Just got back from CGE

[Jibbajaba]

Well I just got back from CGE. I had a great time, and scored some pretty cool stuff considering that I was on a tight budget. I got to meet punkoffgirl, digitpress jim, papastu, darth vader, dave2236, and I think thats it. Cool to put faces with the on screen personas. I got a lot of people reading my name tag, looking at me, going "...oh...." and walking off. Heh. That's OK. I love you guys anyway. So anyway, I took about 45 pics, and uploaded them to photobucket, so you guys can check them out until my monthly bandwidth gets exceeded.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v333/cpalaimo/

Had a great time, and I'm definitely looking forward to another classic gaming convention!

Chris

[ApolloBoy]

I'm back as well, I left about 3 PM mainly because I was getting tired. Hopefully, if my dad will let me, I can go tommorrow.

[tholly]

wow....very nice pics...thanks for sharing....i wish i could have been there....i loved the pic of the NWC90 cart as well as all the rare nes games......lots of stuff to have sitting out.

[fahrvergnugen]

Had a good time today! I met a few people but mostly kept to myself, save for the group shot.

[Jibbajaba]

Yeah I was basically standing next to you for that group shot. I thought it best to keep to myself.

Chris

Thank God Gunpanther didnt show up. I would have come home in a body bag!!!!

[Ninja Blacksox]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/cpalaimo/P8200011.jpg

Shit.

Anybody have a towel?

-A Boy

[jasonlotp]

Shit.

Anybody have a towel?

-A Boy

@_@ Yeah, I saw that today and thought, wow it has a conveinient handle for picking the whole case up. :D
But then I realized there was a mean looking security guard standing at the entrance to the room. :o
-Jason

[Raedon]

From those pictures it looks like there was a lot more uncommon stuff for sale this year along with less people buying any deals.

[-hellvin-]

Looks like a blast.

[HellStar]

Uh..whats that genesis looking thing? Ive never seen it before? O_O

[Jibbajaba]

Most of these pictures are from the museum, not the sales portion. Those protos under glass pistured above are from the museum, although there was a vendor, atari2600.com I THINK who was selling quite a few protos.

Chris

[Raedon]

I obviously wasn't talking about the museum. There was a booth loaded with NES.. last year NES carts were about the same as walking into a gamestop in 2002... commons for $5 and bad labels.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

I got a lot of people reading my name tag, looking at me, going "...oh...." and walking off. Heh.


Oh him. :roll: Thats kind of rude. LOL

Anywho that looks like it would have been pretty interesting indeed. I would have liked to go also but due to the fact that i'm working and it would be quite the trip from mass. Oh well i'm sure i'll check it out sooner or later.

[Aussie2B]

Neato. :) I'd like to go, but I can barely afford trips to visit family, let along trips for pleasure (not that it's not a pleasure to visit my folks, haha :P ).

Are people allowed to touch the stuff that's just sitting out? Or does everyone have to keep their grubby paws to themselves? :P

[RCM]

Wow, those pictures made me drool. Fucking A. I wanted to go this year, but RCM is broke. I am hoping to go next year. I live on the east coast so at least i will be able to go the East Coast Gaming Expo! Well, I have to b/c it's my show! www.ecgx.com. What a shamless plug. I disgust me. Stupid me. Those pics are amazing though. I have a question. Was there a lot of security at the show? There was so much rare stuff. Has anybody ever tried to take some of the really rare shite?

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[Jibbajaba]

Raedon: Yeah that one booth just had a silly amount of NES stuff. That block of boxed games was actually bigger (couldnt get it all in the pic), and those drawers underneath were all full of loose games. Off to one side they had a table with odds and ends on it like a power glove, vaus controllers, a quickshot controller, U-force, etc. etc. but they were definitely a "full price" type of establishment. They charged AT LEAST eBay prices. They were pretty much the only people with NES stuff though aside from the few games at the DP booth.

Aussie2B: I dunno if you were allowed to touch the stuff in the museum. Most of it was just sitting on tables, and there weren't any signs saying "Don't Touch", but I played it safe and kept my hands to myself. The only exception was that vectrex unit I took a pic of. They had 2 of those set up in the museum and you could play those, which I did. They had a crapload of systems set up in the main room, but I didn't play any of them. Most of it was stuff that most of us already have anyway. They had an AES set up but people were playing it so didn't get a chance to get on that one.

Testament89: It doesn't bother me. I know I rub some people the wrong way here, so I didn't go expecting people to be all "Hey it's Jibbajaba!!!". Plus I have only been on the boards since like March so most people probably just don't really know or care who I am. In all fairness I am pretty much too shy to talk to people anyway so I wasn't going around to the DPers introducing myself.

