My comments about CGE, post-show

[PapaStu]

Got back home last night from Vegas. CGE all in all was a good time. Getting placed into the Random Retro challenge (though scaring me at first due to my complete lack of playing of 2600 games) was quite fun. SQUIRREL JUMP! I'm happy to have rep'd DP and come in 3rd after AA was soundly defeated (stupid kung fu game and Frankie kicking my ass).

The Trop's food in that lower restraunt was so-so. The Mac & Cheese, though huge, wasn't all that great. Poor Perkar and that pizza. It didn't look all that good. The Italian restaurant (on the way to the convention halls) had a pretty decent breakfast buffet. The Havana Go-Go cafe on the main floor (just next to the tables) wasn't too shabby either.

We also ate at the Cafe in the Luxor (near the Criss Angel BeLIEve hall) and they were good. The sit down Nathan's Hot Dogs in New York New York was pretty great as well. Those were some awesome fries, and the bacon cheese dog was damn tasty.

It was great to see people that we'd not seen in a few years (98 PaceCar, Sothy, Perkar, Tune, Joe, Sean, John, Mayhem, QotF, Vectorman0, MarioAllStar2600, Ubik and others i'm sure i'm forgetting) as well as meet people that I've known online via IRC for many many moons, but had yet to meet in person (Balloon Fight, Skaar).

The show worked out pretty well. As in my previous years, I didn't hit up any key notes, as I was either walking the floor, or running around with those mentioned above. I was happy that I was able to walk out of CGE with stuff. Being a buyer of newer games, CGE doesn't always have much thats catered towards my collection habbits, this year wasn't a problem.

What I didn't see happen (and I could have just missed it) was a group photo. Did one end up happening?

[DreamTR]

We're long overdue on getting some NES keynote speakers/programmers in there...the only problem is trying to research/dig out/convince these guys to come to a CGE event...

I definitely enjoyed myself, the organizers always put on a great show...attendance was definitely smaller than in previous years...though it is getting pricier to attend these shows unless I find some stuff to offset the plane/hotel...this was $600 in plane and hotel for me...

The hotel overbooked and had no internet access where I was staying, but gave me a discount on the room since they put me in the "70s" section of the hotel, ...and I got to eat that $10 mac and cheese (yes, it was nasty) but it was part of a $25 food voucher the hotel gave me....

[MachineGex]

I had a good time, while it lasted. My brother's family was watching my son and about an hour at the show, I got a call saying my son was sick so I had to leave. He turned out to be fine, but my show was cut very short. I planned on going to the auction and after-party, but that got axed.

I did introduce myself to Joe, meet Paul from Hyperkin and got Swlovinist's videos, but I missed out on way too much. I planned on buying a ton more stuff, but I literally ran out the door to get back home. Oh well, good reason to go by myself next year.

Thanks to everyone for putting the show on, I really look forward to it every year!

[ApolloBoy]

I gotta say, this was probably the most memorable CGE I've been to yet! It was awesome to have AtariAge there for the first time in years, the Retro Rumble was fun (I played a very close game of Fishing Derby and lost by only one point), and the vendors were great too. I also got some very good deals this time, such as snagging Faussete Amour for a mere $10 and trading one of my games with Joe for a bunch of Super Famicom and Game Gear games.

Looking forward to CGE 2K11!

[skaar]

Had a great time at the show and still recovering - flying out tomorrow. Fun times and got to meet a bunch of people I've talked to online and on IRC for awhile now.

I'll be a regular if this show's back next year!

[Mayhem]

It was great seeing everyone again and some new faces this year. In fact attending CGE to catch up with folks is half the reason for me to attend, the other being the games of course. And the DP party. And the random events that occur. And seeing Marty grow up. And wonder how Chris got all that Vectrex stuff over to the convention. And looking up at Sothy. And seeing Betty get drunk. And buying homebrews. And playing arcade machines. And seeing just how offbeat customers to the DP store are in their answers for Family Feud. And... well I could go on... here's hoping there is a 2011.

The food thing was pretty annoying. I ended up trucking it over to New York New York because they have several small eateries there (the pizza is good!).

Kris and I went there Sunday night for food, ended up in Chin Chin. Nice, expensive, but lots on the plate. We also did the Legends place in the Tropicana on Thursday night, but that's cos it was our birthday and we wanted something "swanky". $35 for a four course haute cuisine was decent value I thought.

