Official CGE 2K7 Impressions Thread

[digitalpress]

I've go so much to talk about and will fill this space later with my personal musings and blog entries as I get them in writing. To summarize in advance, CGE 2K7 will forever be remembered by me as "The Longshot CGE".

I talked to so many of you at the show - I'd really like to read your personal impressions of CGE 2K7. Post 'em here!

[captain nintendo]

The show was great! I really wish I would have found more items to buy, but there just wasn't too many items that I needed.

For me, going to CGE was about meeting people. I met several NES collectors (you know who you are), and basically stuck around them for the whole weekend. I really enjoyed putting faces to the names I've seen around here for all these years.

The Auction was fun, and the DP after party was a blast!

Thanks to everybody who was inovolved! It was a pleasure meeting and talking to you all. (organizers and people who attended)

For me, I supposed I'd call this CGE "The road to networking"

Me and tynstar drove to Vegas, and I met a lot of interesting people.



(I was the guy wearing the yellow Lakers jersey on Saturday)

[BydoEmpire]

This was my first time going to CGE, and it blew away my expectations. The people were friendly and fun, the panels were all awesome, and somehow - amazingly - I managed to even stay within my budget! Highlights for me were the auction and the Retrotopia party at the pinball museum (I actually went twice on Saturday - before and after the auction). The Pinball Museum will be a mandatory stop for me whenever I'm in Vegas.

I was a little surprised how much stuff the vendors had, and generally what good prices there were (compared to Flea World, which is pretty much all there is around here). Next year I'll definitely save up more money.

I had a ton of fun. Definitely looking forward to CGE '08. =)

Oh, and many many thanks to Joe, John, Sean and all the CGE volunteers, and the vendors and speakers. All your hard work was VERY much appreciated.

[DreamTR]

I've been to every CGE, and they are always as good and better than advertised. THis was definitely my favorite one, but I was selling so much stuff I had very little time to wander around =/

Glad I got to meet a bunch of new people and see Joe, Sean, and John once again. These guys work their asses off to get this show up for everyone, and it's greatly appreciated......

[ArcadEd]

I will be doing a write-up for Gameroom magazine about my experience as a vendor (Arcade-In-A-Box). For the most part is very positive, I'm just not sure it was the best show for me to attend if I only go to one a year. Though there was a lot of very positive things said about our systems, we felt more like entertainment for most of the show. Not saying that's a bad thing at all, I guess I was just hoping for a little more media presence. Maybe there was plenty, they just never made it to our booth.

It was great to hear all the positive things and how many people knew about our products before the show by visiting our website. Plus, Walter Day being very impressed with our systems just made the whole show for me ;)

All and all I think CGE was a great show, and I will probably attend again, just maybe not with a booth :).

Oh, and the stuff David does over at Custom Portables was just awesome.

One last note, I think the Riviera needs to go. There was just nothing around that hotel to really enjoy vegas. After each show, the last thing we wanted to do was walk miles or drive around vegas to see some of the other hotels. My 2 cents on that.

[blissfulnoise]

My wife and I had a fantastic time both Friday night and on Saturday (didn't make it to the show floor on Sunday, got a wicked sunburn for my trouble).

We met all sorts of great people in both the industry and the cool folks who post here! I spent a chunk of change on a ton of games; but the auction was totally out of control! It was great watching the bidding wars for the high dollar items and the Mayhem/Vectrexer duel was worth the price of admission alone. I only wish I had brought more money to get a shot at the StarCon proto. I really hope that the big winner things about making it available; I'm a huge fan of that franchise and would LOVE to see what Accolade did with it.

We were lucky enough to go to the Friday night dinner and it was amazing and the folks at Intellivision (especially Dave Warhol and Melissa, their PR person) are awesome people to hang out with. Their booth was fun too; Keith even had his computer attachment hooked up and running for anyone who wanted to check it out.

The museum had a ton of very cool items; a big thanks to all the contributors to that section, it was an awesome spread. I'd really have liked more kiosk/demo like stations for the more obscure stuff though. Seeing is one thing, but playing is fantastic. The Vectrex section was awe inspiring and finally inspired me to pick up one for myself at the show. Getting it through airport security and onto the plane was a challenge, but it was worth it. Thanks to Joe for supplying the stack of games, too (not to mention the awesome multi-cart!).

2600.com had some very cool releases. NERDs and The Last Ninja both were very fun to play. I did get a chance to point out a small glitch in The Last Ninja to the programmer (you can't kill MOBs when they're in the doorways). Retrozone's NWC Repro and Sudoku home carts were great. I managed to snag one of the gold numbered carts and the production value is top notch.

8-bit Weapon sounded fantastic and had a very fun set that too many people seemed to gloss over. Seth was a very cool person to talk to. I hope they had a good time at the show.

The only gripe I have was the location. This was my first CGE so I don't know what it was like off the strip or in Cali, but my experience with the Riveria was pretty dumpy. The restraunts were poor and the layout was bizzare. The convention area was nice enough, but mainly because it was so secluded from the rest of the hotel. As a positive, the alumni dinner location was quite nice though. With as much money as the CGE Edition of Pitcher's Duel went for, I hope that DP can move to a cooler locale down the strip next time! :D

Thanks for a great time everyone! Every forum member I spoke with was very cool; it's proof positive that we have a great community of people around here. Here's to 2009!

[rolenta]

While I thought the Plaza was a better location I had no qualms with the Riviera. Any further south on the strip would have raised the prices for both vendors and visitors substantially. Any way, if anyone wanted to go anywhere else on the strip all they had to do was board the Deuce. It's only $2 for a one way trip and $5 for a 24-hour pass.

John, Sean, and Joe: another show well done!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

As usual, I had a blast this year. (I was the guy who kept tripping everyone up with the two camera tripods.) Though it's off-limits to most attendees, the alumni dinner is a key part of the CGE experience for me - I've been to CGE three times, and to the dinner twice, so maybe I'm a little biased, but it's absolutely the best venue for just sitting and talking to the guys who created all this stuff that we all love so much. The panels let you ask questions and get them answered; the dinner, or seeing these folks out on the floor and chatting them up, lets you have actual conversations and get to know them as people.

The panel discussions were awesome. Jay Smith was someone I would've happily listened to for hours. Not only did he create the Vectrex, but he worked on propulsion systems for the Apollo lunar module. I was just burning to ask him some space program questions after that revelation, but I thought I'd spare the crowd that wanted to hear about Vectrex!

The "future of video game journalism" panel with Chris Koehler and Bill Kunkel was fascinating. I had no end of questions I wanted to put to them, and by the end of that panel, I was convinced that we need more "discussion topic" panels like this in the future - maybe stuff like "Was the crash inevitable?" and "Is casual gaming really bringing back the classics?" (since you have folks who are now programming little Flash games, cell phone games, etc.), and so on. Just a thought.

At the "History of CGE" story, I so wanted to take the floor and tell everyone my Plaza story, but it's their panel, not my stand-up comedy routine (anyone who's ever talked CGE with me knows this story). On the subject of hotels, I was okay with the Riviera's convoluted layout after I got used to it, but I was having a hard time dealing with it because I'm still hobbling around after the famous "mutant toes" incident. The 'Riv' ain't that bad, though I was shocked at the sardine-can size of some of the rooms other than mine.

Being behind the cameras cut down on my social-interaction time pretty drastically, but I enjoyed what time I got to spend with forum friends and others. People I met in person this year who I'd never seen before included Tynstar, Captain Nintendo, Sothy and Stonic. Meeting Sothy was a blast, because his laid-back, let's-go-get-a-beer approach to, well, everything now makes his forum persona about 10 times funnier. As for Stonic, if there's one person who is an unsung hero of CGE, he's it. He offered to help me out any way he could when I was shooting video, pointed me toward the skybox so I could get some cool shots, and basically got me everywhere I needed to go. Sunday morning I went to the floor early and he's picking up trash from the main show floor. I offered to help and he just wouldn't let me do it. This is somebody who does everything he can both big and small to help the show out, and I for one give him a big round of applause. He was also instrumental in getting me out to Vegas to do the videotaping for this year's show, for which I can't thank him enough.

