Amazon's new Retro Zone sells video games and nostalgia

Nostalgia sells. Retro games sell, too. Amazon just wants to capitalize on that venture.

Amazon has opened a new section of its site called "Retro Zone." This is a curated section that mostly features older video games and video game peripherals. Right now the site is divided into sections featuring retro apps, console games and gaming peripherals, retro clothing with t-shirts that say "Pong" on them, toys, and books. Dive into nostalgia with a Sonic plush toy, Pac-Man mini arcade, or artwork from Atari.

The site is mostly just a collection of stuff from around Amazon. There are a few unique additions, though. Some of the retro apps, which are accessible via Amazon's Android Appstore, come with Amazon-exclusive in-game skins. Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, for example, comes with an orange skin for Abe.

Retro doesn't always mean old, either. Some of the apps are actually modern games with a retro style, like Stranger Things: The Game. As time goes on, we'll probably see a much wider variety of both older games and games made in an older style added to this section.

Beyond the few products you can buy, the best part about Retro Zone right now is the giveaway Amazon is doing to promote it. You can enter for your chance to win one of five SNES Classics. Given how fast the supplies run out for those, this giveaway probably gives you some of your best odds of getting one.

While this section seems to mostly be a place for Amazon to peddle the few retro-style products they already sell and push apps from the Appstore, it would be interesting if the section on games set its eyes on platforms like Steam or GOG.com. I'm not saying it will, but that sort of competition could mean big savings for gamers down the road. Now that would be interesting.