Recap–Louisville Arcade Expo 2013

What this episode covers

With ‘version 3’ of the Louisville Arcade Expo now in the history books, we’ve all had a bit of time to get the games back home, unpack/unwind and reflect on what this years’ expo was all about. The expo is definitely ‘growing up’. There’s a lot of mechanics that have to happen behind the scenes, and the way that the expo is organized and executed on is showing a lot of benefit from how everyone involved is doing such a good job on ensuring ongoing quality while increasing show content at the same time. All that being said, this year was definitely a ‘year of firsts’ for our retro scene…. As mentioned before the break, it’s probably easier to think about this year’s expo as what was new, over-and-above last year than anything else. I’ve got the list separated into what I thought were the most notable of the improvements to the expo; we’ll break each of them down and dig into them in more detail as we go. * New floor layout with dedicated areas * Jersey Jack Pinball debut of ‘Wizard of Oz’ * Roger Sharpe panel interview * PAPA tournament leg * Expo Titles * Arcade games * Pinball * Tournament Pinball * Consoles * Everything else… Show layout One of the nicest parts of this years’ expo was the improved organization of the show. As trivial as the floor-plan may sound, the layout this year contributed to the fun and helped you to see ‘everything’ regardless of your location on the floor. They always say that a picture is worth 1,000 words, so it’s easier to show you what I’m referring to at this point… What I appreciated the most about this is that entire back wall of the convention hall was used to the fullest extent and that the game aisle did a ‘snake’ pattern that promoted the ability to see everything from most angles as well as provided good flow to keep people moving and walking along and did a good job of preventing everyone from crowding in a corner or being herded into a specific spot and competing for room to stand. I also thought this layout was nice because it allowed a ‘player’ ring of people to stand at the machines and play and another ‘spectator’ ring that allowed for the walking traffic to rotate in and out… it’s was like a semi-stationary ring within a constantly-rotating ring, if that makes sense. All-in-all, I hope the LAX staff decide to stick with this layout – it works well and is about the best type of layout that one could hope for when arranging a bunch of 30-year old wooden boxes. The ‘new guy’ on the block It’s always great to see just how many people ‘these old games’ draw into the show year-after year. I think it’s a real testament to the playability of classic arcades and pinball that so many people return to play the same games from 30+ years ago. What’s also amazing to me is the sheer amount of uptick we are are seeing in Pinball. If the wait lines were any indication, then we’re definitely seeing significant (re)interest in the game/sport/hobby and it’s great for everyone concerned. Last year, Trent Augenstein of Tilt Aumesments brought a new Stern AC/DC Pro and it was one of the show highlights. Trent was back this year playing in the tournament and had some new machines for sale, as well. This year, the new machine was none other than Jersey Jack Pinball ’s (JJP) Wizard of Oz (WOZ). The machine was furnished by fellow-Pinsider ‘doughslinger’. He’s a JJP dealer and brought a nicely modded (red EL Wire on the ramps) AC/DC Pro as well.

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