"A few times now, you guys have mentioned Classic Game Fest here in Austin,
Texas and asked if it was worth attending, and I'm finally responding to
that question.  I have gone to about half of them and enjoyed myself when I
did.  There are arcade machines set up on free play, some consoles set up
at booths and various tournaments, lectures from current indie and past
game developers, and lots of vendors.

Vendors include those selling various arts/crafts (such as T-shirts and 3D
printed and perler bead retro-video-game trinkets/displays) and those
selling videogame-related hardware, software, and books.  Most of the
video-game related hardware and software are targeted toward consoles, but
there are usually a few booths with retrocomputer hardware and software for
sale.

In prior years, I have had books and video games signed at the event by the
likes of Ernest Cline (Ready Player One/Two and Armada), Richard Gariott
(Lord British of Origin Systems and Ultima games), and Howard Scott Warsaw
(Atari 2600 E.T. & Raiders of the Lost Ark).  Last year, I met the creator
of Q*bert as well as the 8-Bit Guy and purchased two of his games.

For what it's worth, anyone interested in exhibiting (but not selling) may
qualify to demo their retro games at a free booth, which are otherwise
about 10x more expensive than those at our typical retrocomputer gatherings
due to the high traffic of this event.  Last year ~10k people attended.  I
generally have found a single day to be sufficient as an attendee, however
I have been allotted one such booth so I will be there both days and hope
to see some fellow CoCo Nuts or at least other retrocomputer fans there!

Thanks for all the effort you guys put into your podcast - I'm still an
avid listener.  :)" -- Brendan Donahe

CoCoCrew Episode 93

Agenda

Links