TooManyGames 6 - May 4th, 2008 - Reading, PA

[Vectorman0]

I want to meet as many new people possible. If you see me, introduce yourself! (my name-tag should have Vectorman on it)

[RCM]

I just did an interview with Chuck and Paul, check it out here: http://j2games.com/new/forum/index.php?topic=1961.msg4670#msg4670

[gewky]

Hi, I am just getting into the collecting scene and I should be going to the expo, anyone who needs a ride i MAY be able to provide. I live in the north jersey fort lee area.

[Sin Cargo]

If anyone from the New York City/Long Island area is going and has room for 2 guys and a box of merchandise, please e-mail me at brett@pbc-productions.com. Darrin and I are going as guests, but do not have a way out there. Gas and toll money would graciously be donated. Thanks!

[djbeatmongrel]

I'll be there. Say hi and i'll do the same. If you are entering the guilty gear tourney don't bother because i am planning on fucking everyone up royally.

[GrandAmChandler]

I'll be there. Say hi and i'll do the same. If you are entering the guilty gear tourney don't bother because i am planning on fucking everyone up royally.

As DjBeatMongrel's manager I suggest you take his advice. He is like Rocky. He gets up at 4am, drinks some raw eggs, and then plays Guilty Gear until bedtime. He has been doing this in preperation for over several months. As his manager, I also get a 20% cut, so you see I am doing you all a favor. Don't get sonned.

[gewky]

im just curious, do people bring stuff to trade or sell there, or do the vendors take trades as well?

[GnawRadar]

I, too will be at TooManyGames along with the crew from the South Jersey Classic/Next Level Videogames and I hope to meet some fellow DPers. Just like Vectorman I'll probably write GnawRadar on my name tag, along with my real name which is Sal.

[mindlesspunk77]

im just curious, do people bring stuff to trade or sell there, or do the vendors take trades as well?

if you wanna bring stuff to trade go for it!

[DKTheArcadeRat]

I, too will be at TooManyGames along with the crew from the South Jersey Classic/Next Level Videogames and I hope to meet some fellow DPers. Just like Vectorman I'll probably write GnawRadar on my name tag, along with my real name which is Sal.

I will be there, as I may have stated before. I will write DKTheArcadeRat on my tag and my actual factual name. Dave. (No, DKTheArcadeRat is not for Donkey Kong, its My initials actually.)

And with the trade stuff question. Is anyone interested in this stuff? Assuming that it is still in my tradebox after saturday. Let me know in advance that way I can throw it in my bag with me.

SimANT-SNES-cart only
Gain Ground - Genesis -Cart and manual in a box, only missing cover art
Skeleton Warriors - PS1 - Longbox complete, good condition.
Batman Forever - SNES -Cart only
TMNT Hyperstone Heist - Genesis - cart only
Master System cart only games - Choplifter, After Burner, Out Run, Great Basketball
CIB Genesis Sports - Tony LaRussa Baseball, NHL Hockey, NHL '94, NHL '95, PGA Tour Golf
NFL ' 95 - Genesis - cart only
WWF Attitude - N64 - Boxed
Survival Kids - GBC - cart only
a bunch of random kids PC games - all complete jewel cases.
XBOX Kiosk Demo Version 3.4- complete with sleeve
loose 2600 Games - Warlords, Defender, Cosmic Ark
Dungeon Master 2: Skullkeep - Sega CD - Complete, good condition, no cracks on case
Star Wars: Rebel Assault - Sega CD - same as above
Pokemon Stylus Holder - sealed
Mario Galaxy Coin - complete/new
UMD Video - Tupac Live at the house of blues.
Neo Geo MVS Spanish Art Sets - Sam Sho 3, Rage of the Dragons

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

I am planning on being there and I will be bringing my "herpes" copy of Shining Force CD with me to hopefully trade away. The reason I call it my "herpes" copy, is that I can't seem to get rid of it. I have had a number of people tell me that they want it, but then they never complete the deal.

JY

[GrandAmChandler]

if you wanna bring stuff to trade go for it!

Paul, will there be a designated "trade" area?

[mindlesspunk77]

No there will not whenever that has been tryed before It was never used. So just write I have trade on your shirt!

[xfrumx]

I will be there w/o a name tag sadly.

I hgaven't been on the forums enough latley, my Wii was my only way online for about a month!

I should be back on now!

[Muscelli]

Thank god, I was under the impression that this was today, and that I missed the show due to SATs this morning but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[Moon Jump]

My friends and I will be there. We'll be selling off our new Press Start Shirts for 12 bucks and 2600 is trying his best to burn some DVD's to sell of our arcade videos.

