Japanese Non-Profit Seeks to Reunite Retro Games With Their Childhood Owners

If you came across a Woody doll that read "ANDY" on its foot, you'd probably try to reunite the toy with its owner despite their bittersweet yet emotionally necessary parting in Toy Story 3. But how about that copy of NHL 96 you picked up at a thrift store that had the name "CHRISTOPHER" scrawled along the label in black sharpie? Even if you thought of trying to contact the original owner, there's a lot of Christophers out there and a decent amount of them owned NHL 96. This is why a new non-profit in Japan is seeking to streamline the task. The Museum of the Preowned Games Collection hopes to reunite Japan's many vintage games with their childhood owners.

Junji Seki, founder, director and chairman of the museum has had his fair share of lost games. He told Motherboard via email that someone stole his Famicom games when he was a teenager, copies of Load Runner and Donkey Kong Jr. plundered while he was at a parttime job. The idea for the used game database came during a trip in 2003 to San Diego, when he purchased an NES cartridge at a retro game store. It had someone's name on it.

"When [I] noticed that foreigners write the name on the cartridges as well, I [sympathized] and woke up," Seki said. "The game cartridges with names written on them are worth [more] than new game cartridges in condition. As a retro game collector, I have to collect them."

Vintage games are everywhere in Japan. You can go to specialty stores like Super Potato or Mandarake for the experience, but even common retail chains like Book-Off have decent selections at affordable prices. The density of Japanese cities created a kind of snare trap for retro wares, and the games many Japanese adults owned as kids may still be in circulation. Whether they want them back is a different question, but regardless the effort is, well, it's really cute.

The museum's database so far seems pretty extensive. Images of cartridge labels and backs where many names are scrawled can be found by searching both the name of the game and the name written on the games. Other details like distinctive dings and tears are also noted. There are certain cases where names weren't written on them, but trademarks like stickers and creative labels make it clear that a specific kid once claimed ownership over Devil World.

Seki produces videos for the influential video game magazine Famitsu, and said he will use the platform to broadcast news about these abandoned games. The museum is also receiving its fair share of local media attention, said Seki. Unfortunately, no one has made a claim to their own game so far, but the project is still in its infancy, and Seki claims that people are offering to donate parts of their own collection to this niche cause.

Seki believes that sentimental value can be worth so much more than the video game inside the cartridge. If it was their first game, or they played it with an influential friend, or received it from a beloved relative, a piece of crap like Hudson Hawk might be greater than The Legend of Zelda. Assuming you find the right person.