The auction was a riot. Getting back to videotaping, I told everyone this repeatedly so many times that I wish I'd had a T-shirt made: I was here this year primarily to document CGE 2K7 for a DVD release, and I think the auction will be a real highlight of that. I tried to shoot it like a live sporting event, and when you've got stuff like the rapid volley of bids between two guys on Vectrex stuff for inconceivably massive amounts of money, that makes my job so much easier and the end result so much more exciting. I'm looking forward to putting that together.

I completely missed the DP and Retrotopia parties because Saturday, between the show itself and the auction, was about a 12-hour day of me being on my (already aching) feet. I went to my room to change, but the moment I got off my feet, I called a couple of people and made my apologies - I knew I wasn't going to be getting on those feet again that night. Still, Flack and Ubikuberalles and I visited the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum after the show closed on Sunday, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I've now officially played (and totally blew at) Doctor Who pinball! They also had a working upright Crazy Climber and a Tron machine, both of which I played (with some kickass moves I might add) until Flack and Ubik chloroformed me and dragged me outta there because they wanted to rest.

I paid an ever-so-brief visit to Star Trek: The Experience on Sunday too, where Flack and I had some grub. I'll say this - the Cardassian Fish & Chips are appropriately named, because they were torturing me for the rest of the night. Ugh. I seldom leave food on a plate, but that one had to go back to the replicator.

I was heartbroken to auction off my Starcon proto, but I believe it's in the best possible hands now (and I'm certainly appreciative of the money). I came to Vegas with a very meager amount of spending money, an amount that most people were spending hourly, but once I informed Mrs. PDF of the big auction action, she gave me the go-ahead to spend a little bit of it on some games if I found anything I liked. I found way too much that I liked, actually! But I kept it to a dull roar, came home with all of the auction funds intact, and brought home INTV Dig Dug and Pole Position, GBC Dragon's Lair, and other goodies, including the 8 Bit Weapon and related CDs for this year as well as the Face of Boe. (You never know when he's going to show up.) Monday after I checked out of my room, I hung out with Flack and Retroyoungen and then Flack gave me a lift to the airport, where I sat for hours and hours as my flight was delayed again and again. I got home at about 3am on Tuesday morning.

The museum rocked this year. I mean, the Brown Box? Shoot, you're done right there. The oldest trilobyte you can possibly find in this hobby. And what was that little LCD screen Pong thing? I didn't see a placard describing it. I contributed a few things to this year's museum, which made me happy - kinda neat to know others are getting a kick out of seeing some of my stuff in there. (C'mon, who else did ya think was gonna bring a bunch of boxed Odyssey2 imports?)

I'm not sure I understand how this was the "long shot" CGE - the only long shot I can think of is if someone's foolish enough to bet against me enjoying the hell out of it.

Oh, about the DVD: it'll be a 3 disc set at least, and I'm aiming for Christmas. I shot 23 hours of footage from two cameras, and covered every keynote panel and the auction. I'm going to start editing Right Nowish. Watch the cgexpo.com site and the DP forums for more info. No, we don't know how much it'll cost yet.

[LucidDefender]

This was my first CGE ever, so I'm sure there was no way I could have been disapointed. I didn't even book my flight and hotel reservations until a week before the show; I just said to myself, what the hell, I can't miss out on this and what if it's the last one?

So I booked myself a couple of red-eye flights, three nights are the Riveria, and thanks to my very cool boss, he gave me the time off with barely any notice.

My favorite part of CGE was putting all the handles to faces. Seeing the legendary prototype collector DreamTR, the insane Vextrexor, Retroyounger, Sniiderman, and many other fellows I hadn't seen before. Everyone was friendly, deals were made of course, and the alumni were great to talk to. I spent a large portion of time over at the Intellivision booth speaking to Keith and Dave. It was amazing to meet two guys behind one of my all time favorite consoles and games.

The auction, my god, I had heard stores, but nothing prepared me me for the excitement it contained. Having a model showcase the items was a nice tough, John Hardie's beer induced antics were great, and the bidding was absolutly nuts. I'm glad so much money went to charity and a decent amount to CGE; I do feel for Nick though, two mystery boxes of crap, and the other two being phenominal! :)

Anyway, it was a great time, everyone made me feel at home even though I'm not a "core" DP member. I'm hoping there will be a CGE next year and that scrimble can accompany me.

The only bummer of the whole trip was both of my luggage cases were lost on my connecting flight :( The airport bag station said they'd be sent to my house today, but we'll see. I have every items I purchased for myself and others in there, a long with a ton of my clothes as I tend to WAY overpack.

Thanks for the great show Joe, John, Sean and everyone else!

[dojosky]

This CGE was GREAT !!!! it was my 3rd one ! wish I had went to every CGE's in the past ...

Funny thing is when I first arrived at Riviera it looked GREAT but the Manager at the hotel desk wasn't too friendly ! :( plus I had to wait 2 hours for a bellman to help me with carrying my stuff etc ... so I got mad at the manager demanded some kind of discounts or refund that manager REFUSED... so I stayed COOL... finally found a nice cool bellman who would help me so its finally taken care of ...

the hotel room was very NICE ... but the show and everything else CGE related was a BLAST ! already looking forward to the next CGE !!!!

Many Thanks and KUDOS to Joe, Sean and John and Larry and many others who helped with CGE !!!!!!!!!!! you guys rock keep it up and see ya again soon .

[j_factor]

This was my second CGE, and the first one that I had to travel for (2K5 was just a BART ride away). I have to say, the extra expense of flying and hotel was completely worth it. Everything was great. The exhibitors, the museum, the panels, the people, the DP party, everything. Kudos to everyone who made it all happen.

It's too bad (for me, anyway) that it won't be back in California, but I can see why other people prefer Vegas. I personally thought that the place in Burlingame was great. Oh well. Hopefully I'll be able to go again next year.

[Boboduo]

This was my 5th CGE- and I had a great time.
It was cool seeing all the new releases, couldn't buy 'em all- spent
too much money in the swap room at Dojosky's and Promo guys
tables. This was my first year selling in the swap room- what a blast-
sold a few TG16 games. Will have to bring more games next year!
Glad to see the show move back to Vegas!
Thanks Joe, John, and Sean- Great Job!!

[swlovinist]

It was a good show, and this was my fourth one. I thought that the turnout was decent and as good as some others. NWCGE had a great time. I thought the museum was AWSOME, although Nes and Neo classic systems were kind of added on(not anyones fault, some people who were going to add didnt show up). For me, it is about meeting up with everyone, and promoting our own show which is coming in September 28-29th. The auction and afterparty were great. The people were nice. The swap meet kicked some serious butt, and as always I made out pretty well. I want to share my impressions, and just express what I think about some things. Again, I am not trying to offend anyone, I did have some gripes.

Some gripes: The hotel place was kind of a mixed bag. Confusing layout as mentioned above, and we were one of the people who didnt get the room upgrade. TOTALLY SHITTY Check in process that took nearly 2 hours. Rooms were nothing special. Prices were kind of high on pretty much everything(food, atm surcharges, internet etc etc). I know that it is vegas, I know that some things cant be avoided, but these things will limit attendance.

I think it was a little light on vendors, versus some past shows.(Possibly due to costs?) There was some great product, but I just think that the show will continue to appeal to a specific audience if it does not want to reach out to a more general public. As time moves forward, I would like to see the focus of the show to other game systems other than atari. Atari is now 30 years old. I know that other systems were represented, but some were almost non existant. I just keep thinking that the show limits itself when totally focused on the "classic classic stuff".

