I was unsure if this place was opening its doors or closing them, but it turned out they had been a part of this mall for a long time. I personally thought, for a no frills trade in place this place was very good. They gave a much higher rebate for used systems and games and just to be sure, or to figure out how much to give, he called gamestop about some of the trade ins I had. All in all I would recommend this place to anyone looking to trade in video games or systems since they give a much better deal than any of those bigger places. Plus they take reservations on games yet to come out. read more

Small selection, and to echo the previous reviewer, a little bit of a hole in the wall place. I am sorry that MH had such a bad experience, but there you get to see the Yelp Business reply in action. Good to see that working, even if it is becoming adversarial. I wandered in to this store earlier today, and was happy to see some old school NES and PS1 games in there. I did get a little bit of the same treatment that MH got, muttered responses to questions and comments and almost no eye contact. I tried to make a little small talk, again thinking it was cool to see stuff like "Jackal" and "Ninja Gaiden" in the case. But the guy working there was absorbed in something else on the computer. Oh well. It makes it hard to give a better rating when walk in customers aren't really acknowledged at all. I don't need you to swarm me, but at least say "hello" or something. Seems to be a trend at Oakridge. Maybe it's the lack of sunlight... It seems like its all business here, and no fun. I thought they were called video "games". read more

This store nails it. Part memorobilia, part active new and used game store replete with active coin op games. Sleek design thanks to a recent relocation and full of vintage and new games. There is a collorary in the mall with the PlatLive nation store so you can take the combo in one flail swoop. read more

The cash back value you get on your games is decent. However the gentleman who owns the business is really cold, standoffish and his customer service skills need some refinement. In other words, he's very rude. I don't understand how someone who owns a business such as his doesn't understand that you require good customer service in order to maintain your cliental and loyal customers. People don't want to come back to a place where they feel the business owner isn't happy to help them. From what I see his business isn't doing well and has a potential to grow its cliental but his lack of people skills and his attitude are going to hinder his business's growth. He really needs to reevaluate the way he runs his business and what he needs to do make his business thrive. I'm speaking from a place of experience, my family owns a business and I've come to understand what is needed in order for your business to be successful. Your product and concepts can be great but if you don't have the right attitude and customer service there just isn't any room for growth or the possibility to make your business thrive. I understand the pressure and stress of owning your own business but you need to maintain a good attitude and good customer service if you want to thrive as a business owner. There have been times where our family has had to deal with difficult situations and people but we've been very successful because of our WANT and GOAL to make our company thrive, so we continuously provide customer service no matter the pressure we're under. read more

New location by Blaze pizza...They always have a good selection and get new stuff in all the time....If they post something popular that you want..better run there quick because it'll be gone within an hour or two. read more

Updating my review from last about this time last year. I upgraded to 5 stars cause i this is my favorite place to go to in salinas! Since my last review i have obtained about 27 N64 games. I have been in a collecting mood. :) Buying my childhood back. :D hahaha. Its cool when the people that work there start recognizing you, to the point where if you use a card and you show your i.d. they say you dont need to see it cause you have been there before. :D I havent bought a system from them yet but it might be a XBox360. We shall see. Upgrade the stars to 5 read more

Came to leave a review about the awful customer service and the rocks that work in there. Employees have zero persanity, even trying to joke with them about what our age group dealt with as kids playing video games, only to get a blank stare. But I guess what do you expect for a mid 30s dude working in a video game store. Great selection of retro but when they buy from You they find an excuse no matter what to beat the price to nothing. Either the cartridge needs a new battery or the A/v cord needs replacing cuz the three wires have been split apart six inches (not unusable just pulled apart like they're made to do). With little other choices they're the only show in town read more

I was interested in selling my xbox, the first xbox. The prices are horrible they're selling a gameboy for 30-40 not bad but that's what the man would give me for store credit in cash $28. LESS THEN A GAMEBOY. I was sure the xbox I had was limited time and when I asked the employee he rudely just chuckled and said "No it's just a standard one" with a an attitude. read more

Before I moved away i had been coming to gamers in control for my gaming needs for about two years straight. I'm not one to keep the games i buy once i beat them so i would go to gamers and they would give me more money back than any other place would. Plus, there are great deals on new and used games, so i'd always leave happy. There are also a ton of different games for older video gaming systems, if that's what you're in to. I highly recommend visiting Gamers In Control, as i was always welcomed with kind service and great deals. read more

I've stopped through here a few times on my way up and down from northern California. It has a lot of games you wouldn't find anywhere else other than the internet. The service was great and the guy working was helpful and knew answers to all my questions. As far as price in concerned, i compared many of the items i've bought to similiar items online and don't feel like i've been ripped off one bit. For any avid video game fan in the area, i recommend you stop by this shop. read more

