Before you ask, yes, we did manage (somehow) to venture outside of the Classic Gaming area and hit the main expo hall (and more) at PAX Aus 2017!
Here is what we saw…
PAX Australia
PAX Aus 2017 Was A Classic!
For a 5th year in a row, the PAX Aus Classic Gaming area proved yet again to be a popular spot for families, friends, kids, teenagers and people of all other ages wanting to get their hit of nostalgia.
The Classic Gaming area had it all – consoles, computers, handhelds, arcade and pinball machines. And for the more competitive types, there were tournaments to show-off their old school skills, like Press Play On Tape’s International Karate comp on the Commodore 64.
The museum displays had visitors intrigued, from Weird and Retro’s awesomely rare Atari pieces (like that cool Atari baseball and patches!) and Lord Sugar’s Amstrad micros, to our custom built Neo Geo MVS console and games.
In the arcade area, Greg Pell and Bartronica had curated some very cool and rare machines, like an original 3-player Rampage and a Ms Pac-Man. But once again, it was the fighting machines (Mortal Kombat II) and the gun games (Point Blank and Time Crisis) that proved quite popular.
As proven in previous years, pinball is getting a lot of attention, and rightly so. Skott Kellett assembled some absolute beautiful pinball machines with the help of the great pinball community – Bayside Pinball Club, Pinmem, Melbourne Silverball, Mr. Pinball and Zax Amusements. There were machines older than most players playing them and there were machines from Stern and Jersey Jack that had just been released. You would have been hard pressed not to have found a machine you would’ve liked to flip on.
The Classic Gaming area will be back bigger and better for PAX Aus 2018. For now, enjoy these photo highlights!
Look, this is where we are!
Almost there. Oh wait, we know this guy – it’s Mr Ant Stiller!
We have arrived!
On the way to the pinball section and look who we run into – Melbourne Silverball & Head2Head Pinball’s Marto!
Love this machine, again!
PAX Aus 2017 Cosplay
One of the main highlights at every PAX Aus is the cosplay. Even if you weren’t there this past weekend, you will definitely appreciate the awesome cosplay highlights package we have for you here – and to think, this was only the tip of the great cosplay iceberg!
Overwatch cosplay was well represented!
A bunch of Links. Now, to find Zelda!
Weird and Retro’s Kelly-Maree as Lollipop Chainsaw’s Juliet Starling
Press Play On Tape’s Phoebe as ‘The Puppet’ – FNaF2
Dragonair!
Of course we were bound to find a super couple
Skyrim by the awesome Combustible Props and Zel T
Zel T is gonna get ya!
A close cut!
2B (Nier Automata)
Even Pyramid Head makes friends with Nintendo characters
Nintendo Man?
Blathers and Celeste flew to PAX Aus too!
Sewn Chaos Orianna – Legendary indeed!
Cross-Cosplay = Roadhog (Overwatch) and Deadpool!
photos by: Alan Ly and ms. ausretrogamer
Classic Gaming Returns To PAX
image source: PAX Australia
We are back, baby! Not much more needs to be said!
We are proud to be bringing the Classic Gaming area yet again to PAX Aus in 2017. Together with our fellow retroholics, Weird and Retro and Press Play On Tape, this will be our 5th (consecutive) year that we will be bringing you a hit of nostalgia at PAX!
But that’s not all! Bartronica, Bayside Pinball Club, Pinmem, Zax Amusements and Melbourne Silverball will also have their arcade and pinball machines for you to indulge your nostalgic senses. We hope to see you all there (and don’t be shy, come and say hi!).
If you want to get your classic gaming competitive juices flowing, then check out our tournament schedule. If you want to attend a great retro gaming panel, then diarise Saturday 5:30pm in the Gamespot theatre for a Blast from the Past!
PAX Aus 2017 Tournaments
Woohoo, the PAX Aus 2017 Tournaments have just been announced!
If your preference is to compete on old school consoles, 8-bit computers, handhelds, arcade and pinball machines, then the PAX Aus 2017 Classic Gaming Tournaments will be right up your nostalgic alley.
Check out the Classic Gaming tournament schedule below and make sure you come to the Classic Gaming Area nice and early to ensure you do not miss out. What are you waiting for? Put these times in your diary and get practising!
