Midwest Gaming Classic 2007

[Atarian75]

does anybody want me to bring along my N64 books and boxes? my snes books and boxes? or my nes books and boxes?

Count me in for the party, I'll be there friday and saturday night. I'll also have friends with me.

Yes, for the SNES and N64 boxes and manuals. I sent you a PM about the stuff I need. Thanks.

[dylan0228]

I`d like to party with you guys Friday night, but I wouldn`t be able to make it until midnight. My fiance won`t be home from work to watch the kid until 11:30. If you know where your going to be, PM me a message or a cell # that I can reach someone. I`ll bring a case of beer! I can only stay until about 1PM Saturday though. I`d really like to partake in the festivities! Let me know! Thanks!

[64Bits]

I can't wait, the show's gettin' closer and closer...

and btw dylan, your Guide is shipping tomorrow before I go to work.

[tonyvortex]

i look forward to meeting some of you guys,make sure everyone comes by the museum part and says hi.

[goatdan]

I am going to be traveling there and probably show up around 5 pm on Friday. Hopefully i can help someone set up something, if not ill just sit around and play FF4 for GBA.

Here's the way to help (and this goes to anyone who might be interested :) ) -- show up at the event hall (Olympia) from 6:00-10:00 and ask the person at the desk there if they know if there is any help needed. If there is, they will probably find Gary or I and ask. There will be things to do, however with any luck we won't be TOTALLY slammed like we have been in years past. Hell, I have found time to post online tonight, and that isn't "normal" at this point for me ;)

We are going to be very aware of how many people we allow into the halls on Friday night, and we will not be allowing people to go in unless they are a vendor or have been approved with a specific function to help. Otherwise, it is too difficult to manage everyone and what they are doing.

Of course, any help will be appreciated! Hope to see you all at the show! I'm really excited for it!!

[goatdan]

Oh yes, and if you would like to help earlier than that, email me at loosen at goatstore dot com by tomorrow night, and I will send you our cell phone numbers to get in contact with us while we are there earlier.

Thanks again!

[77punk]

ok, so I figure i willl just go and be there when the party starts. Its going to take me an hour and a half to get there. Holla if anyone knows about when the Friday party starts. If not ill be there Saturday in the morn. If anyone is desperate enough to need help setting up Ill need to know by the end of the day and could take off from my house at 12pm and get there around 1:30pm

Laters all, and cant wait to meet you all.

[s1lence]

ok, so I figure i willl just go and be there when the party starts. Its going to take me an hour and a half to get there. Holla if anyone knows about when the Friday party starts. If not ill be there Saturday in the morn. If anyone is desperate enough to need help setting up Ill need to know by the end of the day and could take off from my house at 12pm and get there around 1:30pm

Laters all, and cant wait to meet you all.


You know I never actually decided on a time to have the party start. I'm guessing mid evening, 7-8 or so.

[dave2236]

Yes, for the SNES and N64 boxes and manuals. I sent you a PM about the stuff I need. Thanks.


already have packed which games I had at the store.

if you need anything else let me know by tomorrow morning.

see you guys there,

dave

[njiska]

You know I never actually decided on a time to have the party start. I'm guessing mid evening, 7-8 or so.

The moment I arrive. This i my vaction so let the party begin.

[dylan0228]

Will it be too late to show up around midnight for the party? I hope not, as that may be the earliest I can make it! I really would like to do my part on the drinking side!

[njiska]

Will it be too late to show up around midnight for the party? I hope not, as that may be the earliest I can make it! I really would like to do my part on the drinking side!

Shouldn't be. Just try Room 438.

[dylan0228]

Yeah, I talked to Silence & he gave me the low down. I`m trying to find a babysitter so can get there a little earlier. I`m close to accomplishing that feat as we speak. Looking forward to drinking with you all soon!

[LagMonster]

Im late to this party, but Ill be there. I was involved last year, the guy with the long hair getting really drunk. No I was not the scary hippie guy. I have known S1lence for a long time have have met Kamino, not sure if that is a good thing or not, Ill get back to you on it.

Anyways Ill be there Saturday night, have to spend some time in Madison before heading over.