RCM: No, there was one guy guarding the door into the museum telling everyone to leave their bags/backpacks, etc. I was thinking to myself that the stuff in there was really suceptible to theft, and that if it was my stuff, I would be in there giving the stink-eye to anyone who got too close. I had that impression about the main room, too, though. I am not a thief in any way, but I was thinking to myself that a couple of punk kids could pay their $20 each and then go buck-wild in there stuffing their backpacks/trenchcoats/baggy pants full of schwag and quietly leaving. I know that none of us would do such a thing, but there were a lot of younger kids in there that maybe would (no, not you, Marty :) ) But maybe there were cameras or something that I didn't see.

Chris

[Mitch_Naz]

Nice pics, thanks alot.

[HellStar]

so what was this thing?
http://photobucket.com/albums/v333/cpalaimo/?action=view&current=P8200021.jpg

[TNTPLUST]

Well, I'm sitting here in my room at the Hilton and CGE day one has just ended. I don't know if I met any of you. I'm the fat guy in the Hawaiian shirt with family. I took a few pics and put them up too. Most are from the museum and the auction. The two auction pics depict the $660 hand held PS1 mod and the $133 Corona Beer and two limes. Both items being displayed by the beautiful Janice who gave my daughter a balloon! I will take more pics tomorow!


http://www.photobucket.com/albums/v365/tntplust/

[Jibbajaba]

I don't understand. Someone paid $133 for a beer???

Chris

[Raedon]

I don't understand. Someone paid $133 for a beer???

Chris

Must have been the last beer and John

[TNTPLUST]

I'm sure someone can tell the story better but I'll try. John Hardie was the auctioneer for CGE. This year many of the Items went to the Special Olympics. During the whole auction he was drinking Coronas. At the very end he put up a Corona with a Lime and tried to auction it off as a joke. To his surprise and many others the bidding started off at a dollar or two and just kept going. People were having real fun with it. I don't know who won it (maybe someone can fill that part of the story in) but the whole crowd cheered as he chugged it down. What a blast!

[Raedon]

I knew it involved John.. He is like an alternate universe just off reality that requires beer for ethereal fuel.

[qbertandernie]

damn, i want a smash controller.....

[suppafly]

Nice pictures y´all. I´d never seen so many rare games in one same place... :eek 2:

[Raedon]

so what was this thing?
http://photobucket.com/albums/v333/cpalaimo/?action=view¤t=P8200021.jpg


You talking about the piggyback Sega CD? it's the first realeased version of the Genesis add on and plays a different tune then the sidecars. It's also more reliable if you take care of it.

oh.. it is odd.. dev unit I guess.

[The_EniGma]

graet finds......

i wish i could go now

[PapaStu]

Ok to help clear up a few things.....

That Sega CD thing is either THE or A (of a very limited bunch) developer Sega CD. All the doo-dads on the front were to help tweak with the game and with the systems running it.

And the Beer...... By far the highlight of the evening. (I posted this in the CGE Auctions thread, but here it is again for everyone else)

To fill in regards to the beer. The final auction for the night was a bottle of corona and a lime for it. Portnoyd and a few others began to bid back and forth on it getting it to about 10 bucks for the bottle. A few people threw a few dollar bills at Portnoyd to help him quench his thirst as the bottle worked its way to 40 bucks. Soon there was a 20 from me, a 20 from Sean Kelly and 20 from someone who was just behind me as the front 3 rows were now working together to win the beer. When the dust settled there was a final cheer as Portnoyd called out the 134 dollars. He then proceeded to get up there and take his prized bottle of beer and Chug it as we all called out Dave Dave Dave!!!!!!

It was truly an amazing moment. Ive got a pair of pictures of the chugging of the bottle. I will get those posted tomorrow.

And it was really hilarious and it went to the Special Olympics so it was all for a good cause.

[Keir]

Testament89: It doesn't bother me. I know I rub some people the wrong way here, so I didn't go expecting people to be all "Hey it's Jibbajaba!!!".
I would have! :D

Thanks for the pics, BTW.

[fahrvergnugen]

Yeah I was basically standing next to you for that group shot. I thought it best to keep to myself.

Aw, bummer. Any harsh words we might have swapped here should have no bearing on what goes on there, it would have been nice to meet you.

[fahrvergnugen]

I obviously wasn't talking about the museum. There was a booth loaded with NES.. last year NES carts were about the same as walking into a gamestop in 2002... commons for $5 and bad labels.

Yeah, but the prices were OUTRAGEOUS. $18 for common completes. My jaw 'bout hit the floor.

[mosesshirai]

Looks like the news is out. CGE has hit the big time. And it sounds like prices did too. Nuts. Anyone have pictures of the freeplay arcade. I am dying to see a major havoc game for memories sake.

