I'm an American, therefore I like to shop. And because I'm also a huge video game nerd, I like to shop for stuff that is game-related--especially for stuff I can decorate my desk or apartment with, or wear. Not to leave out stuff I can play, of course I like that!

Classic games have been enjoying a resurgence in popularity for quite a while. For a second I was going to try to sound all smart and crap, by guessing why with some pseudointellectual bull I pulled outta my...purse. But instead I'll just say that maybe the real classics just struck a chord with people who played them when they were new, and they don't see any reason to stop playing them 'cause they're both older now.

Old Games, New Ways to Play

The most readily available things people can pick up to indulge their love of the classics would have to be the updated, repackaged, retroriffic games themselves. This is by no means an exhaustive account--there are just tons of classic games for a new audience out there right now. Namco has been in the nostalgia business forever, and its Namco Museum is still going strong today, making sure that Pac-Man, his old lady and their friends are on almost every game system ever. Dear old Nintendo is reliving its NES glory days with the special-edition GBA SP and some not-that-reasonably-priced games ($20 seems steep to me) to go with it, including Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Bomberman. Konami has also gotten into the GBA retro fun, with Konami Arcade Advanced, where you can relive Frogger memories with the best of 'em.

Activision has done a bunch of tributes to its groovy past as a developer of Atari 2600 games. Their Activision Anthology compilation for the PS2 is one of several they've put out over the years (be sure to hit the totally rad website! Safety Dance!). They've also collaborated with old-school revivalists Jakks Pacific to bring the world a cute little controller that plugs into the tv and plays Activision Atari 2600 games.

Jakks Pacific has tons of these supercool, superaffordable TV Games which include between 5 and ten (or so, I'm not a mathemagician) themed games. In addition to the Activision edition, there is a straight-up Atari version that features among its treasures Centipede and Adventure; an Atari Paddle game that has Breakout and Warlords; two Namco editions, one of which includes Dig-Dug and the other which gets its design direction from its inclusion of Ms. Pac-Man; and upcoming releases captializing on the rich home and arcade histories of Namco and Midway.

Heir Apparel

Games are cool and all, but sometimes I have to get off the couch and actually work or something. For those dark, depressing moments, I take comfort in my t-shirts and toys. If you've never ventured into a Hot Topic, by all means, do. Or visit their website if you're that ashamed to shop with the baby goths and metalheads, you big wuss. They have a crapload of old-school gaming gear--mostly t-shirts, but also accessories like wristbands, wallets, posters and fuzzy dice to name a few--and it's mostly (but not totally) NES-oriented. It must be doing well, 'cause they keep making more, and you can quite easily locate the merch by clicking on the 1-Up Mushroom when it's on their homepage--that little green mushroom is so perfectly iconic, it appears on everything from boxers to antennae toppers. I happen to own the 1-Up Mushroom t-shirt*.

Other websites carry similar video game clothing and accessories. Logically named 80stees.com has a great selection of nostalgiawear--among the She-Ra and A-Team stuff you can find some Atari togs, a big selection of Nintendo goods (very goods!) including a Duck Hunt t-shirt and some Pac-Man gear including a funny knit cap. The selection at Wicked Cool Stuff isn't huge, but the stuff is indeed Wicked Cool--the Asteroids shirt alone is worth a visit. Think Geek has a tasteful selection of t-shirts (and other geeky delights, check out the entire site and be amazed). If you look around, you'll find stuff like GameSkins...and I'm sure even more.

Toy Story

Despite what the media tells kids today about fashion, you can't actually wear classic video game t-shirts every day. It's just not right. But, you can keep video game toys based on the classics on your desk (in your room, whatever) all the time. Very few companies are creating and marketing toys based on classic game characters to the US audience. One of the few is Jazwares. Their Street Fighter and Mega Man toys are suitable for playing with and decorating a desk, too.

To really hit the classic game toy jackpot, however, you need to take your search to the import shops. Happily, there are tons online that are more than willing to go to Japan for you, buy cool crap and then sell it to you at reasonably marked-up prices (when you consider what a plane ticket to Japan would cost, anyway). Wizzywig is one such import shop. They have a retail store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but anyone can order from their website. And you'll want to. Treasures such as a Famicom tissue holder and remote control, Pac-Man hand puppets and tiny toys, Game and Watch dioramas and business card holders, and a whole bunch more cool things that are just waiting to be snapped up by some lucky consumer.

Game collector standbys National Console Support and Lik-Sang also carry sweet video game toys. At NCSX, the tubular Namco dioramas (featuring Pac-Land, Dig-Dug and other older games) seem to be sold out at the moment, but you can order really teeny Namco figures (including Mappy and Galaga, among other games) or pre-order the Super Mario Clock of your choice (Wizzywig has this item, also). Or pick up teeny Sega, Nintendo or cocktail table-shaped console toys and/or erasers from Lik-Sang. Dig futher at either store to find all sorts of billiant items perfect for game fans old and new.

And now that I've spilled my guts about where I get stuff like Slimes from Dragon Warrior and Link from The Legend of Zelda I guess all that's left to do is rush home and wait for the mailman to deliver my Octopus Game and Watch business card holder and my Pac-Man hand puppet.

--Jennifer Villarreal

* If I really wanted to nerd out a bit, I could explain that the boys' version is much better than the girls' version (which I didn't see on the site last time I checked) because the boys' version is green 1-Up Mushroom on a green shirt while the girls' is the red Super Mushroom on pink but still says 1-Up under it and we all know that's so completely wrong, as the Super Mushroom just makes Mario big. Okay I'm done now. Sorry about that.

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