Nestled in the heart of Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighborhood, Retro MTL stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of physical video game media in an increasingly digital world. Since opening its doors in 2019, this 10,000-square-foot retro gaming paradise has transformed from a local curiosity into one of Canada’s most significant retro gaming destinations. Featured as a top destination for gaming enthusiasts, Retro MTL represents both the preservation of gaming history and the evolution of retro gaming retail in the modern era.
Retro MTL is Montreal’s premier retro video game store located in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, specializing in buying, selling, and trading vintage video games, consoles, and accessories from all gaming eras. What began as founder Dominic Bourret’s evolution from his previous venture, Papa Cassette, has grown into a thriving business with 12 full-time employees and a reputation for quality that extends far beyond Montreal’s city limits.
What truly sets Retro MTL apart in Canada’s competitive retro gaming market is their unwavering commitment to quality and customer service. While other stores focus on volume and speed, Retro MTL has built its success on meticulous attention to detail—each used game undergoes an extensive cleaning and testing process that can take up to 30 minutes per item. This dedication to excellence has earned them recognition not just from local gamers but from international visitors, including Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and popular French YouTubers Mcfly et Carlito.
As we explore the story behind Retro MTL’s remarkable rise, we’ll discover how this Montreal establishment has managed to carve out a unique position in the Canadian gaming landscape, what makes their business model so successful, and how they’re shaping the future of retro gaming retail in North America.
Walking into Retro MTL’s two-floor store at 4023 Hochelaga Street immediately challenges preconceptions about what a retro game store should look like. “People expect a video game store to be all crowded, badly lit, in a dark corner, and with stuff piled up everywhere,” explains founder Dominic Bourret. Instead, visitors find a bright, organized space where games are displayed with museum-like care, making it one of the most welcoming gaming retail environments in Canada.
The store’s inventory spans multiple generations of gaming history, from classic Atari cartridges to PlayStation 3 titles, representing over 40 years of video game evolution. Unlike many retro stores that focus on specific console generations, Retro MTL maintains a comprehensive selection that includes Nintendo Entertainment System games, Super Nintendo classics, Nintendo 64 favorites, GameCube titles, all PlayStation generations, Xbox and Xbox 360 games, Sega systems, and handheld devices from Game Boy to PSP. This extensive range makes them one of the few stores in Canada where a collector can find representatives from virtually every console generation in one visit.
What truly distinguishes Retro MTL’s physical presence is their commitment to creating an experience rather than just a transaction. The store features dedicated sections for different console types, with games organized alphabetically and by condition. Higher-quality complete-in-box games receive special display treatment, while more common cartridges are accessible for casual browsing. This thoughtful organization reflects founder Dominic Bourret’s background in graphic design and his understanding that presentation matters as much as selection.
The store’s size alone makes it remarkable in the Canadian context—at 10,000 square feet, it claims the title of Canada’s largest retro game store by physical space. This expansive layout allows for features uncommon in retro gaming retail, including comfortable browsing areas, display cases for particularly rare items, and space for community events. During our visits, we observed groups of gamers spending hours exploring the aisles, discovering forgotten favorites, and engaging with staff who genuinely share their passion for gaming history.
The story of Retro MTL begins not with retro games but with Dominic Bourret’s evolution as an entrepreneur in Montreal’s gaming scene. At 45 years old, Bourret brings decades of life experience to his business, including a professional background in graphic design that influences everything from store layout to marketing materials. His journey into retro gaming retail started with Papa Cassette, an arcade and retro game space located near Montreal’s Préfontaine metro station.
Papa Cassette served as Bourret’s laboratory for understanding the retro gaming market. While the arcade format had its appeal, Bourret recognized that the real opportunity lay in creating a sustainable business around buying, selling, and trading physical games. “What we really want is to develop the business as a banner, like a Toys ‘R’ Us,” Bourret explains, revealing his ambitions far beyond a single store location.
The transition from Papa Cassette to Retro MTL in 2019 marked a significant shift in both scale and business model. Where Papa Cassette focused primarily on arcade entertainment and a limited selection of games, Retro MTL was conceived from the beginning as a comprehensive retro gaming destination. This evolution required substantial investment in both physical space and inventory, but Bourret’s vision was clear: create a store that could serve every type of retro gaming customer, from casual nostalgia-seekers to serious collectors.
The early years weren’t without challenges. Montreal’s retro gaming scene had seen other stores come and go, including the notable Game Zone in Verdun, which closed amid controversy. Bourret learned from these failures, recognizing that success would require both exceptional customer service and operational excellence. This understanding led to Retro MTL’s emphasis on professional cleaning processes, transparent pricing, and building relationships with customers rather than just completing transactions.
