welcome to the black market...

date 24/9 - 1/10
bought: savers
brand: atari
size: small
price: $5.99
colour: my attire for a black tie event
why: because video games are cool

i am indeed classically trained in the art of video gaming. i was more of a commodore 64 man myself though. the atari 2600 was already 10 years old by the time i was born. times had changed the videogame industry had moved on to bigger and better things. i remember getting a playstation for christmas. i bugged my dad so often and so many times that he told me i was definitely not getting one but he lied and i did and it was awesome.

i remember hitting up the golden arcade next to Sham Shui Po MTR station in hong kong, the only place to buy counterfeit games, consoles and electronics. 3 or so stories of a city block filled with stores and stalls selling every computer program ever made. they had this mad system of avoiding the law... the stalls would have big binders with pictures of all the games. you'd point to the ones you wanted, they'd be written down, you'd bargain and eventually settle on an acceptable price. no counterfeit games were ever kept in the store. a phone call would be made and you'd have to wait for the games to be brought to you in sealed black plastic bags or you'd be sent 2 stories down to the stairwell to pick up your merchandise. i was once even sent out of the arcade and down the street, given instructions to knock on a red door and pass them a note.

everyone knows the products aren't real, but no one ever talks about it. the store operators were always a little nervous, always looking around. but the whole black market industry was set up so well they knew when a raid was coming. all at once the message gets out. the customers are rushed out of stores, people hurriedly pack things away, shutters are pulled down and closed fast. before you know it the whole operation is shut down and there you are standing on the street with a hundred other black market customers. there will be no more shopping today.

but tomorrow it will be open again, business as usual. i wonder if it's still there. its been near a decade since i last broke the law in hong kong.