You have to assume this was recorded sometime during the summer of '99 not long after the Jungle Set was released (you don’t see any English Fossil packs or Fossil theme decks here, which came out in America later that fall).
Everything about this video just hits you right in the feels.
The layout of booster packs as well as theme decks at the counter.
The Japanese packs off to the side that were always a secondary, less popular option as a kid because we all preferred English back then.
The Beanie Babies on the shelf.
The mother pointing out that she made sure she came to the store without her kids so they didn’t go crazy, as well as her mentioning that one of her children was just starting kindergarten (that would mean he is probably 29 years old today; crazy).
The two boys excitedly rifling through packs at the counter, one of which was wearing a Damon Stoudamire jersey back when the Toronto Raptors had the Barney jerseys.
Even the store layout is just a massive nostalgia trip.
Today, we basically get everything online and you have to drive miles and miles just to find a halfway decent card shop (and you still end up disappointed 90 percent of the time).
As wonderful as technology is and as great as it is to have everything at your fingertips, videos like this make you really miss the days when you actually had to go to a physical storefront to get what you wanted.
Screw any new metaverse stuff. Give me a nostalgia metaverse where I can feel like I am back in time and walk through a store like this again. I’d cry!
Always makes me chuckle to see the camera shake especially when zoomed in, as this was prior to any stabilization technology cameras have today like Go Pro etc. Awesome video.
Man that video is so good it hurts! Also what a store! They had a great selection of Pokémon. Most stores I saw as a kid were picked over or more limited. I know this is a weird thought but it blows my mind you could just order all of that from a distributor.
Finally – I used to claw at the nostalgia and search Youtube for videos like this. What I wouldn’t give for someone to be able to recreate a 1999 Toys R Us in VR.
