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Classic Games (Games) Entertainment Games Hardware

Homebrew Carts and Coin-Ops - Phillyclassic 5 80

Posted by timothy from the a-few-hours-left dept.
Jason Scott writes "I've put up my gallery of images from Phillyclassic 5, taken on Saturday, March 20th (and posted that night). Phillyclassic is a large classic games convention being held in King of Prussia, PA. They have a very informative webpage with details... I drove 600 miles in one day to stop in, and it was worth it. Homebrew carts for sale, lots of free arcade games to play, and all manner of vendors and characters. The convention's not over, either.. it lasts throughout Sunday the 21st, so if you didn't know about it, get down there! If you're nearby, you have no excuse!"
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Homebrew Carts and Coin-Ops - Phillyclassic 5 More

Homebrew Carts and Coin-Ops - Phillyclassic 5

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  • old consoles (Score:1, Interesting)

    by BigHungryJoe ( 737554 )
    including home console systems from 1970-2004

    What home gaming consoles were available in 1970?

  • Favorite Game? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by mikestro ( 60854 )
    Who's game was their favorite? I kind of miss the old arcade games (which are hard to find these days)

    My favorite game, and I can't find it was a game called "Black Tiger" back in the late 80's.

    • My favorite Video Game is "Arkanoid." It's a good breakout type game that Taito made in the 80s. I actually liked it so much, i made a cocktail cabinet for it. You can see pictures of it here [yingster.net] if you wish.

      BTW My brother bought a Black Tiger upright arcade cabinet a few years ago. That game is pretty dang fun!

  • bit late there... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 21, 2004 @02:54PM (#8628461)
    Posted by timothy on Sunday March 21, @01:50PM
    ... The convention's not over, either.. it lasts throughout Sunday the 21st

    just a bit late there, buddy.

  • Ugghhh! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Byzandula ( 83077 ) on Sunday March 21, 2004 @03:07PM (#8628515)
    I am about 35 minutes away from this thing and it is already too late in the day to go.
    A posting of this event a couple of days ago would have been nice.

    *whimpers* *pouts* *breaks down into tears at the thought of 'free' gaming*

    -Byzandula

    • Re:Ugghhh! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Jason Scott ( 18815 ) *
      Actually, at 2pm, you would still have a couple hours there. I only spent a few there myself, and saw quite a bit, as the pictures hopefully show.

      I posted this at midnight on Saturday, and was taking a big gamble that the story might be posted before opening time on Sunday, and maybe a few people could make it. Either way, now you know for next time: the success I saw at the convention indicates there will be another one, and you'll make it.
    • My thoughts exactly. I'm in Philly, and this is the first i've heard of it. Ever done a search for LAN parties or any cool tech-related stuff around here? There isn't any. So when stuff like this comes around, and I miss it, it really pisses me off.

  • that took a dive quickly (Score:5, Informative)

    by adpowers ( 153922 ) on Sunday March 21, 2004 @03:11PM (#8628532)
    Wow, that went down fast. That'll teach you to post a image gallery directly to /. :).

    Anyway, I grabbed what I could and I figure it is better than nothing. It is mostly thumbnails, but I managed to get 1.5 higher resolution images.

    Here is my very partial mirror [andrewhitchcock.org]

  • Partial mirror (Score:5, Informative)

    by Huogo ( 544272 ) <<ten.kcocaepeht> <ta> <mada>> on Sunday March 21, 2004 @03:17PM (#8628553) Homepage
    Here [5light.com] is a very partial mirror, but my webserver is downloading more as time goes on (currently at .5 k/s).

  • Events (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Nf1nk ( 443791 ) <nf1nk.yahoo@com> on Sunday March 21, 2004 @03:20PM (#8628562) Homepage
    Its stuff like this that makes me think Slashdot needs an events page. had I known about this a week ago I might have been able to attend. It would be great if we could get say a weeks notice on geek-centric events.
    • Seriously. I have a partially built arcade machine here in my living room that needs parts, and I am only about 3 hours from KoP. I would have driven there in a second had I know about it before hand.

    • Re:Events (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Agreed. Dammit, I forgot all about it. How about a little more publicity next year, guys? I mean, I *live* in Philadelphia and this is the first I'm hearing of this year's show.

