Denver gamer opens game store in memory of his mother

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 19th 2009 at 6:00PM }

Colorado's 9News reports that 18-year-old gamer Elijah Taylor has opened a new game shop called Game On in Denver (located at Alameda and Zuni). While that in itself might seem ordinary, it's the circumstances that prompted him to do so that are extraordinary. Taylor grew up with a single mother who was only 18 when Elijah was born. The two of them would often use video games as an escape from the everyday problems they faced, with Elijah saying he was "raised ... on the games she was playing at the time."

Taylor opened his store in honor of his mother, Dani Jo Perko, who died at the very young age of 35, when he was only 17. "You know, I can either just grieve and wallow for a while and just feel sorry for myself," said Taylor. "Or I can do what my mom would've done and do something with my life." He noted that many of the games at Game On were part of he and his mother's personal collection, saying, "I can look through here and be like, 'Oh, I remember playing that with my mom when I was just a kid."

Taylor said he hoped his mother would have been proud of him.

Tags: culture, game-on

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

MystileArmor @ Jun 19th 2009 6:05PM

I hope he succeeds. A very inspiring story and I think it takes a lot of courage to do something like that. I wish him the best of luck.

Hapet Darbinyan @ Jun 20th 2009 2:09AM

aww thats sad i feel ya bro i lost my dad when i was 10

danm opening a business when yur just 18yrs old danm amazing i just turned 18 and am no wer neer opening my own business

Jake B @ Jun 20th 2009 3:53PM

GAMESTOP SHALL CRUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lazy912 @ Jun 19th 2009 6:05PM

that's a pretty neat story. wish my mom played games with me...

i.c. weiner @ Jun 19th 2009 6:29PM

she was to busy playing them with me

ballistic3188 @ Jun 19th 2009 6:06PM

As touching as this story is, I hope he did adequate research on his business plan cause i would hate to see something like this just as quickly go under.

Sly @ Jun 19th 2009 6:09PM

yeah, i'm really just hoping he can get some success with this. with big retailers like gamestop around, it'll be hard. if he can make it, this story is going to be even more inspirational.

Onomah @ Jun 19th 2009 6:16PM

I think that he may have an advantage over larger retail stores in some ways. As a sole trader (or the owner/manager) he would be more motivated to do well. About thirty percent of the clerks in stores I go to know nothing about video games and about ninety percent are jerks. He could do well on the basis of customer loyalty. However that is a risky thing admittedly. I still think that the kid has a shot if he treats his customers right and actually knows how to run a business.

Courtney @ Jun 19th 2009 6:37PM

While you're right about doing the proper research, at his age even if it fails, he will have gained some invaluable experience. When you start your first business, it's almost impossible to lay all the proper groundwork, as you just don't know everything. I went through a couple of small business experiments before finding a structure that worked well.

I am a machineee @ Jun 19th 2009 6:06PM

inb4AnimalCrossingstory

I am a machineee @ Jun 19th 2009 6:29PM

I wasn't being insensitive, I actually was in the same situation as him, I am inspired that he did something about his mother's death. I can't say the same for myself to the same extent as him.

I just figured someone would post that Animal Crossing story to take away from this kid's story.

Rhamsey @ Jun 19th 2009 6:08PM

Good luck to him, sucks about his mother, but at least hes doing something productive. but opening a store, even a game store in this economy has got to suck.

Sly @ Jun 19th 2009 6:10PM

gaming is one of the industries doing well in this economy, since people use gaming to escape from real life problems (like this guy and his mom). so it wouldn't necessarily be the economy that would be his problem. his main problem would be larger retail chains.

Rhamsey @ Jun 19th 2009 6:19PM

I dont know sly, i havent check the figures or anything, but Im pretty sure that although gaming is more solid that most areas, its still not as great as a year ago. (unless you count used game sales, cause i know those are up).

Also, about the larger chains, we used to have a nice one around here that offered competitive prices and was doing fairly well. I think it just needs to get some people who love the store first, then it will be set.

Sly @ Jun 19th 2009 6:42PM

oh, well of course it's down, but it's still doing very well when compared to a lot of other industries.

Dave @ Jun 19th 2009 6:13PM

Game on Elijah, game on.

Tre (formerly known as digitaltre) @ Jun 19th 2009 6:15PM

Wonderful. If I lived up there, I'd buy Burnout Paradise for the second time and a PSN card just to help him out. Go Elijah!

MaliceMajorE15 @ Jun 19th 2009 6:16PM

R. Kasahara @ Jun 20th 2009 6:33PM

Not if it means more moms dying young!

