Following on from the pinball extravaganza at Arcade Expo 2.0, Martin Robbins reflects on the other half of the expo, the arcade machines! Grab yourself a bib as you will be drooling all over yourself!
Just when I thought I had my fair share of the ‘Wow’ factor in the pinball section, I was in for an absolute treat when I made a beeline for the arcade area at Arcade Expo 2.0. The cabinet artwork, the sounds, the attract modes, people hovering around machines, Walter Day spruiking his cards and Billy Mitchell playing Donkey Kong (yep, THAT Billy Mitchell!) – It was like I was transported back to the golden age of arcade video games.
Billy Mitchell all suited up! Donkey Kong is serious business!
The area was littered with classic machines from the heavyweights of the arcade industry: Atari, Bally Midway, Centuri, Cinematronics, Data East. Exidy, Gottlieb, Irem, Konami, Namco, Nintendo, Sega, Stern, Taito, Universal and Williams. It was also great to see the Computer Space machine made by Nutting in 1971, regarded as the world’s first commercially sold coin-operated machine (Ed: Computer Space was designed by none other than the Atari founders, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney)!
Oh wow, where should we start?
Upon entering the arcade area, I noticed that it had a different “feel” to it – there were more young people and families playing on arcade machines than what I experienced in the pinball area. The atmosphere definitely seemed a lot more relaxed, with heaps more room to move around. This was a welcome change to the hustle and bustle of the room next door. I found myself returning to the arcade area on a number of occasions to clear my head and unwind from the pinball tournament. I also found it difficult to leave as there were so many games I had not seen nor played in many many years. The problem was, once I’d finish one game, I would then see another one that would instantly transport me back to my youth at that corner Milk Bar with the urge to just have another go. The nostalgia was truly intoxicating!
Let’s see what goodness we’ll find down this aisle…
The arcade section also had exhibitors including Farsight Studios promoting The Pinball Arcade and in particular the Kickstarter for Dr Who, which reached its goal on February 14 – a job well done! I did have a a chat with their Community Manager, Mike Lindsay, who agreed that the resurgence in the pinball community was partly due to the success Farsight Studios had in bringing the experience to our mobile devices and PCs. Mike was particularly proud of how they had brought pinball to a new generation to experience it for the first time in digital format and then seek it out in the real world.
As mentioned earlier, I managed to see Billy Mitchell playing Donkey Kong. The set up next to Billy was quite cool – it allowed anyone to sit next to him and challenge him to a high score duel. I was not prepared for a public humiliation, so I left him to demonstrate his skills. It must be said, Billy was very friendly and was really enjoying the show.
All good things must come to end. The single regret I had about Arcade Expo 2.0 was not having enough time to play everything. Three days was just not enough. In my mind I’ve already started planning and saving up for my return trip in 2017 – hope to see you all there!
Great to see the next generation enjoying an absolute classic!
Landing High Japan – wanna be a pilot?
Test your wood chopping skills!
Once you are done wood chopping, hit the bar!
Granny and the Gators – you don’t see this (hybrid) one too often!
Paddle, Fire and Flip!
Getting the arcade fix
Well, well, well, what do we have down here then….
Buck Rogers (Planet of Zoom)! Haven’t seen one of these since the early 80s!
No matter your age, everyone loves a bit of Out Run
This was all the rage in 1976!
Gun control!
Midway were prolific in the arcade arena!
No queuing here – just keep playing!
An old vector beauty
Use the Force and destroy the Death Star!
Families gaming together
Oh my gawd! Discs Of Tron! Very drool-worthy
Have you got the killer instinct?
Kickin some butt!
Gonna get drivin’, hard!
Pole position on Atari’s Pole Position II
Woo hoo, Walter Day!
More Tron goodness
Old school amusement machines
Bit of target practice
Contemplating what to play next…..
From Joust pinball, to Joust arcade!
Varkon – disguising a pinball table as an arcade game!
Comfy arcade gaming
Getting close to the action
Let’s spin on Dave Theurer’s classic
Passing on the retro gaming gene to the next generation
Ending with a shooter’s delight – Xevious!
As we sit down with Martin Robbins over some home-baked banana almond muffins, we notice a glint of excitement in his eye. You see, Martin was recently in the US and attended Arcade Expo 2.0 at the Museum Of Pinball in Banning, California. This is part one of Martin’s experience at one of the biggest pinball and arcade machine expos in the US. Take it away Martin!