The Lagmonster

[njiska]

So, yeah, first day rocks. Dave's booth was full of good stuff. QoF had some overpriced swag, but she also had some very reasonable stuff. Got a DOAx2 figure and a PSX note book from her.

Party tonight again. 438 or 436, haven't decided yet.

[s1lence]

Hopefully security doesn't get called on us tonight. Thats a first in two years!!! Got myself a shit-ton of 2600 games already and played a little shooter action. Yeah, not sure which room tonight but I do know it will be a good time, Again.

[FABombjoy]

We have 90 cans of Blatz standing by...

[dougman999]

eww. That's the only beer I refuse to drink :-)

[FABombjoy]

Yeah, the Blatz thing started as a joke and somehow got perverted into an MGC tradition.

[64Bits]

Quite dissapointed by the show this year. I won't be going back today. :(

[RJ]

Awww...wha hoppen (or didnt?)

I went in '04, thought this yr's was better by far.

[GrayFox]

I couldn't make it Fri/Sat. It sucked.

I did head out on Sunday to check it out and say hi to whoever was there. Kamino was there, and well, I walked out with this.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/grayfox1212/YAY.gif

WIDDLY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Widdddly wwidddly widddly widddly wahhhh!

Njiska for the win. I don't know how he did it. Totally appreciated, even though yes, I do suck.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Ah yeah, that's totally hot Carey......sweet remix/tribute to "In your pants tonight!"

[njiska]

I couldn't make it Fri/Sat. It sucked.

If we could find you, we did consider kidnapping you from work.

[GrandAmChandler]

Quite dissapointed by the show this year. I won't be going back today. :(

What was disappointing? Can you give a better explanation?

[64Bits]

To be honest, I just enjoyed myself much more last year. I wish there had been more vendors, more to do. Also, the arcade machines from last year were gone. I am seriously considering not going next year, but we'll see. (If it is even going to be held next year?)

[ozyr]

64bits has a point.

I had the UC area in the Exhibit hall and did very, very well.
However, the #1 complaint this year that I heard from all my friends there, and from other people as well was...

1 - lack of vendors (in my opinion, the vendor space was about the same, but they were 'thin'. Hard to explain, but best what I can say is that the vendor tables had their stuff all spread out. in 2006, you could not easily see the other isles from where you were standing. 2007 - you could see from one side of the vendor area to the other side. I found this disappointing. I did find some stuff, but no where near what I wanted to find.)

2nd complaint heard was...

2 - lack of arcade machines (there were far more in 2006)

As a whole though, I thought the show was great. If you wanted to play games, there were some Arcade, Pinball, and a ton of stuff in the Exhibit hall - which probably why that area did so well this year - bar none!

[ozyr]

Well, I just got off of Atariage (yeah, my one a month visit there - roughly) and Dan (from the show) had posted (with Marty) that there were the same amount of Pinball and Arcade machines as last year!?

I personally don't see it, but they stated numbers. It had to be an illusion, because many people complained about it - and it look rather low in numbers to me also. Guess us guys helping w/the show are going to have to work on that for next year! (one would think)

Plus, as I said, the vendor area was around the same. I still say it was way to 'thin' though...

[njiska]

What was disappointing? Can you give a better explanation?

Well the Arcade freeplay section wasn't nearly as good as the year before, though my sources tell me this was due to last minute logistics issue with one of the suppliers. Still the section was ok.

The muesem also seemed kind of disorganized.

[DHG Hunter]

I'd say the pins were about the same number as last year minus a few perhaps, but a large number of the pins were in the Illinois room this year rather than all lined up in the Olympia. The main reason for this I believe was power... running power to just one spot or room can cost a lot, so the pins and arcades needed to be split up this year.

I think there were also more pins perhaps in the tournament area this year that a passer-by couldn't simply walk up to and play.

There weren't quite as many arcades either, but everything this year worked very well IMHO where as I felt a lot of the arcades shown off last year were on their last legs and in need of a lot of restoration. I.e., playing TMNT last year and finding out the sticks were acting up, or NFL Blitz and not being able to move the stick because it was stuck, or simply hitting start on the Star Wars Arcade machine and having it crash. This year when I walked up to a Tron, Track & Field, or Star Wars Arcade machine, etc., they all worked perfectly. The Star Worlds Arcade stuff, while really great, was also very crampt... This section should have been spread out more like the rest of the arcades and pins like last year.

