytothem.
While the industry has moved
on from humble origins, origi-
nal copies of vintage games are
becomingincreasinglyvaluable,
especially in Japan, the United
Statesand­Europe.
Rare examples, such as a
gold-cartridge edition of the
gameNintendoWorldChampion-
ship for the Nintendo Entertain-
ment System (NES), can fetch up
toUS$100,000(Dh367,300).
In the UAE, Virgin Megastores’
move into the sector will be a lit-
mus test of its appeal to the gen-
eral consumer – but there are al-
readysomededicatedfans.
Emirati collector Fahad
Yousef’s collection has Virgin’s
beat,bothinsizeandvalue.
The 33-year-old, who began
collecting seriously a decade
ago, now owns 3,000 retro game
items.
He recalls playing video
games at Dubai’s oldest mall, Al
Ghurair Centre, which opened
in1981.
“There was an arcade centre
there called Sindbad’s Wonder-
land – that was the place I used
to go in my childhood to play ar-
cadegames,suchasStreetFight-
er, Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons,”
hesays.
Although he loved the arcade,
his love of retro video games
blossomed while playing on
homeconsoles–beginningwith
hisfirst,theAtari2600.
However, he did not start to
build his collection until about
10 years ago, when he bought a
boxed American NES, Ninten-
do’s first console, which was
originally released in Japan in
1983 and remained on sale for
morethanadecade.
This was followed by a twist of
fate,whenYousefsnappedup50
games and 10 consoles from a
Dubai warehouse that was clear-
ing out its stock of “old-school
games”. They included items
from games publishers includ-
ingSega,SonyandSNK.
He added to his collection on
histravels,scouringTokyo’sAki-
habaradistrictforJapaneseclas-
sics, and by buying from ­other
collectors online. In 2011, he
created the Dubai Retro Games
ClubFacebookpage.
“Itwasnotacommercialpage,”
he says. “It was just to socialise
with people and let them know
what I’m adding to my collec-
tion. At the same time, I opened
myaccountoneBayandthatwas
thestartofmybusiness.”
In 2014, Yousef set up an Ins-
tagram account, Dubai Retro
Games (@dubairetrogames),
as the commercial arm of his
­social-mediaenterprise.
Through social networking,
he connected with more people,
amassedfollowersandeventual-
ly progressed to showcasing his
wares at events such as Games,
the IGN Convention and this
year’s Middle East Film & Comic
Con(MEFCC).
The latter, he says, was a roar-
ing success: “Everybody was
talkingaboutit.”
This encouraged him to take
the next logical, yet pioneering,
step: setting up not one, but two
physical stores. The first is set
to open on Sharjah’s University
City Road in a month, while the
second is due to open in about
two months near his home in
OudAl­Mateena,Dubai.
He called the Sharjah store
Al Sahim Al Fadi, which trans-
lates as Silver Arrow. The name
was inspired by The Legend of
Zelda: A Link to the Past, a game
released on the Super Nintendo
EntertainmentSystemin1991.
The main character, Link, is
tasked with saving Princess Zel-
da, and the kingdom of Hyrule,
fromtheevilGanon.Link’sarse-
nalincludessilverarrows,which
areusedtodefeathisnemesis.
“It is the best game I have ever
played,”saysYousef.
The Dubai shop will be called
Super Bowser – a combination
of Super Mario and Bowser, the
Italian plumber’s evil dinosaur
adversary.
Yousef’s most prized posses-
sion, the only item not for sale,
is a mint-condition PlayStation
model called the Net Yaroze,
whichoriginallysoldfor$750,but
now fetches between $5,000 and
$8,000.
“It is like the very first Play­
Station, but a black version,” he
says.Thenormalretailversionof
theconsolewasgrey.
“What’s special about this one,
isthatitletsyouprogrammeand
developgames.”
While eBay buyers tend to
­appreciatethevalueofoldgames
more than the average UAE con-
sumer,Yousefhasseenaspikeof
The National arts&life The National arts&life 0504 Sunday, July 31, 2016 www.thenational.ae Sunday, July 31, 2016 www.thenational.ae
gaming
Stadium Events (1987)
Console NES
This was one of a handful of games to make
use of Bandai’s Family Fun Fitness mat – a
soft controller operated with your feet.
Nintendo snapped up the rights to the mat
and the game in 1988, renaming them the
Power Pad and World Class Track Meet. It
then set about destroying unsold copies of
Stadium Events, to avoid brand confusion.
About 200 copies had already been sold
but only 10 to 20 copies are thought to still
exist. Even an empty box that once held the
game has sold for $10,000.
1990 Nintendo World
Championships: Gold Edition
Console NES
In 1990, the inaugural Nintendo World
Championships tournament toured the
United States challenging competitors to
achieve high scores in Super Mario Bros,
Rad Racer and Tetris. Ninety special grey
cartridges were given to the finalists – but a
further 26 gold cartridges were given away
in a promotion by Nintendo Power maga-
zine. These are among the most sought-­
after games in the world – one copy recent-
ly sold for more than $100,000 on eBay.
Gamma-Attack (1983)
Console Atari 2600
Although ill-fated independent publisher
Gammation produced a few copies of
Gamma Attack, only one is known to still
exist. It is owned by American collector
Anthony DeNardo, who once listed it,
unsuccessfully, on eBay with a
Buy-It-Now price of US$500,000
(Dh1.8 million).
Birthday Mania (1984)
Console Atari 2600
This bizarre birthday-themed game
challenged players to blow out candles,
pop balloons and open presents. It had
personalised title screens and a space on
the cartridge for the recipient’s name to be
written. Only two copies are known to exist.
most valuable retro games
Value $20,000to $50,000 Value $15,000to $35,000 Value $13,000to $41,300 Value$15,000to$100,000
Clockwise from top left, Rami Qaddoumi, founder of the website
retrogamer.ae with his prized collection of vintage games; Fahad
Yousef plays on the Game Boy with his children; and Qaddoumi
displays his Atari NAJM. Reem Mohammed / The National
I’ve started to get
requests from
young people ...
they want to see
the start of some
famous games,
such as Pokemon
and Mario
Fahad Yousef
Gamer, collector and retailer
Blastsfrom
thepast
The UAE has been a little slow to plug into the growing market
for collectable retro video games and consoles – but two local
gamers saw it coming and have built businesses to help take the
local boom to the next level. Hareth Al Bustani finds out more