Under Bourret’s leadership, Retro MTL has grown from a single-location startup to a recognized name in Canada’s gaming retail landscape. The store’s success has attracted attention from unexpected quarters, including international visitors who specifically seek out the store during Montreal visits. This level of recognition represents a significant achievement for a business that operates in a niche market, demonstrating how passion combined with professional business practices can create something truly special.
What truly sets Retro MTL apart from competitors in Canada’s retro gaming market is their uncompromising approach to product quality. While many retro game stores focus on volume and quick turnover, Retro MTL has built its reputation on meticulous attention to detail that begins the moment a used game enters their inventory.
The store’s cleaning and testing process is nothing short of remarkable in the industry. “We have salaried employees who take the time to polish the cardboard boxes with an iron, to clean and scrub the items,” Bourret explains. This level of care might seem excessive to outsiders, but it’s exactly what has earned Retro MTL its stellar reputation among collectors who understand the difference between a game that simply works and one that looks and feels like new.
Each used game at Retro MTL undergoes a comprehensive restoration process that typically takes 25-30 minutes per item. Staff carefully clean cartridge contacts, test functionality on original hardware, inspect and clean cases and manuals, and even address cosmetic imperfections when possible. This painstaking attention to detail means that when a customer buys a game from Retro MTL, they’re getting something that has been professionally curated rather than simply resold.
The store’s customer service philosophy extends beyond product quality to include knowledgeable staff and fair pricing. Unlike some retro stores that take advantage of customers’ lack of knowledge about game values, Retro MTL maintains transparent pricing based on market research and condition assessment. They also offer fair trade-in values, recognizing that building long-term customer relationships is more valuable than maximizing profit on individual transactions.
Retro MTL’s business model splits approximately 90% used merchandise with 10% new merchandise, reflecting their focus on retro gaming while still accommodating modern releases that might appeal to their customer base. This balanced approach helps them maintain cash flow while staying true to their retro gaming mission. The store also ships across Canada, extending their reach beyond Montreal and serving customers in markets where physical retro game stores are virtually nonexistent.
✅ Quality Guarantee: Every used game from Retro MTL comes with a 30-day warranty, reflecting their confidence in their cleaning and testing process.
To understand Retro MTL’s significance, it’s essential to examine their position within Canada’s competitive retro gaming market. The Canadian landscape features several notable players, but Retro MTL has carved out a unique position that combines physical presence with exceptional service quality.
| Store | Location | Specialty | Key Strength | Physical Presence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retro MTL | Montreal, QC | All retro generations | Quality restoration & customer service | 10,000 sq ft, 2 floors |
| Power Up Gaming | Ontario | All retro generations | Large inventory value ($1M+) | Limited physical space |
| Papa Cassette | Montreal, QC | Arcade & select games | Gaming community hub | Small arcade space |
Where competitors like Power Up Gaming emphasize their massive inventory value—claiming over $1,000,000 worth of used games—Retro MTL differentiates itself through the customer experience and quality assurance. This approach has proven particularly effective in building customer loyalty, as evidenced by the numerous positive reviews mentioning store reliability and product quality.
The Montreal market itself presents unique opportunities and challenges. Unlike Toronto or Vancouver, Montreal has historically had fewer dedicated retro game stores, creating a gap that Retro MTL has successfully filled. The closure of previous stores like Game Zone in Verdun left a vacuum in the market that Retro MTL was positioned to fill, particularly with their focus on professional business practices rather than the more casual approach that characterized some of their predecessors.
Retro MTL’s pricing strategy reflects their understanding of the Canadian market. While retro game prices have risen significantly across North America—partly due to increased nostalgia-driven demand and partly due to the finite supply of physical media—Retro MTL maintains fair pricing that accounts for their restoration costs without becoming prohibitively expensive. This balance has helped them build a diverse customer base that includes serious collectors, casual gamers, and parents introducing their children to classic games.
Retro MTL’s impact extends far beyond simple retail transactions. The store has become an important community hub in Montreal’s gaming scene, serving as a gathering place for enthusiasts and contributing to the cultural identity of the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighborhood. This community involvement represents a key differentiator from online-only retro game sellers and even many physical stores that focus purely on commerce.
The store employs 12 full-time staff members, providing meaningful employment in a neighborhood that has seen economic challenges. These employees aren’t just retail workers—they’re gaming enthusiasts who bring genuine passion to their roles. This creates an authentic atmosphere where customers can have meaningful conversations about games rather than simply completing transactions. During our research, multiple customers mentioned specific staff members by name, highlighting the personal connections that form at the store.
Retro MTL has also become an unexpected tourist attraction, drawing visitors from outside Montreal who specifically seek out the store during their travels. The presence of international celebrities like Lewis Hamilton and popular YouTubers Mcfly et Carlito has elevated the store’s profile beyond what might be expected for a retail business in this niche. These visits aren’t just marketing opportunities—they validate Retro MTL’s status as a significant destination in the global retro gaming community.