      Last year local news carried a story on it, but since Veterans Stadium was imploded this morning, that will be all anyone talks about on the news tonight.

      *sigh* Considering how much money I blew at last year's show, maybe it's just as well that I didn't get there this year.

  • West Coast event (Score:5, Informative)

    by Macsimus ( 245076 ) on Sunday March 21, 2004 @03:34PM (#8628618)
    California Extreme [caextreme.org] is a similar event held once a year in San Jose (this year on Aug. 7 and 8), though without the home console angle. I've gone the last couple of years and they've been great events, though the game selection can be a bit inconsistent. I hope to go again this year.

  • Don't miss the next one in California... (Score:5, Informative)

    by radd0 ( 558899 ) <radman@acid . o rg> on Sunday March 21, 2004 @04:21PM (#8628809) Homepage Journal

    A very similarly natured event is taking place this August 7-8 in San Jose, California titled "California Extreme 2004". Last year there was over 400 video games and pinball machine games on the floor, all set for free play. The turnout and number of games available has been gaining momentum every year.

    Check it out...

    http://www.caextreme.org/2004-show/index.html [caextreme.org]

    -r
  • Dude, I sure hope you got laid.

    Seriously, I salute your dedication to the sport. But I also hope you got laid.
    • Then you probably don't want to know about Origins, the tabletop gaming convention held annually in Columbus, OH. Attendees travel from as far as Germany on a reliable basis.

      And that's purely non-electronic games. As in, dice, cardboard, playing cards, and big, smelly dorks bragging about their 20th-level Elder Dwarf Mage.

      • Re:Origins (Score:4, Funny)

        by Dun Malg ( 230075 ) on Sunday March 21, 2004 @08:45PM (#8630104) Homepage
        As in, dice, cardboard, playing cards, and big, smelly dorks bragging about their 20th-level Elder Dwarf Mage.

        Actual exchange between a friend of mine and the squeaky-voiced game dork DM at a D&D table at a con many years ago:

        GameDork: I have all black dice. Black like my soul.
        MyFriend: Black like your stool?
        GD: soul! I said black like my soul! MF: Geez, sorry. It sounded like you said "stool".

  • Coin-op server??

  • This would have been great to see... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by adept256 ( 732470 ) on Sunday March 21, 2004 @06:48PM (#8629440)
    But I can't justify travelling all the way from Australia to see this. Are there any Aussies out there interested in seeing something like this at home?

    Cue misty childhood memories; camera goes all wavy as I gaze skyward, stroking my beard with a wistful sigh...

    My dad was given a Galaxian machine to fix, one of the really nice tabletop ones: with the thick glass top three times the size of the display (plenty of room for your drink and fries :). The one-axis joystick secreted horizontally under the shelf that made that satisfying click you only get from a micro-switch (like those old clicky IBM keyboards, you know damn well when you hit a key). Micro-switches were in the two buttons as well, which were also under the shelf. That sounds awkward, but resting the base of your palm facing upward against the edge of the shelf you could hammer those buttons pretty fast. The screen was taller than it was wide, which was pretty common back then, and would simply flip to face the other side for two-player. Yeah, you had to take turns

    Dad told the guy that the machine was completely irrepairable, but he'd take it off his hands and save him a trip to the dump (the guy had no clue). So the machine ended up in my bedroom, and, needless to say, Dad was my hero :). I was the only kid in my entire suburb (afaik) to be priveleged enough to have a real arcade machine in my own home, while other kids were playing with their Atari 2600s. Of course, I soon became the undefeated champion of Galaxian. I would seek out the game in arcades to make sure my initials stayed in the high-score list. On one memorable occasion, finally losing my last life after playing for what seemed like hours and hours, I was surprised by applause, as I was oblivious to a small crowd gathering around me. What? Yes, hard to imagine these days, but this was in the hey-day of arcade machines

    After Galaxian became passe, it served it's purpose as a very stylish desk and conversation piece. Even then, I entertained thoughts of modifying it. Particularly, I wanted to get at that indestructible joystick so I could use it with my c64 (commodore's flimsy plastic joysticks combined with the common 'waggle the joystick as fast as you can' gameplay led to ALOT of broken sticks)

    I was too young to go monkeying around with the electronics myself, so my Dad, with his master's degree in electrical engineering, would implement alot of my ideas for me. We did alot of projects together, like a solar-powered remote-control car (for a school project), a guitar amp (I was a prodigious guitarist), kits from Dick Smith etcetera... What to do with the Galaxian tabletop was shaping up to be our biggest project ever, when sadly my Dad passed away, leaving my brothers and I as orphans. Even worse, later that year a house-fire destroyed the Galaxian tabletop (and everything else) and it was lost forever.

