Once upon a time...No wait! Matt’s Game Exchange is not a fairy tale! It is actually the fulfillment of a dream of Tom Jackowski, to own business, staffed and operated by him and his family. 

It all started in a back bedroom of his home in Concord, California in early 1984 with a movie delivery and pickup service called Video Express. Customers would call and ask for a movie from a list of 300 titles. Tom would deliver the movies, and often a VCR as less than 10% of homes had one at that time. He would then schedule a time to return and pick it all up asking the customers to “Be Kind! Rewind!” As the popularity of in-home movies gained momentum and his movie inventory increased it became necessary to move out of the back room. So, the brick-and-mortar presence of Video Express was established that summer. It quickly became a community icon where old friends would run into each other, where parents would call and say “Hey, have you seen my son or daughter”, where several of the local kids got their first jobs, and where everyone enjoyed the newest video releases.

Eventually, mega video stores like Blockbuster and Family Video made Tom re-think his strategy. By this time Video Express had expanded into video game rentals. So, the natural move was out of renting movies into buying, selling, and trading video games. It was a unique niche in 1990 that was the beginning of “where all the fun is” today, Matt’s Game Exchange.

As the nature of the business changed from movie rentals to video games, so the location(s) of the business changed also. It went from the small community strip shopping center, to, of all places, a renovated upholstery shop in an industrial area of town. When that location could no longer contain it, the store was moved to a major street retail location. As time marched on Tom moved from California to South Carolina and so Matt’s Game Exchange was introduced to the east coast in Hartsville, South Carolina. As the demand grew a second South Carolina store was set up in Florence. But Tom was on the move again. Leaving the South Carolina stores in the now very capable hands of his son, Matt (where the name Matt’s Game Exchange comes from), Tom moved to the Triad area of North Carolina opening his largest store in Greensboro in 2015. Unfortunately, Tom passed away in 2018. In order to maintain the same quality of service it became necessary to consolidate all the stores into the one location in Greensboro, now owned and operated by Matt, just as Tom wanted it to be. Over the almost 40 years of Tom’s dream, the business has experienced many changes; going from movies to video games, moving from the west coast to the east coast, going from father to son. But the basics have remained the same. Tom always cared about and appreciated his customers. He treated them as he would want to be treated. You will find the same attitude and level of service today when you come to Matt’s Game Exchange as Matt carries on his father’s dream. 

Whether you’re looking for a new video game or console, turn to Matt’s Game Exchange. This Greensboro, NC, store sells new and retro video games and consoles. Their skilled team also handles video game repairs, and their passionate staff can guide you to the latest and greatest products. Call (336) 763-1111 to discuss sales and trade-ins and explore their inventory online. You’ll find news and updates on Facebook.