That’s Entertainment: Worcester’s Pop Culture Emporium

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Ashley Klann, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Chad Julian showing off some old video games

Worcester-based pop culture shop, That’s Entertainment is keeping comic books, video games, and pop culture alive in the Heart of the Commonwealth.

Past the dark hall in the front entrance to the 10,000 square foot store is a world filled to the brim with collectables, toys, comics, records, games, and action figures to satiate any customer to come through the doors.

The self-proclaimed, “video game guy” and “hardcore geek” of That’s Entertainment, Chad Julian, has been working at the store for 6 years, and he still admits to finding new things on hand. The local shop has been in the business of selling fun for 30 years, and one group of items in particular has showed no sign of slowing down – old video games.

Reliving Childhood

“You’ve hit on a hot market. There’s definitely resurgence,” said Julian. “People from all walks of life shop here – cops, professionals, college students. They all find something they like. The older, cartridge video games are one of the biggest things we sell. We probably sell 100-300 games a day; a third if not a half of those are old.”

According to Julian, older consoles from previous decades, like the Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, and Sega Dreamcast are making a reappearance across the country.

Standing next to the case of old classic video games are drones of customers peering past the glass. The shelves of titles go on, with a large portion of the cartridges labeled with the ever popular name, Mario.

“Right now, it’s pretty sparse,” Julian said as he gestured to the Nintendo 64 games behind the glass case. The rest of the two large book shelves as well as the two more behind us are also filled with older games. It may not seem sparse to the untrained eye, but to Chad Julian, having shelves of games just isn’t up to par.

A New Generation of Gamers

“We couldn’t keep Nintendo 64 games in stock at Christmas,” he said with a laugh. “Most stores couldn’t keep the Wii’s in stock, but we were struggling with the older systems, too.”

Sure enough, countless customers passed by the Playstation 2 and GameCube racks and headed for the multiple bookshelves filled with plastic, bulky cartridge games.

“Our core is probably the group from early 20’s to mid-30’s,” said Julian. “But we even see people in their 40’s and 60’s. I’ll ask a customer, ‘Oh, is that for your grandchildren?’ and the answer is, ‘No, it’s for me,’” he said with a laugh.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, younger customers are just now being introduced to some of the popular video game characters.

One way older games are making an appearance to the new audience is through adaptation. Mario Kart, originally released for the Super Nintendo in 1992, has been reworked for the more recent consoles. Chad Julian thinks it’s a beautiful thing.

“A new generation is getting introduced to the same characters and games. It’s great.”

Standing the Test of Time

“We see all age groups. It’s everyone. For someone my age, I get excited about the Atari section. I see other kids in their late teens eyeing the Nintendo area, and there are even younger kids looking back on the PlayStation 2,” Julian said.

“The old games that were popular in their day are still popular today. Anything with Mario on it we have a hard time keeping in stock,” he said. Those same games that earned a profit in their prime are still making millions.

Originally released to the public in 1981, the little, lovable Italian guy in the red hat is still the number one selling video game franchise in the world, having raked in $222 million since his debut. Though exclusively owned by Nintendo, Mario still manages to appear in new releases.

Besides new games being made, emulators are also bringing the games of old back into the present. By downloading certain software, gamers can play classics that were once only on GameBoy’s or Atari’s on their laptops. Eras that were once technologically decades apart are now being melded together.

“People talk about their emulators, and how they can play the games on their computers, but it’s just not the same,” Julian said with a furrowed brow. “Feeling the controller in your hand, the cartridge… it’s a very nostalgic process.”

Needing Nostalgia

With all the new graphics and technology of today’s video game realm, one must wonder why so many customers are choosing to stick with the oldies.

“Nostalgia is a big factor, but some people don’t like the complexity of the newer games. It’s about the simplicity,” Julian said. “It’s simple to play Tetris with two buttons. The new games have much more going on.”

Regardless of the indescribable feeling of connecting with things from childhood, Julian offers a simple explanation as to why these games have stood the test of time: “Nostalgia is a big part of it, but they’re just cool,” he said, grinning.

“Everything comes back in 10 years, they say, but with some things, it just stays. It’s like the smell of an old book; it’s just nice.”

If you’re interested in anything pop culture related, spend a while wandering through the nearly overwhelming amalgamation of things at That’s Entertainment, chances are you’ll find something that resonates.