[j_factor]

I definitely had a great time, but I was a little dismayed at the lack of vendors. I still found more than enough shit to buy, thanks mainly to that one "specialist gamer" dude, he had a lot of good stuff. But I kind of miss some of the things from years past, like that one that specialized in CDi stuff (even though I don't have a CDi, it was still neat seeing that Sony CDi unit hooked up with Zelda), and the Moby Games booth from 2k5 (I still have my t-shirt from them). My memory is a little fuzzy on other past exhibitors, but I remember there being several that were more fun just to check out, not necessarily buy from.

Also, what was up with the swap meet room? It wasn't clearly marked and it was closed half the time. At the last show, I got half my stuff from the swap, but this time I didn't get anything.

I didn't go to any of the panels this year. I've really enjoyed panels in the past, but this year's seemed like repeats. I don't really know what it would take to bring in fresh panels, though. I did, however, really enjoy the screening of the movie Joysticks. Maybe we should show a movie at every CGE.

This post sounds more negative than positive, but I really did thoroughly enjoy myself. I'm a little worried about the tone of the letter from the organizers. I really hope this isn't the last CGE, or the last "big" one.

[Bojay1997]

I definitely had a great time, but I was a little dismayed at the lack of vendors. I still found more than enough shit to buy, thanks mainly to that one "specialist gamer" dude, he had a lot of good stuff. But I kind of miss some of the things from years past, like that one that specialized in CDi stuff (even though I don't have a CDi, it was still neat seeing that Sony CDi unit hooked up with Zelda), and the Moby Games booth from 2k5 (I still have my t-shirt from them). My memory is a little fuzzy on other past exhibitors, but I remember there being several that were more fun just to check out, not necessarily buy from.

Also, what was up with the swap meet room? It wasn't clearly marked and it was closed half the time. At the last show, I got half my stuff from the swap, but this time I didn't get anything.

I didn't go to any of the panels this year. I've really enjoyed panels in the past, but this year's seemed like repeats. I don't really know what it would take to bring in fresh panels, though. I did, however, really enjoy the screening of the movie Joysticks. Maybe we should show a movie at every CGE.

This post sounds more negative than positive, but I really did thoroughly enjoy myself. I'm a little worried about the tone of the letter from the organizers. I really hope this isn't the last CGE, or the last "big" one.

I actually gave the vendor situation more thought today as I was tallying what I purchased and frankly, there are only a couple of additional vendors that could have been there given that all the rest (including the CD-i guy out of Arizona, Jack Berg Sales (well, they are almost sold out) and even O'Sheas) have pretty much sold out their stock and closed. Classic Game Source and Best Electronics are two that I would love to see there next year, but CGS isn't exactly the most capable company and I'm not sure why Best never came back after World of Atari. I imagine the logistics of transporting large amounts of stock to Las Vegas can't be easy and adding to that the uncertainty of selling enough to cover your costs and vendor table fees makes it even more daunting. Other than those two and maybe McVans or a couple of other regional chains, I just don't know of any other vendor out there anymore other than maybe a few more local game shops from California, Arizona or Nevada.

[chrisbid]

fyi, i saw dancing jesus working the front door of the casinos comedy club monday evening

[chrisbid]

there was an ad shoved under our door for a pizza place that delievered. we ended up calling them sunday night, and got a (quality) large pizza and some wings for around 20 dollars. not super cheap, but a much better deal than the limited fare at the tropicana.

my wife's birthday was on monday, so we splurged at the steakhouse that night. the food there was excellent. but i was surprised, i was a vegas noob coming into the show, but i figured that food was cheap and plentiful. if we go again next year, we know to hit a grocery when we get into town.

[Rudy J. Ferretti]

I had a blast at the event

[Oldskool]

The food is cheap, if you can find the buffets and/or eat off strip.

Terribles has pretty good meals for $9.99 like Steak dinners.

[RetroYoungen]

I just got in yesterday, and in regards to food the best food I had the whole time was either a) the grilled cheese at the Topicana diner spot (which was awesome both times I ate there, but have to agree on the blah-Easy Mac) and 2) my breakfast at Binion's yesterday evening. Missed out on the Omlette House this year, dammit... NOW I remember. >_<

But this year was awesome. Hung around a bit with Spice (dude, Mideival Mayhem is - again - a blast), caught up with Marty (congrats again on the engagement!) and Sothy and everybody, even caught a few people to sign my "CGE Yearbook" (Betty, I'll let you know when I scan your letter to Santa). I'll drop my pics down soon, along with my video(s?) of the CGE Dancing Jesus. I didn't know nerds could boogie... and if you don't either, watch the video.

We kinda can't. But who cares?

