The Control Lab - Video Games & Repair

The Control Lab - Video Games & Repair

Reviews Summary

Overwhelmingly positive with most reviews praising the store's excellent service, knowledgeable and friendly owner (George), wide selection of retro games, and fair pricing. Many highlight repair expertise, gaming community vibe, and unique finds. A few minor complaints about phone responsiveness and trade-in values, but nearly all recommend the store enthusiastically.

About This Listing

Wheelchair Accessible

Who Can Play?

Most arcades welcome all ages (some may have age restrictions for certain games)
Minors may need parent/guardian supervision (policies vary by location)
No gaming experience required - games range from beginner to expert level
Comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes recommended for safety
Valid ID may be required for certain attractions or age verification
Groups and parties welcome (advance booking may be required)

*Note: Age restrictions and policies may vary by arcade. Check with your local facility for specifics.*

First-Time Visitors

First-time visitors may need to sign a waiver or register for a game card. Staff are typically available to help explain games and provide tutorials. Some arcades offer newcomer specials or free play sessions to help you get started.

Common Restrictions:

Age-Based Some games may have height or age requirements for safety reasons
Capacity Popular games may have wait times during peak hours

*Note: Policies vary by arcade. Confirm with your local facility.*

What to Bring

Cash or card for tokens/credits (some arcades are cashless)
Valid ID for age verification or membership signup
Phone to capture high scores and memories (check photo policies)

*Note: Payment methods and requirements may differ by arcade.*

Preparing for Your Visit

Check arcade hours and peak times online before visiting
Eat beforehand or check if the arcade has food options
Bring friends for multiplayer games and competitions
Wear comfortable clothes you can move freely in
Avoid bringing valuable items that could be lost or damaged
Check for special events, tournaments, or discount days
Set a budget for games and stick to it
Stay hydrated, especially during long gaming sessions

*Note: Tips may vary by arcade type and location.*

How to Get Started

Most arcades accept walk-ins, but call ahead during busy periods or for large groups. Check for membership deals!

Other Helpful Info

Most visits last 1-3 hours depending on games and group size
Popular games may have longer wait times during weekends and evenings
Many arcades offer unlimited play packages or time-based pricing
Some locations host tournaments and special events regularly
Prize redemption available at many arcades - save your tickets!

*Note: Policies, pricing, and features differ by arcade. Contact your local facility for details.*

Features

Wheelchair Accessible

Contact Information

Address

Back of the building, 5860 Hollister Ave suite c

Goleta, California 93117

Hours

Monday Closed
Tuesday 11AM-7PM
Wednesday 11AM-7PM
Thursday 11AM-7PM
Friday 11AM-7PM
Saturday 11AM-7PM
Sunday 12-4PM

Customer Reviews

My name is Romeo and I myself own a video game store in Los Angeles, CA called LA Video Games and I must say as a collector and store owner that this video game store is best in the local area!! It's like a treasure chest that you need to dig through and you will find a lot of good stuff. The owners (husband and wife) are so kind and nice. They welcome you the second you walk in. If there is a particular video game you are looking for they can search it up on their system to see if they have it. When I walk

Went looking for Gundam Robot kits and found them here. Friendly folks and good selection.

Cool stuff, knowledgeable people. Way better than a GameStop. Definitely worth checking it out for rare and collectibles.

Its a fun cool stickers cool Croc widgets gaming.

George is a great guy who really knows his stuff! I've been in to the store twice now with no real purchase in mind but have chatted with George about our passion for retro video games. George is highly knowledgeable and best of all just a down to earth guy who loves video games. The prices are great and below the prices you find on eBay which is super convenient and you get to see the person who is selling you it to you, which is great in an age where there are lots of fraudulent copy's of yesterday's clas

This place is awesome! Definitely fun to just poke around and see what new arrivals they have. The guy who owns the place is extremely nice and knowledgable. We end up chatting about video games for half an hour each time. I am a huge Nintendo fan and have purchased controllers and AV wires from there - originals I might add!

