Photos & Video Of Retro Arcade Expo / "con"

[telegramguy]

Video (be sure to enable "Watch in high quality" on youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDxjRs7J06Q

Some photos:

 

[TaG]

Thanks. What an expo!

Hope you didn't spend the whole time behind the camera.

 

[telegramguy]

Heh, I spent probably a little more than half the time I was there behind the camera although that's a lot of fun for me. Shooting in those lighting conditions was fun.

I tried to play as many games that I couldn't play on my home mame cab or ones that couldn't be emulated well like the Star Wars Trilogy, etc.

Funny how even though over two decades have passed, you still manage to see new games you've never even heard of before. ...like has anyone actually played Timber before?

 

[iprice]

Excellent stuffage, but why isn't the StormTrooper playing StarWars?

 

[telegramguy]

Excellent stuffage, but why isn't the StormTrooper playing StarWars?

Here they are documented by another camera. If they saw you playing the trilogy or original star wars game, sometimes they'd come by and harass you for using "rebel training material".

 

[iprice]

That's better

 

[Prophet]

Oh my...

I still drool inside over stuff like that.

 

[slaanesh]

This reminds me of the Game On expo that Melbourne had earlier this year. They had an excellent arcade section that was made to look like an 80's arcade. Man, I miss the arcades of the 80s and early 90s.
I can't stand Internet Cafes, which I guess are the modern equivalent. Blah.

I wonder if there would be any business desire for an 80s style arcade again in Australia? Would people go?

 

[Prophet]

Man, I miss the arcades of the 80s and early 90s.
I can't stand Internet Cafes, which I guess are the modern equivalent. Blah.

Yeah. Internet cafes are blah to me too.

The 80's/90's arcades provided experiences you couldn't get at home. You knew you'd be seeing the cutting edge of hardware and graphics, and also the newest game concepts. Especially in the 80's, when videogames were so fresh and new, and genres were still being defined and invented all over the place. After the 32bit era came along, the lines started to blur heavily, and by the next generation of home hardware, arcades simply weren't what they once were anymore.

Sad to think younger generations will never really have an idea of what it was like back then. I remember when there were arcade cabinets outside of nearly every candy store and pizza shop... I used to get such a rush as a kid seeing new games and finding favorites in new places. Ah the good old days.

 

[telegramguy]

This reminds me of the Game On expo that Melbourne had earlier this year. They had an excellent arcade section that was made to look like an 80's arcade. Man, I miss the arcades of the 80s and early 90s.
I can't stand Internet Cafes, which I guess are the modern equivalent. Blah.

I wonder if there would be any business desire for an 80s style arcade again in Australia? Would people go?

Here in the US, there are a few arcade game rooms left in some malls near the food courts just like back in the 80's. I don't know how they make enough money from the games to pay rent and electricity as many of the games are still 25 cents. Take the Houston Galleria... a relatively upscale mall with high rent cost.

Also in the US typically in major cities, you have a few Dave and Busters and Gillians. They're like a combo of sports bar, pool hall, and arcade combined. Those guys make a killing but not from the games but from alcohol.

How about a 80's diner / arcade like in Back to the Future part 2?