WHO AM I?

Dean Martinetti, founder of Retronation

That’s me...yeah, I’m kind of a big goofball.

I’ve been a producer and designer in the video game industry since 1999. I started with my own company, Screamin’ Monkey Entertainment, and went on to work for companies like Majesco (such a great job), 2K, Take-Two, PlayStation, SEGA and more.

My love for Japan started really early. I was 8. I saw the original GODZILLA for the first time on Million Dollar Movie on Channel 9 in New Jersey and fell in love. From there it was Speed Racer on U68 (along with Uncle Floyd) and other Japanese shows. I was hooked. I wanted to be there...wherever there was.

My fascination with Japan didn’t really blow up until I went for the first time in 2005, thanks to Majesco. I was there looking for games to pick up at Tokyo Game Show (scored Cooking Mama for them that year). I fell so in love with Tokyo that I wound up going every year, at least 2x a year, until 2020 when Japan closed its borders.

Around 2015 / 2016, I was in Akiba (Akihabara) rummaging through retro game stuff and started thinking, “More people back home need to get a hold of this kind of stuff.” Proxy places like Buyee weren’t really big yet, so I took a chance and started Retronation on Facebook as a small group for people like me, who loved video games but wanted the Japanese stuff.

I mean, for ME, the Japanese games are better:

  • More titles per console
  • Cheaper than US / PAL games
  • More limited edition stuff
  • Better packaging and art
  • More console variations

So I did this while traveling to Japan for work. I’d buy things, bring them home, retest them and post them for sale. It was fun, just a side hobby / hustle. But then I started doing events and it started to grow a bit. I loved it. Meeting other gamers who love games as much as I do never gets old.

In 2024, that all changed for the better. I bought a house in Japan. Saitama to be exact, Gyoda City to be precise.

 

Saitama, Japan



It’s nothing fancy, but it’s mine. All mine. Now I have a house to go to, so I can stay longer and find more games and consoles, in an area I had never even been to before I got this house.

Then in 2025, I decided it was time to go all in. After 25+ years making games, I stepped away from the industry to focus on Retronation full time. Best call I’ve made.

Because of the house, I get out there 4x a year now. And since 2024, I’ve made friends with shop owners who have become my vendors. About 70% of my inventory comes from them, and I store it in a warehouse close to my home in Japan. The other 30% is me scouring Japan for items to bring back to the US so you, and others like you and me, can enjoy them.

Retronation will always try to bring you, the gamer, the best entertainment: the rare, the obscure and the just plain cool as hell games and consoles.

  • Fair prices
  • Ships from California, so no customs or import fees
  • Tested by me (with a tech I trust for the tricky repairs)
  • A real person on the other end. Questions? Just ask.

Thanks for coming to the site and supporting small business.

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