The PAX Aus 2017 Classic Gaming Tournaments are brought to you by these awesome community partners: Bartronica, Bayside Pinball Club, Melbourne Silverball, Pinmem, Press Play On Tape Podcast, Weird And Retro and us at Ausretrogamer.
The Classic PAX Aus 2017 Ticket Giveaway
*** THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED ***
Wanna go to PAX Aus 2017? Do you want an easy way to enter a ticket giveaway? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then you are in luck!
Thanks to our great friends at PAX Aus, we have 3 x double passes for Sunday (October 29) to attend one of the biggest and best gaming events in the southern hemisphere. To score one of these double passes all you have to do is tweet us your favourite retro gaming item(s) – be it a console, computer, game or accessory, we want to see what tickles your nostalgic nerve. Don’t forget to tag us in your tweet and use the hashtags #PAXAus and #ausretrogamer.
It doesn’t get any easier than that! So get cracking on photographing those retro gaming items, as entries close on October 4th at 8:00pm!
If you need convincing of how great PAX Aus is, then check out last year’s event.
For those of you that like to read T&Cs, here are the finer details of this most awesome giveaway:
- Entries open to Australian residents only
- Entries close on Wednesday October 4, 2017 at 8:00pm
- To enter the giveaway, tweet us your retro gaming photos with the appropriate hashtags (#PAXAus and #ausretrogamer) and tag @ausretrogamer and @PAXAus
- Entrants must follow ausretrogamer (to receive a DM if you are the winner!)
- Winners will be notified via Direct Message (DM)
- Winners will receive their tickets in the post (via Australia Post)
- The winners (if interstate) will be responsible in arranging their own transport and accommodation in Melbourne
PAX Aus 2017 is on from October 27 to 29 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Tickets / Badges are available here.
PAX Australia 2017 Dates Announced
Woohoo, we finally have news of the PAX Australia 2017 dates!
PAX Australia will take place 27-29 October 2017 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and tickets are scheduled to go on sale 14 March, 2017.
Early bird tickets will save you $5 AUD on the full ticket price. Friday Only, Saturday Only, and Sunday Only tickets will cost $65 AUD. Three Day Passes (including International Three Day passes) will cost $165 AUD. Attendees wishing to bring their own computer, can also purchase a BYOC pass for an additional $45 AUD.
“Australia’s gaming community has given PAX such an incredible home here,” said Jerry Holkins, co-founder of PAX and Penny Arcade. “This year will see the fifth PAX Aus erupt in Melbourne, and there’s every indication it will be the best one yet.”
We can’t wait to get stuck into creating a bigger and better Classic Gaming Area at PAX Aus 2017. We hope to see you all there!
PAX Aus: It’s All About The People
Sure, there’s always heaps to see and do at PAX Aus (more and more each year it seems!), but the best part is always the people – meeting new people and catching up with old friends. We had many laughs, hugs, handshakes and great conversations over the course of PAX Aus 2016 – here a just a few of the wonderful people we caught up with.
Many of the great people from Ausretrogamer, Retro Domination, Weird and Retro, Bartronica, Zax Amusements, Pinmem and the Bayside Pinball Club who worked with PAX to bring you the CGA
The CGA enforcer team was fantastic (again) this year – here are just a few
A special thanks to the fabulous CGA Enforcer Team Leader – Zailee (thanks also to Spyder!)
Look who stopped by the CGA to chat with Glenn – none other than Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg, PAX Aus Content Manager
… or is it Gabby Boreland?
Glenn and Zailee
The ausretrogamer team – Alex Boz, Kerith (ms ausretrogamer), Alan Ly and Brant Raven
Alex with Weird and Retro‘s Serby
Greg and Josh from Bartronica
Retro Domination’s Matt and Daz…
…and Mark and Peter
‘We’re just making sure they work!’ Weird and Retro‘s Dr Curlytek with Scott Kellett and Pete
Bayside Pinball Club President – Lucas Bardin
Lucas with pinball wizards Nick Hamhougias and Wal Dickie
Group shot with some of our interstate friends – MeezerMummy and Lord Panek from Sydney plus artist, DM, retro game developer and top hat wearer Mr Ant Stiller from Brisbane
Ant with bro Grant, or ‘Granthony’
Nick with Melbourne Silverball League‘s Martin Robbins
Paul and Hoa – Weird and Retro
Aaron from Press Play on Tape Podcast and the adorable Phoebe
Aaron and Phoebe with fellow Tasmanians Tehkella and Damian
Chris Van Graas very kindly loaned some amazing items for the CGA retro museum, including Mel Croucher’s ZX Spectrum used to code ‘Deus Ex Machina’ and Chris Huelsbeck’s MIDI sampler used to create the famous music for ‘Turrican’
Chris also introduced us to three metre pizzas!
