A Video Game Con (AVGC) 2016 – 9/10 – 9/11 in Parsippany, NJ

[nodtveidt]

This is less than 5 hours away from me. If they do it again next year, I'm game.

[Joe Redifer]

It's obvious why prices went up.. they had to get Pat the NES Punk!

They don't pay him to be there (other than airfare/hotel). In fact likely the only one getting any kind of stipulation would be James & co. He's local so they won't have to give him more than a few bucks gas money. I'm betting his fee just to be there is $1000. Might be lower since it's close and he's only gonna be there on Sunday. A few years ago it was $700 to appear at a videogame store. Don't quote me on any of this as I am likely in error and am just guessing.

[sirhcman]

It's obvious why prices went up.. they had to get Pat the NES Punk!

They don't pay him to be there (other than airfare/hotel). In fact likely the only one getting any kind of stipulation would be James & co. He's local so they won't have to give him more than a few bucks gas money. I'm betting his fee just to be there is $1000. Might be lower since it's close and he's only gonna be there on Sunday. A few years ago it was $700 to appear at a videogame store. Don't quote me on any of this as I am likely in error and am just guessing.

lol Joe I was only kidding but thanks for the info!

[Johnpv]

I just wanted to say it was awesome today to finally get to play a Super Grafix.  Great set up with all the various PC Engines set up today, that was freaking awesome!

[esteban]

I just wanted to say it was awesome today to finally get to play a Super Grafix.  Great set up with all the various PC Engines set up today, that was freaking awesome!

I didn't check this thread! I should have.

I spent a good amount of time by PCE tables, but I also was trying to beat Mega Zone all day, too.

So, 35-40% chance I saw you

[esteban]

THE STORY SO FAR:

FRIDAY: *majors* was praying, lighting incense and begging god (Lord of Thunder) for his 16 arcade cabinets to be in good working order. Meanwhile, in another room, *rob*, a friend of *majors*, set up the PCE consoles... he printed out very nice placards with info about each console he brought (Saturn, Mega Drive, SMS, PCE Briefcase, Shuttle, SuperGrafx, DUO-RX, DUO)...

(click to enlarge)




These pics are from Friday night...so excuse the mess (boxes, bins, cardboard)...





Henshin Engine had a dedicated spot and ran 24/7 (Rob swapped out the other consoles every few hours)...





SATURDAY: We politely encouraged everyone who played the demo to SUPPORT the Henshin Engine Kickstarter... wait! Who is that playing the demo? He looks familiar....





What's this!? It's our very own *ninja_spirit* checking out Henshin Engine demo!





Did ninja_spirit miss the jump? It was a shameful moment.





"Mega Zone is better than Rockman+KOF98+SFII'! Why is everyone neglecting this fantastic game?" asked ninja_spirit.





This is, truly, the game that made me obsessed with shoot-em-ups. It was neglected in 1983 at the local ice rink. It was neglected in 2016 at AVGC. Luckily, the poor little bastard has my boundless love to heal its broken heart...

[sirhcman]

nice write up esteban, thanks for posting!

[esteban]

THE STORY CONTINUES...

SUNDAY: *majors* (on left, holding a can of nonalcoholic vegan beer) and *rob* (on right, hoping to find some real beer) donning matching t-shirts.




GunHed on PCE Briefcase w/ Hori controller...




Salamander on PCE Shuttle w/ winged-Shuttle controller...





Daimakaimura on SuperGrafx w/ pachinko controller...





Sapphire on DUO-RX w/ TurboDUO controller...





Henshin Engine on DUO w/ AVENUE 3 controller...





The owner of the Mega Zone cab asked me if I wanted to see all the manuals and flyers he had...this was his favorite line...


It is now my daily mantra.

Have you hugged your MEGA ZONE lately?

[blueraven]

Wow esteban, just... wow! Conference looks awesome! (and is that a Sony BVM?)

Haven't seen ninja_spirit on the forum in years. Wish him the best, was a really active poster when I first joined up, and I remember talking with him in chat or on the forums every so often. Glad that he's still around and doing well.

[TheClash603]

I have never played Mega Zone, but you have built it up to a level of expectations which it surely can never meet.  Thanks for the pics.

[esteban]

Wow esteban, just... wow! Conference looks awesome! (and is that a Sony BVM?)

Haven't seen ninja_spirit on the forum in years. Wish him the best, was a really active poster when I first joined up, and I remember talking with him in chat or on the forums every so often. Glad that he's still around and doing well.

I know! He used to be very active here, a billion years ago. It was great to see him. I will wish him well for you.

I have never played Mega Zone, but you have built it up to a level of expectations which it surely can never meet.  Thanks for the pics.

Most folks won't give it more than a minute... but it is a really "great" game that builds up to crazy action, then it will have a short break where you can regain your thoughts, followed by the the build to the next "climax"...to use a musical metaphor:

crescendo--> climax --> decrescendo (repeat)

I think folks play the "dull" moments and think it has nothing to offer, when in fact there is a beauty to the alternating segments...

I love taking *different paths* on each successive playthrough... It adds a nice bit of variety to the game... The branching paths add a lot of character to the otherwise basic stage design (later in the game, the stage design/enemy layout becomes *slightly* more interesting and challenging).   

In 1983, this was rather unique compared to the other vertical shooters I had access to at the arcades.

The ice rink I played it at in the 80's had the music pumped up loud and the basic, military drum line + symphony of nice SFX created a nice "soundscape" for the game.

Anyway, yes: most folks will think it sucks. But even now (let alone 1983), it does a decent job (during a "climax") of  throwing a lot of enemies at you in unique  combinations, with physical barriers + block walls (popping up) to keep you on your toes.

...and transforming into a MEGA TANK feels great...

I'll stop repeating myself.

[johnnykonami]

These pictures just fuel my want of one of those damn PVMs even more.  I wish they were more prevalent in my area.  Looks like a nice little con though, thanks for supplying pics!

[gheebee]

Got to swing by this for a little bit on Sunday, didn't get there till late and wasn't able to stay long but it looked like it would have been a pretty good time if I had time to hang around and play games all day. I did get to check out Henshin Engine for a few minutes and that was pretty cool, but aside from that I just walked around the dealer room with my friend a few times until we had spent all of our money. Will have to try and get there earlier next year!

[Johnpv]

I didn't check this thread! I should have.

I spent a good amount of time by PCE tables, but I also was trying to beat Mega Zone all day, too.

So, 35-40% chance I saw you

I should have said hi on Saturday or Sunday but I don't know what anyone looks like.  I didn't want to be the weird dude going up to people asking if they were on the PCengineFX forums. 

It really was a great set up though, I spent a bunch of time there on Saturday and Sunday playing the Super Grafix and trying out Henshin Engine. 

Also awesome photos and write up on it all!

[majors]

I didn't want to be the weird dude going up to people asking if they were on the PCengineFX forums. 

I'm easy to spot, you can prolly smell the alcohol in the other room. But I hear ya, I usually get the digits of folks I'm meeting and we have a spot to meet so it's not that awkward.

I did meet gheebee b/c he had a TG-16 shirt, so I knew he was cool.

My pic's: https://goo.gl/photos/MciqaKp6ewcSbkqm8