Gamers in Control has a wide range of titles for newer consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 as well as vintage favorites including NES, SNES, Gameboy, N64 and Sega Genesis. The retro game selection ranges from boxed and complete to cartridge only, including some rare and unusual finds. This is the type of shop you need to check, and check often to see what new titles have hit the shelves, because it is constantly changing. I recommend following their Facebook page for pictures of their newest arrivals. The prices are incredibly competitive, everything I've picked up has been well under the prices charged by online retailers. More desirable and hard-to-find games can go for a premium but I feel the rates fairly reflect the rarity and condition, which is paramount for collectors. read more

This business has fair prices ... but the good things stop there the staff is extremeley cold everyone acts like your doing them a service. Asked the guy at the counter so see the extra games he had that i could see behind the counter and had him lie that they didnt have any just cause he couldnt be bothered. Most of there stuff is beaten and dirty never seen a place willing to sell dirty cases or scrathed painted products the selection is a bit lacking and to many products dont have cases or covers. read more

There was a copy of Pokémon ruby for 25$, not the best deal but not a bad one either. I decided to buy it for my collection but only knowing it had its battery replaced. Here I am, only a couple weeks later and the battery has run dry. I opened the game up and tested it and the battery is indeed dead. The game works, but I wouldn't trust a "new" battery. It's also worth noting that the battery in the cartridge was an original battery that wasn't soldiered in but taped in, with the prongs that connect to the battery just loosely touching it. read more

As you can see from the owners reply at the bottom, he successfully illustrated my point for me. Plus, whoever he is referring to in his response was not me. :) The Good: The store is a quaint little "mom and pop" store in Oakridge with a decent selection of video games and even Blu-ray movies. The Bad: The service! I will never come back here again! I was referred to Gamers in Control by GameStop as they no longer take XBOX games, but suggested that I try this place out because they still bought them. I was grateful that they offered somewhere else to go to get these games off of my hands. A few days later I had some time to go all the way over to Oakridge Mall finally, so I decided to call up Gamers in Control first so that I would know where to park based on where they were located in the mall. I called Oakridge mall and could not remember the exact name at first, but I knew it started with "Gamers", so I asked them for the stare that started with Gamers... They said they only had GameStop in the mall and I asked them to check to see if they could find any other video game stores, and they did and said sorry, only GameStop is here. I decided to call GameStop again and asked them what the name was etc. and one of the guys was there that had helped me and he gave me the name again "Gamers in Control" but he did not know the number, so I called 411 and asked for Gamers in Control and they did not have any listing, I asked them to check in the Oakridge Mall and they still said there was no such name. I then called Oakridge back again and asked for Gamers in Control and they said that they did not have a listing for them in the mall that there was no store there by that name... Thoroughly frustrated now, I called GameStop back and they were nice enough to tell me where in the mall that Gamers in Control was located and assured me that they were still in existence. I drove all the way out there and got some up front parking right away (WHOO HOOO!) and went found the store easily based off of the GameStop guys information. Once I walked into the store, I thought it was a cute little store and I liked the layout. I lugged my bag of literally 50 or so games and asked the guy behind the counter if they still bought XBOX games and he said yes and pointed to the counter on the side (a little dismissive I thought, but I chalked it up to me probably being sensitive). I went to the counter and put my bag on the counter and asked him if he knew that he was not able to be located when I called 411 and he did not even look at me but shrugged his shoulders in an "oh well, I don't care" response and did not utter a word to me. I thought to myself, this must just be some disgruntled employee and they don't care if their bosses company is listed or not. He started looking through my games and I was perusing the store and then I realized I forgot to mention that the Oakridge mall people said that his store did not exist. So I told him this and that when I called that they could not find his store name and "at first" I had the name wrong so I had to call back once I had the complete name. Once again he would not look at me when speaking to me and told me he was there for years. I asked a few other questions about the store and he was very abrupt and would never look at me when he talked so I asked him "Do you have a problem with me or something"? he responded with, "Yeah I have a problem with you, you come in here making comments about how small my store is and complaining about not being able to find the number". I was all "What!? If I were YOU I would be concerned that my store was not listed with 411 or even at the mall where my store was located". He then responded with "Maybe if I had gotten the name right when I called maybe they would have found his store. it was then that I realized that HE was the owner, not some young kid employee. I decided not to point out that I had called back with the right name and they STILL could not find his store. I told him. "Look, I was simply trying to be helpful and let you know that it was really tough trying to find you so that you were aware of that because it could be costing you business". He told me "I don't care, I have a website and it works fine and makes plenty of money". I then said, "Look, I was trying to be helpful, you don't need to be an ass about someone trying to help you out". Then he put his hands up and stepped away from my games he was looking at (Once again NEVER LOOKING AT ME) and made a face. I walked over put my stuff back in the bag that he had taken out of it and I told him, "You have got to be kidding me, GOOD LUCK IN THE FUTURE! (Sarcastically of course) and I walked out. I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND AVOIDING THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS! I will never give this store my money! If I find a cool spot and the customer service is great I will be a loyal supporter, ESPECIALLY of locally owned stores, but NOT in this cas read more

If you want to buy/sell used games this is the place to go. They have some rare stuff, it's a good alternative to the bigger stores.