Alex with passionate classic gamer, Harmik
Retrogamer and artist Sean Tagg with the awesome Henry
Pinball prodigy Jordan ‘JTH’ Tredaway and family
The talented costume and prop-makers from Combustible Props
Bethesda ANZ Community Manager Noel Wheatley, CNET Editor Seamus Byrne and Stacey Borg (Dr Curlytek) with Alex pre-panel (‘Geek Trash or Treasure? Finding Collectibles with Real Value‘)
Seamus also stopped by the CGA for quick game
Some friendly faces in the ‘Geek Trash or Treasure’ audience – Serby, Skye, Alan, Aaron, Damian and Tehkella
Selfie with Frank and Lauren from Mana Mojo
(Photo from Mana Mojo)
Great pic of tech journalist Adam Turner and son
Shane Rubans, Marcus Sezenov (Rosstown Retro Pinball Arcade) and Luke Marburg
John and Ryan Sozanski
Alex with Hal, Kale and Kevin Tilley (Reset magazine)
Sairuk with Aaron
Alex with Kelly (Weird and Retro) and Andrew Owen
Tamagotchi!
Alex with Adam Renardson, Content Services Manager PlayStation Australia
Developer and YouTuber Rob Caporetto with programmer and CGA enforcer Rajesh Singh
Raj, Rob, Kevin and Chris
Rob in super-cool mode!
The most triumphant moment of PAX Aus 2016 – collecting our ‘PAX XP’ PAX Aus towels (thanks to Alan for doing most of the legwork):
(Photo from Meezergal)
PAX Aus 2016 was a blast – and spending time with awesome people was really what made it. We’re already looking forward to 2017, can’t wait to see you there!
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter
Get Ready For Some Classic Gaming At PAX Aus 2016
Get your nostalgic senses ready, as the PAX Aus Classic Gaming area is back, bigger and better for 2016! We say this every year, but this year is no exception – there will be games that will take you back to your younger years, and you never know, you may discover golden oldies that you may have not known or had forgotten about.
With systems like the Commodore 64, Sega Master System, Sega Dreamcast and the NEC PC-Engine (to name just a few) to tickle your retro gaming fancy, your only problem will be, what to to play first!
If you want a trip down memory lane while at PAX Aus 2016, then make sure you come on over to the Classic Gaming area!
One fire button is all you need to play on the Commodore 64!
Anyone up for some Alex Kidd action?
Shoot’em up action on the Engine that could!
Let’s go make some crazy money!
The PAX Aus Classic Gaming area is proudly brought to you by: ausretrogamer, Bartronica, Bayside Pinball Club, PinballScore, Pinmem, Retro Domination, Weird and Retro and Zax Amusements.
Good Game Pocket Visits PAX Aus Classic Gaming Area
So PAX Aus is over for another year, the event was a huge success and the Classic Gaming Area was more popular than ever!
We had a ball and were especially excited when the super-friendly guys from ABC TV’s ‘Good Game: Pocket Edition’ stopped by to enjoy the nostalgic vibes.
Nich Richardson with Alex ‘ausretrogamer’ Boz, Retro Domination’s Daz Retro, Pinball Wizard Scott Kellett, and Kerith ‘ms ausretrogamer’
It’s great to see retrogaming getting some serious air time – now watch ‘Pocket Edition’ presenter Nich Richardson (@NichBoy) explore PAX Aus, and most of all – skip to 3:23 for an interview with our very own Mr Alex ‘austretrogamer’ Boz!
Video source: Good Game on YouTube
Behind the scenes:
Lights, camera, action ausretrogamer!
Interviewing Alex Kidd aficionado Braden
Interviewing pinball prodigy Jordan Tredaway
Interviewing Donkey Kong maestro Ryan
Stay tuned to ausretrogamer.com for more stories about our adventures at PAX Aus 2015 over the coming days.
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter