PDA

View Full Version : So I was at CGE today...


j_factor
08-21-2005, 03:16 AM
It was awesome.

The first place I went was Oldergames's booth. They had their new game, Frog Feast, on display and for sale for Sega CD and Neo Geo CD. I played it for a little bit; it was very dull and disappointing. Also on display (but sadly not yet for sale) was Beggar Prince. I didn't play it myself, but I watched this guy play it for a while, and it looked pretty damn good. Well done translation, pretty good graphics, nice battle system. According to one of the guys at the booth, the game will be available for sale before Christmas. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Lining the walls of the exhibit hall were various classic arcade games on free play, and several console/tv setups with games. I played lots of Crystal Castles. Damn that's an awesome game. I also watched somebody at the Saturn setup beat the last boss of Radiant Silvergun. I had never seen the final boss before. Needless to say, it was crazy.

Performing in concert was 8-Bit Weapon. They make techno music using melodies from old games, mostly NES but some other stuff too. They put on a great show.

Throughout the day there were a few different panels of guest speakers. Unfortunately I only saw one of them. Noah Falstein focused his speech on his experiences at LucasFilm Games back in the 80s. It was very interesting, and I wish I had seen the other speakers.

In a separate room was the museum, full of really obscure, rare, and interesting things. One table had every single Vectrex product that was made. The Atari 5100 and Sega Neptune were also proudly displayed. Lots of neat stuff there, and almost everything was displayed with a little write-up about it.

In another separate room was the swap meet, where "regular people" (as opposed to paying vendors who had booths in the main exhibition hall) sold and traded their wares. People were selling all kinds of crazy shit, as well as lots of usual shit. I'm really glad I only brought around $180 cash, because I spent it all and would probably have spent hundreds more if I had it on me.

Moby Games had a little booth, and had an "identify the game by the screenshot" game. They were giving away t-shirts to everyone who got at least 15 (out of 50) right. I got 31, which put me tied at second place when I did it, but by the time I left I had been knocked off the top 3.

Messiah had a booth to show off their new Generation NEX system, a sleek console that plays NES/Famicom games with wireless controllers. The system was set to be made available for purchase for the first time at the show, with preordered units there for pickup. Tragically, their stock of systems wasn't there due to some hangup.

The vendors were all really good. I saw some really great stuff for sale, including a Sony CD-i system (yeah, Sony made one too), a jukebox NES with 14 games inside, several Microvision systems, PC-based arcade systems, a full set of Game & Watch units, some weird mods, and just lots and lots of games. The games seemed a bit skewed towards Atari, but I was kind of expecting that. You guys will be happy to know that Genesis was very well represented, moreso than SNES.

There was an auction after the show, which I regrettably missed because I was out of cash. In hindsight I should've gone out to an ATM machine and come back. Maybe it's for the best as it probably would've caused me to spend way too much.

I'll be going back tomorrow. More then.

Drixxel
08-21-2005, 03:23 AM
Sounds like a premium day. What insane goods tempted you out of your $180, j_factor?

EDIT: Nevermind.. the ol' monthly haul thread received your contribution moments after I posted this.

j_factor
08-21-2005, 03:31 AM
You'll be happy to know that I've withdrawn $200 from the bank in preparation for tomorrow.

Melf
08-21-2005, 03:01 PM
Pics man, pics!

Great impressions J. I wish I could have gone, but the money's too tight this year.

Damn, Beggar Prince come out before Christmas? That's too long a wait. I want it now! Was there any other Genesis stuff there? I'm sure we'd all love to read about it. Your impressions of the whole thing would make an awesome article. :)

Drixxel
08-21-2005, 04:00 PM
This would make for a great article indeed. Reading about the madness isn't nearly as cool as being there, but it'll have to do. I'd love to go next year. ..and good luck in your $200 hunt for sweet gaming bounty today! May you find a prototype Genesis cart of STUN Runner.

j_factor
08-22-2005, 03:01 AM
hah.

Today there were a few disappointments. Oldergames closed down their booth ridiculously early, preventing me from getting to actually play Beggar Prince. One of the keynote speeches was canceled; it would've been about Save the Whales, a game that was exclusive to the Gameline service. And just like yesterday, there was always someone on the Q*Bert's Qubes machine, so I never got to play it.

But there were good things too.

A six-man panel of people who worked on home games for Atari in the early 80s gave their insights and answered questions for a good hour and a half. It was really interesting to hear about the industry back in those days, and what these old-timers had to say about the industry today.

I shook Howard Scott Warshaw's hand. I think a little bit of pee came out.

Prices were lowered and some more stuff was brought out. While all the really interesting stuff had already been bought yesterday, the better deals price-wise on more common stuff was today.

I played lots of Crystal Castles and Tapper. I wonder how much full cabs of these go for....

I spent a lot of time rooting through bins and stacks of games for sale. I really miss the days when such an activity was what collecting was all about.

Today the show was shorter and there were less people there, but it had a relaxed atmosphere. It was nice talking with like-minded gamers, playing the games, and just being there. It really is a shame that they're skipping the CGE next year.

Drixxel
08-23-2005, 03:49 PM
I spent a lot of time rooting through bins and stacks of games for sale. I really miss the days when such an activity was what collecting was all about.

There's no feeling like finding exactly what game you've been looking for after sorting through enormous heaps of cartridges. The internet just can't replace that feel, even though it presents you with the utlimate cartridge heap.

Why is the ol' Expo skipping a year?

j_factor
08-24-2005, 03:06 AM
I spent a lot of time rooting through bins and stacks of games for sale. I really miss the days when such an activity was what collecting was all about.

There's no feeling like finding exactly what game you've been looking for after sorting through enormous heaps of cartridges. The internet just can't replace that feel, even though it presents you with the utlimate cartridge heap.

Why is the ol' Expo skipping a year?

Basically, because the organizers have a lot going on, they're stretched thin on time, and they want to make sure they can organize for '07 really well because it'll be the 10th anniversary show. Quoting from the booklet they gave out:

For the past couple of years, Sean has been pretty lacking in time to devote to Classic Gaming Expo but John and Joe have been there to pick-up the slack. This year, even John had to push himself to come up with time to do the planning and Joe was pretty much stretched to his limits. Next year, Joe will likely be unavailable as he intends to be trying to get his new business venture off the ground. If we didn't have Joe this year, frankly, there wouldn't have been a show. This lack of time has also made it harder for us to address some of the issues involving CGE Services Corp. and prevented us from spending enough time securing sponsors and bringing to fruition some of the great things we have planned for CGE.

We have made the decision to not have a CGE 2006. THat's not to say that the show is ending; we merely want to properly plan for our 2007 show, which will be a spectacular 10th anniversary extravanza. The thing that has made this decision a little easier for us to make is the popularity of our exhibit at E3. We're happy to say that we're planning to return to E3 again in 2006.

Drixxel
08-24-2005, 05:30 AM
Looks like I'll damn well be there for the 10th anniversary extravaganza, then. Five bucks says they'll be giving out Sega Neptunes as door prizes.