Tons of shows on the East Coast...Quite a few on the West. How about Texas?

[Deadman]

I'm always watching for local events to come to here in Texas. I know of a couple each year and try to attend them including:

OVGE - in Tulsa, OK
OVGC - In Oklahoma City
and the Houston Arcade/Pinball show

I'd love to try to get a show together in the Dallas area. Last year a show was held on the weekend of July 4th at the DFW Airport, which I was unable to attend because it was July 4th weekend. Does anyone know if this show is returning this year or if there are any other plans afoot in North Texas?

Also love to hear from other show organizers about what is involved with trying to start a new annual, semi-annual, or bi-monthly convention. Like:
- Getting sponsors
- Finding a good location
- Negotiating a rate for the room
- Contacting guests/celebs
- Attracting vendors and stores (GameStop, Playntrade, etc.)
- Advertising your show - online, game stores, etc?

Any advice you have on something like this would be great!
Thanks!

[98PaceCar]

The 4th of July show last year was Screwattack and honestly, the only reason it was worth attending was to listen to Jack Thompson. The dealer room was no more than 5 or 6 people with a small amount of video games and some other people with non-gaming stuff. The show was expensive and really not worth your time.

There have been a few other shows in Texas. Austin Gaming Expo years ago (Atariage hosted I believe) and the one in Dallas a few years back (can't remember the name, but it sucked from what I heard). I'd love to see something in the North Texas area that has some size as well. Sure makes travel a lot easier!

[Imstarryeyed]

I too have been wanting a show to come here.. I will have to make sure to talk to David who owns Austins own Game Over game stores to see if he would want to get together with us here at Play Again in Corpus to do a Texas show.

I always wanted to do a classic game show here in Texas but wanted to do it right so if there is interest maybe we all can work together some time and see if we can get a small show together. I say small show because I used to work for IGN/GameSpy and Sony and shows are a big expensive ordeal. I beleive a smaller show that is done correctly and can be done every year again and again and slowly grow is the way to go. Of course if I am going to be in the show then we will most certainly have Anime and Cosplay cause cosplay is just so much fun..

[Gamingking]

I'm about a hour from Dallas, I would love to see a game show hosted around the area.

[Steve W]

the one in Dallas a few years back (can't remember the name, but it sucked from what I heard).

Yes it did suck. It was the Dallas VGXpo, and it was tied in with a Home and Garden style convention. VGXpo was at the back, with all sorts of oddities up front and very little advertising to let anyone know the conventions were all in the same place. I almost went home since I couldn't find VGXpo, only the NBC Home and Garden convention. It was on a Saturday and Sunday, but people only showed up on Saturday. The place was dead on Sunday for some reason. Might have something to do with the fact that the guy bringing the arcade games just forgot about it, and a few of the vendors apparently forgot too. I dropped by after work on Sunday, and only the Atari Age booth was open.

Of course if I am going to be in the show then we will most certainly have Anime and Cosplay cause cosplay is just so much fun..

There was a cosplay contest at the Dallas VGXpo, only one person showed up in costume. A girl came dresses as Ulala from Space Channel 5. She wasn't there all that long, if I remember. She kind of stood out a bit in a convention filled with old folks browsing the newest Winnebagos and people checking out the latest gear for the physically disabled.


I think the Dallas show besmirched our reputation for conventions, so it might take a bit of work to get another one going. There is the Texas Pinball Expo in Grapevine, if you happen to be into pinball games and deafening top-40 music from the '80s. There's little hole-in-the-wall convention centers
scattered across the Metroplex that could host a small get-together, and hopefully it would become an annual thing and get larger as word spread about it. But it takes a hell of a lot of effort. The Oklahoma Video Game Expo is a great show, but it's not easy to put together and barely breaks even from what I've been told. Expenses get higher every year and attendance gets a little lower, so each year it's pretty iffy that it'll return. Just know that it's a lot of work for not much reward, other than getting to hang out with other retro gamers. And in the end, you won't get to hang out too much because you'll spend so much time running things.

