As for the rest of the Midwest Gaming Classic, outside of the exhibit hall:
2008 marked the return of more arcade and pinball machines, which were setup rather well, and got lots of play time. I actually had some time to play this year, partly due to the area being open after hours for vendors and exhibitors (thanks Dan and Gary). First time I've had to play some good pinball in years, and it was a very fun experience.
As in prior years, I did not get a chance to see any of the speakers, which I always find a bit sad. Guess it is the price for running my own area. I did catch some snipets of some speakers, but not enough to make any comments on them.
I also did not see any of the tournaments that go on at the show. Maybe some day, but not for 2008 again. I heard that most of them where rather fun, and I did get a peak at the GH III tournament, which looked like lots of fun. Oh, and I did experience the Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament to a point, just because it was right next to my area, and actually caused a few problems for me (which were luckily resolved by Sunday evening).
The Vending area for the 2008 MGC show was rather good, even through I didn't buy much. It was nice to see a more even selection of games and systems this year. There was a lack of homebrew sellers though, which I heard enough about in my own area. Hopefully Atariage or Packrat will return for 2009! Other than that, it was nice to see some familiar faces, along with new vendors as well. In all, it was fun walking through the area, and seeing all the cool gaming goodness!
I'm sure there are a few other things I'm passing over, like Team Fremont, but I normally don't get a chance to see everything at these shows. Again, the price I pay for running a popular area of the show. In that regards, it was very cool that I ended up in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel paper, with the Underdog Chamber being listed as the 4th best thing to see at the show (thanks for Dan for pointing out this article). My brother-in-law Greg and myself ended up on the Channel 6 news Sunday night that weekend as well. Just some quick clips, but it is so cool to see myself on TV!
That is is for my short summary of the MGC '08 show. I would have to say that this was definately the best year so far for this yearly show. Slightly better than 2007, I can only see the show getting better, inch-by-inch every year. And that is fine with me!
Now all I need to get around to in the UC recap and finally posting some pictures of the show (better later, than never). Archive for April 23rd, 2008
Midwest Gaming Classic ’08 recap
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
Unlike last year, I actually got to see more of the MGC '08 show, thanks in part to the opening of the exhibit area one hour later than the rest of the show. That aside, the Underdog Chamber (even being downsized a bit from last year), did incredibly well. At times, it was doing so well, that we actually had some crowd control issues! But, as I've done for the last few years now, I will dispense my own opinion on the show and its various parts (and as always, these comments are my own, deal with them as you will).
Events:
Classic Gaming and Computing Museum - Marty and J.D. (and company) did a rather marvelous job for 2008. There were more systems up and running that I can ever recall for the MGC show, which I thought was just great. Plus it is always fun working along with Marty and J.D. anyway (they are some great guys). I also got to see some cool new (but actually old) stuff again, thanks to Marty.
Atari Jaguar Festival - Downsized from '07, the Jaquar and Nuon systems where part of my area this year (or at least tagged onto it). It received a decent amount of attention, but I'll have to admit that I think Jagfest should be eliminated from future shows. I'm not saying the Jaguar and Nuon systems show go away, but rather become part of the museum or even the Uderdog Chamber, as Jagfest just is not the draw that it once was (and I say this with some sadness).
Tom L's area (which still needs a name - darnit), was again next to the UC area. Tom had expanded for 2008, with flat-screen LCD displays for all of his Nintendo systems. A very popular area of the exhibit hall, as it is every year. Tom also had his huge Lynx collection on display, along with Game Gear games as well.
DS WiFi Play Area - I have to admit that I did not get a chance to play in this area, so I really can't comment on it. Sorry.
Mini Commodore Expo - This group from Chicago had a small display on Saturday only, but it was cool to see what they had. I really hope they expand more in future years, as the commodore systems have some great games.
TurboFest - A nice setup in the exhibit hall, showing off some of the NEC systems. However, much smaller than it was in 2007, which I found disappointing.
Underdog Chamber - As with last year, Quake did really good in 2008, even with a few extra system crashes (good old OS 9). The five console systems I had on display did rather well too, and I was rather surprised by the amount of attention that the Vectrex got this year (it was almost ignored back in 2006). I'll be posting a recap of my area seperate from the MGC recap.