Some of the show exclusives not being numbered individually bugs me. If only 100 are available, why not number them, unless you are going to be making more? What is stopping a vendor from just producing more of them? I collect these games more than I play, so to not number them takes the sole reason of why I collect show exclusives away. Just a minor gripe, it just will be affecting future purchases.

The auction was great, but it really shows some bias towards the classic stuff. The PAL Atari carts in the auction were pretty common, and other stuff was not allowed in due to being "newer". Some of the Again this is my opinion and I dont want to come off bashing the show. I just think that after 10 years of the show, a little redesign of focus will benifit the show.

I will be attending future shows and want to support the event become bigger than what it was. I know that change can be hard. I am mostly a very positive person, but feel I have been around long enough to express some of my opinions that others may not want to openly express.

[Sniderman]

Let's see...I made a list on my 4-hour flight home of Pros and Cons of this year's event:
PROS
- Hitting nearly $500 on the slots on my first day before the show even started. It literally paid for everything I bought. Try doing THAT in a California hotel. ;)
- The First Annual DP/CGE Texas Hold'em Tourney was a blast. I need to tweak the chip counts or divvy up the players into two smaller tables so we don't have another 3+ hour slugfest. But it was the first one, everyone seemed to enjoy it, and there WILL be a Second Annual one next year.
- Meeting Sothy for the first time. 'Nuff said.
- The return of the "CGE World Premiere Releases." Though there's always some friction among non-attendees about the exclusive nature of CGE releases, it's a hoot to travel cross-country and be treated to the first-ever point of purchase for newly released games. Haven't seen many in recent CGEs, so this year - with nearly 20 releases - was a treat.
- Walking behind Fighter17 the day before the show began (he had no idea who I was) and listening to his true thoughts about DP, the mod staff, and the membership in general. It was...enlightening.
- Getting my first DP After Party shotglass. The party was also amazing with, I dunno, 50+ people in the room at one point. Plus, the skybox overlooked the CGE main floor, so that was cool too.
- The Museum was mind-blowingly HUGE. It has tripled in size since the last one I attended in 2003. Wow.
- The CGE Auction. Worth the trip to Vegas in and of itself.
- The CGE Guys keynote. It was very cool that John, Sean, and Joe took to the stage and explained what goes on behind the scenes. No question was too dicey for them to take on. They cleared the air of some issues; set some rumors to rest; and connected with the folks as fellow collectors and enthusiasts and not just "the organizers." Plus it was fun just hearing some of the stories as well as hearing their thoughts on why they do this every damn year. One of the best keynotes I attended, truthfully.
- Being asked about "The Ravenous Dead" a bazillion times. Had no idea there was still this much interest.

CONS
- On the flight out, my wife and I were SURROUNDED by a frat-boy bachelor party on the way to Vegas. They were gonna drink, gamble, and get laid - in that order - and they were sure to announce it every 3 minutes of the 3 hour flight. As in "WE'RE GONNA DRINK, GAMBLE, AND GET LAID!!! RIGHT FELLOWS?
WOOOOOOOOOO!!! YEAH!" (repeat again loudly after the hooting of the rest of the party dies down)
- I heard there were a lot of complaints about the Riviera. I have no such complaints other than it was a bit pricey. If the guys hadn't offered the Switch Over Special Offer, I wouldn't have been able to stay there.
- I do have one hotel complaint. Turns out one of the 1,000,000-watt spotlights that illuminates the hotel was shining on my hotel window. My wife and I got back that first night from dinner and I opened the curtains to look out over the strip. It was like staring into the Batsignal.
- The check-in/.check-out lines were ridiculously, laughably, annoyingly, infuriatingly long. There is no reason for a 45-minute/2-hour wait to get your frigging room key.
- There were salespeople in nearly every main hallway and lobby trying to get you to look into condos or vacation housing or some-such. ("Hi folks! Are you staying here tonight? Like tickets to a show? Let me talk to you just for a moment about the wonderful opportunity...") It was very bothersome to be constantly hounded thoughout the hotel by these folks.

[MachineGex]

This is my first CGE and it was a blast. Everyone seemed to be very friendly and striking up a good conversation was easy.
Pros:
-Very well organized - getting our badges, getting into the event, lines went fast.
-Lots of show exlcusive titles(all of which I bought)
-Great deals at the show
-Great deals in the trade room
-Fun after party(poker game was a hit, thanks Sniderman)
-Arcade & Museum were impressive to say the least

Cons-
-Hotel rooms were so-so, we upgraded to a mini suite, but the room we got was "well lived-in".
(AC in the room didn't work, fridgerator didn't work & noisey rooms)
-Only complaint about the actual show was the exlcusives. One of the games announced was not even available at the show. Apparently it sold out before the show. I would like the games numbered as well and also see the announced number available to buy at the show.

I had a great time & plan on going next year for sure. I really enjoyed chatting with everyone. It was one of the best parts of the weekend. I really appreciate all the hard work the organizers did. Thank you!

[SystemFreak]

Absolutely the most memorable CGE for me ever (6th).

I'll get the big one out of the way...

For those who haven't gotten the story yet, this year there were 4 mystery boxes. The first two had some relatively common items and went for $200 and $400 (I think). John brought out a bunch of protos and said they were going into the next mystery box. Later in the auction he produced not 1, but *2* mystery boxes. One had the protos and one had... something else (another box 'o crap?). Nicola won the auction for $600 and picked the box on the left which ended up containing the prototypes. John then said something along the lines of, 'what if I told you the next box contained something worth more... or not'. Having lost on the huge Vectrex collection I had some extra cash and the money goes to the Salvation Army anyway, so I figured why not. Near the end it was down to DreamTR and me bumping up in $50 and $100 increments. I ended up winning it for $1300 and when I opened up the box... inside was a mint condition Video Life with mint instructions. It'll probably be in the video, but my hand was shaking like crazy when I tried to hold it up for people to see. Thanks to Sean, John, and Joe for producing the ultimate mystery box and the new crown jewel of my collection.

Also picked up a bunch of NES & Vectrex stuff, Nintendo swag (damn you Billy Galaxy & Suteki), and the incredibly sweet Stranglehold promo from the swap room (DreamTR again).

Met some great people as usual and had a blast at the after party. I always return from CGE with the warm and fuzzies about how incredible the collecting community is and how much it contributes to why I love this hobby.

Would have stayed under budget if it hadn't been for a brutal run at the Wynn blackjack tables on Friday night (guy sitting next to me lost $10k in less than an hour... fortunately I fared better). Overall a fantastic CGE. Thanks to all of the organizers and the attendees for some great memories!

Stranglehold / VL pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/arcade/CGE2K7Haul

[Dan Iacovelli]

hey, sorry this post is so late just flew back from vegas(stayed a couple days extra)
here is my thought on the show(being this my third):
1. first we had to stand in line so we can stand in line again before going to the show.(thought that was funny)
2.I was suprised that fard knew me because I didn't have name tag on yet.
3. over all pretty good turn out(I spent 108 on Gorf 2600,last ninja and nerds)
was happy to see that my jagfest section catalog lasted the two days.(I'm going send you an e-mail reguard jagfest and CGE)
4. this was the first time I made all the keynotes at show,I usally end up missing one or two)
I enjoyed the dp after party, even though I got in late because I went downtown before and I left late.(btw: you got to love the Duce: $5.00 for a 24 hour pass to got down the strip and even downtown)
I'll have full report and pics up on my site later down the week.
(I don't know if I will return vegas next year since the whole place is still bein under contruction( oh yeah get this: trump is putting up condos where the frontier is at(no casino,just condos) maybe a year after that)
I forgot to mention it was a thrill to see my fanzine "The Atari Zone in the musum" especialy back as far as 1991

[BydoEmpire]

...Near the end it was down to DreamTR and me bumping up in $50 and $100 increments. I ended up winning it for $1300 and when I opened up the box... inside was a mint condition Video Life with mint instructions. It'll probably be in the video, but my hand was shaking like crazy when I tried to hold it up for people to see...Congrats - that was a lot of fun to watch, and the whole auction was a blast.

