The Nostalgia Box Museum
Ah nostalgia. It really is the lifeblood of gamers, young and old alike.
Whether you are an 80's child who enjoys revisiting the classic Super Mario games on the Nintendo Switch online service, or from generation Z and first discovered the joy of gaming through the world of Minecraft, if there’s one thing that’s true about all gamers it’s that we all crave our regular nostalgia hit.
But what do you do if you already sold your original Sega Mega Drive at mum and dad’s garage sale back in the 1990s, or gave away your original PlayStation to that younger cousin of yours who couldn’t get enough of Tomb Raider? Perhaps you simply can’t find, or afford to buy, a classic arcade to beat M. Bison just one more time in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo? If only there was somewhere, like, a museum or something, that the People of Perth and beyond could turn to meet their nostalgic gaming needs? Well guess what, there is!
The Nostalgia Box, owned by self-proclaimed gaming geek David Green, is Perth’s very own videogame museum, and being the nostalgia addicts that we are the Perth Gaming Crew lads went and checked it out.
So, what can the People of Perth and beyond expect to find at The Nostalgia Box? Just like a solid round of Punch-Out, at the heart of The Nostalgia Box is a one-two combo in the form of a videogame console museum and an interactive gaming area.
The videogame console museum has over 100 consoles on display, ranging from popular early generation consoles like the Sega Mega Drive (1989) that have since seen their best games ported to modern systems, to more obscure and truly old school consoles like the Magnabox Odyssey, first released in 1972.
For Jon, who grew up purely on Nintendo consoles from the Nintendo Entertainment System (1995) up until the Nintendo Wii (2006), it was an absolute treat to see some of the other consoles that hit the market at the time, like the Sega Dreamcast (1998) and SNK’s NeoGeoAes (1990). Pat on the other hand was delighted to see a Virtual Boy (1995) on full display, and understandably still didn’t want to have a bar of it’s headache inducing gaming experiences!
After perusing through the videogame museum, visitors can also experience the interactive gaming area to relive their favourite gaming memories. There are game stations, including single-player and multi-player, featuring retro consoles set up absolutely everywhere.
Want to play Halo: Combat Evolved couch co-op style on the original Xbox? You can do that. Wish you could play just one more round of Wii Sports with your friends and family? You can do that too. Does your dad talk about games like Frogger, Space Invaders and Pong all the time like they are still the greatest games of all time? Well, he is in luck then as you can check those games out together too! There really is a fantastic assortment of retro games on display, and not to mention a whole suite of handhelds as well. Pokemon on the Game Boy Advance? Yes please!
“My standout experiences were playing the old-school arcade games that I used to drop coins on at my local video store as a kid, like NBA Jam and X-men vs Street Fighter”, says Jon.
“Oh my god, playing Duck Hunt again after all these years was the best", says Pat. "It's still accurate too!".
While the videogame console museum and the interactive gaming area are the historic gaming engines of The Nostalgia Box, there are also plenty of reasons to return. The venue is available for hire for a whole range of functions, such as birthday parties, corporate ice-breakers, and even activities for OSHC school holiday groups. Oh, and did we mention that they run regular quiz nights and even burlesque nights?
Just a short walk from the City West Train Stop, and smack bang next to the already popular Scietech, The Nostalgia Box is very easy to find and makes a great outing for friends and families, whether you're a hardcore gamer or just keen to learn more about the history of videogames.
The next time you’re feeling that little bit nostalgic and the Nintendo Switch Online offerings aren’t making the cut, or you’ve decided it’s time to relive the joys of the original Crash Bandicoot from the Playstation One era, do yourself a favour and check it out.
“I absolutely loved visiting The Nostalgia Box and can’t wait to get back there” says Jon. “The fact that they had a stack of old Hyper magazines made it special for me.”
"I still can't believe how many old-school consoles they have on display" says Pat. "It was like living my childhood all over again".
Want to know more? Well, we did do a special interview with David Green, which you can find right here. You can also check out their website at https://thenostalgiabox.com.au/.
--- Jon @ PGC
11/1/24