Starring The Vancouver Retro Game Expo…
I’ve been going to the Vancouver Retro Game Expo since it began in 2012. It’s an important hub for the retro gaming community here, and it’s the main reason that I began collecting retro games. I have a friend who is trying to collect every Nintendo Entertainment System game. He’s maybe 30 games away (and has reproduction cartridges for those few multi-thousand dollar, basically unobtainable games). I joined him for Vancouver’s first Retro Gaming Expo, and enjoyed all the sights and sounds, but wasn’t really intending on buying anything until I saw a copy of Tomba! for the original PlayStation. I had totally forgotten that Tomba! existed, and was immediately overcome with massive waves of nostalgia. I had to have it! It was $80, but I had to have it! I managed to haggle myself a free copy of X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse to go with it, and because of this transaction a monster was born.
I started researching old games I’d forgotten about, and started snatching up all the SNES and PS1 RPGs, adventure games, and platformers I could get my hands on. I’ve chilled out a lot, but still have a pretty handsome game collection. The retro gaming community exists online, at local retro game shops, and really culminates in the Retro Game Expo every year. It helps the community to remember our love and passion for the games we grew up with, and gets away from the grumpiness surrounding price hikes of hidden gems.
Chances are most folks out there haven’t been to one of these expos. Most of the staff at COGconnected certainly haven’t, but I feel like most of them would want to. It’ll likely require some research to find out what’s happening in your area, but I hope this article will shed some light on what you can expect if you go to one of these events.
So let’s go on a retro gaming journey with our top 5 reasons to hit up your local retro game expo…