Video game store opens in downtown Blaine

By Oliver Lazenby

Ryan Robinson always wanted to be his own boss, and he wanted to do it by selling something he loves – video games.

Ryan and his brother David Robinson opened Blaine’s Games, a video game store at 477 Peace Portal Drive in Blaine last week.

Ryan Robinson.

They sell, buy and trade video games with display racks lining the walls and a mural left over from a previous tenant. But the inventory covers much of gaming history.

“We have pretty much any kind of video games: new and used games from new systems all the way back to the original Nintendo,” Ryan said.

Ryan, 27, started playing video games in the 1990s on an original Nintendo and never stopped. About 75 percent of the used games at the store are from his personal collection and the rest he purchased recently. It includes some hard-to-find games for prices approaching $100.

Classic game systems have a cult following, Ryan said, and last year Nintendo released new versions of its original Nintendo and Super Nintendo game consoles. At Blaine Games, the display case for classic games is the most popular so far.

“People are just as interested in that stuff nowadays as other systems,” Robinson said.

Blaine’s Games will also stock new releases.

Ryan, originally from South Carolina, moved to Whatcom County a couple of years ago. He was planning to open a game store in Bellingham but a recent move to Blaine

changed his plans.

“People say it’s quiet here but I like that,” he said. “I’ve already talked to people who walk down the street to get here and don’t want to drive to Bellingham to get games.”

Blaine’s Games is open everyday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’s still in a soft-opening phase, with more games to come. Right now the business only takes cash but Ryan hopes to accept credit cards within a week.