My sons and I are big anime and video game fans. For fun on family vacations we like to visit local shops and check them out for goodies. Well Control Lab and it's owner did not disappoint! They had a fun selection of anime and video games. My son ended up with some great old games and I got some great old anime. We actually left the store and could not find one of the games we purchased. We contacted the owner and someone turned it in to him. The owner sent us the game via mail. :D AWESOME store a

I love this place so much. All these games I wish I had as a child. I could now afford it at a reasonable price. Games work great they include the manuals and orginal box art and bonuses. I wish I knew about this place sooner. Would love to work here!!

I've been to many different retro video game stores in Santa Barbara county Ventura county and in San Luis Obispo county. This place has the best prices. Hands down whenever I drive through Goleta I have to stop by this place just to even look around. Store owner is a great person and I recommend this place 100%

Very cool owner and fun store. I have a great time browsing and games are reasonably priced. Owner is very knowledgeable about games and I have fun chatting everytime I go. They also sell a lot of anime figures, plushies, gachapon stuff, etc. so definitely check it out if you're into retro games or anime.

Great place to buy and sell old video games , the owner is extremely helpful and friendly, he knows every game he has at all times . If you don't see what your looking for just ask him he will tell you if he has it. And even put a hold on it if it comes in. Highly recommend this place to anyone who loves to play classic video games on all the old game systems. ????

They were able to fix one of my old GameCube games for such a cheap price and I hadn't been able to play this game in years! It restored about 100 hours of gameplay and the store itself is amazing with such a variety of games. Anyone that plays video games should come here

Needed a laptop keyboard repaired - got quoted some ridiculous prices until I came here. The service was super fast and professional, and the gentleman helping me was extremely courteous and knowledgeable! Also has a great selection of video games and other interesting stuff, 10/10 would recommend!

I have always been a fan of video games and whatnot. I was looking for somewhere I could get my hands on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. I bought it here and it works and is in good condition. I was mind-blown by the selection of games and console they had here and I definitely recommend it!

George is an amazing owner who is friendly fair and really knows his stuff. They do repairs and trades and offer bunch of services for old electronics, consoles and retro and modern video gaming. The place is very hard to find at first but once you do, it will be your first go to anything old gaming or repairs.

Small homely shop with a friendly owner and his kids.

Went there today to get Pok?mon Pearl and it was such a delight. I came from Simi Valley so I drove like 2 hours in total but very worth it. I hope the owner I talked to today reads this review cause I was massively impressed with how he made sure every single product for sale was thoroughly cleaned and saran wrapled. I'm a business owner and collector and I'm very ocd and tedious about many things. That kind of effort, love, care, and pride definitely didn't go unnoticed. Respect. I'll probably make anothe

Really great store. We traveled up from Ventura and was totally worth the trip. Fair prices, enough rummaging to be fun without being totally chaotic, and knowledgeable owner. Seems like they really know their stuff when it comes to repairs and modding too.

They have a wide variety of games to choose from, but I'm mostly a huge fan of their stickers. They have so many types of stickers, from gaming to fandoms to space, and they're super affordable! 10/10 would recommend going here, I swing by a lot

George is a great person and repaired my gamecube controller for a very affordable price. One of the buttons was stuck, so he fixed it and even cleaned it too! You can get all kinds of electronics repaired here.

I had been in there once before just to browse and I was immediately taken back by the awesome selection of vintage games. I came in again today asking if they could help me with a computer emergency, not only did he set me up with exactly what I needed, he gave me a better version for about half the price. I ended up talking a little bit afterward and he offered his expertise to help build a new PC from scratch! He said that his philosophy is to build a community more so than to sell a product. Ill definat

man i went to trade in a $300 new wiiU for some money and they said 20 +store credit honestly i dont care i sill have my wiiU.Also if you need to go somewhere to buy stuff GO HERE help the guy he has a small buisnis help him out also like this co0mment if you like

George is the GOAT. Love this little store. It's cozy, full of great stuff, and the prices are great!

