Super Potato:Super Potato, THE place for gamers, HDTV

We all know that when it comes to video games, Japan stands above all, especially console gaming...in all the western societies you simply won't find anybody that has never spent at least 1 minute on a Japanese machine such as SEGA, NINTENDO, SONY, NEO-GEO or even NEC !

Add to this the fact that the Japanese love to collect things and in no time you'll find yourself (in Akihabara) in shops proposing games for consoles that went out of production 10+ years ago ! Between passion and business here is a little video for all the Otakus !!


Super Potato - Video
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Super Potato - Video
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A quick look a the sales figures will give you an idea of the phenomenon...Nintendo sold 42 million Super Nintendos (Super Famicom, Super Comboy) and 33 million N64...Sony sold 100 million Playstations and 115 million PS2 and at 33 years old, I must admit that I probably have or had the majority of what came out. The market is simply huge and a lot of people still have their old consoles and play them from time to time. When they want a new game, the best place is a good RETRO GAME shop such as the one we visited here for you.

Right now, the games are all about 3D and very advanced graphics but many of us still have this nostalgia of the good old days, turning on the Super Nintendo and playing those 2D marvels like Mario Kart of Dragon Ball Z2...
In Europe and in the U.S it was quite complicated back then to get your hands on a PC Engine, NEO-GEO CD or Super Famicom (we had the Super Nintendo) but here in Japan, it's like the production never stopped !! Even today you can find consoles that are 15 or more years old in perfect condition; some have simply NEVER been opened, and the amazing number of shops offering such articles is so high that it is never long until you have what you were looking for.
In Akihabara, as you can expect, there are many shops like this...but one really caught my attention: the Super Potato !

The Super Potato shops are specialized in used video games and even though Tokyo is the heart of the country, this business mainly comes from Osaka and it's in DenDen Town that the very first Super Potato was opened.

As I didn't have time to go and visit the Osaka shop, I headed to Akihabara, behind the central Chuo-Dori street and entered the shop which all the pics and footage you see are taken from.



The Super Potato shop is divided into 3 floors, for a total of 50,000 used games available in stock and everything is perfectly classified and easy to find.
The 1st floor is dedicated to "old consoles", mostly made by Nintendo, for example you can find rare games produced back then for the Game & Watch portable console, some of them cost up to 370€ (500$), there are also NEC, NEO-GEO and other machines...
On the second floor you'll find more recent products like the Sony Playstation or Sega Dreamcast but also, as always, a TON of goodies! For example a 55cm Mario (120€/160$) or the 2 metres version for 1,800€ (2,450$)...
Third floor welcomes all the gamers ready for some action with many arcades proposing some legendary games like King Of Fighters or Street Fighter.
If you love video games this place is simply incredible, the funny thing is that you see many men, but also women and couples coming together to do their shopping just like in any other shop...also some people 40 or more years old, another proof that the video game culture has deep roots in Japan.

So if ever you come by Akihabara, even though you're not a great video games fan, you should consider a little visit at the Super Potato Shop, it might bring old memories back to life and maybe make you want to look after your old but loved consoles !