My badge, if we get one, will say Nick. I'll be helping out our good friend Jon from Neo-Geo.com and we got a table set up with a bunch of different games.

As I said before, I'm going to bring my Star Fox Super Weekend Tournament cart and I'll be running a mini tournament, so be sure to check it out!

See you folks tomorrow!

[mindlesspunk77]

Just got back from setting up WOW im beat! Anyone gets lost has questions whatever call me or chuck my cell is 215 307 7900 or I have aim on my cell xevilebunnyx We put up signs should be easy to find!

[Coldguy]

I can't make it :( school sucks...

[GrandAmChandler]

Too Many Games May, 4th 2008 - A Review

Today I attended Too Many Games in Reading, PA. Let's just start off by saying that this is strongest convention that Chuck Whitby and Paul Truitt have organized to date. Held in the Greater Reading Expo center, and after attending several other Too Many Games shows, I can say strongly that this location was the best yet, and hope it stays here at it's newly founded home. Getting to the center was easier than shows in the past, right off of a main highway. Reading's roadway system is not the easiest to Navigate, but in the end everything went well.

I pre-registered for the event, which allowed early birds to enter the show an hour earlier than everyone else. Upon arriving early at 9:30 AM, a line had already been formed outside the doors of the convention center of about a two dozen or so people. 20-25 minutes later, that line had extended to about 100 deep, possibly more. Entering the show seemed to be a bit of a hassle. The Name badges seemed to be in no order, which made the entrance line to proceed slowly. I was lucky to be in that first two dozen, but felt really bad for the 100 or so people behind me. Upon entering, we also were sadly informed that the $3 off coupons were not available, but that the show organizers were deeply sorry, and would assist on purchases to make things right. It didn't really matter though, because the amount of things that were given away is the most I have ever seen at any video game convention. There is nothing better than seeing a show's organizer with a big smile on his face, throwing T-Shirts and other videogame swag your way.

Contests were everywhere! Everything from Call of Duty 4, to Guilty Gear, Guitar Hero, Smash Bros. and more! Signage was clearly posted at the entrance for the details and location of each tourney. The layout of the show worked well, until some of the tournaments started, such as Guitar Hero. This made navigating around vendor tables nearby very frustrating. Great for the interest in the tourneys, just should be separated somehow from the vendor tables.

Arcade machines were sparce, I counted about a half a dozen, which is a lot less than previous Too Many Games Expos, but the ones that were their such as classics like Popeye, and Q*bert's Qubes worked well. Vendors were a plenty, boasting product anywhere from Atari to Playstation 3, imports, schwag, and more. I saw a very high emphasis on Atari-era games which was a big difference from previous showings. Vendors usually had fair prices, although there are always a couple that have outrageous prices on things for a con. (Remember vendors we are there to get deals, not pay eBay prices.) Speaking of paying for things, it was very convienient that some vendors were able to take credit cards, and that there were two ATMs conveniently located on the show floor. A vendor had drinks and snacks for sale, and restaurants were only a 5 minute drive away. FREE Jolt Cola was provided to attendees, since they were a sponsor. A very good match!

All in all this was a great showing from the Too Many Games crew, a great throwback to the old Philly Classic days! I was quite impressed, and I am looking forward to the next show in October. A few minor tweaks here and there and this could be the best video game convention on the East Coast!

Positives

-Convenient Location
-Low ticket admission
-Tons of deals
-Many Vendors
-Plenty or Tournaments
-Big Crowd! (Largest at a Too Many Games Ever?)
-FREE Jolt Cola for attendees
-Tons of Giveaways!

Negatives

-No Security. (People sneaking in)
-P.A. System was weak, if you were on the other side of the room, you could not hear the people on the Microphones at all Should be located somewhere in the middle, or more speakers.
-Small amount of help, Chuck and Paul could use another helper or two on staff.
-Temperature got a little hot at times
-Needs more arcade cabs / free play systems
-Needs More Professional Signage outside the convention center

-GAC-

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

To add to GAC's comments, TMG was the first video game conference I have ever attended. I wound up getting there very early since I wasn't sure of the driving time from my house. I hopped in line about 9:20 and was like #6 or so in the door. I agree with his assessment of the badge situation. Thankfully mine was not hard to find. I did, however, like the way that people were routed in through the check in area.

Not having been to any other conferences, I was not sure what to expect. It didn't take long before the whole room was crowded with people. I don't know if it got more packed near the end of the day. I guess I must have left before the "great shirt and swag toss" so that was my loss.

It seemed like there was a wide variety of vendors, but unfortunately for me, nobody had they few items that I came looking for. I did, however, notice a number of items carrying price tags that I thought were way above what I am used to. I guess for my needs, I will stick to dealing with people here in the forums.