As for the rest of the Midwest Gaming Classic, outside of the exhibit hall:
2008 marked the return of more arcade and pinball machines, which were setup rather well, and got lots of play time. I actually had some time to play this year, partly due to the area being open after hours for vendors and exhibitors (thanks Dan and Gary). First time I've had to play some good pinball in years, and it was a very fun experience.
As in prior years, I did not get a chance to see any of the speakers, which I always find a bit sad. Guess it is the price for running my own area. I did catch some snipets of some speakers, but not enough to make any comments on them.
I also did not see any of the tournaments that go on at the show. Maybe some day, but not for 2008 again. I heard that most of them where rather fun, and I did get a peak at the GH III tournament, which looked like lots of fun. Oh, and I did experience the Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament to a point, just because it was right next to my area, and actually caused a few problems for me (which were luckily resolved by Sunday evening).
The Vending area for the 2008 MGC show was rather good, even through I didn't buy much. It was nice to see a more even selection of games and systems this year. There was a lack of homebrew sellers though, which I heard enough about in my own area. Hopefully Atariage or Packrat will return for 2009! Other than that, it was nice to see some familiar faces, along with new vendors as well. In all, it was fun walking through the area, and seeing all the cool gaming goodness!
I'm sure there are a few other things I'm passing over, like Team Fremont, but I normally don't get a chance to see everything at these shows. Again, the price I pay for running a popular area of the show. In that regards, it was very cool that I ended up in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel paper, with the Underdog Chamber being listed as the 4th best thing to see at the show (thanks for Dan for pointing out this article). My brother-in-law Greg and myself ended up on the Channel 6 news Sunday night that weekend as well. Just some quick clips, but it is so cool to see myself on TV!
That is is for my short summary of the MGC '08 show. I would have to say that this was definately the best year so far for this yearly show. Slightly better than 2007, I can only see the show getting better, inch-by-inch every year. And that is fine with me!
Now all I need to get around to in the UC recap and finally posting some pictures of the show (better later, than never).
As for the rest of the Midwest Gaming Classic, outside of the exhibit hall:
2008 marked the return of more arcade and pinball machines, which were setup rather well, and got lots of play time. I actually had some time to play this year, partly due to the area being open after hours for vendors and exhibitors (thanks Dan and Gary). First time I've had to play some good pinball in years, and it was a very fun experience.
As in prior years, I did not get a chance to see any of the speakers, which I always find a bit sad. Guess it is the price for running my own area. I did catch some snipets of some speakers, but not enough to make any comments on them.
I also did not see any of the tournaments that go on at the show. Maybe some day, but not for 2008 again. I heard that most of them where rather fun, and I did get a peak at the GH III tournament, which looked like lots of fun. Oh, and I did experience the Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament to a point, just because it was right next to my area, and actually caused a few problems for me (which were luckily resolved by Sunday evening).
The Vending area for the 2008 MGC show was rather good, even through I didn't buy much. It was nice to see a more even selection of games and systems this year. There was a lack of homebrew sellers though, which I heard enough about in my own area. Hopefully Atariage or Packrat will return for 2009! Other than that, it was nice to see some familiar faces, along with new vendors as well. In all, it was fun walking through the area, and seeing all the cool gaming goodness!
I'm sure there are a few other things I'm passing over, like Team Fremont, but I normally don't get a chance to see everything at these shows. Again, the price I pay for running a popular area of the show. In that regards, it was very cool that I ended up in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel paper, with the Underdog Chamber being listed as the 4th best thing to see at the show (thanks for Dan for pointing out this article). My brother-in-law Greg and myself ended up on the Channel 6 news Sunday night that weekend as well. Just some quick clips, but it is so cool to see myself on TV!
That is is for my short summary of the MGC '08 show. I would have to say that this was definately the best year so far for this yearly show. Slightly better than 2007, I can only see the show getting better, inch-by-inch every year. And that is fine with me!
Now all I need to get around to in the UC recap and finally posting some pictures of the show (better later, than never).