[Jibbajaba]

Looks like the news is out. CGE has hit the big time. And it sounds like prices did too. Nuts. Anyone have pictures of the freeplay arcade. I am dying to see a major havoc game for memories sake.

I took a pic or two of the coin-ops, but I dunno if you could pick out a particular game there...I should have taken better pics.

Chris

[charitycasegreg]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/cpalaimo/P8200011.jpg

Shit.

Anybody have a towel?

-A Boy
LOL i was going to say something along the lines of that about this...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/cpalaimo/P8200038.jpg

damn that place looks awesome, too bad i didnt go.

[Raedon]

I obviously wasn't talking about the museum. There was a booth loaded with NES.. last year NES carts were about the same as walking into a gamestop in 2002... commons for $5 and bad labels.

Yeah, but the prices were OUTRAGEOUS. $18 for common completes. My jaw 'bout hit the floor.


I will say this ONE LAST TIME! Deals are in the wild.. Flea markets, yard sales, Pawn shops. Would you go to a Star Trek convention and look for a complete ST:TOS DVD set for $20? No.

You have to do the leg work for finds up to uncommon or you have no right to complain about a price. This is why CGE should be nothing but 5+ rare cart vendors. This will be the case in a decade for classic and 'maybe' neo-classic systems.

[kainemaxwell]

Nice pics.
Wish I had the money to go or spend. :(
Or even meet some you guys even.

[Jibbajaba]

I obviously wasn't talking about the museum. There was a booth loaded with NES.. last year NES carts were about the same as walking into a gamestop in 2002... commons for $5 and bad labels.

Yeah, but the prices were OUTRAGEOUS. $18 for common completes. My jaw 'bout hit the floor.


I will say this ONE LAST TIME! Deals are in the wild.. Flea markets, yard sales, Pawn shops. Would you go to a Star Trek convention and look for a complete ST:TOS DVD set for $20? No.

You have to do the leg work for finds up to uncommon or you have no right to complain about a price. This is why CGE should be nothing but 5+ rare cart vendors. This will be the case in a decade for classic and 'maybe' neo-classic systems.

I do and don't agree with this. There were plenty of deals to be had at CGE. It was a great opportunity to pick up common 2600 games that I didn't have, lynx games that I didn't have, etc. I paid eBay prices or less and there was no shipping charge.The prices for most of those complete NES games were high, but probably the same amount that you would pay on eBay with shipping in most cases. The problem is that with the rarer games, it seemed like they were jacking up the price over eBay, but my main beef with that stand was their prices on NES peripherals, which were WAY over eBay prices.

I really think that there should be a seperate rarity scale for complete games. As far as I am concerned, when speaking of NES games, once a game is complete, it isnt really "common" anymore. I see SMB in the wild all the time, but I've never seen a complete one. I'm sure most of you had, but certainly not as often as you see loose ones. Aside from one major haul that I made, I almost never find complete NES games in the wild. A lot of the games that Fahrvergnugen is talking about were definitely more than I would be willing to pay, but a lot of the complete commons were under 10 bucks, which I think is an OK deal. If you want complete games, you're gonna have to pay for them.

The bottom line is that there were a lot of things at CGE that were way too expensive ($75 for an Atari 2600 for instance), but CGE was also a great opportunity to fill in a lot of blanks in one's collection through the cheap aqcuisition of common games that have up until now been elusive.

Chris

[Raedon]

[quote="Raedon"][quote="fahrvergnugen"][quote=Raedon]I obviously wasn't talking about the museum. There was a booth loaded with The bottom line is that there were a lot of things at CGE that were way too expensive ($75 for an Atari 2600 for instance), but CGE was also a great opportunity to fill in a lot of blanks in one's collection through the cheap aqcuisition of common games that have up until now been elusive.

Chris

I wasn't talking 2600, I was talking NES and the neo-classics. I see your point. Many of the new collectors didn't get into this when 2600 games were being thrown away.


You also have to realize that many of the old timers here have full 1-5 scale collections for almost everything to NES.

[Sosage]

I will say this ONE LAST TIME!

Agreed. I will admit that I still found the NES table a bit high, but I also can't claim shock and awe (/me ducks and tries not to get yelled at by Raedon).

On the positive side of things, there were some people there quoting very fair prices imo. I feel like an ass for not remembering their name, but the guy/lady selling misc. Saturn/Genesis games for 5 and some Dreamcast accesories (they also had a small pile of sealed Asteroids/Dig Dug/Jinks/Pole Position II on the table...right next to the arcade machines) seemed to be very friendly and fair (my girlfriend and the lady discussed 20/100 dollar bill counterfit detection of all things).