For my own tastes, the vendors were better than last year because I usually only hunt for import stuff, of which there was a lot of it this year. I hardly bought anything last year, but I walked home this year with over $300 worth of stuff at some very fair prices, so I can't complain about this in the least.

I also felt that the museum area was a heck of a lot better than its ever been. I was very impressed with the Jagfest, Turbofest, Underdog Chamber, PS3/Commodore guys, and the rest of the area. There were a lot of networked systems playing Quake, Halo, Halo 2, Gears of War, Mario Kart Double Dash, and the Halo 3 beta was up for the better half of most days. Lots of fun. =)

Overall I thought that this was probably the best year the show has ever had. I think we can all wish there would be more of this or more of that, but overall comparing what was there last year and what was there this year, I enjoyed this year's show a lot more.

Later.

[s1lence]

Well there were more vendors this year, so I was able to get more of what I wanted. The lack of pins and arcade games was do to one of the arcade vendors canceling 2 days before the show. I still had a blast and I will be back next year. In my opinion the crowds were better this year too.

[LagMonster]

I had a great time this year. I knew more people so I didnt feel like an outsider. Oh and I didnt get rip roaring drunk on Saturday this year either, so I remembered more of the night. I had a blast with the vendors, they looked at me like I was an easy target, with a handfull of money and just looking to spend it. I made a round and carried out about 4 bags of new things. I really like the wireless controllers I got for my NES from Messiah Entertainment. Those things rock. Next year they promised me they would have controllers for the Genesis, so Ill get some of those too.

[Keranu]

I keep hearing people in this thread saying the vendors weren't as good this year, but I thought they were fantastic - better than last year! I also found the Museum area to be better this year (I co-hosted Turbo Fest). The arcade and pinball selection was much worse this year though.

[GrandAmChandler]

Anyone have any pictures???

[s1lence]

I can grab some from over at Atari Age, I didn't have a camera handy but I know a couple people in our group were taking pictures.

[njiska]

Anyone have any pictures???

I've got a bunch of the party and the show floor. Their on my face book right now but i'll add them later to my public site.

[Carey85]

I didn't puke this year, and saw kamino almost die, so it was all in all a really good show. Just getting back from Wisconsin/Illinois btw...

P.S. The part where I puked up raw oysters doesn't count, I didn't have any booze in my system

[s1lence]

I didn't puke this year, and saw kamino almost die, so it was all in all a really good show. Just getting back from Wisconsin/Illinois btw...

P.S. The part where I puked up raw oysters doesn't count, I didn't have any booze in my system

Ahh yes, the snot in a half shell.

[goatdan]

1 - lack of vendors (in my opinion, the vendor space was about the same, but they were 'thin'. Hard to explain, but best what I can say is that the vendor tables had their stuff all spread out. in 2006, you could not easily see the other isles from where you were standing. 2007 - you could see from one side of the vendor area to the other side. I found this disappointing. I did find some stuff, but no where near what I wanted to find.)

I honestly don't understand this at all. Guys, take a look at the vendors listed on the pages on the MGC site. In 2006, we had 16, of which only 14 actually were able to make it (one sent material to be in the GOAT Store booth). Technically, two of these were arcade vendors too, so only 12 with "real" booths. In 2007, we had 22, of which 21 made it (same one sent material to the GOAT Store booth). Only one was an arcade vendor. And, one other one who was an arcade vendor set up a table. So, we really had 21 booths there. Nearly *double* what we had the year before. Oh, and adding Star World's Arcade as another vendor of arcade machines equals out what we had last year.


2nd complaint heard was...

2 - lack of arcade machines (there were far more in 2006)

What I was saying in the other thread was we had an *equal* amount of pins as we did in 2006, although we were slightly lighter on arcade machines. We had one vendor who had intended to bring 50 games themselves, but they had to pull out at the last minute as was mentioned. Another vendor we have asked to never return to the show for various reasons.

The best way to ensure that more arcade and pinball machines show up at the show is to actually purchase one at the show. Considering that our sales in 2006 were rather weak (which was magnified by one vendor in particular), it's great that we had as many back as we did. Also, we did have about four or five machines that weren't able to make it at the last moment due to people having personal issues.