Overall, I had a pretty good time and plan on returning for the next one since it is only a couple hours from my house. So guys, thanks for a great first conference experience.

JY

[Drexel923]

Great show...the best TMG yet!

GAC pretty much summed up all the problems with the show, but overall it was still a good time and I got a ton of great stuff.

Can't wait until next time :D

[videogametrader]

Great show Chuck! I was impressed! I do agree with the pros and cons above. Hey! If you need help printing coupons or anything next time, please let me know.

[le geek]

Overall this was a very good show. Yeah some of the vendors had high prices, but some of them had some good deals too. It was nice to see the large turn out, but the crowded nature didn't lend itself for randomly meeting up with forum members.

It was really cool to see the spread of merchandise cover pretty much all eras of gaming, while most of the high ticket items were SNES and up there was plenty of Atari stuff on hand as well as Coleco, Intellivision and Vectrex.

And it was nice to see Rolenta and the "Prototype" of Phoenix 4! While I didn't pick up a copy of ABC to VCS (I know, I suck), I'm really looking forward to reading the latest edition of Phoenix when it is finished.

Cheers,
Ben

[GnawRadar]

Great show! Well, I have never been to any other shows but I still had a great time, I went with Drexel923 and GrandAmChandler and what GAC said was spot on. Not ever having been to something like this before I didn't know what to expect, but I thought there would be more games being sold in general, but I wasn't disappointed with the selection. There was a huge amount of people and hopefully because of the attendance and overall good experience this show will continue to grow and become bigger and bigger each year.

[Moon Jump]

I'm going to do a whole write up on my site about the show. We had a lot of fun, it just went by TOO FAST. I'm disappointed that nobody came to the table we were at and nobody got t-shirts or wanted to play my rare Star Fox cart to win a free shirt.

(Kenny, if your on here, I owe you a shirt, I went to get you one after I found my friend and you and your girlfriend were gone)

[intvsama]

Everyone, thank you for the kind words! You have no idea how much we appreciate everyone who came out for the show, it was truely a defining moment for me. 8*)

I hope everyone will tell others about how much fun they had at the show and we can keep growing and get more people into the fun!

I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on when the next show's going to be! Thanks again!

[The 1 2 P]

I hope you had a great show.

[xfrumx]

I had fun. Didn't really meet anyone from here. My girlfriend got bit by a possibly rabid cat the day before so we left early cause it takes almost 5 hours to get home from Reading. Either way we both had fun, got a bunch of good deals (and not so good ones) but thats what this was all about. FUN and we had it!

[mindlesspunk77]

Glad you had fun and hope your gf is okay. I enjoyed chatting with you about your band and music and what not! Hope to see you next show!

[xfrumx]

Glad you had fun and hope your gf is okay. I enjoyed chatting with you about your band and music and what not! Hope to see you next show!

I will most likely be there, unless tour or something keeps me from it.(oh wait get us to play, we aren't all video games but it would be fun!) now I need to check out the band you told me about!

I hope you had fun too, d00d!

[mindlesspunk77]

Bands are something we want in the future so I will keep you guys in mind your amazing! Yes Yes check out whatever band I told you about ... OHH! Cock Punch! Yes Yes! Are you going to the polkadot cadaver show 6/7 in md?

find me on aim if you have it xevilebunnyx

[RCM]

I had fun. Didn't really meet anyone from here. My girlfriend got bit by a possibly rabid cat the day before so we left early cause it takes almost 5 hours to get home from Reading. Either way we both had fun, got a bunch of good deals (and not so good ones) but thats what this was all about. FUN and we had it!

You guys were there? Damn, of all the people I didn't see you. Fuckin' A, next year I guess!

[xfrumx]

You guys were there? Damn, of all the people I didn't see you. Fuckin' A, next year I guess!

Yeah, that sucks man! I was looking all over for you and didn't see you at all! Maybe we all just look different now or something.

[J2games]

As a vendor, I can say we were pleased with the TMG Show attendance, the professionalism of the show staff and the overall experience! Chuck and his crew managed to take care of all issues as they arose (and you can imagine that you just can't plan for everything!) The turnout was awesome and sales were brisk for most of my fellow vendors I spoke with.

Already looking forward to next year! Nice work Chuck!

Some pics are posted towards the end at this link: http://j2games.com/new/forum/index.php?topic=1576.0

More coming tomorrow!

[intvsama]

Hey, Vec. If you come to the next TMG event make sure you get some VAG shirts printed up, you and the DP crew should rock them hard if GAC or Drex get a booth. 8*)

[mindlesspunk77]

Man all these kind words I am soooo Psyched for the fall! Me Chuck and Chris are gonna make the shit go off just you wait!