[katchoo]

Funny story, the kid that was like "is that guy drinking beer at 8 am dad?" in 07' is now the guy that had his fiancee at CGE. Hey Marty how'd you pull that dude?

THIS! Talk about making a person feel old...When the hell did Marty grow up?

Had so much fun at my 3rd CGE - I'm not much of a collector, but I love to see everyone IRL. It is always a blast to finally get to see these folks that are really good friends but are scattered across the country. Plus getting to meet some people for the first time after chatting with them in #vbender is always a big draw for me.

Here's to a CGE 2011 and another chance to hang out with friends, see some great shows and lose some $$ (buying and/or gambling).

[katchoo]

The food thing was pretty annoying. I ended up trucking it over to New York New York because they have several small eateries there (the pizza is good!).

Tempest

I second going to New York New York because they have Nathan's Hot Dogs. Never had them until this past Saturday, but man, they were great. Plus New York New York had a pretty good sized, albeit expensive, arcade.

[Oldskool]

Hey man I was more than honored to sign your "CGE Yearbook" sorry I didn't have much to say really since I had just met ya. The CGE Dancing Jesus, I remember you mentioning him, and I noticed a video on Youtube where he was dancing a bit (but he was not the feature of the video), I'd love to see your video of the CGE Dancing Jesus haha! Who was that guy anyways, is he a forum member here? He's become somewhat of a CGE Celebrity now.

I just got in yesterday, and in regards to food the best food I had the whole time was either a) the grilled cheese at the Topicana diner spot (which was awesome both times I ate there, but have to agree on the blah-Easy Mac) and 2) my breakfast at Binion's yesterday evening. Missed out on the Omlette House this year, dammit... NOW I remember. >_<

But this year was awesome. Hung around a bit with Spice (dude, Mideival Mayhem is - again - a blast), caught up with Marty (congrats again on the engagement!) and Sothy and everybody, even caught a few people to sign my "CGE Yearbook" (Betty, I'll let you know when I scan your letter to Santa). I'll drop my pics down soon, along with my video(s?) of the CGE Dancing Jesus. I didn't know nerds could boogie... and if you don't either, watch the video.

We kinda can't. But who cares?

[sidnotcrazy]

Yeah, this was a great CGE! Had a lot of fun, and met some really nice, and cool peoplle. I was the guy on the Scooter that kept running around the show floor. Ha ha. The music guests were great! I picked up a lot of cool gear, and sold some stuff too. Sold my copy of Neotopia II as well. Hope everyone had fun, and I did have a tough time trying to find food too. Me and my wife spent a lot of money and time just trying to find food. While mostly eating at the diner downstairs. I second that the grilled cheese sandwich waas good, but most of the others items the diner offered were on the rough side.

All and all great show, and I hope to see CGE return in 2011!

[8bitgamer]

Excalibur, across the street from the Tropicana, had a McDonald's. That samed me some money on breakfast Sunday morning.

[Oldskool]

One of the reasons why the swap meet was in a different room, and only for a limited time, was because they didn't want to take too much away from the Vendors this year.

[buzz_n64]

One of the reasons why the swap meet was in a different room, and only for a limited time, was because they didn't want to take too much away from the Vendors this year.

And it worked. I didn't see too much action going on in the swap meet room. Almost bought something from a local guy from Vegas, but didn't for some reason.

[loop006]

I definitely had a great time, but I was a little dismayed at the lack of vendors. I still found more than enough shit to buy, thanks mainly to that one "specialist gamer" dude, he had a lot of good stuff.

Hello, I was running the Specialty Gamer booth, glad you found some items to pick up! I hope I gave you a good deal

I wound up blowing a ton of money on Jag and 3do stuff this show, it was rad!!

Hope to see some of you folks at the Portland show... my booth will be over 2x as big

-Gerald

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Aw man,

Listening to the AT 1UP podcast right now ...

... Jade Kraus and Frank Cifaldi from 1UP were at CGE and I missed them?!?!

I would've loved to talk to them in person.

[portnoyd]

You met Frank Cifaldi if you talked to TheRedEye.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

You met Frank Cifaldi if you talked to TheRedEye.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm .... don't know if I did. If I did it wasn't a deep enough conversation to get that info.

So many people there and not every one was forthcoming with their forum handles (and they were teeny tiny on the badges that did have them, requiring you to basically grab the badge/lanyard from them to look at it if you didn't have 20/20 vision).

[Anotherfluke]

I really enjoyed my time at cge this year, but I was so overloaded with work that I missed the entire first day, which apparently was the day that everyone was around I'll definitely make sure that doesn't happen again next year!