2 – The Gaming Tournaments
There’s just a massive room set up of free to play games, and tournaments running all day for the casual and hardcore.
Tournaments included (and this is not counting all the games that were just set up to play at any time):
- Super Smash Bros.
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Tetris
- Dr. Mario
- Super Street Fighter II
- Super Mario Kart
- Mario Kart 64
- Mario Kart Double Dash
- Rampart
- Toobin’
- Goldeneye
- Bomberman
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
- Dead Or Alive
- Soul Calibur II (GameCube version)
- Tekken 2
- Bust-A-Move
- Halo
- Joust
- Duck Hunt
- Killer Instinct
- F-Zero GX
- Bushido Blade
- Pokemon Red/ Blue/ Yellow
- Marathon
- Quake III Arena
- Starcraft
1 – The Game Shopping!
The core of going to these expos, is to shop for, and find, awesome retro games! There is always a zone featuring tons of local and not-so-local dealers, and there can be magic to be found!
For those who might just happen to be in the Vancouver area and would like some advice about where to go (check out eBay, Craigslist, and lukiegames.com online), my usual haunts are:
https://www.facebook.com/PressstartBC/
But there are lots of others, including:
http://darksidegamesonline.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Games-R-Us-212000708852384/
And one of the guys who used to run Mostly Music has newly set up his own business. Right now it’s out of his house, but he’s likely going to have a store set up in Coquitlam soon. But Retro Games & Collectibles is the business, Todd is the guy to talk to, and he can be emailed at Wood317@hotmail.com.
And finally, if you’re wondering what my pick-ups were…
There are lots of other things to experience at these expos: trivia tournaments, cosplay, art, collectible shopping, live music, DJs, burlesque shows, etc. but the one other thing I really want to emphasize is the sense of community, and shared love. I can’t tell you how many great, passionate, fun conversations I got to have with random folks roaming the land. So whether you’re an adult bringing a child, a child bringing an adult, or someone who just wants to remember your childhood, give your local retro gaming expo a check-out.
Thanks for reading, and hopefully I’ll see you next year.
For more retro gaming coverage, keep it locked to COGconnected.