What happened at CGE ?

[Buyatari]

Ok now that the server is back up I want hear about CGE.

I couldn't make it this year. So I want to hear all the wonderfull things that made it the best ever so I can crawl into a ball and cry to sleep.

Auction. Who has the auction results I must know what happened there.

Adam

[Raccoon Lad]

It was great! They had EVERY arcade game ever made, and ALL the classic programmers were there. The best part was when David Crane exploded, sending thousands of unreleased prototypes flying all over the place. :P

[Raedon]

Wow! I knew I should have just skipped my sisters 6th wedding and gone to CGE2k2 on my Vacation!!

[TheRedEye]

I held a party Saturday night in my hotel suite. The crew from OlderGames and Good Deal Games were there, along with some cool folks like Portnoyd and VideoGameBible, and some guy from Gear Magazine (!) taking photos of our four player obscure Famicom game tournaments.

I also invented a new way of playing Duck Hunt, which involves diving on the bed and shooting Matrix-style. Man, I should like, LIVE in a hotel suite.

I woke up to empty bottles everywhere, puke all over the bathroom, and some guy next to me in bed. It was amazing.

[Teddman]

It was a great show!!!

The highlight for me was the presentation on Dragon's Lair 3D on Saturday morning. Development team Dragonsoft was there with animators Don Bluth & John Pomeroy, producer Gary Goldman, and developer Rick Dyer of the original arcade game on hand--all of who oversaw the making of the new game. It really looks like it's going to be great! After the 2 hour presentation and very interesting behind-the-scenes video about the making of Dragon's Lair 3D, the crew was available for questions and autographs. And a final beta of the Xbox high-defintion version of the game was playable at Dragonsoft's booth. I played a bit and in short, the game plays great and retains the feel of the original while bringing the gameplay into the current generation of consoles. Maybe because the original crew worked on it!

The Dragon's Lair team was really friendly and accessible to attendees at the show. Don Bluth even sat down with me for an hour-and-a-half interview! He was such an accomodating, down to earth guy, and a real interesting interview subject. More on that later after I transcribe the tapes... Don hinted at a Space Ace 3D update in the manner of Dragon's Lair too! The team behind Dragon's Lair cares a lot about the classic gaming fans and you could tell they were happy to be at the show and enjoyed talking to everyone.

Other highlights included a rock band playing revamped classic video game themes (original MegaMan theme anyone?) that actually sounded pretty good, an extremely rare revamped "Cliffhanger" arcade cabinet ( a Dragon's Lair type game that uses footage from the Japanese Lupin animes), constant Neo Geo fighting game & Metal Slug action, lots of Marvel vs. Capcom on the big screen (some real experts were kicking butt!), the Silkstick home arcade joystick set on display, Songbird Productions showcasing more of their home-developed Atari Jaguar and Lynx titles, vendors selling everything classic, some vintage pinball units, lots of great giveaways and raffles, and of course tons of arcade machines from the Golden Age! Agh, there's too much to list!

The show wrapped up with the "Dig Dug Drop," an event that saw hundreds of Dig Dug game boxes fall from the ceiling, with random boxes containing gift certificates and coupons for prizes. Unfortunately, it got a little too rough and people were almost trampled and elbowed out of the way in the mad rush for prizes... Over a hundred attendees bum-rushed the falling boxes! Joe said he even saw one guy get sat on by a rather large gentleman :lol It was good entertainment for those who escaped unbruised however.

G4 TV was there to cover CGE as well, and interviewed a lot of attendees (myself included), vendors, and show organizers. G4 is the new all-video game network that is only available on Comcast and some satellite and digital cable providers. They are still increasing their broadcast market, but it's encouraging to see classic game shows get some coverage by the media. Hats off to G4 for covering the show.

So all in all, a fantastic show that did not disappoint in the least. I chatted with Joe a bit on Sunday near the end of the day, and we discussed our favorite moments of the weekend. He even gave my wife and I a few gaming items from the Digital Press booth--what a cool and generous guy! I saw him constantly running around busily at the show, making sure everything came off right and everyone had a good time.

All in all, CGE 2002 was a delight. It's been a great year for classic gaming conventions along with the PhillyClassic last May. I couldn't have had a better time going to the show in Las Vegas... Well, maybe if I had won a little more in the casinos!

[buttasuperb]

i hear there was some drama involving a guy from neo geo freak pushing around some 16 year old kid. anyone happen to see that?

[Raccoon Lad]

Didn't hear about that, but I did hear about one of the speakers kids trying to steal a Neogeo pocket.

on another note, there was a booth selling Coleco vision carts.
The 2 Coleco carts at that table I was interested in: Up'n Down and Kevtris

the prices at that table: $65 and $250 respectively

my reaction:

[Raedon]

wow, sounds like a really shady event in Las Vegas, like boxing.

Anyone get shot by the security officer while playing laser tag?

