One of my favorite channels on youtube that deals with vintage gaming has to be that of John (aka Gamester81). If you don’t know him, I highly recommend you check out his youtube channel! John has a large collection of vintage gaming systems, games and more! Recently I decided to ask him if he would mind a short Q&A and being the extremely nice guy he is, he obliged!

Q: Would you mind telling us what you do for your day job?
A: I’m a Marketing Manager for my “day job”.

Q: What are some other hobbies you enjoy, outside of video gaming?
A: I’m a huge Star Wars fan and have been collecting Star Wars memorabilia for most of my life. My Star Wars collection is far bigger than my gaming collection. I also enjoy sports (football, basketball, and baseball primarily). My other interests include music. I really enjoy going to concerts with my wife, and some of my favorite bands include The Beatles, Pearl Jam, and more recently Silversun Pickups.

Q: Do you remember the first gaming system you ever owned/played?
A: Yep my first system I remember playing was the Colecovision.

Q: Do you have a favorite gaming system and why?
A: It’s hard to pick just one, but the NES is probably my favorite. There are so many good timeless games for it.

Q: Do you remember the first video game you ever played?
A: Pac-Man in the arcades when I was four years old.

Q: What is your favorite game/series and why?
A: I really like the Mario games. The gameplay is always fun, and Nintendo does a great job of making the games enjoyable and timeless.

Q: What is your favorite gaming genre and why?
A: I really like classic fighters like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat, so I’ll go with classic fighters as my favorite genre.

Q: Do you have a standout favorite video game character and why?
A: My favorite standout video game character is Donkey Kong, because in some games he’s considered the “bad guy” (Donkey Kong), and in others he’s the hero (Donkey Kong Country).

Q: Do you own a certain game, system or other piece of gaming history that you are particularly proud of?
A: Yes, I own a Nintendo M82 demo unit. The M82 can hold 12 NES games at one time and was intended to be use for a demo unit in stores back in the mid 80’s. I remember going to my local mall every day and visiting the Nintendo store and really being excited to check out the new NES games on it.

Q: If you could bring back any classic game for a sequel, what would it be and why?
A: I’d love to see a classic sequel to Donkey Kong. I understand that there was DK Jr, and DK3, but I’d like to see a game by Nintendo to use the same gameplay but with different levels. DK is my favorite game of all time.

Q: I noticed in your Sega EverDrive review you said you enjoy the gaming hunt. As a hunter myself I understand, but can you explain what that feels like for other people?
A: I believe there is a lot to be said about having the physical copy of the game and playing it on the original hardware with original controllers the way it was suppose to be played. With that said it is a lot of fun to go out “in the wild” and find classic retro games that have survived over the years. It makes it more fun for me to collect and play games that way compared to playing emulators.

Q: In some of your videos there are Bookmans price tags, what are some other stores you buy games from?
A: Bookman’s is a local store by where I live that sells retro games. There sadly aren’t that many stores like that around anymore. When I travel for work I like to visit Vintage Stock which is a chain of stores throughout the Midwest. They probably have the best selection of retro games, and vintage Star Wars stuff that I’ve ever seen. I am also fortunate to have a good friend who lives down the street from me who owns the website www.atari2600.com. It’s a fantastic website that sells a lot of great reto games as well.

Q: Are there any import games you own that you really wish they would have domestically released?
A: Yes Mother 3. I enjoy the Earthbound series a lot and never understood why Nintendo has dragged their foot on releasing a sequel in the States.

Q: What got you started in doing Youtube gaming reviews and what is your ultimate goal with that?
A: I got started doing videos on YT because I noticed that there were a lot of items that I had that were not being reviewed. I figured I could contribute by doing my own vids and meet a lot of fellow gamers along the way. My goal is to continue to have fun and meet new people.

Q: And finally, do you have a favorite Sam’s Score?
A: Not that I’m currently aware of, but I’ll have to check and see.

I can not thank John enough for taking some time to answer these questions and giving us a little more insight into his world. Again, if you haven’t seen his videos, I highly recommend you check them out! Gamester81 This guy’s collections, his thorough explanations and all around great videos will blow your mind!