There were two problems with the perceived loss of games -- in 2006, we did the tournaments in the same room. This created a huge power balance issue, and so we moved the tournament hall (as well as a freeplay hall) into the secondary room. There were three arcade video games there and thirteen pinball machines.

The second thing was that how the hall was divided, it seemed to be much less. We were down about 25 games overall, however had the one vendor not had the last minute issue, we would have been 25 games up.

Overall though, the 1600+ people that arrived this year really seemed to enjoy the show for what it was, and if 21 sellers and 75 arcade machines isn't enough for you to enjoy, I'd suggest not traveling to any shows, as I don't know of too many shows that are left that equal those numbers, and you clearly wouldn't be satisfied with them. The key to enjoying yourself at a show is going for the games and staying for the people. That's why I keep holding the shows!

For everyone else who enjoyed it, I hope to see you all back in March of 2008!

[FABombjoy]

The presence of both Tron and Robotron among the arcades made up for any lower numbers. I only say that because I grabbed #1 on both ;)

I thought there were obviously more vendors this year. 3/4 of the main hall was comprised of vendor tables - way more real estate than '06. My only complaint is that I bought everything that I came for in the first 15 minutes. I probably did another 20 laps around the tables but couldn't find anything more that I "needed".

Request for '08: A bona fide Street Fighter 2 tournament, points based or double-elimination. The hybrid SFII Game/Pin was a neat idea, but 'earning' 7 minutes on a pinball machine is a fruitless endeavor for non-pinheads since the average play time is going to be less than that. Via my extreme level of pinball suckage, I managed to leave probably 4 of those minutes on the table. Maybe set the machine to 5-ball play to level the balance between the video savants & the pinball savants.

All in all: an "A" for overall fun

[16-bit]

I'm very grateful to Dan, Gary and the MGC staff and volunteers who put together an excellent show.

As a vendor, I really appreciated the following:
-The abundance of staff and security on hand at the event which really helps minimize drama. It is a key part of putting together a convention that is often overlooked.

-They took attendance seriously. According to Dan, 1600+ paid adults attended and that seems pretty accurate. Growing attendance at a show is a balancing act involving dates, location, programming and I thought the MGC did a brilliant job in this regard. I'm confident that this show will continue to grow and outgrow the current location.

Regarding the perceived lack of vendors by some, I know a few vendors that would be interested in attending the show next year once I tell them about it. I thought the table price to attendance number ratio was not out of line, and I am certainly planning on returning for next year when space goes on sale.

As a buyer/attendee, I was let down that Jason (of Trade-n-games) was not there. He is a good guy and his stuff is ace, but I found a lot of great deals at the show. I finally found a complete and non-faded copy of Trouble Shooter and a pair of Messiah Joysticks that I though were absolutely superb and will thus replace my rare famicom ASCII sticks.

Next year I am bringing help so hopefully I will be able to enjoy the show more outside of my dealer space. I was able to briefly visit the museum and Turbofest and was very impressed (OMG, There was an FM TOWNS MARTY 2 there!) Also one could play the paragons of 2D gaming: Radiant Silvergun and Dracula X. Overall the museum looked very informative and fairly interactive.

Thanks again and see you next year.

Carlson

[dave2236]

I thought the show was one of the best shows I've ever attended. I'd like a bigger booth for next year and I'll bring twice as much stuff.

Maybe we can work out a deal for a bigger space if I rent a truck and bring down some arcade machines from my collection.

Good work Dan, Gary, and everyone else; I was very happy with the show.

[Darth Vader]

Glad to hear the show was successful! Hopefully I'll get some time next year to go.

Danny

[Matt-El]

Request for '08: A bona fide Street Fighter 2 tournament, points based or double-elimination. The hybrid SFII Game/Pin was a neat idea, but 'earning' 7 minutes on a pinball machine is a fruitless endeavor for non-pinheads since the average play time is going to be less than that.



Seconded. Actually, I mentioned this to dan, so who knows?

It was cool, altogether. Sunday, I pretty much just hung around the museum and tourney area.

