Quoted from tl54hill:Any feedback on how the Arcade Expo went in Rosemont? Didn't want to drop that much for entrance fee and parking for a first time show, but if it was well done maybe next year.
I saw a few familiar faces and had a chance to meet Jesse (jamaster10) for the first time and wonder how I hadn't caught up with him previously! My son Christian (who is a pinhead himself) had been talking about the show for a few months and I went with him. As noted above, the area for games was a good size and I thought they were setup nicely. The attendance was definitely sparse, I imagine some of that might have been due to the fact the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con was in the same area the previous weekend. While you might not be dealing with the same people, there is some crossover where the cost costs and craziness of that show might have had some impact.
That being said, we both ended up having quite a good time at the show. If you like arcade video games there was a good selection with some rare titles I hadn't played in years. The majority of games were up-and-running and the pinball row was nice to have as well. I logged a fair amount of time on the GB Premium as well the SM Black that were there. For me, shows are generally about the experience of catching up with people and playing games is secondary. So having a chance to talk with Jesse, a few local friends, and spend time in seminars with Billy Mitchell, Walter Day, Rickie Knucklez, and Joel West was great. We had a chance to see a screening of the documentary Man vs. Snake and Billy hung around for quite a while afterwards to answer questions.
I didn't catch up with Rob, but it was clear that he and the others who organized the show put a good deal of time into it. I know a few have mentioned parking costs, as a side note if you are ever in the Rosemont parking garage you can visit one of the restaurants in the plaza/commons area and they will validate your parking. And from what I have seen over the past few years they don't care if you actually spent time/money there or not, hand them the ticket and when they give it back your cost for parking will be $0. And on Friday night, Gary Stern was there if someone had anything they wanted to discuss with him...
Brad