Many paisa children in the 80s —and 90s— did not have the most popular video game consoles of that time, they were expensive and their families could not afford them. For example, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in the US in 1986 with a price tag of around $300. They were clearly a luxury good, but the market knew how to take advantage of that dissatisfied public and gave them the chance to play for a few coins.
Some tall, heavy devices arrived in stores, with an embedded television, colored buttons and levers, the sides were adorned with the most recognized Nintendo characters and quickly became a headache for mothers.
It was common to spend the return of the errands inserting those coins in the little machine to activate it. Meanwhile, in the houses they were still waiting for the orders for breakfast, lunch or dinner and they already suspected what was the cause of the delay.
Most of the guys knew they were in for a scolding, but it was worth facing for the fun of five or ten minutes beating new levels, discovering tricks, or beating the other neighbors.
The first generation to enjoy such gadgets was marked by games like Super Mario Bros, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong. Later, the consoles evolved and then other installments such as Golden Eye, Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter became famous.
A millionaire market
Little by little, the trends changed, young people had more affinity with the Internet and the machines were withdrawn from stores. However, many people who enjoyed them were already adults with purchasing power who never archived the love for video games and this is well known by large corporations and merchants.
According to the consulting firm Newzoo, in 2021 alone, this line of entertainment moved US$1.2 billion in Colombia and had an increase of 200% compared to the figures for 2019.
In the opinion of the experts who met at the most recent edition of the Gaming & Technology GAT Expo, there is an active mass of clients in this country that is around seven million people, but the potential could be up to 15 million.
In Medellin there is an entrepreneur who is targeting that market and has managed to distinguish himself from the other stores for being the merchant of nostalgia. gamer, his place is a corner to remember and there you can find consoles and movies that were already believed to be extinct.
spontaneous entrepreneur
Santiago Serna is the creator of Blue Panther, that space in which there is an offer of classic and modern consoles for all tastes, including the famous eighties machines. Although it sounds strange, he discovered that there are people willing to pay for artifacts that, from a common perspective, no longer have a place in the world.
EL COLOMBIANO visited him to learn about the history of his business and ask him how well the sales of the machines are moving.
He related that he had several consoles in his childhood and when he completed a movie, he looked for someone to exchange it with. Thus he was identifying a community of fans who would gladly pay for garments, figures and wells.
His venture started in 2016 with an investment of $200,000, that capital was used to create some mugs with characters from comics, manga or video games. He was only 15 years old when he ventured to undertake, but he had good judgment and recovered the investment very quickly.
After a month of starting sales, he already had the cash flow to rent a small store and he was putting more and more products into it. Currently, his store displays 4,000 items and covers the space of four stores in the La Gran Esquina shopping center, located in San Juan on Avenida 80.
He became a seller of retro consoles in a very natural way, because so many years exchanging movies opened that market for him almost without looking for it. From one moment to another, in his windows he had all kinds of classic devices: Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Game Cube, Play Station 1 and Super Nintendo, among many more. And if the one the client is looking for is not there, he knows how to get it.
The machines, a hook
Traders in the “geek” sector understand that Comic Con Colombia is a space they must attend if they want to gain visibility and followers, it is the mecca of business.
Blue Panther has managed to become well known because there is an added value in its stand: the little retro machines. When visitors see them, they run to look at them up close, touch them and play in them. They have been the best way to position themselves as the console store old school.
“The machines are not our forte, but those of us who have given them the experience they remember us,” said Santiago. There is never one of them available in the windows for immediate sale, they are ordered in advance because the client can customize them at will, the games and exterior designs are to everyone’s taste. In fact, they can also be packaged for commercial use.
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How many are sold? According to the founder of Blue Panther, up to 50 machines can be shipped in a year and, thanks to his direct alliance with the manufacturer, prices are competitive: they can range from one million to five million, depending on the specifications.
Its purpose is to continue to position itself as the supplier of the consoles and games of yesterday, and the little machines are its allies on that path.