I love this place! Not only is the selection incredible, George and his team are all very nice people and they are all very knowledgeable about consoles, video games, electronic repair, and pretty much all of your gaming needs. They have a huge selection of titles for a bunch of systems like: Ps2, Xbox (original), Nintendo 64, N.E.S, Wii, 3DS, WiiU, Sega Dreamcast, Ps3, Xbox 360, Ps4, Xbox one. They also have a shelf of DVD's, Cd's, and manga, along with video game collectibles like figurines, posters,

absolutely awesome. very thankful we have a fantastic gaming store that isn't a gamestop

Friendly and helpful owner, great selection! My go-to game store whenever I'm in the area

George soldered my psu cord back onto my PS4 pro motherboard after I ripped it off trying to clean out dust that had accumulated over the years. It was definitely looking un-fixable and George had it back to me in 48 hours and it works perfectly! The Control Lab is now my new favorite spot for all my gaming needs and George has a customer for life!

great retro game store. great service

Better then gamestop. Let me say that this place is a lifesaver. No where had the game my son really wanted and they did thank guys. 10 stars

George is a technical wizard who fixed my laptop at a very competitive price. This is the place to go if you have any hardware issues at all. Great work, great service!

If you haven't been in a while go check out!! Great selection of Pokemon and anime items. Cool shirts and great selection of games and used gaming equipment.

Lots of neat stuff here. It is behind the Barber's shop, enter the small parking lot off of Magnolia Ave. I made a slight change on the map, the windows of the store look out onto their parking lot, I moved the pin to reflect that.

Really awesome local video game and retro gaming store. Had a great experience getting my gaming laptop upgraded and serviced. Would hands down recommend in the future.

The Only place in Santa Barbara/ Goleta Area for any gaming needs/ best selections and very reasonable pricing across all age of consoles

Best place for hard to find Anime figures and collectibles

Fantastic place to find everything video game and anime related. George is the man, and prices everything more than fairly and in sells things in great condition. 100/10 would recommend

Best place for retro games. The owner is super great and can answer almost any obscure question you could think off. They have rare, old and new consoles and games and I always leave happy

It's a very cool place that I'd highly recommend checking out if you're close to the area. And they have a wide selection of game for some great prices that all have wonderful care, to the point that they look brand new.

Amazing local videogame shop! Great diverse selection of current and retro videogames alike. Perfect stop if you are looking around for a present for that special gamer or anime lover in your life. ??????

Place is great, found a cursed Saturn game I've been hunting for. Awesome little trinkets and stuff to, found a majoras mask necklace. Would definitely recommend at least visiting.

Came in for battery replacement for my games, was super quick and the man who helped me was super nice! Definitely recommend for gaming needs! Definitely will be coming back

I visit the Control Lab every couple months in search of awesome stickers. Not only am I getting grade A sticks, but the experience has always been comfortable, therapeutic, and friendly!

I love this place! They have a great selection, the owner is super friendly and gives great advice, and it's like a time machine to my youth. I stop by every time I'm in town, and want to urge everyone else to do the same. Thank you!

George (owner) is a good guy who knows his stuff. If you're looking for older video games or electronics repair this is the place to go. Just call ahead.

Bought some games for my do and a PS3! Pretty cool spot to shop at, the owner is a cool person! Fun place to go!

Always Pleased on Every Visit. Helps me find lost games, old systems, able to fix broken systems, and help me with my growing collection of Anime & Game Figures!

With most shopping that I do, it's an in-and-out experience. Get what I want and leave. This place is so different. It has a hangout vibe and the staff are very nice and approachable. Great deals too!

Great place, owner is very nice and has lots of experience, one of the best places to get retro consoles repaired, he's very honest with prices and helpful with advice.

Bought a used Wii controller that turned out to have a bad motion sensor. They swapped it for another one no questions asked. Nice, friendly place.

Awesome lil store , good prices

After making several attempts to get in contact with this place, left voicemails, online messages I have yet to receive a response. It's has been approximately 3 months since I first tried to make contact to have a simple question answered. Don't know how this business stays open with service like that.