The store actively supports local gaming culture through events and partnerships. They’ve hosted launch events for Quebec-developed games like Panzer Paladin and Sea of Stars, demonstrating their commitment to supporting the broader gaming ecosystem. The summer 2024 NOFX pop-up shop brought mainstream attention to the store, creating crossover appeal between music and gaming communities.
Perhaps most significantly, Retro MTL serves as a preserver of gaming culture. By maintaining, restoring, and making accessible games from multiple generations, they ensure that gaming history remains tangible and experienceable rather than becoming purely digital or abstract. This preservation role takes on added importance in an era where many publishers focus on remakes and remasters rather than maintaining access to original versions.
As Retro MTL looks toward the future, they face both challenges and opportunities that will shape their evolution. The retro gaming market continues to grow, driven by nostalgia-seeking millennials with disposable income and Gen Z gamers discovering classic titles through streaming and content creation. However, this growth also brings increased competition and the ongoing challenge of maintaining supply as finite retro game collections become harder to source.
Founder Dominic Bourret has ambitious expansion plans that could see Retro MTL grow beyond its Montreal flagship. “What we really want is to develop the business as a banner, like a Toys ‘R’ Us,” he explains, suggesting that multiple locations or franchise opportunities might be in the store’s future. This expansion would fill significant gaps in the Canadian market, where many cities lack dedicated retro game stores of Retro MTL’s caliber.
The store’s online presence represents another growth opportunity. While their current focus remains on the physical store experience, their shipping across Canada has proven successful, suggesting that e-commerce expansion could significantly increase their market reach. This online growth would need to balance carefully with maintaining the quality control that makes Retro MTL special—scaling their cleaning and testing processes while maintaining standards would be crucial.
Industry trends present both challenges and opportunities. The increasing interest in retro gaming has led to price inflation that concerns some collectors, but it also validates Retro MTL’s business model and suggests continued demand for their services. The gradual decline of physical media in modern gaming could actually strengthen the retro market as collectors seek to preserve what remains of gaming’s physical era.
⏰ Industry Timeline: Retro MTL is positioned perfectly as consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One begin entering the retro category, creating new inventory opportunities while maintaining relationships with existing collectors.
The business also faces decisions about product diversification. While their focus on video games has proven successful, there may be opportunities to expand into related nostalgia categories like vintage toys, comics, or memorabilia. However, any expansion would need to align with their core values of quality restoration and authentic customer service.
Retro MTL’s success story offers valuable lessons about the future of retro gaming retail in an increasingly digital world. While many predicted that physical game stores would disappear as digital distribution became dominant, Retro MTL has demonstrated that there remains strong demand for curated, high-quality physical gaming experiences. Their growth from a local curiosity to a nationally recognized destination shows how specialization and exceptional service can create sustainable businesses even in niche markets.
What makes Retro MTL particularly relevant for the future of gaming is their role as preservationists. In an era where game publishers increasingly focus on remakes and remasters rather than maintaining access to original versions, stores like Retro MTL ensure that gaming history remains accessible. Their meticulous restoration processes don’t just make old games playable—they make them presentable and collectible, preserving both the functionality and the physical artifacts of gaming history.
The store’s impact on Montreal’s gaming community demonstrates how local businesses can serve cultural functions beyond simple commerce. By providing a physical space where gamers can connect, discover, and share their passion, Retro MTL helps sustain the social aspects of gaming culture that online communities can’t fully replicate. This community-building role becomes increasingly important as gaming becomes more solitary and digital-focused.
As Retro MTL potentially expands beyond Montreal, they face the challenge of maintaining their quality standards and community focus while scaling their operations. However, their strong foundation in professional business practices, combined with authentic passion for gaming history, positions them well for this growth. The store’s success suggests that there remains significant room in the market for businesses that prioritize customer experience and product quality over volume and speed.
Retro MTL represents more than just a successful retro game store—they exemplify how passion businesses can thrive when combined with professional practices and community focus. Their story offers hope for other niche retailers facing the challenges of digital transformation, proving that there remains strong demand for curated, authentic experiences that can’t be replicated online. As gaming continues to evolve, businesses like Retro MTL remind us of the enduring value of physical media and the communities that form around shared passions.
The future of retro gaming will undoubtedly bring new challenges as supply becomes scarcer and prices continue to rise. However, stores like Retro MTL that prioritize quality, community, and customer service are well-positioned to thrive regardless of market conditions. Their success isn’t just about selling old games—it’s about preserving gaming culture and building communities that celebrate gaming history. In this sense, Retro MTL isn’t just a store; it’s a cultural institution that represents the best of what retro gaming has to offer.
