It's always inspiring to see an entire community get together to boost an individual’s spirits after a personal tragedy.

All the more so, when it's the "competition" that voluntarily offers the helping hand.

This happened in the Philippine retro-gaming community when one of its most respected figures and icons--Erwin Esteban--lost his home on Pablo Street, Caloocan City during an early morning fire on May 10, 2024.

While losing one's home that way (the fire began at a neighbor's house) was heartbreaking enough, those who personally knew Esteban--fondly referred to as "Chairman"--held their collective breath for the inevitable gut punch.

Consumed by the fire was practically the entire retrogaming collection of Esteban that was painstakingly curated throughout the years. That's decades worth of irreplaceable consoles, handhelds, game cartridges and CDs, CRT television sets, and other related gadgets--including boxed versions and exclusive releases--that defined a generation.

These may appear to be just another "man cave" to the casual observer, but Esteban's abode--which housed the beloved Retrogamerph Store--was the inner sanctum of this particular hobby for hardcore collectors.

It wasn't the fancy museum you took a girl to; rather it was a dingy joint with history caked up together with dirt on its walls.

Name it, and Chairman probably had it: the super rare square-button Nintendo Famicom, a boxed Vectrex console, a sealed copy of Final Fantasy VII for PlayStation 1, and yes, all those precious Pokemon games for Game Boy--all gone.

To put it in a better perspective: Imagine that you love all things fish, and suddenly learned that Japan's Tsukiji Market of yesteryears got razed. Only, there were no more fish on earth. Such was the finality of the destruction of Esteban's collection.

Even more unfortunate, the incident also crippled Esteban's livelihood, as he seemingly had nothing left to sell from his hobby store, which had been reduced to ashes and memories.

Looking back at the incident, Esteban called it the "loneliest moment" of his life, as he initially struggled with being able to push the "reset" button after losing everything in the fire.

While there's no cheat code to bringing Retrogamerph Store back to its former glory, fellow gamers and collectors--some with online retro-gaming stores of their own--made it their personal mission to help Chairman slowly "level up" again.

Community idols Jay-Ar Apilan (Gameboy Philippines), Gel Teodoro (GTR-Games Toys Retro), and Melvin Panuncio (Niv L Em) were among those who showed up at what remained of Esteban's physical store to salvage whatever they could from the fire and/ or water damage following the firefighters' response.

"Noong nalaman ko yung balita, dumirecho na agad ako (I immediately went there when I heard the news)," Teodoro said.

"Naniniwala kasi ako na kapag tumulong ka nang bukal sa iyong kalooban, magbubunga yun ng maganda (I believe that when you voluntarily render help, good things will happen)," he added.

Apilan said: "Na feel ko din yung pakiramdam ni Chairman. Kaya naisip ko din magpunta, tumulong ng makakaya ko as a collector at kaibigan (I felt what Chairman felt. That's why I thought of going there, to assist in a way I can as a collector and friend)."

"Walang ibang tutulong doon kung hindi tayo tayo din pahero ng hilig o gusto. Wala din may gusto nung nangyari (You can't expect anybody else to help but those of us with the same hobby. Nobody wanted that tragedy to happen)," he noted.

Apilan said that while the loss of the collection was truly disarming, what mattered most was the safety of Esteban and his family. "The leader of retro community," he said, referring to Esteban.

They brought with them cleaning tools and boatloads of enthusiasm to get the job done as quickly as possible, without asking for anything in return. Everybody wanted to see Esteban, their mentor, get back on his feet again--like Little Mac after suffering a knockdown from Mike Tyson in the final stage of Punch-Out!!. 

Clean up was a nightmare, but all the extra hands made it doable. Hundreds of SNES cartridges had to be stripped down to their circuit boards, carefully cleaned, and then tested. Surprisingly, a lot of them remained in working condition.

The task subsequently switched from rescuing damaged items to restoring them. Henry Cadiang--known in the local retrogaming circle as a kitbasher-modder extraordinaire--took on these tougher projects, commuting to and fro the metropolis on his trusty motorcycle. 

"Most items ni Chairman na pinagawa niya sa akin ay natupok (Most of the items Chairman had me fix were destroyed in the fire)," Cadiang, a Bataan native, sad.

"Ang dahilan naman talaga bakit tumulong kami sa pagrestore/save ng mga items nun kasi, una semtimental value. imagine ilang decades naipon ni Chairman mga items niya, rare and priceless," he noted.

(The reason why we helped restore and save those items was, first, their sentimental value. Imagine, Chairman had collected those items over decades; they were rare and priceless.)

"Pangalawa (Second), to preserve the retrogaming scene as a whole...to keep retrogaming alive as long as it takes, and introduce it to the new generations," he said.

For Cadiang, helping Esteban recover from the tragedy was akin to giving back to the retro-gaming community itself, considering that the latter was a father figure to a lot of collectors. "The respect and love he has given us is unmatched, that is why helping and giving back to Chairman is a no brainer. We love Chairman."

While the battle for buyers in the hobby is real--since they are all businessmen out to make a living--the outpouring of support for Chairman has proven that they are comrades and not rivals in Philippine retrogaming.

Fast forward to 2026, and Esteban has moved on from his ordeal. Retrogamerph Store continues to exist in a new physical shop within Kolektors Alley in North Mall, Caloocan City and chairman continues to host monthly mini-conventions to draw new fans into all things retro.

There has also been a surge in the number of similar events from other malls and collector groups, suggesting a thriving community.

And Chairman will never forget what his fellow sellers and hobbyists did for him during his darkest time.

"Umaapaw na kasiyahan ang aking nadama dahil nakita ko ang pagtulong at pag aalala sa akin ng mga comrade-kasamahan ko sa retro-gaming, lalo na ang mga ka-grupo ko sa Retro Gamers & Collectors Philippines (RGCP)," he said, referring to the Facebook group he created in 2013.

(My joy was overflowing because I saw the help and concern showed to me by my comrades in retro-gaming, especially my groupmates in RGCP.)

"Makikita mo ang tunay na samahan kahit sa group lang kami nagkakilala pero iba ang turingan ng bawat isa (You can see the genuine fellowship even though we only met through the group, yet each one treats the other with real regard)," he said.

Esteban said of his experience: "This is proof that even when you reach your lowest point, you can still rise, rebuild, and return to what you love."