Saturday was fun, playing drunken Presidents and Assholes. Bought a bunch of stuff too, like Garou: Mark of the wolves, an intellivision with a shiteload of games, and more. So that was cool.

Oh, i'll put up the few pics I took sometime as well.

[njiska]

Seconded. Actually, I mentioned this to dan, so who knows?

It was cool, altogether. Sunday, I pretty much just hung around the museum and tourney area.

Saturday was fun, playing drunken Presidents and Assholes. Bought a bunch of stuff too, like Garou: Mark of the wolves, an intellivision with a shiteload of games, and more. So that was cool.

Oh, i'll put up the few pics I took sometime as well.

Yes i'm sure it's always fun playing presidents and assholes when you're on top. But i think me S1lence and Johnny_rock kind of got screwed. :P

[ROBOTNIK666]

It was OK, and it seems there were more older EM pinballs than last year. Speaking of pinball, I made it into the B-division playoffs, (I was the kid in blue atari shirt/Nirvana shirt by the way) but I didn't make it into the finals. Oh well.

[wyatt8]

Hey, sorry for the late post. Wyatt here from Warpzone Video Games. I don't get a chance to post too often but I have to say that the show was really good for us this year.

There are many things that I wish we had brought that we didn't and a few things that we brought that never sell (come one guys, I've got the full selection of Famicom accessories in box!)

My thanks go out to everyone who stopped by our booth. My special thanks go out to S1lence for his generous purchases.

As a vendor the one thing that concerned me was security. I do appreciate the fact that there was someone checking wristbands at the door but we did catch one person pocketing some items that he did not pay for. At the time I was just happy that we got the items back but I wish I had asked security to search his bags for any other stolen items from us or any other vendor. Is there any protocol for this? Is it possible to have security search someone's bags? Also, I think it would be wise to kick out all of the vendors at once as the show closes each night. I noticed that some people lingered on Friday night, after 10pm. I know most of the vendors from previous shows so it wasn't a major concern but if items are missing overnight I think it would make me uncomfortable. I'll e-mail Dan about this too and hopefully he'll post to the thread.

It sounds like the show had a record turnout which is great! Dan and his crew have done a great job growing the show each year. I definitely look forward to the show in March.

Sincerely,

Wyatt

[s1lence]

Not a problem Wyatt, glad I could help out your sales. I'm going to try to head down to Winona in the next couple weeks.

[goatdan]

As a vendor the one thing that concerned me was security. I do appreciate the fact that there was someone checking wristbands at the door but we did catch one person pocketing some items that he did not pay for. At the time I was just happy that we got the items back but I wish I had asked security to search his bags for any other stolen items from us or any other vendor. Is there any protocol for this? Is it possible to have security search someone's bags? Also, I think it would be wise to kick out all of the vendors at once as the show closes each night. I noticed that some people lingered on Friday night, after 10pm. I know most of the vendors from previous shows so it wasn't a major concern but if items are missing overnight I think it would make me uncomfortable. I'll e-mail Dan about this too and hopefully he'll post to the thread.

Here's the quick answer...

We could have had security check through the bag, however it is very hard in a location like what we do to really be able to prove that someone bought something or not. I made a few purchases throughout the weekend, and I never got receipts for them.

We didn't want to kick out any vendors that were setting up during the show, however, there were show representatives in the area at all times in which there were people in the halls. We did not and do not allow people to be in a room unless one of us are around. As for Friday night, I was personally in the room until 1AM, and I came in after Gary left which I think was around 11PM. Every morning to open the halls, it was either myself or Gary who first did that too.

Hope that all makes things a little clearer. I think we have a good perspective on the whole thing because hauling the GOAT Store with us everywhere means that we have to not just put ourselves in the shoes of the organizers, but also in the shoes of one of the largest vendors at the show, and that makes us especially concerned about these things. If this doesn't address your concern, you know how to reach me through email, and I'd be happy to look into it further!

[ozyr]

Hey, all criticism - WHat I voiced above what just my impression (and some friends), I thought the show did really well. I was busier than ever running my Exhibit. I'll be back next year, more than likely.

[ozyr]

Anyone have any pictures???

Yes, in my blog here (http://www.ozyr.com/ramblings/) (look for link on right titled 'MGC 2007 Photo Gallery'.