I'm rambling now. So I'll stop. Best deal of the weekend? Digital Press Guides of course! :D

[Jibbajaba]

I will say this ONE LAST TIME!

Agreed. I will admit that I still found the NES table a bit high, but I also can't claim shock and awe (/me ducks and tries not to get yelled at by Raedon).

On the positive side of things, there were some people there quoting very fair prices imo. I feel like an ass for not remembering their name, but the guy/lady selling misc. Saturn/Genesis games for 5 and some Dreamcast accesories (they also had a small pile of sealed Asteroids/Dig Dug/Jinks/Pole Position II on the table...right next to the arcade machines) seemed to be very friendly and fair (my girlfriend and the lady discussed 20/100 dollar bill counterfit detection of all things).

I'm rambling now. So I'll stop. Best deal of the weekend? Digital Press Guides of course! :D

Holy shit I was standing there looking at the Genny crap when you guys were talking about the counterfiting stuff! That was Packrat Video Games. They had some great deals.

Chris

[fahrvergnugen]

All I'm saying is, $100 for a B+/A- quality Dragon Warrior 4 is insane.

I'm also a little bitter about the Deluxe Set NES I bought, because I specifically asked the vendor if it was complete and he said yes. I asked specifically about docs, and he said yes. When I got it home, there were no docs and no yellow/red video cable, and there were holes punched into the styrofoam. I guess, and it's not like it's a huge amount of money, but the show floor wasn't really the kind of place I felt I could bust it open for inspection, either.

I did get an okay deal on a couple of box-only carts, and I'll probably go again next year, but it won't be with the intention of spending much money.

[Ninja Blacksox]

I'm also a little bitter about the Deluxe Set NES I bought, because I specifically asked the vendor if it was complete and he said yes. I asked specifically about docs, and he said yes. When I got it home, there were no docs and no yellow/red video cable, and there were holes punched into the styrofoam. I guess, and it's not like it's a huge amount of money, but the show floor wasn't really the kind of place I felt I could bust it open for inspection, either.

You should be more than "a little bitter."

C'mon.

That's bush league.

CGE is the premier event for the retro gaming community.

That deal wouldn't fly with me.

-A Boy

[Jibbajaba]

All I'm saying is, $100 for a B+/A- quality Dragon Warrior 4 is insane.

I'm also a little bitter about the Deluxe Set NES I bought, because I specifically asked the vendor if it was complete and he said yes. I asked specifically about docs, and he said yes. When I got it home, there were no docs and no yellow/red video cable, and there were holes punched into the styrofoam. I guess, and it's not like it's a huge amount of money, but the show floor wasn't really the kind of place I felt I could bust it open for inspection, either.

I did get an okay deal on a couple of box-only carts, and I'll probably go again next year, but it won't be with the intention of spending much money.

Considering you live in the Bay Area, you should have gone back today and exchanged it. The people in the ticket window are DPers (at least some) and I'm sure they would have let you in without charging you so you could take care of business. Which stand did you buy it from? 4Jays.com?

Chris

[Half Cab Leroy]

Very cool pics. My jaw dropped when I saw all of the rare NES stuff.

[GameBoy]

I'm back as well, I left about 3 PM mainly because I was getting tired. Hopefully, if my dad will let me, I can go tommorrow.

A little off topic but I love that avatar.

[TNTPLUST]

Day two pics have been added

http://www.photobucket.com/albums/v365/tntplust/

you will find pictures of James Hakolas' booth www.mrdandy.com

More Museum, Coin Op, Vendor and Console

A little about vendor pricing. Yes it is high but expected. I don't really blame them they are in this to make a living not to support a hobby. There were deals to be found though. I bought the following at the SWAP.

Coleco system, w atari module, driving Module, Turbo, Carnival, Cosmic avenger, space fury,Smurf, zaxxon, all hookups -$35

The entire Wisdom Tree Collection for the NES - $15

Camerica games for the Nes (Fire Hawk , Quatro Adventure, Bee 52, Ultimate Stuntman, mig 29) $5

Roughly 30 NES R2's to R4's for $1 ea.

Donkey Kong Jr. 7800 .50

DC Crazy Taxi $1

Wico Command Stick $1

Ps1 Blast Chamber, Board game top shop, Soul Blade - $7

***********At the vendors I bought******************************

Planet Lander for the O2 -can't remember but it was less than $20

PS1 Medal of Honor Underground sealed $5

War Room with overlay and manual -$15

Once Upon A Atari signed by Howard Warshaw-$20

Lynx Cyberball and Rampart Sealed $10

[fahrvergnugen]

Considering you live in the Bay Area, you should have gone back today and exchanged it. The people in the ticket window are DPers (at least some) and I'm sure they would have let you in without charging you so you could take care of business. Which stand did you buy it from? 4Jays.com?

