[stella] CGE '99 A Classic Games Enthusiasts View

Subject: [stella] CGE '99 A Classic Games Enthusiasts View
From: Lee Krueger <resqsoft@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 16:36:33 -0800
Hi guys. I just got back last night from CGE '99. Here is  a little
report I did for those of you who missed it.


*****************
CGE '99 A Classic Games Enthusiasts View
By Lee Krueger

I attended the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas over the last weekend. I
went as an enthusiasts with no agenda other than hoping to have an
enjoyable time. I arrived Thursday night, arriving from Seattle on a
internet airfare special that I booked in advance. I think it cost me
$52 each way (excluding airport taxes and such). I stayed, like most at
the Plaza Hotel, sharing a room with a classic gaming friend (Rob
Brown), and my costs was $89 for the room from Thursday night thru
Sunday night. When you add the $27 I spent for the admission ticket to
the show, I think I invested a total of $220 (excluding food and
entertainment) to attend the CGE show. Below is summary of what I got
for my money.

On friday I woke up late (well late for me as I usually get up at 5:00
a.m. every morning to go to work). I did notice the Plaza hotel seemed a
little dated and was obviously an older establishment in Vegas. However,
the accommodations were much better than I had just experienced a couple
of days before. I had just arrived back from an expedition in Northern
British Columbia where I spent every night in a tent swapping away
mosquitoes and horse flies for more than a week. On our way out to
breakfast Rob and I met up with the organizers (Sean, John, et. al.) in
the elevator. We followed them to the exhibit hall where we were
immediately recruited by Kieta as volunteers to help unload the trucks
and setup. We gladly accepted the task as we were not planing on doing
much else that day except maybe sight see. As both, Rob and myself, are
from a much cooler and wetter climate in Seattle we didn't care to see
the smoke infested casinos and shows in 90+ degree heat.  In any event,
we!
 got to see the displays and meet many folks who would be rather busy
over the weekend during the show. Additionally, I was able to meet Ken
(his last name eludes me) who was with B&C Computers. Like me, Ken is an
Aerospace engineer from the McDonnell Douglas division in Long Beach. He
had worked on many airplanes throughout his career before retiring a few
years ago. As I work for Boeing (which recently bought out McD), it was
fascinating to hear and swap some of our stories and experiences at a
professional level. Something I rarely get to do outside of my work
environment. In any event, after everything was basically set up, we
were able look over the place, play a few video arcade games and chat
with more enthusiasts, including a one-on-one chat with Don Thomas in
regards to the last days of Atari and the Jaguar. It was NEAT.

On saturday, Rob and I arrived early to register and get in line for the
show. The nice part about this was the fact that since this was idle
time, I was able to meet and chat with many folks that I have emailed,
traded with and seen around on the newsgroups. It was very nice to put
faces to the names of the folks whom I have come to know as my virtual
gaming friends on the net. Unlike World of Atari, which I attended last,
there seemed to be less urgency or a rush for everyone to get in the
door when the doors opened. I think this situation was helped by the
fact that many show exclusive items were not for sale right away, such
as Eric Bacher's games (Pesco and Merlin's Walls). Maybe it was me, but
I seemed much more relaxed. I made it a point to quickly go around to
everyone's booth before the 1st presentation to scan and purchase any
items that I may want before they were gone. I was a little taken back
by Hasbro's booth, whom I expected to have a large presence at the show!

, was not that impressive. On the contrary however, as I came in the
door, I was immediately impressed with the booth that the Blue Sky
Rangers put up. It was very impressive and distinct. Kudos to those
folks. I didn't really get a chance to complete my rounds before the 1st
keynote presentation, however, I knew I'd be back.

There was a collectors swap meet in which one lucky collector (a friend
of mine from Redmond)  was able to pick up a Video Life cart for FIVE
BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was able to solidify a trade deal with that good
chap Marco Kerstens and I filled a couple of holes in my collection,
including Fathom for the Intellivision. All-in-all however, I did not
like the room or the setup for the swap meet. I wish there could have
been more tables for people to display their wares. It was tough moving
about without accidently stepping on someone's stuff.

I really enjoyed the keynote presentations that I was able to see. They
were varied and frequent. In fact, they were so frequent that I was
unable to attend all of them, so I was forced to choose which ones were
most important to me. I was able to attend and see the following, either
in part or in completeness.

Vectrex Guys (Group Speech)
Atari 2600 Programmers/Designers (Group Speech)
Blue Sky Rangers (Group Speech)
Imagic Guys (Group Speech)
Activision Guys (Group Speech)
Ralph Baer
John Harris

I found all these very interesting and informative. My only complaint
about the presentations was not with the content, but rather with the
room in which they were held. The room was only large enough to seat
about 120 people. As a result, some of the keynote presentations were a
little crowded. Seating for up to 50 more would have been more
comfortable for everyone.