[Sniderman]

the prices at that table: $65 and $250 respectively

Had to have been Jerry G's table. Some of his prices are bordering on insanity, but he has a good selection if you're willing to pay....and I mean PAY. I bought a boxed/signed Bugs Bunny from him for $45. Wanted one from Philly, so it was a good buy in my eyes.

I found it "amusing" that he had a copy of the voice-enhanced Berzerk for sale at his table on Sunday. On Saturday, the game sold at AtariAge brand-new for $25. On Sunday - after they were sold out - he brought out his copy at $45, as I recall. Didn't waste any time, eh?

[Raccoon Lad]

Actually Berzerk-VE was $20 at the Atari Age booth. And if they don't make any more copies, I'm sure it'll be one of the most sought after homebrews ever.

[portnoyd]

JerryG's table made me angry. I wanted some common 5200 games, but not for $20 each LOOSE. God forbid if he has NES shit for sale.... I would have vocally made a complaint if I saw Kid Icarus loose for $40.

Adam, your mini-me was there, bidding like crazy. WHy dpon't you ask him? ;D

Seriously, the auction was entertaining, but froma cool item standpoint, it was a total bore. A lot of items didn't hit reserves, but some steals... loose Intelli Congo Bongo for $60.... loose Malagai for $160.... and some ripoffs.... a SNES kiosk (NOT demo unit) for $350... a N64 light up sign for 150.... but John Hardie lived up to expectations being the auctioneer.

Yeah, some punks tried ripping off the Telegames USA table. We (Well, not so we, mainly retrogmr and Arcade antics) had em cased 2 hours before it happened.

The Dig Dug Drop was the Dig Dug Anarchy. A great idea, just more like a Mosh Pit instead of a drop. Didn't get a single box tho. Oh well.

Dragon's Lair 3D looked DAMN good. I was impressed.

A great time overall. 2 Magicards on display of all things too. Go figure.

dave

[TheRedEye]

I didn't actually see the Neo Geo Freaks thing, but it doesn't surprise me. Those guys are like, hitmen. Did you see 'em? Jaysis.

[kobunheatforum]

I'd heard JerryG's name tossed around all over the place but never saw him or his wares before now. They seemed like nice enough people but holy cow, the prices were just so funny. I'm not angry or anything - as we all know, the price for anything is whatever the market will bear. You can get practically anything that he had for less elsewhere, but if the stuff wasn't selling he would lower his prices, right?

I got a Neo Geo from Neo Geo Freak (how appropriate!) and they didn't try to push me or anything... And I nearly went to TheRedEye's room on Saturday but got sidetracked. Oh well, sounds like I would have ended up passed out on the floor if I went.

[buttasuperb]

just curious, how much did you pay for the neo from them?

[Raccoon Lad]

I heard Neo Geo's were $100, $150 with controller.

[kobunheatforum]

Butta,

It was a sneaky, calculated deal that involved not a little bit of luck.

NGF was selling some beat-up basic systems for $100 with no controller. Controllers were $50 and games were $50 on up brand new. Now, they were only selling to people who didn't already have a system (on the honor system I guess), so as to spread the love further... well, anyway. I asked on Saturday and got those prices. Later that day, they'd sold out.

On Sunday, I came back and they had ooooonnnnneee more. I checked it out - beat up, as I said, but in perfect working order. Now, what sealed the deal for me was this: I went over to the DP table and found a mint joystick marked $20. I got it for $15 then went over to the NGF table and bought just the base unit for $100, and no games since I had two cart games in my attic (Samurai Spirits and Garou Densetsu Special). Total cost: $115, possibly the deal of the show... And it works great, and both the games ended up working fine. And what's more, I can use the pad controllers from my Neo Geo CD system instead of those huge joysticks...

[buttasuperb]

sweet, im glad you got a good deal from them. pretty much everyone over at neo-geo.com hates them, they have a rep for being scammers and assholes.

[ubersaurus]

Voice Berzerk is getting more produced, last I heard, due to the demand for it.

[kobunheatforum]

Butta,

We'll see about that reputation. He did seem like a nice guy but the system, as I said, is not in the best of shape - actually, there's a strip of electrical tape around one edge! But it does work fine and for the money it was probably an excellent buy.

[Teddman]

Didn't buy a lot of classic system stuff, but I did get a pretty good deal on a mint, boxed & complete copy of Super Mario RPG for SNES at the Gameswitch.com table. $40, bargained down from $64.95.

I really got a kick out of some of the unique arcade machines, like Cliffhanger. Very cool use of anime footage from the Lupin III cartoons and the "Castle of Dr. Caglistro" feature. The Dragon's Lair inspired controls worked very well with the segments of animation that were chosen.

Yeah, the guys at Neo Geo Freak did look like something out of an SNK fighting game. I did appreciate being able to play games at their booth with the Silkstick home arcade joystick set. Just watching great players have Fatal Fury and Marvel vs. Capcom wars at the Silkstick booth was very entertaining!