I'd rather not say which vendor because they've really done right by me in the past, and I don't want to cost them any business. Also it's about as far for me to go to the vendor's regular store as it is for me to go to San Jose (that's the thing about the SF Bay: Everything within 60 miles is considered "local").

As it stands, I had a full day of ripping some built-in shelving out of the wall, and stripping paint off of molding, so spending 3 hours to drive to San Jose wasn't really an option. I'll take care of it next weekend.

[ApolloBoy]

Which stand did you buy it from? 4Jays.com?

About 4Jays, I think their stuff is quite overpriced. They wanted $25 for Castle Of Illusion for the SMS, and it didn't even have the instructions. They even wanted the same for Gain Ground (again, for the SMS), when you can get that game much more cheaper off of eBay.

[TNTPLUST]

Which stand did you buy it from? 4Jays.com?

About 4Jays, I think their stuff is quite overpriced. They wanted $25 for Castle Of Illusion for the SMS, and it didn't even have the instructions. They even wanted the same for Gain Ground (again, for the SMS), when you can get that game much more cheaper off of eBay.

4JAYS had a lot of stuff. Very nice booth. But some of their prices were funky. They were selling Odyssey II Amok for $50. Which is odd since you can buy it online from the programmer for $20. I did buy a new sealed Coleco Controller from them for $20. I wonder if they lowered prices just a little if they would not get more sales. They had a lot of nice things and I easily could have spent $500 if the prices were a tad more reasonable. I circled a Vextrex they had there all day Sunday but could not justify the $185 dollar price tag.

[Jibbajaba]

Which stand did you buy it from? 4Jays.com?

About 4Jays, I think their stuff is quite overpriced. They wanted $25 for Castle Of Illusion for the SMS, and it didn't even have the instructions. They even wanted the same for Gain Ground (again, for the SMS), when you can get that game much more cheaper off of eBay.

4JAYS had a lot of stuff. Very nice booth. But some of their prices were funky. They were selling Odyssey II Amok for $50. Which is odd since you can buy it online from the programmer for $20. I did buy a new sealed Coleco Controller from them for $20. I wonder if they lowered prices just a little if they would not get more sales. They had a lot of nice things and I easily could have spent $500 if the prices were a tad more reasonable. I circled a Vextrex they had there all day Sunday but could not justify the $185 dollar price tag.

I agree. They wanted $20 for an SMS sports title. What's worse about their booth was the fact that nothing was priced. You had to ask an attendant to look up the price, which was really inconvenient due to the size of their booth and the way it was laid out. They had those bookshelves full of sealed atari games off to one side. What if I was interested in several of them? Was I supposed to pull them all out, take them to the main table to find out their prices, then re-file the games I didnt want? I didn't buy anything from them, but I would like to take a trip over to their store in antioch. I think the shopping experience would be a lot more enjoyable if it werent so hectic. Their prices aside, I don't know of any other place within a reasonable driving distance where I can get Atari games.

Chris

[Raedon]

Yea, if you guys have been to collect-a-con's before you know that the vendors expect a good part of the people not to know what is worth what.

If you know a loose top loader is worth $60 then don't complain or buy the one that is $120.

It's not a big deal, CGE is more of a gathering of like minds then a place to buy NWC carts for $3.

The vendors can't be to wrong, every auction result has ended higher then collector value so a good portion of the collectors are still newbies with cash burning in their pocket.

[PapaStu]

Raedon, your right on the money.

Having spent the last 4 days working in/at/around CGE, I can say that there were deals to be had, and there were things that were incredibly overpriced. The catch (and its a simple one) dont buy it. If you feel that something is just too much, then walk away, or offer them a lower price that is more to your liking. Whats the worst that can happen, No? No one there is going to force you to buy the stuff at that higher price, and in some cases its not allways a bad thing if you factor in shipping, condition, and just the occurance of seeing that item anywhere.

A big part of this entire thing is just to meet people and go and get the chance to see as much stuff as you can. Just the stuff in the museum is well worth the visit if you are interested in the hobby.