[Mayhem]

It was a blast, as always... why do you think this mad Brit keeps coming out here for more, more, more?! ;)

Hardly made anything on the gambling this time, but I didn't need to at least after not winning the Vectrex auction (shakes fist at Chris :p). Room and bed were great, even better for Kris as we didn't end up sandwiched together heh.

It's hard to list all the good things because there are so many. So I'm just gonna list the two quibbles I had, but really only with this year. Take it as read everything else was double thumbs up!

1) The layout. I can plot, route and remember how to get from A to B to C after just one walk but even I got a little lost occasionally getting about the hotel.

2) The number of exclusives trying to get meant I didn't end up doing much on Saturday bar Jay's talk and buying stuff. I did almost all my playing on Sunday.

I'll see about photos tonight heh...

[digitpress Jim]

Hey how's it going everyone?

It's funny cause at CGE 07, Larry Anderson came up to me when I was grabbing my DP Forum badge and looks at my badge and he says "Jim, the man the myth" lol. We started laughing but it is true. I do not post on these boards often which is a bummer but I'm looking to change that. A lot of you might remember me from CGE 05 dressed as Don Johnson from Miami Vice in the white suite to represent the 80's theme for the CGE show that year. Anyway, all that aside. CGE was phenominal this year, I had a killer time and loved every second of it.

Major props to Joe, John and Sean for all their blood, tears and sweat for making this year's CGE a reality because they where telling me that there where times they where not sure... but luckly there was a gaming angel in their corner =) I have been looking at all the pics and I am so grateful to everyone who took them, the pics really captured what CGE is all about. I had a fantastic time and it was great seeing all my old buds and the team as well as new faces and people I got to know more like Chris Romero. Thanks again to all of you for coming out and showing your support to CGE especially those the auction. I can't wait for next year =)

Digitpress Jim

P.S. The DP party kicked ass!!!

[Bojay1997]

I think it was a little light on vendors, versus some past shows.(Possibly due to costs?) There was some great product, but I just think that the show will continue to appeal to a specific audience if it does not want to reach out to a more general public. As time moves forward, I would like to see the focus of the show to other game systems other than atari. Atari is now 30 years old. I know that other systems were represented, but some were almost non existant. I just keep thinking that the show limits itself when totally focused on the "classic classic stuff".

The auction was great, but it really shows some bias towards the classic stuff. The PAL Atari carts in the auction were pretty common, and other stuff was not allowed in due to being "newer". Some of the Again this is my opinion and I dont want to come off bashing the show. I just think that after 10 years of the show, a little redesign of focus will benifit the show.

I will be attending future shows and want to support the event become bigger than what it was. I know that change can be hard. I am mostly a very positive person, but feel I have been around long enough to express some of my opinions that others may not want to openly express.

Thank you for your comments. I'll be honest with you, most of the issues above are what kept me away from the show this year after having attended every show since the first World of Atari. Over the course of the last three shows, I ended up buying very little aside from the show exclusives and this year, I just couldn't justify spending $500 just to get to Vegas and stay for a couple of nights. The vendors have been mostly the same for the past few shows and frankly, they haven't added much inventory. I know it's to be expected, especially since it's classic stuff and not easy to restock, but with the dominance of Ebay and prices starting to become far more reasonable, it's really a better source for most collectors.

The auction has always been tough, particularly since there are only a couple of really unusual items each year (i.e. stuff I've never seen on Ebay) and it's cash only. I just don't have an interest in carrying thousands of dollars in cash for the possibility of buying something at an auction. Paypal and credit cards are not that hard to set-up, but I understand that sellers want to get paid immediately. The fact that items don't become available for inspection until just before the bidding starts is another concern I have. I'm not going to pay top dollar for stuff I can't examine in detail. Maybe if people registered items on the first day and there was a room dedicated to inspection for a full day before, it would be a better option for me.

The panels haven't really changed in the last few shows. I like the Intellivision guys and the Activision guys, but I believe I have seen each presentation at least five times. I know attracting new guests is hard, but maybe partnering with a TV or magazine outlet like G4 or EGM would be a good way to underwrite the travel and lodging to attract guests who wouldn't otherwise come and speak.

Finally, I agree that the emphasis has to change to embrace the fact that almost all of us collect and play every generation and the 16 bit stuff is 20 years old now. That qualifies as classic in my book. I probably buy more 16 bit and newer stuff than 8 bit classic stuff, especially since I've been collecting since the late 80s and have most of the 8 bit stuff I want.

So, in summary, I appreciate all the work and effort that goes into pulling this show off, but I really do think it's time to take it to the next level.

[DreamTR]

Thank you for your comments. I'll be honest with you, most of the issues above are what kept me away from the show this year after having attended every show since the first World of Atari. Over the course of the last three shows, I ended up buying very little aside from the show exclusives and this year, I just couldn't justify spending $500 just to get to Vegas and stay for a couple of nights. The vendors have been mostly the same for the past few shows and frankly, they haven't added much inventory. I know it's to be expected, especially since it's classic stuff and not easy to restock, but with the dominance of Ebay and prices starting to become far more reasonable, it's really a better source for most collectors.

The auction has always been tough, particularly since there are only a couple of really unusual items each year (i.e. stuff I've never seen on Ebay) and it's cash only. I just don't have an interest in carrying thousands of dollars in cash for the possibility of buying something at an auction. Paypal and credit cards are not that hard to set-up, but I understand that sellers want to get paid immediately. The fact that items don't become available for inspection until just before the bidding starts is another concern I have. I'm not going to pay top dollar for stuff I can't examine in detail. Maybe if people registered items on the first day and there was a room dedicated to inspection for a full day before, it would be a better option for me.

The panels haven't really changed in the last few shows. I like the Intellivision guys and the Activision guys, but I believe I have seen each presentation at least five times. I know attracting new guests is hard, but maybe partnering with a TV or magazine outlet like G4 or EGM would be a good way to underwrite the travel and lodging to attract guests who wouldn't otherwise come and speak.

Finally, I agree that the emphasis has to change to embrace the fact that almost all of us collect and play every generation and the 16 bit stuff is 20 years old now. That qualifies as classic in my book. I probably buy more 16 bit and newer stuff than 8 bit classic stuff, especially since I've been collecting since the late 80s and have most of the 8 bit stuff I want.

So, in summary, I appreciate all the work and effort that goes into pulling this show off, but I really do think it's time to take it to the next level.

Bojay: There was one auction piece that you did not have to pay for 30 days, the Intellivison Keyboard.

You CAN go up to the podium and inspect the item before you bid, so I don't see why anyone would need a crazy amount of time to do so unless they wanted to play through an unreleased game or whatever, but that's the joy and surprise of the auction.

As far as not being able to spend money besides the show exclusives? I'm not too sure about that. I've been to every CGE since 1999, and I've spent $1000-2000 at each and every one of them. THis one I spent almost $2500 at. ANyone that knows me knows it is very hard for me to collect things nowadays because I have completed a lot of the stuff I wanted to collect for, but I still find all these items to buy at CGE each year. It's the only time I know where you can go crazy and buy everything from a flea market dedicated to collectors.

There was a decent amount of 16 bit stuff this year, but I will say with people missing like D-Lite, who sells Neo Geo and TG stuff, 4Jays, and B&C Computervisions, as well as Classic Game Source, it was a little light on that end, but the swap room more than made up for it.

