CEX has become a British institution and a mecca for high-street shoppers looking to get second-hand games, DVDs, Blu-rays, and consoles. I know whenever I’m walking through the city, I always stop to look at what they have on offer in the window, ogling at boxed copies of old N64 games and checking out the dusty Dreamcasts at the very top of the store.
In a move that may surprise some Retro Gamers who thought their tech was completely down and out, the company is now partnering with Tech Centre to offer a seven-day retro console service hub for broken consoles. Think of it a little like the Pokécenter for your tired or K.O’d consoles, except Nurse Joy won’t be behind the counter.
If you have a broken GameCube or an Xbox that is hanging onto life, then the CEX Retro Repair Service will take it and repair it with a ‘proposed turnaround time’ of seven days. If the company can’t fix the item, then there won’t be any charge to you either, so it’s kind of a no-lose scenario!
Tech Centre currently has drop-off points in CEX’s 380+ stores as we found out via Eurogamer, but the new seven-day service will have people, as Tech Centre put it, ‘back to high scores in no time’.
Bringing Broken Consoles Back To Life
With more and more people getting into Retro Gaming, this is a great move from CEX, who understandably know the value of retro games and consoles (that’s their whole job, after all). And, for people who are hoping to make some more cash by selling old consoles that don’t work, then they can now still get some money for their old tech.
Tech Centre has so far repaired over 126,000 consoles, 16,000 handhelds, and a whopping 145,000 controllers in their time. They’re dedicated to keeping gamers gaming, and I’m a huge fan of the fact that there are going to be more ‘retro gaming geek repair squads’ in local cities around the UK.
We see this as a great move for keeping old consoles alive by keeping them in circulation, having them on shelves for younger gamers to go ‘what’s that?’ and allowing people to play the games that brought their favorite series to life.
So, the time is nigh to get up into the attic and see what retro tech you have up there!
Seb Santabarbara has bought every Nintendo console that has ever been released in his 34 years on Planet Earth. His favourite game franchise is Zelda, and he’s patiently waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to come back to the fold. When he’s not playing games, he’s travelling the world in his self-converted camper van.