[Deadman]

I think the Dallas show besmirched our reputation for conventions, so it might take a bit of work to get another one going. There is the Texas Pinball Expo in Grapevine, if you happen to be into pinball games and deafening top-40 music from the '80s. There's little hole-in-the-wall convention centers
scattered across the Metroplex that could host a small get-together, and hopefully it would become an annual thing and get larger as word spread about it. But it takes a hell of a lot of effort. The Oklahoma Video Game Expo is a great show, but it's not easy to put together and barely breaks even from what I've been told. Expenses get higher every year and attendance gets a little lower, so each year it's pretty iffy that it'll return. Just know that it's a lot of work for not much reward, other than getting to hang out with other retro gamers. And in the end, you won't get to hang out too much because you'll spend so much time running things.

Well, I have been collecting different stuff my whole life and have had many different experiences with collector conventions. The one thing that I was thinking about would be to have more of a "club meeting" type get together, on a monthly basis, that could start to attract some attention as it grows. We used to have a Hot Wheels collector club that had monthly meetings, which essentially were swap meets where we'd set our stuff on tables and buy/sell/trade with each other and anyone else that came in. And we had our meetings at the club President's workplace, so there was no overhead costs and it was low-stress and a fun way to spend a few hours. That could be something to look into - starting a local VGCC, find a meeting place, and start doing some swapping - then see is word of mouth could start bringing in some new people, requiring more space and growth, etc.

I just wonder how many local collectors would be interested in doing this, and how would we get the word out?

[98PaceCar]

Well, I have been collecting different stuff my whole life and have had many different experiences with collector conventions. The one thing that I was thinking about would be to have more of a "club meeting" type get together, on a monthly basis, that could start to attract some attention as it grows. We used to have a Hot Wheels collector club that had monthly meetings, which essentially were swap meets where we'd set our stuff on tables and buy/sell/trade with each other and anyone else that came in. And we had our meetings at the club President's workplace, so there was no overhead costs and it was low-stress and a fun way to spend a few hours. That could be something to look into - starting a local VGCC, find a meeting place, and start doing some swapping - then see is word of mouth could start bringing in some new people, requiring more space and growth, etc.

I just wonder how many local collectors would be interested in doing this, and how would we get the word out?

8BitGamer and I were talking about just this type of thing at OVGE. There's a fair amount of us in the general North Texas area, so I think it could work. If nothing else, it's a low cost/effort thing to try a few times.

[digitalpress]

I've said it a million times but here's yet another...

"build it and they will come"

Anyone with just a basement, a TV, and a gaming system can get a local gaming thing going. Start there and build out. It only takes one person with a tiny bit of effort. Post a date a month in advance. Invite your friends and family, peek into forums like this and other gaming sites. Start small but it's easy to grow if you're in a populated area, as you'll find friends with connections, schools, etc. to help build (if you care to).

Bottom line - don't wait for someone else to do it. If you're itching for it, start the scratch yourself.

[Blanka789]

Whoops, didn't mean to post here, my bad!

[Damaramu]

Joe speaks the truth. Me, Icarus Moonsight, Fuyukaze and others had an impromptu DP meet a few weekends ago and it was a BLAST!

Keep checking the Texas meet-up thread, as that's where we post that info!

[8bitgamer]

I live in Fort Worth, so I would be all over it. Swapping games, hanging out with fellow gamers, playing multi-player titles--that all sounds great to me.

[Steve W]

I live in Fort Worth, so I would be all over it. Swapping games, hanging out with fellow gamers, playing multi-player titles--that all sounds great to me.

I know that you used to go to the Movie Trading Company in Hurst, more than once I found a flyer for your first book tucked away behind some PS2 game or something. Like a retro gaming Johnny Appleseed!

[8bitgamer]

I know that you used to go to the Movie Trading Company in Hurst, more than once I found a flyer for your first book tucked away behind some PS2 game or something. Like a retro gaming Johnny Appleseed!

Not sure how those got there. Gremlins, I guess.