[kevincure]

Finally back from CGE myself. It was my 2nd show, and a great time. I remember talking to Joe, John, Maxlords Nate, Dave, Darth Vader Danny, PapaStu Steve, MarioAllStar Marty (who got lucky in that game of Pong, believe me), i_lamb, Mayhem, Queen, Captain Yashiro, Ianoid and many more who slip my immediate mind. I didn't have a nametag, but I know I saw at least a few more of you - I'm pretty sure I sold Crazy Taxi to TNTplust, for example. Among the highlights of the show:

- Meeting Al "pong" Alcorn in front of the original Pong machine and having him challenge me to a quick game. I had the old man 11-10, but he came back for the win. Almost!
- Trying to top Billy Mitchell on PacMan. I only came a few (err, hundred thousand) points short.
- Talking to the man responsible for the first videogame I'd ever played, Bob "Activision Boxing" Whitehead
- the small affaiirs at y-bot's game trading party and the DP/CGE party. DP's party was sponsored by Digital Eclipse, who made the Atari and Midway Collections on PSX. They had custom printed shot glasses, good times.
- A bunch of Warlords, which everyone knows I can't turn down.
- Making contacts at a few more companies to confirm data for my PSX list.
- New books! The DP Advance Guide looks great, though I've only just started to work through it. I also got Zap! and Game Over for a great price.
- The CGE auction, including the great amount raised for charity. The portable Playstation was fantastic.

As far as buying was concerned: Yeah, most booths were overpriced, just as they were last year. My bud also had the ol' "Oh, this is the wrong price" pulled on him when he was buying a game on Sunday from one of the vendors, even though the price was the same as it was on Saturday. Lame.

That said, there were great, great deals to be had. I got DC Internet Explorer 3.0 for $10, FFIX non-GH sealed for 10, Typing of the Dead sealed for 5, Centipede DC for 5, bleemcast Tekken 3 for 1, DreamEye for 15, Dreamcast orange 9/9/99 shirt for 5. My bud Qixmaster bought a grip of NES games, manuals and boxes, including complete DK Math Jr. (for 20!), Caltron box, Myriad box and manual (15 for all 3!), Rescue Rangers 2 (for a buck), etc.. Darth Vader won Hot Slots loose and Cheetahman 2 complete for 300 total in the auction. Papastu got a PSX dev kit for 200. Maxlords picked up a Saturn dev disc for 75. There were certainly good buys to be had if you looked around.

Look forward to next year!

[Lady Jaye]

Seemed like a great time!!! Oh well, I'll make sure to not miss it next year. I promise y'all.

In Jibbajaba's pics, there's a display case with some videogame-related stickers.... I have the DK set (which have a velvety feel to them) and the Ms. Pac-Man set (which is like the illustrated Pac-Man set: puffy stickers with bulging eyes). These were stickers I bought on sale back in 1988. They're an integral part of my good ole scrapbook. :D

[Keir]

I just noticed the Mythicon display stand in one of Jibbajaba's pics. I'm probably only one impressed by that. LOL I've never seen one before (and yes, I've been looking!) That's just awesome.

[Boboduo]

I got back late last night. This was my third CGE and I have to say it was fun. I didn't really meet many people (too shy), but had a great time! My TurboGrafx collection benefitted the most (at the expense of my wallet LOL ).

The auction was a blast-the guy in front of me bought the Portable playstation, boxed Vectrex, and a few other items. Guy behind me bought Music Machine record and cartridge. Together those two spent a lot of money. The beer auction was great too.

The swap meet room was a very cool idea, I spent more money in there than in the showroom. The museum was great as usual- I never get tired of drooling over all the rare stuff, protos, advertising, etc...

My biggest regret was missing the group picture AGAIN (forgot about it, was at lunch).

Looking forward to next year!

kudos to Joe, John, Sean and everyone else involved!

[D-Lite]

I got back late last night. This was my third CGE and I have to say it was fun. I didn't really meet many people (too shy), but had a great time! My TurboGrafx collection benefitted the most (at the expense of my wallet LOL ).
You get any of that stuff from me? :D

I had a great time in the swap meets on both days. I felt like spreading the wealth of Turbo Grafx goodness around with boxed games. I think far and away that the swap meets were the most fun as I got to talk to a lot of people that way. I think an effort should be made for next year to really promote and organize the swaps, although this year worked out pretty well.

[Boboduo]

Yes I did- I had to drag myself away before I bought Magical Chase. LOL
You had some quality stuff there-- The bonk t-shirt was sweet!

[D-Lite]

Yes I did- I had to drag myself away before I bought Magical Chase. LOL
You had some quality stuff there-- The bonk t-shirt was sweet!

thanks! So you came by both days then! Was it you who bought the Bonk 3 boxed? Magical Chase did sell too ;)

[TNTPLUST]

I got back late last night. This was my third CGE and I have to say it was fun. I didn't really meet many people (too shy), but had a great time! My TurboGrafx collection benefitted the most (at the expense of my wallet LOL ).
You get any of that stuff from me? :D

I had a great time in the swap meets on both days. I felt like spreading the wealth of Turbo Grafx goodness around with boxed games. I think far and away that the swap meets were the most fun as I got to talk to a lot of people that way. I think an effort should be made for next year to really promote and organize the swaps, although this year worked out pretty well.