Amazing resource for repairing any video games or other electronics! Full of cool games stickers and collectibles! Can't recommend enough :)

Traded my old games and systems collection in got MORE than fair value cash and some store credit. Guy there is up front and honest, I've been back twice since.

One of the best video game ?? store.. the owner George Is very Knowledge And very helpful!!! It's a must go... 4 all game Lover!!

Got my PS4 serviced. Good price and great service. It runs like the day I bought it.

Absolutely love this place but I can't contact them so I have no idea if there open during quarentine and I live kinda far so it's risky to check my self.

Great local alternative to Game Stop. Good selection and offers in store repair.

I've called the store several times over the last three days. No one answers the phone. I don't live locally and making the drive on a gamble that the store may or may not be open, or have what I need, isn't very realistic.

the staff is very friendly and helpful! Excellent service and good collection of games

VERY BEST PLACE TO TAKE YOUR CONSOLES,GAMES, COMPUTERS ...... ANYTHING THAT KEEPS YOU HAPPY.. TO GET REPAIR OR EXCHANGED. DON'T LET THAT GAME.. COLLECT DUST. GO IN AND SEE

An excellent local video game shop, even if you just need parts.

Great electric repair! Gives fair value store credit for game trade-ins.

Nice cool dude. Lots of Nintendo stuff

This place is a gem. Forget geek squad, George is so much better.

They're great people and have a lot of cool stock too!

Super cool guy that runs it, good stuff at the store, all around great place

It is the best video game store in old town goleta.

The owner is absolutely amazing and he has so many good things available.

Great costumer service. Quick N64 ultra HDMI mod!

An amazing place with a ton of cool stuff for gamers and anime fans

Fixed my laptop for a affordable price nice guy cool little shop too

If he knows games, he certainly doesn't know how to take care of them.

My favorite gaming store.

Very organized and wonderful shop owner very welcoming and knowledgeable 10/10

Very friendly shop extremely knowledgeable , and great customer. ??

Was great, service. They fixed my computer very satisfied with the service.

Super helpful and grate customer service my visit to control lab wont be the last

Nice selection of games and great customer service

Great place to buy games and action figures

If you're a gamer, I truly recommend it ????

Awesome selection of vintage video gaming products

Great place to visit. Will be going back.

Sold me a ps2 contorller that does not work

Great choice of games, awesome staff...

Best video game/electronic repair in sb

Great atmosphere, friendly customer service

It's a very welcoming vibe

I find my old videos games to play

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s it like visiting an arcade today?

It’s a mix of nostalgia and high-energy fun! Many arcades blend retro classics like Pac-Man and pinball with modern VR games, racing simulators, and rhythm challenges — often with music, lights, and a social vibe.

Is it better to go alone or with friends?

Both can be great! Solo visits let you focus on your favorite games, while going with friends adds competition, teamwork, and laughs. Many people plan arcade meetups as a casual hangout or even date spot.

What should I bring to an arcade?

Usually just yourself and a way to pay (some arcades still use coins, others use cards or apps). If you're competitive, bring your A-game. If you're social, bring friends or meet new ones over multiplayer games.

What’s the best time to visit an arcade?

Weekdays or early afternoons are usually less crowded — perfect for focused play. Evenings and weekends bring the buzz, especially at barcades or venues with DJs, tournaments, or themed nights.

Can I meet new people at arcades?

Absolutely! Arcades attract a mix of casual players and serious gamers. Whether you're jumping into a four-player co-op or chatting between rounds, it's a fun, low-pressure way to connect over shared interests.

Are arcades still just for kids?

Not at all. While many arcades are family-friendly, there are also adult-oriented ones with full bars, 18+ nights, or vintage nostalgia themes. Arcades today cater to everyone — from first-timers to lifelong gamers.

Are there events or tournaments I can join?

Yes! Many arcades host regular competitions, retro nights, cosplay parties, and more. Whether you're into high scores or just want to watch and vibe, events add an extra layer to the experience.

What if I’m not great at arcade games?

No worries — arcades are about having fun, not being perfect. Try a variety of games, ask others for tips, and remember: the vibe is more “let’s play” than “let’s win.”