[Bojay1997]

Bojay: There was one auction piece that you did not have to pay for 30 days, the Intellivison Keyboard.

You CAN go up to the podium and inspect the item before you bid, so I don't see why anyone would need a crazy amount of time to do so unless they wanted to play through an unreleased game or whatever, but that's the joy and surprise of the auction.

As far as not being able to spend money besides the show exclusives? I'm not too sure about that. I've been to every CGE since 1999, and I've spent $1000-2000 at each and every one of them. THis one I spent almost $2500 at. ANyone that knows me knows it is very hard for me to collect things nowadays because I have completed a lot of the stuff I wanted to collect for, but I still find all these items to buy at CGE each year. It's the only time I know where you can go crazy and buy everything from a flea market dedicated to collectors.

There was a decent amount of 16 bit stuff this year, but I will say with people missing like D-Lite, who sells Neo Geo and TG stuff, 4Jays, and B&C Computervisions, as well as Classic Game Source, it was a little light on that end, but the swap room more than made up for it.

Interesting points. However, if I'm going to spend money on an item, I want a more substantial review than crowding up to the front just before bidding starts. Trust me, I've been to every CGE and WOA auction but this one. I know how rushed the item review is. I don't want to be surprised when I'm spending more than a few dollars. I want to know exactly what I'm bidding on.

I guess part of my problem is that I am super picky. I collect primarily sealed stuff and I would never buy anything that wasn't mint and complete. It seems like there has been less and less of that stuff at CGE recently which is probably why I haven't really been spending as much as in the days when Telegames and some of the other vendors were there.

Unfortunately, the swap room doesn't really do it for me. There is almost never sealed or mint stuff to be had and since I am approaching complete collections of most of the US 16 bit and later consoles, it's pretty unlikely that I'll find much of interest.

Maybe I'm just impossible to please, but there was a time when there was more of the "good" stuff available at CGE.

[Balloon Fight]

I had a great time this CGE and REALLY liked its location at the Riviera. This was only my second trip to CGE, last time I went in 03, and I thought the location was great.

I didn't spend all that much at all, but I got to meet a ton of great people, including mostly everyone from #vbender as well as Joe and a few others. The auction was fun (I guess I'll continue my quest for that damn Coca Cola Game Gear) and the swap meet was great this year too. DreamTR was selling games like crazy in that room. ;)

Good stuff, and I can't wait until next year. :)

[Pantechnicon]

Liked:
- The Riviera > the Plaza, mostly for the sake of proximity to the main Strip. Additionally, the Riv has a better pool and, unlike the Plaza, doesn’t smell completely like cigarettes.
- The fact that the swap meet was ongoing during show hours instead of afterward. It was nice to be able to poke my head in the room every couple of hours and see if anything new popped up.
- What was probably the largest selection of free play cabs CGE has ever had.
- 8-Bit-Weapon is always a treat to hear.
- The 80’s living room with the 2600. I missed it from my last CGE in 2K4 and was thrilled to see it again.

Disliked:
- The absence of B&C Computervisions from the vendor room. But clearly that was not the CGE organizers’ fault. I was just hoping to get some more Lynx goodies.

Personal lowlights:
- No Galaga cab.
- My son misplaced his Nintendo DS at one point. Captain Nintendo found it and turned it in to the registration desk. Unfortunately someone must have gotten to it before the Captain did because the games my son had loaded therein were missing.
- I was really torn between going to the CGE after-party or the Retrotopia event at the Pinball Hall of Fame, and I wound up going to neither since I didn’t get out of the Rush concert at the MGM until around 1130. Granted, seeing Rush in Vegas was absolutely cool, but it still would have been nice to hang out with and knock back a few some DP’ers in a looser setting than the regular show.

-Personal highlights:
- Making it on to the Twin Galaxies’ roster. I posted a score of approx. 215,000 on Atari 2600 Missile Command, verified by Walter Day himself. That should be a high enough score to put me in 4th place. My wife can now say she’s married to one of the top Missile Command players in the world (although I really can’t think of a reason why she would ever willingly admit to that)
- Watching my son and Mezrabad’s son – who met at OVGE 2006 – essentially pick up where they left off in Tulsa, with linked Gameboys in hand. It’s nice for the little ones to have “buddies” to look forward to seeing at these events.
- Buying virtually nothing on Sunday left a lot of time to play games, which is what it’s really all about for me, or at least should be.
- It’s a cliché only because it’s a fact, but meeting so many DP’ers for the first time was really an honor as well.

Another good show overall and I hope I can make it to 2K8!

[TNTPLUST]

First let me say that CGE could be held anywhere and I would go. Hold it in an abandoned building and I would stay in a cardboard box next door. The Riviera is certainly a step up from the Plaza. For those that haven't been there The "Riv" is a 50's style resort/casino. It is one of the few 50's style resort/casinos left on the strip (the New Frontier just closed). These were built in the days when people came to GAMBLE. The rooms were designed for one purpose only, to catch a few z's after a 10 hour binder at the casino. They have a bare bones setup and are well used. The Riviera is due to be upgraded soon but some have speculated that it may be torn down to make room for a more modern "mixed media" resort.

We arrived Friday night and somehow got placed in the wrong room. We had paid for a non-smoking deluxe and were taken to a smoking standard but a quick call to the front desk and we were given the correct room promptly. While a little dated I found nothing wrong with the Riviera and would stay again if the next CGE was held there.

Kudos to the Museum organizers and the Coin-ops. The Museum was nicely displayed with lots of little goodies to see. There was a very nice selection of coin-ops and they were all working. The playable consoles are always a fav. Although I noticed that there were a few systems not represented as in past years. I enjoyed playing with Virtual Boy but I had a headache after playing Tennis for an hour.

It does seem like there were fewer vendors with less to sell but that is probably the state of our hobby as there are less doing business. That said the ones that did show had some neat stuff and I found some great deals.

The Swap meet sure has evolved since the days we just met in the room and traded on the floor. In fact in all honesty thats were all the great deals were this year. There was some really rare stuff in there too. I like this format but I do have one suggestion. Could you PLEASE go back to a sign up sheet? Once the tables sell out have any "waiters" sign up. When a table gets open call there name out. If they are in the room then they get the table, if they aren't go to the next name. IMHO that is the fair thing to do and will go a long way in causing any hurt feelings.

The auction is always great and although it has been a few years since I've won anything it is always fun to watch bidders go after stuff. I found everything in the auction to be Relevant and appropriate to CGE.

Overall a smashing success.

[DreamTR]

Bojay: To each his own..I don't really like collecting sealed games. I collect boxed games with the purpose to play them, so usually those games are at the CGE. I did see a sealed Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel at the auction for SNES, which is pretty tough to find.

[digitpress Jim]

Fantastic! Thanks for all the feedback guys, keep it coming. It is really gonna help Joe, me and the rest of the team to make next year even bigger and have some new goodies to offer. I too was personally impressed with the swap meet room and we are gonna make some adjustments for next year to make it even better. Thanks again all.

Digitpress Jim

[YoshiM]

Finally got a chance to put my 2 zenny in on CGE2K7!

The Riviera was a decent place to stay. The CGE code got my wife and I a larger room with a fridge so we could pick up some soda and water (though we hardly drank any of it and there was so much we really couldn't pack the stuff). Our room was on the other side of the building so it was kind of a hike to get to the convention until we figured out we could take a short cut by walking through the pool area. The breakfast buffet wasn't all that great but Kady's (Coffee house? Cafe?) dished up some good morning grub...for a price (which is to be expected on the Strip).

