As you should already know, I’ve made a trip to the USA and I’ve checked the most interesting vg shops in New York. But my mission included a trip to Clifton, NJ, to check Joe Santulli’s Digital Press shop.
First I had to find Penn Station in NY. It’s just under the Madison Square Garden, so it has been an easy task.
Then reach the Secaucus Junction and take a train to Clifton. In about 40 minutes I was there.
First problem: I didn’t have a map.
Second problem: nobody was around.
Third problem: it was rainy.
Fourth problem: my mother was curious to see how NJÂ was and decided to follow me.
Every time we asked for directions (we met about 3 people), they didn’t know or they told us that it was just a 5 minutes walk. Everyone was nicer than in NY for sure (we were just tourists…).
After a 5km random walk we finally reached the shop.
 
And Joe wasn’t there. I didn’t tell him about my trip since I wanted to just “appear” in front of him.
So. How’s the shop. I can tell you the truth since I’ve not been payed nor I have any interest in helping someone else’s job if it’s not worth it.
That’s why I’ll start with defects. And the only big defect is that if you’re a tourist and you want to take a trip to this shop, you can’t bring your mother with or she will slow you down a bit.
Luckly the guys in this shop are nice enough to let you feel like you’re in a friend’s house. So your mother will just sit and rest and you’ll feel like a child borught to the toy shop of your dreams, even if you’re 27 (28 now).
An impressive room of doom adorned with all the right stuff.
So Raj (Rurouni318 on DP) takes me to the tour. If the shop is impressive, what’s under the floor is even more incredible. A basament FILLED with gaming stuff.
From 2600 commons to a 3DO demo binder, hidden in a box, and bought for 40 usd. One is for sale for 300 USD on eBay here.
I’ve been in Akihabara and Den Den Town. All I can say is:
Digital Press shop : USA market = Super Potato : Japanese market.
Maybe the feeling is a bit different since in these Japanese shops you don’t have much space left for moving, the 8-bit music is everywhere (sometimes even annoying due to the volume) while this one is much more liveable. You even have PCs for lan battles, arcades, soft drinks dispenser and a museum with all sorts of gadgets from Joe’s collection.
The main hall (the public one) looks like a standard vg shop, except that you’ll find recent and retro stuff, plus arcade machines, pop kiosks (like the cool Jaguar one) and some glass cases with the hardcore stuff.
Usually these kind of shops have incredibly high prices. Recently I’ve been in a shop that had two Genesis protos (nothing rare nor too interesting) priced at 200 usd each. Well, in the Digital Press shop I’ve bought 2 Genesis protos, 39 USD each. Cheaper than eBay.
So, a great selection (they even have homebrews!), perfect prices (choosen by someone who actually KNOWS what he is selling) and a superb staff! Raj, Chris (Whiteowl on DP) and Katie (Katja Red on DP) are so friendly! You’ll feel surrounded by people who loves your hobby. You will be satisfied, believe me.
If you want to see more pictures and find more infos, check the official store page.
Left to right: Raj, Nicola, Katie and Chris.
PS Chris is working at a really huge project! Good luck, we will stay tuned!
PPS When we had to go back to the train station, we asked them to call a taxi. Guess what, Chris brought us to the station! My mother loved this!