At the closing of the show on Sunday, the CGE staff began tossing
hundreds of games on to the show floor for $0.50 each. Most were common
games, however, there were some pretty decent ones and I was able to get
a few shrinkwrapped titles for my personal collection. The whole thing
looked like a feeding frenzy of pirhanas and sharks. My hand got stepped
on several times. At one point I almost broke my ankle as someone
stepped on it.

On another high point, I did get to meet a couple of folks from
Electronic Playground (a TV magizine of sorts dedicated to videogames in
Vancouver B.C..). Hopefully, they will work something out to send a
broadcast to the states, oe at the very least, in Seattle.

Of the booths that I visited, the ones that most impressed me during the
show were as follows (No particular order):

Blue Sky Rangers-
They had the best presentation of all the dealers. Very professional
setup along with demos and games of unreleased prototypes. My favorite
of which was the Sea Duel game for the 2600. Also shown were Rocky &
BullWinkle (2600), Masters Of The Universe (Colecovision), Yogi's
Frustration and a couple of others. They also previewed the upcoming
compilation Intellivision Lives for the Playstation which appeared to
play much better than the Activison Classics. Best of all, they gave out
neat prizes, T-shirts and hats.

B&C Computers-
They had some cool Jag and Lynx stuff which I couldn't resist buying. I
really enjoy talking to Bruce when he had time.

Songbird Productions-
Carl Forhan had demos of Skyhammer and Protector up and running for the
Jaguar. Protector looks pretty cool (When can we get that damn
encryption code released!). I also picked up his creations for the Lynx
and played Cyber Virus, the unreleased game Lynx title from Beyond
Games.

CyberPunks -
I talked briefly with these guys and picked up the Stella at 20 video. I
am still not sure what their intentions are in regards to the 2600,
however, the Stella @ 20 video is very well done, save for the
soundtrack (very cool logo though). I sorely missed seeing Russ Perry
Jr. as I was hoping to meet him there.

Nyko-
Hey, I really like Dan Kramer. Dan works for them as a counsultant on
the PSX trackball. Dan was the creatoe of the Atari 5200 trackball (
areal piece of work). I forgot to get one of his T-Shirts though.

Hasbro-
Saw previews of Missile Command, Q*Bert and Pong. The booth wasn't
impressive, but if you previewed their games you got a free Atari
Classic compilation disk for your PC (no Mac version unfortunately).

Telegames-
The best part of this was the fact that you could buy without the
typical S&H fees. However, they charged upwards of $300 for both, the TG
Express and the TG Duo. Too expensive for my tastes. They also had 2 new
Lynx games for sale, Hyperdrome and Sokomania. In addition they had Yars
Revenge for $19.95 for the Gameboy color. Very good translation. I
played this on the plane home.

Once Upon Atari -
Yars truly, Howard Scott Warshaw.... need I say more. Yeah, I bought his
video and he signed my carts.

Digital Press/Rolenta Press-
Got to meet Joe Santuli finally. I also got to meet and chat with
Leonard Herman as well. Although I am a subscriber to the Digital Press
and I have a copy of Leonard's book, it was still cool to hang with
these two genlemen. I think Leonard had his book for an incredibly low
price of $12. Oh yeah.... they also had a sign up sheet for folks to get
information on the next edition of Worship The Woodgrain.


Hits:
Eric Bacher's version of 2600 Pac-Man. It kicks butt!!!!!!!  Too bad he
won't release it :-(
Getting to meet and talk with the programmers in a one-on-one situation.

Getting David Rolf's signature on my Beamrider cart.
Getting David Crane's signature on my Pitfall carts.
The Unreleased Protos from Blue Sky Rangers.
Talking with Dave Polaro at the airport on the way home.
Meeting and chatting with Ralph Baer.

Misses:
Not enough attendees.
Not enough vendors.
I hate to say it... no Nolan.
No Curt Vendel.
No Jerry Jessop.

Things I missed on my visit:
The Mustang Ranch's 2 for 1 going out of business sale :-)
A good night's sleep.

When I tally it it all up... I had a great time for my money. Your
mileage may vary of course.
Lee Krueger

--
ResQsoft - Check out the Atari 2600 CD Compilation for play on your
Supercharger: <http://home.earthlink.net/~resqsoft/wtw.htm>
ResQsoft : <http://home.earthlink.net/~resqsoft>

"No Atari; no fun" <==> "Know Atari; know fun" /|\
__________________________________________________________________
"Save the Whales; Buy the whole set"
"On the other hand; you have different fingers"
"God, Please protect me from your followers."



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