The death of an indie store
In a tumultuous time for games retailers, one store has clung on for longer than most. You'll find Extreme Gamez ensconced down a jitty (Leicestershire lingo for an alleyway between buildings, in case you were wondering) against the picturesque backdrop of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The market town's ruined castle is a significant location in Sir Walter Scott's epic romance Ivanhoe and was partly demolished during the English Civil War to render the castle indefensible following the surrender of Royalist supporter Henry Hastings.
This appealingly modest town is steeped in history, yet it has a connection with the global video game industry that isn't immediately apparent. Ashby is where Ultimate Play The Game was established in 1982 by Tim and Chris Stamper - the company which would attain near-legendary status with home micro players before morphing into Rare, one of the UK's most famous game studios.
Extreme Gamez is a street away from Ultimate's first office, which was located in a row of tiny cottage-like shops. A short walk and a sharp right turn down Mill Lane Mews and you arrive at a squat, oddly-proportioned building which has plainly been in use for centuries rather than decades. Extreme Gamez has occupied this spot since 1994, when it was known as Computer Solutions; the current owner, Stuart Benson, acquired the business in 2000 and rebranded it with consoles as the primary focus. Since then, he has witnessed the explosion of console gaming, overseen numerous console launches and even embraced the burgeoning retro market, but earlier this year, he announced that after 25 years of trading the store would be closing its doors this month.
Post a Comment