I agree! I spent more time and bought more stuff at the swap then I spent in the main hall. I rented my own table on saturday and had a blast selling some of my stuff.

[TNTPLUST]

I got back late last night. This was my third CGE and I have to say it was fun. I didn't really meet many people (too shy), but had a great time! My TurboGrafx collection benefitted the most (at the expense of my wallet LOL ).
You get any of that stuff from me? :D

I had a great time in the swap meets on both days. I felt like spreading the wealth of Turbo Grafx goodness around with boxed games. I think far and away that the swap meets were the most fun as I got to talk to a lot of people that way. I think an effort should be made for next year to really promote and organize the swaps, although this year worked out pretty well.

I agree! I spent more time and bought more stuff at the swap then I spent in the main hall. I rented my own table on saturday and had a blast selling some of my stuff.

[Qixmaster]

I agree! I spent more time and bought more stuff at the swap then I spent in the main hall. I rented my own table on saturday and had a blast selling some of my stuff.

ya man, no kidding. On sunday i was living it up in the swap hall. lemme tell you, Kevin "tsr" Gifford had the steals of the century on NES stuff.

I also have to thank you tntplust for buying a pile of my NES games, you helped fund my trip.

[Qixmaster]

As far as buying was concerned: Yeah, most booths were overpriced, just as they were last year. My bud also had the ol' "Oh, this is the wrong price" pulled on him when he was buying a game on Sunday from one of the vendors, even though the price was the same as it was on Saturday. Lame.

That said, there were great, great deals to be had. I got DC Internet Explorer 3.0 for $10, FFIX non-GH sealed for 10, Typing of the Dead sealed for 5, Centipede DC for 5, bleemcast Tekken 3 for 1, DreamEye for 15, Dreamcast orange 9/9/99 shirt for 5. My bud Qixmaster bought a grip of NES games, manuals and boxes, including complete DK Math Jr. (for 20!), Caltron box, Myriad box and manual (15 for all 3!), Rescue Rangers 2 (for a buck), etc.. Darth Vader won Hot Slots loose and Cheetahman 2 complete for 300 total in the auction. Papastu got a PSX dev kit for 200. Maxlords picked up a Saturn dev disc for 75. There were certainly good buys to be had if you looked around.

Look forward to next year!

yes, there were definately deals to be found at cge. dk jr math cib for 20 bucks at the overpriced atari2600 booth, ya can't go wrong with that. But my favorite was on sunday when i went in to purchase panic resturaunt for the nes f-sealed. a2600 booth had a $30 tag on it. I snatched it up, took it to the guy and he looked at it for a second, went to his computer, did a little "research" and said "this game was mispriced." needless to say i was pissed. It had sat there all saturday and for the most of sunday morning with that price tag on it. so... as the story goes, he changes the 3 to an 8 and the game magically becomes 80 bucks in front of my eyes. f' them(eventhough i did rob them on that dk math). isn't really my fault it had been sitting there with that price tag on it for nearly a day and a half... bastards.

oh well, i think i made out pretty well. i am now 147 unique titles away from a complete NTSC nes collection. thanks CGE!

[ianoid]

Looks like the news is out. CGE has hit the big time. And it sounds like prices did too. Nuts.

Actually, prices at some booths are premium, but there are tons of deals to be had. Sure, you won't find anyone with NWC carts for $5, but B&C had a large stack of $2 NES carts. Many people had stuff priced at market rate or better. There were some really unusual items for sale- I picked up a Videosoft Color Bar Generator for 2600, which was even signed by the guy who created the company, and also was involved with the Channel F, but it did cost me alot.

If you go year after year, you can expect there to be a little less you need each year, since some of the vendors just don't change that much (like the CGE services booth- mostly the same great new sealed classic stuff year after year.) Still there were new vendors and collections for sale. 4Jays isn't some super discount operation, but they definitely had alot of gems out there. I was thrilled to see them at the show And the swap meet was pretty good with LOADS of deals to be had, but you had to check back frequently as the faces and items changed every hour.

I'm not certain if people are expecting a Flea Market with same prices, but I think things are pretty reasonable.

People love to lamblast Atari2600.com prices yearly, but they do a brisk business and are awesome for folks like me looking for really weird stuff that you can't get anywhere else. And they are great for people who just don't want to deal with eBay, and want some specific items with customer service to back it up. Remember, for the vendors, this is a business, and you can't make a house payment selling everything you've got for $2. I buy a few items from them every year, and although their prices aren't for everyone, I ran into a few people who were excited just to see some of the items they have for sale outside of the museum.