CGE itself was smaller than I expected, though I gather the hiatus and the move to the Riv might have been the reason. I was told that there were fewer vendors this year but to be honest those that did attend combined with the swap room, IMO, had enough stuff to tempt my wallet. I was a very good boy with my purchases: a CGE T-Shirt (I love the "Wii who?" on the back), Bill Kunkel's book "Confessions of The Game Doctor", a stack of VG&CE magazines and Oldergames/Knurdz's "Video Game Media Archive Vol #1" (contains a bunch of classic commercials on DVD-I'll review this tonight in the Classic Gaming forum). Pretty much got everything I was looking for except the "work-friendly" game polo shirt, which a vendor (and I'm sorry I forgot your name/forum handle-it takes a few times for me to remember those) recognized my Roundtable badge and asked "Where we ya? I had some DS polos earlier!" Oh well.

The best parts of CGE were meeting the DP crew face to face (most for the first time). You're all great people and I had a great time chatting with those I bumped into. I'm not an overly social creature in RL and to be honest I was nervous as hell before even coming to Vegas so if I was short in conversation with anyone I apologize. It takes me a bit to open up sometimes.

Next to meeting my online friends were the speakers. My wife (no kidding) and I thoroughly enjoyed almost all of the sessions (we missed the Atari panel-lunch took too long). Al Alcorn's session, which contained a Power Point presentation, was genuinely interesting but was more low-key and somewhat serious which kinda slowed the flow of things. At the Video Game Journalism session on Sunday I was able to get Bill Kunkel's book signed by the man himself. I felt dumb, though, as after I asked for his autograph the English language escaped me when he asked what my favorite game was and finally what era I liked and was able to utter "Nintendo". Everything I wanted to say just got flushed out my brain. Oh well.

Finally the Auction. I have never witnessed anything like this auction. The type of items that were up for auction blew my mind and the sheer amount of money being offered obliterated what was left in my brain pan. The whole thing was exciting to witness. Oh, question for the person who won the Solid Snake statue: any problems getting his pieces on the plane? :D

Overall we had a great time and I think this is going to be a yearly trip. Thanks goes out to Joe, John, Sean and all the others who put this together. Next year we'll both me more sociable and better Warlords players :) .

[y-bot]

Thanks Joe, Sean, John and all the others who helped put the show on. I had a great time and it was nice to meet people and see some friends. I'll agree with the other peoples complaints about The Riviera. I think the CGE room was fine but the hotel overall is pretty pricey for mediocre services. See y'all next year!

y-bot

[Mayhem]

Have we SEEN Marty on here since CGE? I wonder if he's still lugging bits of Snake home heh... anyone know how that went?! When I spoke to him late Sunday they still hadn't figured out what they were going to do...

[Flack]

Here are a couple of things I thought could have been improved upon:

Rooms: Not everyone got deluxe rooms. I know Ice and I didn't. I called the front desk to complain and they said I was in the room I was supposed to be in and said something about the deluxe rooms being "first come, first serve." Our room did not have a fridge, hair dryer, or anything. It seems like different people got different room styles.

Vendors: While the quality of the vendors was good, I expected a lot more. I had assumed a show this size would have had 40-50 vendors. While the 20 or so vendors who were there were great, I felt like I had seen everything before the end of the first day.

Sitting: CGE needs more places to sit. Basically there were the half a dozen chairs along the one wall where the classic gaming systems were, and the DP couch. There was a large, unused area in the back of the room that would have been great for 4-5 couches grouped together for conversing. After the money was spent and the games were played the thing I was looking forward to the most was chatting with people. That would have been a great area for that.

That being said I thought the vendors who were there were great, the arcade games were outstanding, the auction was interesting, and of course the company/conversations were out of this world!

[RetroYoungen]

About the Riviera... I enjoyed it. Parts of it. It was my first time being legal to do just about any/everything in Vegas, so I was hoping for a better casino (though I can't complain... I pretty much paid for all of my CGE shopping at the Riviera's poker "room") and I was pushed into a smoking room as they were the only things left (and not a "deluxe" smoking room, just a regular, basic room). Those are my two major points... the rest of the show I thoroughly enjoyed.

One of the real perks of it being at the Riviera however were that it was within walking distance of two fun spots, the Hilton (for their very nice poker room and Star Trek Experience... albeit a very EXPENSIVE experience that I avoided actually... experiencing) and Circus Circus (which I spent a few hours walking the Midway of, hoping the poker room would start up a table of something other than 3-6 Hold 'Em... seems to be a pattern with my trip, eh?).

Overall though, very fun trip. Even though the hike to/from the convention center was... let's say, a little excessive. It would take me fifteen minutes to get back to the elevator, and I was pretty much right over the convention center. Geez...

Oh, and I really missed B&C Computervisions too, they're always a lot of fun, and always a great vendor to do business with. What happened with them, did they just have a prior engagement somewhere or decide to skip this year? Or did something happen to the business?

[Flack]

Have we SEEN Marty on here since CGE? I wonder if he's still lugging bits of Snake home heh... anyone know how that went?! When I spoke to him late Sunday they still hadn't figured out what they were going to do...

When I talked to him on Sunday the plan was to leave it in my hotel room until he could arrange for a shipping company to pick it up. However, I talked to him on Monday and he said he had worked out a deal with the hotel to have them store it until it could be shipped back east later this week. That's the last I heard about it.

[Mayhem]

said something about the deluxe rooms being "first come, first serve."

This is, in fact, what they told me over the phone when I reserved the room months back. Evidently when Kris and I arrived and were handed the deluxe king room I'd booked, we were early enough on Friday to still get one...

[DreamTR]

Flack: As far as vendors go, there was that Swap Room =) That makes up for it in my opinion. I still miss Telegames, B & C, and one of these days Atari Age needs to come...

[Dan Iacovelli]

I was also hoping for B&C to be at the show I might have been able to find out what is wrong with my jagcd unit and buy a replacement power supply for my 7800 from them.
glenn and myself both noticed a lack of the jaguar pressence at the show as well.(maybe a return of Jagfest@CGE is in store for that to happen I e-mailed the cge guys about that)

[vectrexer]

Riviera Hotel Room Impressions:

No upgrade. Even though I booked a while back. Sure the upgrades were first come first serve. But I booked a while ago. I also arrived earlier than many of you.

No fridge either.

Smoking room. Kind of a trade off since I wanted to be in the same tower as the big guy.

Asked for a high floor when I made the reservation. had them put the note in the reservation. No action on this request.

Generally I ask as a standard request: Same Hotel as the event, King bed, High Floor, No Smoking, end of the hall, near the convention facility. Those of you have traveled a lot for trade events probably know why.

Frequent Flyer miles were not credited. Just what the f'iing age are we living in people!

The room size was no great thing to behold. Thank god it did not matter in the end. I do have to say that Thumbeling would have been right at home. But then thumbelina was left at home for this trip.

The room upkeep was not bad. But I did make two request multiple times that were not fullfilled. One of those had to do with getting the room safe unlocked. Never happend and I just gave up.

The person taking care of the room did a good job with the item she had to work with. Actually both people who did the work did a good job. Clean towels no matter how many were taken to other locations. Clean everything reall.

The room appearance was so so. Yet it was clean, but it certainly could have used a round of redecorating. All in all the room reminded me of the last time I stayed in the Dunes hotel. Yes, the one that is now torn down. The feel is one of either (a)Just getting aroung to redecorating, or (b)Pending hotel closure for destruction and rebuild.

Overall I did not spend that much time in the room. But still I wouldd like to think a place of leisure in Las Vegas can be more flashy than a room you could find at a Motel 6. And no, the light was not left on for me at the Riviera. It was left on for my wallet!

