Classic Gaming Expo 2007

This past weekend Game|Life went to Vegas, to attend the annual Classic Gaming Expo event. They came back with a bevy of tales about the show. The best include a short interview with Pitfall creator David Crane, a look at the classic games museum set up every year at the event, and (of course) glamour shots of dealer swag.

Comments

Midwest Gaming Classic Show

[AKAImBatman]

For those of you in the East or Midwest who can't make it to Vegas for the CGE, I highly recommend hitting the Midwest Gaming Classic Show each year. Over the years it has grown into a bit of a mini-CGE with all the same features of classic vendors, arcade games, a museum with some very interesting pieces, talks given by both industry giants and classic-gaming community leaders, and all kinds of interesting people to talk to about ancient hardware, games, and the business of days gone by.

Unfortunately, the MGC already passed by this year. However, the next show will be in March, so mark your calendars for March 29th and 30th, 2008 in Oconomowoc, WI!

Re:Midwest Gaming Classic Show

[Plugh]

And for those in California, there's the VERY cool CA Extreme show, coming up August 11-12.

What interview?

[Anonymous Coward]

There's nothing about "a short interview" with David Crane, just a couple pictures and a rambling story about how hard it was to get a working copy of Pitfall for the background.

I don't get it.

[Aladrin]

I liked quite a few 'classic games' and have a few favorites still, as any decent geek does. But I don't understand the need to drive/fly a thousand miles to hang out with a bunch of people that want to sell me overpriced original copies of games that existed decades ago that I can PURCHASE through other means on my currently existing equipment at a fraction of the cost.

It's not like anything has changed. You aren't going to learn anything new. You won't suddenly have a new appreciation for Pitfall if you pay $100 for the original cartridge that probably doesn't work and you probably don't have a working console for.

Play the games, have fun. Don't obsess over them.

Re:I don't get it.

[ClosedSource]

I don't think that the expo is primarily geared towards people who just play classic video games. It's a place where old fart video game programmers (like me, although I've never gone) can get together with their old friends and peers and reminisce about the "good old days" and "the crash".

Re:I don't get it.

[AKAImBatman]

You ever play Space Spartans? How about K.C.'s Crazy Chase? Avenger on the Colecovision? Robot Tank? Utopia? Pickaxe Pete? Anything Vectrex?

If you answered "no" to any of those, then there's still plenty for you to learn/buy.

It's not like anything has changed.

Believe it or not, there are new homebrews coming out all the time. These homebrews benefit from 20 years of progress in video game theory, development, and general understanding of the hardware. As a result, some of them are simply incredible to behold. If they were sold on the system back when it was popular, they would have been "killer" titles for the market.

Here are a few places that sell some of the best titles on the market:

* AtariAge - 2600, 5200, 7800 & Coleco
* Pack Rat Video Games - Odyssey^2
* Classic Game Creations - Vectrex, Colecovision, & O^2

Check 'em out. I guarantee that you'll be impressed. :-)

Re:I don't get it.

[iampiti]

I can really confirm this. Many of the new homebrew games developed for the 2600 are comparable to the best commercial games made back in its time.
It probably has to do with having better tools and the internet to share programming tips but what these people do with the venerable machine is incredible.
If you ever had the 2600 go to atariage.com and check the homebrews

Another show, arcade games only

[bitrot42]

CGE is mostly about home consoles (though some folks usually bring some arcade cabinets), but there's a show next-next-weekend called California Extreme that's all about arcades:

http://www.caextreme.org/

(The only thing that is 'extreme' is the nerdiness, but it's a fun show.)

Re:You think Pong is old?

[bitterfun]

You think chess is old, I play Go. Now that's the ultimate classic.

Silly drunks playing Pacman

[zussal]

I got hiscore I got hiscore!!! na nana nana na

Re:You think Pong is old?

[Prien715]

See if there's a board games meetup group in your area (meetup.com). I live in Houston TX and there's a fairly good amount of activities to be had on a weekly basis (played Robo something-or-other and a very similar game to Puerto Rico (you build a communal castle and other players can use your buildings with their workers -- but this gives you a small amount of production as well) last Sunday -- very fun).

If you're ever in the area, I also do an occasional casual board games night at my apt with some friends.