Gamers in Control is a growing video game store that sticks to it's roots for retro but offers modern games as well. The staff are very savvy in the language of gamers and offer hard to find games at affordable prices. The selection and catalog of the games they offer are based on first come first serve so finding the game you seek is easy and at the right price. So if you are in the Oakridge area and your looking for games, movies, services, and accessories and more, stop by and support more down to earth stores like this. read more

Very poor customer service this guy who works there always ignores you watching his laptop watching movies sad to see him angry.

Wow! What a monumental disappointment! No selection... and the guy working there was rude and not knowledgeable.... don't waste your time.... I know there's not many stores that sell games in the area.... Amazon.com has the best selection and prices, if you're willing to wait a few days for shipping.... :) read more

It's cool to see all the old school games but customer service could have been better ! Idk alot about games and I would have bought more if somebody would talk to me and give me tips on what to buy for a pro gamer like my bro read more

The selection isn't very huge on the retro stuff. The owner is alright he's sort of mono tone but that's how some people are, the guy that works there every now and then is kind of a jerky nerd. He doesnt know much of anything when asked and is rather rude. I don't think I will be going to this place anymore, but I'm sure this is a store for regulars as this is the only spot there is for retro gaming in Monterey county. It might work for you, I'm just saying it isn't for me. read more

As a vintage video game collector, this store is a great find for Salinas area residents. Thank you GIC for satisfying my retro game fix.

Gamers in Control is a awesome shop as far as finding old gems goes. As you can expect hard to find things leave fast when they arrive though. They carry all types of games and systems and components. Also i have never had a bad experience in this store. I asked a question i was answered with a good answer. Nothing mean. Also, there are a few other places in San Jose that carry older games like GIC, but if you want to pay huge huge huge money for something then go there. GIC offers awesome games for reasonable prices. Always organized unlike gamestop in oakridge, which is always a mess. It's really refreshing to see someone doing something they are passionate about. good for you GIC. read more

The best experience that i've had a video game store. The guy was really friendly and he knew a lot about what he talked about. They had a great variety of games from retro to the newest with great prices. The place is very clean and well maintained. I think that you guys should give it shot. read more

I live near Oakridge Mall, so I depend on the stores there for most of my gaming needs. I have to say that I've never been a fan of Gamestop or EB Games (which I guess is now owned by Gamestop, but that's neither here nor there). The selection is never as good as you might think, and the employees seem to have a profound hatred of people who play games. That's why I was so excited when I first visited Gamers in Control. It's a small, privately-owened game store that carries things you will never find in one of the major chains. The first striking thing about the store is that it carries games from every generation. I've even seen a couple 2600 games from time to time, but the real meat of the stock is its NES through modern era games. Cabinets are filled with stacks of games. Behind the counter on the shelves, you will find gems from many different consoles: games like Super Metroid, Super Mario 64, Castlevania SOTN. These games usually don't stay on the shelves for very long, but there always seems to be a good influx of games. You won't always find what you're looking for, but you will almost always find something you like, and you will never see these games in a Gamestop. I can say that I've never had a problem with a game that I've purchased from them, but they have a good return policy. It's very simple: if the game doesn't work, they'll refund it. As far as customer service, I was shocked when I read a review chronicling a bad experience. I can only assume that it was either a huge misunderstanding or that the owner had had a horrible day, because the two guys that staff the store are very friendly and approachable. I cannot recommend this store enough. read more

I've always had great service when my son wants to purchase newer or older games and consoles! I'm glad I found this store for my son to purchase his games, I would definitely recommend it! Very honest and trustworthy! read more

This place is fantastic! It's like walking into the past! Now of course they do also have a very good selection of newer games. I got a great amount for my older games. Keep in mind it is a small store so they do have what others would consider a small selection. After visiting this place I will never go back to Gamestop to get ripped off. I highly recommend this place. The Gamers really are in control. read more

This place is great! My husband and I come in several times a week, and the owner is usually there, and always really nice. Every time we are greeted with a "hey, let me know if you need anything" which is exactly what I want! Not ignoring, and not overbearing! He has a great selection of games, and honestly the prices are unbelievable for an independently owned store. You'll find the same games on ebay for $5-10 more! And I'm pretty sure he carries games for literally every system ever sold! Love love love this place! read more

Retro games rock, great store, great service. They do trades and also have some new stuff. Help support local family businesses!

Great Store If You Stop By Northridge Mall Check It Out

Gamers in control has got everything when it comes to modern and retro the only place I can find affordable n64 games around here. They also keep people updated what's out or if they have any good finds from people trading in on their facebook. Overall it's pretty good read more

first off all i have to say , i have visited this store in san jose oakridge as well as salinas. and you guys are all bashing the owner, you guys gotta realize its his business if he doesnt wanna buy your shitty games he over it hes a nice guy and hes really friendly, if you need something in old and used games hes your guy and he has a good selection, he has alot more in the back but you guys gotta ask, games in control is my favorite store read more

i actually found this store very help full i called in a while back cuz i was having ps3 problems and they said they would help me with them just bring it in read more