[y-bot]

Our cab driver said there is a rumor that The Riviera is closing. He also said The Frontier used the rumor that they were closing "so you better come see it for the last time" for 10 years. It looked like The Riviera was updated in the early 90's and nothing since. I've never been in a hotel where the hallways smelled so bad like smoke. Our room had a fridge but my friends did not. Also I specifically asked the person in the Business Center if there was a charge if I sent boxes to a guest in the hotel. She said there wasn't but the charged me $300 anyway. If I had her name I would have made a big deal about it but I forgot to ask.

y-bot

[Dan Iacovelli]

Our cab driver said there is a rumor that The Riviera is closing. He also said The Frontier used the rumor that they were closing "so you better come see it for the last time" for 10 years. It looked like The Riviera was updated in the early 90's and nothing since. I've never been in a hotel where the hallways smelled so bad like smoke. Our room had a fridge but my friends did not. Also I specifically asked the person in the Business Center if there was a charge if I sent boxes to a guest in the hotel. She said there wasn't but the charged me $300 anyway. If I had her name I would have made a big deal about it but I forgot to ask.

y-bot
I don't think the "Riv" is closing any time soon, maybe for remodeling for at least a year.
as for the frontier, that is brought by trump,but he's not making a casino but
putting up a Condo, no gambling just condo.)if you noticed the sign by the frontier it was for the condo that trump is doing. (dont be surpised if the next apperantence show(if he does one) has a prize to be work the condo over there.

[MachineGex]

My brother lives in Vegas and said the word is "the Riviera is the next one in line to close". I thought the casino was OK, but the rooms coulda been a little better. Not having a frig in every room seemed odd. Did anyone check out the magic shop in the lobby area? When I started dropping money in there my wife said something like, "Oh boy, magic too? I'm married to the trifeca geek king." (comics, video games and magic) She is one lucky girl!

Oh well, I had so much fun I would have had a good time if it was held at the motel 6 in Bakersfield, CA.
I cant wait til next year!

[Dan Iacovelli]

I don't think they will close permently maybe for renovations.
the hotel has been a mainstay in las vegas for ages.
and yes I did notice the magic shop that was there for along time.
I ws tempted to buy something there being an amature magian since I was young(haven't practiced lately though).
doesn't really matter if they close as long they still continue with "the duce"
bus service there no matter where CGE lands in vegas(strip or DT) the service
is one good thing for us(and vegas).

[CX2K]

The last word we got before we left is that they are spending 35 million to remodel some of their rooms by next spring. The hotel is approx. half smoking rooms. They are trying to get it up to 80% non-smoking.

I know there issues that some of you had and we addressed those with management and learned some insight as to what caused the problem. All I can say is that you will be better informed when we start next year's registration as to what the room situation is.

Thanks,
John

[Tetsu]

Everyone seems to have something to say about the Riviera, so here's my two cents: the 60-year old hotel has seen better days, but it had a lot of character. I could have done without getting a room in the smoking section when we asked for a non-smoking room. Besides that, the staff was friendly and helpful and the housekeeping staff did an excellent job of cleaning up our mess.

First time in Vegas:

The double decker bus is indispensible for getting around up and down the strip, especially at just 2 bucks for a one-way trip or 5 bucks for a 24 hour pass. Also, since pretty much all the hotels are on or near the strip, next time I go to Vegas, I'll find out which hotels are close to the one I'm staying at. That way, I can hop on the first airport shuttle bus that goes near my hotel and walk over, instead of paying 25 bucks for a cab.


CGE:

The show was a blast!. This is my first CGE so I don't have anything to compare it to, but compared to comic and other conventions, it was extremely well organized. The museum was amazing, the swap room was a great idea, and the auction was hilarious. My only regret is that I couldn't stay until Sunday, and I never did get to the pinball museum, but at least it gives me something to look forward to next year!

[Dan Iacovelli]

Everyone seems to have something to say about the Riviera, so here's my two cents: the 60-year old hotel has seen better days, but it had a lot of character. I could have done without getting a room in the smoking section when we asked for a non-smoking room. Besides that, the staff was friendly and helpful and the housekeeping staff did an excellent job of cleaning up our mess.

First time in Vegas:

The double decker bus is indispensible for getting around up and down the strip, especially at just 2 bucks for a one-way trip or 5 bucks for a 24 hour pass. Also, since pretty much all the hotels are on or near the strip, next time I go to Vegas, I'll find out which hotels are close to the one I'm staying at. That way, I can hop on the first airport shuttle bus that goes near my hotel and walk over, instead of paying 25 bucks for a cab.


CGE:

The show was a blast!. This is my first CGE so I don't have anything to compare it to, but compared to comic and other conventions, it was extremely well organized. The museum was amazing, the swap room was a great idea, and the auction was hilarious. My only regret is that I couldn't stay until Sunday, and I never did get to the pinball museum, but at least it gives me something to look forward to next year!

why go to vegas to find that out: go to www.vegas.com that has the map of hotels on the strip.

[ubikuberalles]

Pros:

- Wow the main floor was big! Much bigger than at the Plaza. Lots of walking room and I didn't feel crowded in like I did at the Plaza. Impressive.
- The Riviera was a big improvement from the Plaza. Not as nice as the hotel in San Jose (the last CGE I attended) but nice nevertheless. A step in the right direction.
- 8 Bit Weapon. I love the live music at the show. Like I always say: It's not CGE without the 8BW.
- The auction. I've never been to a CGE auction before and now I regret it. It was perhaps the most fun part of the show!
- The museum was impressive. That's the biggest I've ever seen it and there were a lot of new and cool exhibits there (the Atari 400 display was the best).
- Having the swap meet at the same time as the main show was a stroke of genius. I've always missed the swap meets in the past because I had other plans after the show. I like this new setup and I want to see it again.
- The retro-couch, as always, is a great idea. I consider it a mainstay of the show.
- Meeting many of the DP members at the show was exciting. I only wished I was able to meet even more.
- Jumpman Jr. put a picture of his avatar on his shirt. That was cool! I should do that next year.
- I put $1 in a nickel slot machine and won at total of $5. W00t!


Cons:

- The place was big. Perhaps too big? I had the false impression that the show had a smaller attendance than previous years but now I realize that it was simply because the larger space spread the people out more. Not really a criticism, just an observation.
- No Galaga arcade. :(
- No B & C Computer Visions booth. I understand that family issues prevented them from attending. Darn shame.
- See my comments on the Suggestions thread (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1225329&postcount=9).
- So many things happening all at once was overwhelming me. You'd think by now, after attending nearly all the other CGEs, that I would be too jaded or experienced to get overwhelmed. Go figure. A plan of action or at least a wants list would have helped me out. Certainly something to do next year.

[nationgamesdepot]

This was my first CGE and I had a blast. I picked up a bunch more goodies than I expected and generally had a good time. My mine reason for going was to meet a few people that I have talked with for years and put a face with a s/n which I did. I even got to meet a bunch of other guys I wasn't expecting.

I stayed at the Sahara and you guys wouldn't be complaining at all about the Riviria if you stayed at the Sahara. The rooms were small, dirty, very outdated and just craptastic. I saw a few Riviera rooms and they were 10 times nicer.

I only have a few suggustions to make it better. A little more seating on the expo floor would have been nice, and a few more vendors. I know that me and Dain plan to have a NintendoAGE booth next year so maybe a few more will jump on board as well. The swap room was awesome and one of the best features of the show, I just wish it was a little larger cause it was kinda hard to move around when you had several bags of gaming goodness in your hands. I also wish a list of all the keynotes speeches would have been posted before the event, I missed several of them before I even knew it.

I was extremely impressed with the show and thought it was a great experience. I will be attending every CGE from now on I enjoyed it so much. Keep up the great work guys, you all deserve a big thank you from all of us. THANKS!!!
~~NGD

[vectrexer]

I only have a few suggustions to make it better. A little more seating on the expo floor would have been nice~~NGD


I definitely agree with you on that point. In fact during setup I mentioned it.

The amount of handheld games that showed up was impressive and haveing a few extra seats to use these handhelds at would have been nice.