I just don't think that prices at CGE have changed for the worse in the last few years. Definite wish I'd made it to World of Atari and picked up those nib GCE watches that were on sale for $25 or whatever at the beginning of the show.

[ianoid]

I guess, and it's not like it's a huge amount of money, but the show floor wasn't really the kind of place I felt I could bust it open for inspection, either.



Oh, just like everywhere, CGE is Caveat Emptor. There is nothing wrong with inspecting the items before you buy them- ANYWHERE. And same for CGE. You could take the item off to the side of the booth and ask to open it up. I can't think of a vendor that wouldn't oblidge.

It's great to have stuff to buy at CGE, but there are alot of other reasons to go- friends, keynotes, museum, free play, tournaments, swap (really a sale) session. I don't really expect to find stuff I need, but I always do because my tastes are so diverse.

[Arcade Antics]

I'm sure someone can tell the story better but I'll try. John Hardie was the auctioneer for CGE. This year many of the Items went to the Special Olympics. During the whole auction he was drinking Coronas. At the very end he put up a Corona with a Lime and tried to auction it off as a joke. To his surprise and many others the bidding started off at a dollar or two and just kept going. People were having real fun with it. I don't know who won it (maybe someone can fill that part of the story in) but the whole crowd cheered as he chugged it down. What a blast!

The winner of the $133 bottle of beer was none other than the Mighty Portnoyd!

All $133 dollars raked in from the sale of that beer went directly to Special Olympics. Portnoyd RULES.

[Bighab]

Was the DP Advance guide available for sale? I hope Maxlords got me one :D

[Raedon]

All $133 dollars raked in from the sale of that beer went directly to Special Olympics. Portnoyd RULES.


I must say I have a new respect for Port. That's a big heart and a strong spirit for the fellow dude who didn't get the good card.

[Pantechnicon]

I just noticed the Mythicon display stand in one of Jibbajaba's pics. I'm probably only one impressed by that. LOL I've never seen one before (and yes, I've been looking!) That's just awesome.

No no no. You're not the only one. I saw it too and it blew me away. I have a real soft spot for Mythicon: Sucky games, phenomenal box art. That is all.

[Emily]

All I'm saying is, $100 for a B+/A- quality Dragon Warrior 4 is insane.

I'm also a little bitter about the Deluxe Set NES I bought, because I specifically asked the vendor if it was complete and he said yes. I asked specifically about docs, and he said yes. When I got it home, there were no docs and no yellow/red video cable, and there were holes punched into the styrofoam. I guess, and it's not like it's a huge amount of money, but the show floor wasn't really the kind of place I felt I could bust it open for inspection, either.

I did get an okay deal on a couple of box-only carts, and I'll probably go again next year, but it won't be with the intention of spending much money.

Dude, I was standind next to you when you were asking them about it!!! Those lying bastards! 4Jays lost my bussiness long ago for about the same reason. They sold me a vectrex Cosmic Casm overlay with a brned/melted circle on it from someone using it for a coffie cup coaster!!!!!
They said they were in good condition... :angel: :rockets:

[punkoffgirl]

Shit.

Anybody have a towel?

-A Boy

@_@ Yeah, I saw that today and thought, wow it has a conveinient handle for picking the whole case up. :D
But then I realized there was a mean looking security guard standing at the entrance to the room. :o
-Jason

Do I look that mean? I was only filling in while the lady went to lunch! ;)

[RetroYoungen]

I've been to the 4Jays store in Antioch, and really it's not that bad. The prices are on the high side, but at least where I am (Vacaville) there's really no other place to pick up some of that stuff. I've never seen any SMS stuff, a Vectrex, or anything else cool anywhere other than there and CGE.

ANd after reading some of the posts in here by people who didn't get to go, I feel a little mean for putting up the "If you're reading this, YOU'RE NOT HERE" sign in front of the webcam. Sorry, guys and gals. :-P

[ubersaurus]

I just got back. I had a blast, I got to meet alot of people I had prior only spoke to online, got toooooooore up(I fell asleep on the couch, dammit! I was tired!), and played the hell out of computer space. I also beat oobgarm at pong. I RULEZ0R.

[portnoyd]

All $133 dollars raked in from the sale of that beer went directly to Special Olympics. Portnoyd RULES.

I must say I have a new respect for Port. That's a big heart and a strong spirit for the fellow dude who didn't get the good card.

The good card?

And that was one good goddamn beer. I was sitting there, watching John drink, and all I could think about was how thirsty I was.

dave

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

This was my first visit to a Classic Gaming Expo, and I loved it. My favorite part of the event was the swapmeet. I'm a little bit upset about missing out on a buying a copy of Super Air Zonk that one of the sellers had. I'll definitely be returning next year!