“Do you love the way you’re treated by Corporate America?? How about those automated systems?? Yeah, we didn’t think so.”
This quote, taken right from the website for The Revolution, just about sums up the idea behind Stony Brook’s newest video game retailer. According to Mike Auricchio, the third-generation store owner in charge of the facility, the more established corporations and franchises in the gaming scene today, such as GameStop and Play N Trade, are far more concerned with making money than with customer satisfaction.
“When’s the last time you walked out of one of those stores with a smile on your face?” Auricchio said of his competitors. He went on to explain his frustrations with big business, including times he would go into a store looking for a specific game and end up having the employees trying to force the newest trends on him instead.
The Revolution, located at 1099 Rt. 25A in Stony Brook, carries both current generation titles and the golden age classics alike. When it comes to finding retro games to stock, Auricchio goes straight for the good stuff. Shopping at Play N Trade usually entails hunting for that one copy of “The Legend of Zelda” buried in a pile of “John Madden Football ’93” cartridges. At The Revolution, the shelves are lined with such greats as “F-Zero,” “Super Mario Kart,” “Star Fox” and even the original gold-painted editions of “The Legend of Zelda” and “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link” alongside contemporary releases for consoles like Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Despite selling such coveted rarities, Mike says he is careful not to over-inflate the prices.
“You buy a game for $60. You go home and check Amazon.com and realize ‘Oh, it’s about the same.’ Maybe you pay a dollar or two less. Maybe you pay a dollar or two more.”
The Revolution also hosts frequent tournaments. Mike expressed a desire to have his shop become a place where gamers can come and meet other gamers. For an hourly fee, the store also offers customers an opportunity to hang out and play games on any of the various enormous television screens on display.
First-time patrons are encouraged to sign up for The Revolution’s free mailing list. By providing their name and email address, customers opt-in to receive notifications on upcoming tournaments. Mike also explained his customer loyalty program through which he keeps track of purchases by frequent visitors to the store and personally sends them coupons or other perks via email in appreciation for their business.
When asked whether he had any plans to expand beyond gaming, such as into the realm of tabletop games, Mike said he would rather specialize in video games—a topic on which he has considerable knowledge and expertise—than try to venture into areas that may not be as familiar so he would not come off as incompetent to consumers.
“I love tabletop, but Brothers Grimm is the biggest dealer in tabletop and trading card games in the entire Northeast, and they’re right down the road! Why would I step on their toes? I have nothing to gain by that. That’s their thing. My thing is console games.”