J,J,S: maybe next time some more table and chairs. Even if they were in front of the 8BW music.

And sales of food and drink on the floor too! That is one of things I really missed from the other shows. Especially with the hike back to restaraunt being so long for the food. I think I lost weight during the show!

[Steve Woita]

As always it was a fantastic show! I don't know how these guys do it every year!! I got there Friday and left on Sunday and it was total no stop game stuff... I loved it! Great work and thanks for keeping this old school stuff alive!!! :D

Steve Woita

[esquire]

I actually just got back from Vegas. I stayed over for a work convention. 12 days in Vegas is a lot. Here are some of my impressions:

Venue - The Riveria, accommodations-wise, in my opinion was not much better than The Plaza, considering the price increase and the fact that the room rates were not that great in comparision to other casinos. I am not saying that the Riveria was on par with the Plaza, just making an analysis via dollar value. Of course, I would go to whatever casino they would hold CGE at.

The convention hall and skybox were great, but the rooms and the customer service sucked. I was one of those that got screwed out of a deluxe room. After waiting in line foreover to check in, and not being told of the room change, I found out I got a standard room when I arriieved at the room. The Front desk and manager were not helpful at all and argued with me. All I wanted was that if I was not going to get a deluxe room, that I did not have to pay the deluxe rate. They would not budge. I am sad to say that I had to get John involved as I am sure others would find themselves in the same predicament. I am not sure if I was the exception by being the "squeeky wheel" or if they took care of everyone who complained, but they finally upgraded me to what they called a "mini-suite". Thanks John for helping me out.

Additionally, it seemed that all the employees, from the front desk, to the bell man and valet all had bad attitudes and were not very friendly.

By comparison, the rest of the week after CGE, I stayed at Planet Hollywood - previously The Aladdin. At the heart of the strip, I was charged $59 a night during the week, and $119 a night for Friday and Saturday - the same rate the Riveria was charging, at a discount no less. (I got these rates by previously signing up for their Players Club card) The rooms were WAY MUCH NICER than the Riveria. Moreover the Casino is more modern with Rock, Pop and Hip Hop music playing throughout the casino floor. Coincidentally, I decided to check out there convention area, which I didn't know they had. It had been unbooked that week and I must say was very nice. The convention area overlooks the center of the casino area, so for those that were complaining about the layout of the Riveria, perhaps this may be something to look into for future CGEs. There is also the added bonus of The Miracle Mile (fka Desert Passage) shops and restaurants, giving attendees a much more variety of shopping and dining options. Plus, there is a monorail station next door at Paris.

Another suggestion I might make for the organizers, who did a great job :hail: - thank you!!! - is to advertise the room reservation quota requirement early before people start booking their travel plans through agents, expedia, orbitz, etc. so we can make sure that CGE meets its quota. It seemed like the word did not get out until about a week or so before the event.

Vendors - mostly focused on the Atari and NES. I was hoping to score some Jag and Lynx games, as well as some Sega Genesis and Dreamcast games. I was disappointed to see a lack of vendors carrying those items. As previously mentioned, Songbird, Jagfest, B&C, Telegames (are they still around?) and even the Neo-Geo guys were all MIA. No problem I said. It gave me more money to stock up on homebrews, exclusives, hacks, etc for the 2600 and 5200, including games I had passed on at my previous CGE in 2K3. Overall I was happy with my purchases.

Swap Meet - Great opportunity to score more items and meet fellow DPers. The GameConsoles.com guy selling the Colecovision exclusive was from my hometown and grew up 1-2 miles from me. Crazy!

CGE Party - Totally awesome setup. Had a wonderful time. I wish I could of stayed longer (and played some poker - who won?), but I was with some friends and a client of mine who was setting us up at the Palms - Playboy Club and Moon VIP. It was a difficult choice, but I had to go with the Bunnies over at the Palms. I definitely plan on attending the party next year for the whole time.

I can't for CGE 2K8, and hope they keep it in Vegas.

[Dan Iacovelli]

I actually just got back from Vegas. I stayed over for a work convention. 12 days in Vegas is a lot. Here are some of my impressions:

Venue - The Riveria, accommodations-wise, in my opinion was not much better than The Plaza, considering the price increase and the fact that the room rates were not that great in comparision to other casinos. I am not saying that the Riveria was on par with the Plaza, just making an analysis via dollar value. Of course, I would go to whatever casino they would hold CGE at.

The convention hall and skybox were great, but the rooms and the customer service sucked. I was one of those that got screwed out of a deluxe room. After waiting in line foreover to check in, and not being told of the room change, I found out I got a standard room when I arriieved at the room. The Front desk and manager were not helpful at all and argued with me. All I wanted was that if I was not going to get a deluxe room, that I did not have to pay the deluxe rate. They would not budge. I am sad to say that I had to get John involved as I am sure others would find themselves in the same predicament. I am not sure if I was the exception by being the "squeeky wheel" or if they took care of everyone who complained, but they finally upgraded me to what they called a "mini-suite". Thanks John for helping me out.

Additionally, it seemed that all the employees, from the front desk, to the bell man and valet all had bad attitudes and were not very friendly.

By comparison, the rest of the week after CGE, I stayed at Planet Hollywood - previously The Aladdin. At the heart of the strip, I was charged $59 a night during the week, and $119 a night for Friday and Saturday - the same rate the Riveria was charging, at a discount no less. (I got these rates by previously signing up for their Players Club card) The rooms were WAY MUCH NICER than the Riveria. Moreover the Casino is more modern with Rock, Pop and Hip Hop music playing throughout the casino floor. Coincidentally, I decided to check out there convention area, which I didn't know they had. It had been unbooked that week and I must say was very nice. The convention area overlooks the center of the casino area, so for those that were complaining about the layout of the Riveria, perhaps this may be something to look into for future CGEs. There is also the added bonus of The Miracle Mile (fka Desert Passage) shops and restaurants, giving attendees a much more variety of shopping and dining options. Plus, there is a monorail station next door at Paris.

Another suggestion I might make for the organizers, who did a great job :hail: - thank you!!! - is to advertise the room reservation quota requirement early before people start booking their travel plans through agents, expedia, orbitz, etc. so we can make sure that CGE meets its quota. It seemed like the word did not get out until about a week or so before the event.

Vendors - mostly focused on the Atari and NES. I was hoping to score some Jag and Lynx games, as well as some Sega Genesis and Dreamcast games. I was disappointed to see a lack of vendors carrying those items. As previously mentioned, Songbird, Jagfest, B&C, Telegames (are they still around?) and even the Neo-Geo guys were all MIA. No problem I said. It gave me more money to stock up on homebrews, exclusives, hacks, etc for the 2600 and 5200, including games I had passed on at my previous CGE in 2K3. Overall I was happy with my purchases.

Swap Meet - Great opportunity to score more items and meet fellow DPers. The GameConsoles.com guy selling the Colecovision exclusive was from my hometown and grew up 1-2 miles from me. Crazy!

CGE Party - Totally awesome setup. Had a wonderful time. I wish I could of stayed longer (and played some poker - who won?), but I was with some friends and a client of mine who was setting us up at the Palms - Playboy Club and Moon VIP. It was a difficult choice, but I had to go with the Bunnies over at the Palms. I definitely plan on attending the party next year for the whole time.

I can't for CGE 2K8, and hope they keep it in Vegas.

Songbird and Jagfest is still very much around(speaking as a the man behind Jagfest, I too miss the Jaguar presence at the show) songbird was going to come as I know,but didn't,carl was asking about on this board a lot when it got announced then he disapperaed. B&C had family problem with some one having giving birth as john mentioned on sunday at the cge keynote.
Telegames I doudt they are still doing business with jaguar and I don't know
if they were invited.
hopefully Jagfest will make it return to CGE after while in one form or another.