psquare75 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I was ! Played Donkey Kong on THE machine from King of Kong. Met Keith Apicary of Talking Classics.. had him sign my Genesis His Virtual Boy suit is 10x more amazing in person My gf is the one that actually got me into his show.. I had never heard of him before I met her last winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Leading up to the show, I didn't post any information here this year about ACAM's participation at PAX-East. The stuff I posted here from last year seemed to be largely ignored. In any event, I will get some photos up in a few days. Like last year, our room was completely mobbed for all three days. We had triple the floor space, and even though we more than doubled the amount of games we brought (45), it was much easier to maneuver within our room. All I can say after the show is "WOW!" It was another incredible show. PAX-East is THE must-attend gaming event east of the Mississippi. There is something here for everyone. Aside from all of the PAX attendees crowding the ACAM room, we had visits from reps from multiple gaming companies, people such as Jerry Holkins (writer of the Penny Arcade comic) and former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. Of course, our good friend Nathan Barnatt (performing his "Keith Apicary" character) spent a ton of time in our room. The crew from GCC came back again this year and did another awesome panel. While they did touch on a few topics that were covered last year, their panel this year focused a lot more on coin-op development. (Ever wonder why the 4th monster in Jr. Pac-Man is named Tim?) I'll make an audio recording available as soon as I can get my hands on it from the PAX-East staff. The auditorium we were in seated 350 people and we were completely full. Psquare75, that DK machine you played is certainly famous from King of Kong. However, in my opinion, it is more famous for the amount of times the record has been broken on that machine since that movie was released. The most recent record was achieved just a few short weeks ago. Dr. Hank Chien of NY broke the record on ACAM's machine AGAIN with a score of 1,090,400. Mike Stulir Board of Directors The American Classic Arcade Museum www.classicarcademuseum.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psquare75 Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 Oddly enough I had never heard of PAX or PAX-EAST (or even Penny Arcade ) Until I saw Keith Apicary mention he was going, and the retro areas on the PAX site. My girlfriend purchased Sunday passes (all that was left). I wish I got to see the GCC panel. Keith's panel was of course, cut short. What a show! Mike, that room you put together was excellent. I think I spent two hours in there. It was great! I wish I brought my dad, as he is a not-so-closet gamer. I think I saw one guy in his 50's lose 30 years of age before my eyes. Priceless. I found it interesting to see what got heavy play, and what didn't. (No one on Zaxxon really, lots of people crowded Dragon's Lair, etc). The projectors with Space Ace and Dragon's Lair were a really nice touch, as was the music. Definitely not what I expected! I dropped some cash into the donation box that I saw on the way out. I actually almost missed it! My gf wants to make a "WEEKEND" trip up to Funspot this spring, we just need to work out the details.. I spoke with a gentleman who looked like Noah Bennett from Heroes with hair a tad grayer who had an ACAM shirt on, (I couldn't get his name, too dark, lol), and he was very helpful with a few questions I had. Interesting sidenote.. when I got to Donkey Kong, I said to my girlfriend "WTF? this stick is super loose." D&B down in Providence has a DK machine and it doesn't feel llke this. Then I realized if it's good enough for several record breaking games to be played on, it's good enough for me. First time playing Tapper in real life. (Usually play it on Coleco). Love the "Tap" handles. The setup on entry. This was an interesting sight. A picture as proof for a friend that Tapper was indeed a BEER game and not about root beer. He was in disbelief (he's young. ) Thank you for being there, that room was a time warp. I hope you plan to be there for next year, we will be. See you in two months or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Thank you very much for contributing to the donation box. Putting on an exhibit of this magnitude & moving 45 games is extremely expensive. The fundraiser should make a dent in our expenses for the show. I would certainly encourage you to get the three day pass for next year. There is just too much stuff going on during PAX-East to get it all in one day. Plus, the word I am getting from the PAX staff is that the show next year will be even bigger, so we can all look forward to that. A really good time for you to come up to our facility is during our annual tournament in June. The one thing I keep hearing over and over is that people think they should not come because they feel that they cannot compete with the championship-calibur players. Believe me, there is a lot more going on during that tournament than just the competitive gaming. It is like a four-day party that celebrates the history of arcades. You are certainly welcome to come during that event, play games that are not part of the competition, and spend time with people who love our hobby. Info on the tournament is here..... http://www.classicarcademuseum.org/tournament.htm I hope to make more use of the projectors next year. of course, beaming more games up on the wall would be the priority, but one of our volunteers wants us to show old MTV videos to go along with the music we play. We are going to be looking into doing that. I only have a few photos so far as I have not have time to sort everything since I got home. One is of ACAM President Gary Vincent posing with former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling outside of our room. The other is the crowd in the center of the room. Mike Stulir Board of Directors The American Classic Arcade Museum www.classicarcademuseum.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Looks like some of the first video is hitting the web. Video of the room after setup before the doors opened on Friday morning. Video of the room with all of the lighting & music turned on after the doors opened on Saturday. Mike Stulir Board of Directors The American Classic Arcade Museum www.classicarcademuseum.org 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberto Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 wonderful... I really wish I were there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Huh... a real Quantum machine. I'd have been on that if I'd been there. Only ever played on a "home brew" cabinet before (converted Space Duel with replaced control system). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psquare75 Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 Quantum was HARD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedijeff Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 This was my favorite part of PAX East. It was a good reminder that I need to get back to fixing all the machines I have. Thanks again for bringing them out. It was a lot of fun being in that old arcade setting. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Huh... a real Quantum machine. I'd have been on that if I'd been there. Yup, a real Quantum machine. Dedicated units are hard to find. Betty Tylko (the creator of Quantum) was supposed to be at PAX-East for the ACAM/GCC panel but had to back out at the last moment due to a family illness. If you take a look in this thread, there is a photo of Betty at ACAM during the GCC reunion we held last fall. Mike Stulir Board of Directors The American Classic Arcade Museum www.classicarcademuseum.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 This was my favorite part of PAX East. It was a good reminder that I need to get back to fixing all the machines I have. Thanks again for bringing them out. It was a lot of fun being in that old arcade setting. Jeff I am glad to hear you had a good time. It costs a ton of time and money to put this display on each year, and comments like yours reinforce to us that it is all worth it. Mike Stulir Board of Directors The American Classic Arcade Museum www.classicarcademuseum.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstulir Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Quantum was HARD. It is a tough game. I think the highest score we have ever had on that machine is only around 80,000 points. Donald Hayes got that during our tournament last year, and the next closest competitors were 12,000+ points behind. Considering how hard the game is, it shouldn't be a shock that Donald is the master. You should see him play Super Zaxxon. Unreal. Mike Stulir Board of Directors The American Classic Arcade Museum www.classicarcademuseum.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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