Video Games Monthly is a monthly subscription service that delivers retro video games to gamers who own classic gaming systems from the 1970’s – 2000’s.
For a monthly fee (plus a pretty reasonable shipping charge) you can get retro and modern-retro games delivered straight to your door. Titles from a huge variety of consoles are available, anything from Intellivision to Super Famicom — it’s all there.
I opted for the lowest tier, the “3-UP” which includes three titles from systems I select for $34.99. VGM has a cool little tracking system that lets you mark which games you already own on the systems that are available, that way you’ll never get a duplicate. Seemed like a great system to me, and it worked!
Upon opening the box I discovered a “2-UP” bonus card inside that revealed I actually received 5 total games instead of my scheduled 3 — a pretty sweet free upgrade to my package!
I opted to receive Game Boy or GameCube games, and inside the box discovered that I’d actually received a mix of the two. First up were the Game Boy titles, which showed a little age. Paperboy’s cart was a little grimy, but nothing too bad. The others were in fine condition.
Under the three Game Boy games were two GameCube titles I didn’t own yet — Resident Evil Zero and Sonic Riders. The Sonic Riders case has a giant black sticker on the front that.. won’t be coming off easy. I tried peeling the corner but could tell it wouldn’t budge without some extra help. Resident Evil Zero (Player’s Choice version) has the same black sticker on the back which is kind of a bummer. Upside is it has both discs are inside, and it is a two-disc GameCube case, something that isn’t always super easy to find. Looks like both RE:0 discs were resurfaced, they both have some goop left in the disc center. Oh well, that’s easy to clean.
Also in the box was a Video Games Monthly pin, pen, and card. Couple more photos showing everything together:
Overall I think the price to product ratio is about even. The downside to ordering from VGM is you don’t get to inspect the product before you get it, and if you do some hunting you can probably find better deals. I checked average eBay sale prices for the games I received and think it was about even with what I paid, but I wouldn’t have paid for games with giant stickers on them.
On the plus side you get surprised every month with awesome retro games, and you won’t ever get doubles!
Will I subscribe for another month? Maybe. I need to update my game tracker and then I’ll consider it. Check out Video Games Monthly if you’re hungry for a surprise in your mail box every month. If you’re a deal hunter like me, give them a try and see what you end up with! Reach out to me on Twitter and let me know what you end up getting in your box — fingers crossed it’s something good!
Andrew has been a nerd his whole life. He built his first computer when he was 8, started working in the IT industry at 15, and played competitive Counter-Strike at 16. His interest in amiibo started before their release but didn’t really take off until after the new year. He doesn’t like to admit it but Little Mac and WFT are among the amiibo that he had pre-ordered from Amazon but cancelled before their release. Little did he know a few months later he’d help start Amiibo Alerts. Gaming has always been his passion. He grew up with an NES, Sega Genesis, and PS2 before realizing that PCs truly are better than consoles.
The urge to be a little better, brought on by being a gamer, is what pushes him to help make Amiibo Alerts and Nintendeal amazing communities. Together with the team he has built, he is realizing a life-long dream: bringing something helpful and fun to a large group of people. Andrew’s role at Amiibo Alerts and Nintendeal as Founder and Editor in Chief allows him to create and build contacts within the community, review and present products, and stay on top of all things Nintendo.
Plays: Switch, PC, Xbox One, PS4, WiiU, 3DS, Vita, and board games.