    For people like me, events like Phillyclassic 5 are extremely important. Preserving arcade-game heritage means more than just keeping the roms and emulating them, it's about the whole package. I've played Galaxian on Mame, and it's good, but I would honestly prefer to play a cutting-edge FPS (C'mon, I'm being nostalgic, not stupid!). To play the same tabletop version I had however... well, that would be something. My Dad would be proud.

    Here [google.com]is a picture of a 'cocktail' Galaxian. Mine looked different to this, though.
  • Two years in a row I have missed this and I live only 10 minutes from where it was held. There is always next year!

    Maybe this explains why traffic was so bad, but then again, it's always terrible.
  • Why is it Philly Classic when it's in King of Prussia?
    • For the same reason the New York Giants are called "New York" while they clearly play every single game in New Jersey. Name recognition. Everyone in America has heard of Philly who except for people from the local area have ever heard of King of Prussia?
      • > who except for people from the local area have ever heard of King of Prussia

        Well, since I owned an Amiga, I knew that GVP (Great Valley Products) was HQ'ed there -- they made my DSS audio sampler.
      • So what you are saying is that no one has heard of New Jersey?

  • slashpwned (Score:3, Funny)

    by ShadowRage ( 678728 ) on Sunday March 21, 2004 @07:47PM (#8629741) Homepage Journal
    "I've put up my gallery of images from Phillyclassic 5, taken on Saturday, March 20th"

    and slashdot took down your gallery on Sunday, March 21st.

  • My review: (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I give this show/con a "C".

    Valley Forge Convention Center is a really crappy venue. Its just a bunch of big empty floors. No rooms or anything like that. So its just a bunch of curtain partitions and tables and stands. I guess I'm just used to anime con setups or something. The pictures on the website were misleading at best. If there was some kinds of big seperate Videotopia arcade as the page suggested, I missed it. There were just a handful of old machines off in a corner, of which 3/4 of th

  • My excuse... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I've got an excuse...

    It's called a girlfriend.

  • I was there! (Score:2, Informative)

    by UnknownQ ( 84898 )
    I was able to go out and meet the creator of pyDance (pyDDR) [icculus.org], that made my day in all sorts of ways. I also talked to the director of some movie called Fungicide (that doesn't have an IMDB link); budget was $1000.00. Nice. And I got to play a lot of classic games that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten a chance to play outside of MAME (I'm only 17, so that was a little before my time).
    In all: Philly Classic = Good!
    • Dude, Fungicide [troubledmoonfilms.com] is the coolest! Director Dave Wascavage from Troubled Moon Films [troubledmoonfilms.com] is a riot ... really great guy. He helped me out with my booth (serious fix) [seriousfix.com] ... and we had a blast.

      I can't wait till TMF releases Suburban Sasquatch [troubledmoonfilms.com]! Hell, I am in it! There should be a premiere in Philly sometime in April. Email Dave [mailto] for more information.

      tss
      • Yeah, can't get the Fungicide DVD to play in my computer, or DVD player. However, it works in a (newer) portable dvd player... strange. Really thought Linux/mplayer could play anything.
  • Lots of great classic gaming events happening in August... a couple weeks after California Extreme, Classic Gaming Expo (now in it's seventh year) will be making its west-coast debut on August 21st at the San Jose Convention Center. There's sure to be even more classic gaming, arcade, alumni and other activities to make this year the best ever.

    Check The CG Expo Website [cgexpo.com] for more details!
  • Now THAT [cow.net] is retro!
  • I released my new 2600 Homebrew JoustPong [alienbill.com]! It was cool selling cartridges and talking to people about it.

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