VINCENT BENNETT
THE ACACIA STRAIN
The Massachusetts marvel has a passion for Nintendo classics. Player one is ready… VINCENT, WHERE IS THIS 8-BIT VIDEO GAME DUNGEON OF YOURS?
“This is my dining room, so everything I own is in my line of sight; that way I can walk past and play a game whenever I want. You’d think my friends would come over more often to play them but I think they’re afraid I’m gonna whoop their asses in every game! Ha ha ha!”
WHEN DID THIS GAME OBSESSION BEGIN?
“The Nintendo gaming system came out when I was young and the first game I remember playing was Duck Hunt. It wasn’t even controller-based – it was just a light gun and you had to shoot ducks on the screen. I was hooked on this interaction with a television, which I thought you just watched, but games entertain you and let you be part of the entertainment yourself. Gaming was a family affair in our house – my whole family would spend countless hours sat around the TV seeing how far we could get in Mario Brothers, a game which now feels relegated to children.
“I KEEP CONSOLES
AS OLD AS I AM”
Those memories are still fresh in my mind, and that’s why I collect games now.”
SO IS THIS CORNER A CONSTANT NOSTALGIA TRIP FOR YOU?
“It’s helping me relive the good memories I had as a kid. When you’re eight years old, you don’t necessarily have the hundreds of dollars to spend on consoles and the 800 Nintendo production titles in the world. I didn’t get to play all of them but now
I’m an adult that can afford them, so why not? At least I know there’s an end to my collecting because once I have all 800, I can stop. I don’t think I’ll ever reach it, though – not because of the expense, but the availability of rare games.”
WHICH PIECE WOULD YOUR 10-YEAR-OLD SELF LOVE TO HAVE OWNED?
“When I was a kid, the only two consoles widely available were the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo, plus there was no internet so I heard about games on the grapevine. I heard of this system called the TurboGrafx-16 and I knew nobody who had one so it was a mythical beast. As an adult, I finally got my hands on one and now I’m crazy about it – I’m in my 30s playing a console almost as old as me.”
WHAT WAS THE MOST ELUSIVE ITEM IN YOUR STASH?
“The Super Nintendo game Joe & Mac 2 is tough to find and pretty expensive, but my friend’s game store in New York, Forgotten Freshness, got it in stock and didn’t tell me. I was sorting through the shop’s back room and when I found it it was like rays of light came bursting out of it and I heard the voice of God. I got it home and put it straight on display, I couldn’t believe I got my hands on it.”
HAS YOUR LIFE IN MUSIC HELPED YOUR OBSESSION?
“Tony Diaz from [pop punk band] State Champs and I actively recruit people into our World Of Warcraft guild while we’re on the road to make new friends. Also, fans have videogames collecting dust in their house so they want to trade them for shirts. Sometimes, people are so generous that I feel almost guilty so I give them a scribble on a piece of paper as a lifetime pass to our shows.”
ON A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW METAL IS A MASSIVE VIDEOGAME COLLECTION?
“I’d say 9 because you can’t really give anything a full 10/10. When it comes to addiction, at least mine’s kind of healthy to everything… except my wallet.”
GRaveblOOm iS Out nOW via RiSe RecORDS