2023-10-14 14:03:00
A few months ago, we announced the closure of the Video Game Center stores in La Louvière. A true institution for all gamers in the region, the brand closed its doors after around fifteen years of presence in the Cité des Loups. The oldest employee of the Louviers store, Salvatore Tarallo had worked at the Video Game Center for 16 years. This Saturday, he took the plunge and opened his own store in downtown Louviérois, rue Sylvain Guyaux. “I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” the 39-year-old from Louviérois told us. “When I realized that the Video Game Center was going to close, I wanted to take it over but that couldn’t happen so I decided to launch my own store. I will do almost the same thing as before except that I will be the boss.”
For video game fans
Latest news, retro-gaming, figurines, console repair, the Shoryu Game, which takes its name from the famous cry “Shoryu Ken” that Street Fighter fans know well, offers the same services as before. “The store worked well, we had many customers who were experts and who praised the quality of our services. So there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work.”
Salvatore couldn’t do anything other than open his own video game store. ©Th.D.
But whether he likes it or not, Salvatore will have to face sometimes unfair competition from supermarkets and the Internet which manage to slash prices. “The customers who come to my store are often hardcore players who would not hesitate to travel hundreds of kilometers to have a game available one or two days before its official release. That, Amazon or the big box stores cannot do it. Regarding the prices, there is not a huge difference. But it is also at the level of choice that I can distinguish myself and customer service. By definition, the big stores will seek profit and the rarest, least “mainstream” games will never appear in their catalog.”
Last July, the Video Game Center stores in La Louvière and Charleroi closed their doors.
Another danger is the dematerialization of video games, which are downloaded more often than anything else by younger generations. “I am not fooled, I suspect that, more and more, we are moving towards a complete dematerialization of video games. The next PS 5 Slim, for example, will no longer allow you to place a CD directly. You will need to purchase a separate reader. That said, I am part of a generation, and I am far from the only one, to prefer the physical game, the CD, the small cartridge that can be resold, rented or exchanged, to a downloaded game. In my opinion, physics gaming still has a bright future ahead of it. Otherwise, I would not embark on such an enterprise today.”
See you this Saturday rue Sylvain Guyaux 59 in La Louvière so that Salvatore can give you his best advice.
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