Entertainment Goods Store

Entertainment Goods Store (エンターテインメントグッズストア Entāteinmento Guzzu Sutoa) was a chain of retail stores operated by Namco in Japan. The chain originated in 1998, and continued operation into 1999. The stores are noted as selling many exclusive pieces of Pac-Man merchandise. The store line was discontinued at an unknown date, likely in the early 2000s.
== Overview ==
The Entertainment Goods Store (henceforth "EGS") exclusively sold merchandise based on Namco's IPs. Notable EGS-exclusive items include a Namco wind-up figure set (including Pac-Man, the Ghost Gang, and Mappy), a Pac-Man plush set (featuring Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Baby Pac-Man), and a Pac-Man-themed cell phone. For more details on these products, see the list of 1990s Japanese Pac-Man merchandise.
In total, EGS only had three dedicated locations across Japan."Nours" magazine, vol. 21 (Autumn 1998), pg. 26-27"Nours" magazine, vol. 22 (Winter 1998), pg. 10 A handful of items were also sold via mail order through "Nours" magazine, in extremely limited quantities. In 1999, the products were released across all other Namco-operated businesses, such as arcade locations and Wonder Bowl bowling alleys; however, the products had to be specially ordered via an application form, with a small display (usually on a bulletin board) showcasing the purchasable items."Nours" magazine, vol. 23 (Spring 1999), pg. 14 Due to this bizarre distribution, effectively all items from the store are considered rare today.
== Trivia ==
*In addition to the merchandise created exclusively for EGS, the dedicated storefronts appear to have sold Pac-Man merchandise from Namco USA (which were originally intended to be used as arcade prizes).
*One image of the store appears to show the U.S.-distributed Pac-Man gumball machine from 1982; suggesting that EGS displayed and/or sold (at-the-time) vintage merchandise.
== Gallery ==
Namco-EGS-1998-1.jpg|Dedicated store wall display
Namco-EGS-1998-2.jpg|Dedicated store wall display
Namco-EGS-1998-3.jpg|Dedicated store wall display
Namco-EGS-1999-mail-in-1.jpg|An EGS bulletin board display
Namco-EGS-1999-mail-in-0.jpg|An EGS display at an arcade
Wonder-bowl-w-namco-EGS-1999-mail-in-0.jpg|An EGS display at a Wonder Bowl entrance (bottom-right)
== References ==
Category:Real-World locations and events
Category:Retail locations