Greets all!....well I had a BLAST at the Philly Classics this past weekend in Philly (Valley Forge Convention Center).
The good---
I took a ton of pics; got some cool autographs (my ET Cartridge autograph from Howard Scott Warshaw -- the man who wrote the game was a highlight for me-- this is the poor guy that was virtually "blamed" for the death of Atari because of ET!)....and I also purchased his DVD about Atari also signed (see his website if you're interested--
http://www.onceuponatari.com/).
I also picked up an autographed edition of Phoenix- The fall and rise of video games from Leonard Herman (
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/096438485X/qid=1079966119/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9614365-0364005?v=glance&s=books)
Let's see what else?...oh yeah see the "project announcements" for my awesome Trackball standalone panel purchase!....(
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=17311).....
There was also a great Mame cab on display...I'll post pics and more info on all of this very soon for those interested. The guy who built it was really very nice and interesting to talk with. He was more than happy to show off his cab.
One of the best things there were the 100 (!) classic games on free play. I swear the last time I heard those sounds at the same time from all of those classic cabs I was only 18! (and I'm 35 now!).
I also picked up a few TShirts, a $15. dreamcast and game (for $5. bucks- Virtua Tennis 2K); and the professional version of Arcade Ambience from gooddealgames.com for $20. which included two CDs...(the 1981 and
83 mixes).
The bad--
Lastly. there was also a cosplay costume contest that was too painful to watch (really!...I'll post pics to prove it!)....and seemed like a high school "talent show" that was really poorly run.
The really bad---
The only thing that I was really surprised at (and really disappoint about) was just how many folks that I consider my "gaming peers" that don't believe in cleaning their clothes, washing their hair or brushing their teeth (including unfortunately some of the girls). It felt like a hippie convention....but worse....
I assure you I'm not being harsh here.....it was pretty bad as I live and work in NYC and travel on the subways every day.....trust me, I can tell when it's really bad!
The final word-
EVERYONE despite some of the folks personal hygiene (or lack of it) was really nice, had a great time and it was well worth attending.
I'll post pics and more info very soon for those intested!
MameMaster!

PS- Here's the "official" line up from the show-
http://www.phillyclassic.com/events.php