Know what you mean, though. I do like positive/touching video game-related stories.

ugg.tryptophan @ Jun 19th 2009 6:18PM

He'll probably get a lot of support from locals; its nice to see games in a positive light in the news for once

Steve @ Jun 19th 2009 6:31PM

I'll have to see if I can get over there tomorrow, and check it out.

Thanks for the story!

R @ Jun 19th 2009 6:34PM

Good for him!
I hope he does well esp when we need more locally owned stores again,I miss those growing up.

Too many corp run stores.
I lost my father when I was 21 so I also understand what it's like to lose a parent at a young age.

If I lived in his area def shop there on a reg basis. :)

shadowbender @ Jun 19th 2009 6:33PM

That's a great story. Sad, but it's great he's doing this in memory of his mother.

Cosmo (formerly Chin-Poh) @ Jun 19th 2009 6:34PM

What a nice story, I wish his store was in my area, I'd feel much better buying from him than from Best Buy or Gamestop.

captain underpants and the bringdown gang @ Jun 19th 2009 6:41PM

Game_playa @ Jun 21st 2009 11:27AM

Buy from Newegg or Amazon. Down with Gamestop/BestBuy!

Pappasman @ Jun 19th 2009 6:41PM

this guy is awesome.

victorion @ Jun 19th 2009 6:43PM

I wonder if he'll take orders from Canada! Like others I would rather support him than the chains around here. I wouldn't mind waiting for a game to come in the mail.

The Dark Wayne @ Jun 19th 2009 6:44PM

sorry to go offtopic, but is there going to be a podcast today? I cant see why not considering it was kind of a slow week

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Jun 19th 2009 6:52PM

grats

adtalzetzero @ Jun 19th 2009 6:54PM

FYI, there's another Game On store in Denver...
http://www.gameondenver.com/

But this store is in walking distance from my house... I MUST MAKE A JOURNEY TO IT TODAY!

Raster @ Jun 19th 2009 6:58PM

Good. I needed a place to buy games, and the #3 will take me almost right to the place. And it sounds like this is just the kind of business I'd like to support.

leo @ Jun 19th 2009 7:08PM

I hope this destroys gamestop

Lekko @ Jun 19th 2009 7:10PM

I might actually make the trip to go there. Only thing is I would feel HORRIBLE buying one of his dead mother's games. If it had a gamesave on it I just couldn't bring myself to deleting it to start over.

yikes.. still I really wanna go there though.

CreepersCreek @ Jun 19th 2009 7:37PM

I'll have to stop by sometime soon. Nobody opens a Walmart because of a personal dream (other than making money). I wish him well.

John M. @ Jun 19th 2009 7:50PM

It's a shame that he's in this situation, but really I can't think of any reason why his mother wouldn't be proud of him. He stood up and made a decision to go on with his life and do this for him and for her. It's a rough road when you open your own business at any age and I can only hope his venture succeeds with his knowledge and passion for something that was close to him and his mother.

He's only 18 and he's managed to build up a nice little video gaming business, how awesome is that? I've had dreams of doing that and I have 8 years on him.

Komrad @ Jun 19th 2009 8:02PM

Awesome! I hope to see Game On grow to be a huge success.

scratch @ Jun 19th 2009 8:07PM

great story. hope he does well. i'll be sure to swing by some day soon and check it out!

Chan @ Jun 19th 2009 8:29PM

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/11/animalcrossing_mirror.jpg

Chan @ Jun 19th 2009 8:30PM

Was reply to I am a machineee
/facepalm

Juande @ Jun 19th 2009 9:23PM

Wow man, I dont know what to say. +1

Desert Eagle @ Jun 19th 2009 9:32PM

... I think I just shed a tear with that comic...

bronz @ Jun 19th 2009 9:52PM

dude...that was beautiful!

+1 my man....+1!!!

cknblade @ Jun 19th 2009 11:48PM

Not to be a scrouge, but I'm one of the people thinking these letters were the ones from the in-game mom.

ripslymemc @ Jun 19th 2009 9:03PM

If I was in the area, I'd go and pick up a few new releases, and tell my friends to do the same. Elijah deserves the business we usually give to big companies. He was raised a gamer, lived a gamer, and it is only fitting that he is making his living off of video games. I'm sure this is a great inspiration to many gamers also, as people like to stereotype gamers as a lazy bunch. Apparently this has proved them wrong.

My condolences and my best wishes to you, Elijah.

Game on!