not going back to Expo....returning to TPF. End of story! Not even close!

Randy was there - but no booth and no inventory to sell.

I often travel to shows alone and a booth is too much to handle. Instead we work with show organizers to exhibit our displays and offer free shipping to attendees on orders placed during the show. Information can usually be found in the show's program guide.

If you attended TPF but missed the offer, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

But that's a part of the problem. Expo has become mostly a one dimensional show for manufactures. Texas Pinball Festival has it all with a well rounded show and arguable one of the best free play areas in the country. (Texas collectors put us Colorado boys deep into second place. )
I'm guessing but attendance at TPF has to be much more people than Expo.

If I were CEO of one of the manufacturing company's, I'd change things up and begin targeting my new game release announcements at TPF and then follow up at Expo as a later show. Expo exists mostly out of tradition at this point.

The tourney at Expo seems to be better but I honestly haven't heard much about the tourney at TPF.

Like I said, I would much rather go to PAPA or Pinburgh than TPF right now but maybe I'll get to go in the future and see what the hubbub is about.

Everything is better in Texas.

Lets see
TPF Industry announcements
Alice Cooper
Houdini
AFMr
Elvira 3
Zombie Pitch and Bat
Gizmo Pitch and Bat
Commercial P3 Games

TPF > Expo IMHO. and yes ive been to both the past couple years

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I've been to both.

Expo is still a powerhouse, but clearly in decline. My last Expo was a couple years ago (MMR announcement) and it seemed to be more of an insider's club than ever. And nothing like Expo's I remembered in the late 90's / early 2000's.

When I first went to TPF I thought it was terrific from a variety of games standpoint, but light on industry participation and seminars. That was really the only knock on TPF - the venue is near about perfect for a pinball show. And now as the the industry seems to have embraced TPF as a companion / alternative to Expo, that gap is closing.

Expo continues to be a big draw because of Chicago, availability of industry insiders and the Stern tour. But I think if you look at the entirety of a show experience, I think the answer to the question posed is "Yes", at least when compared to Expo.

I kicked myself for canceling plans to go to TPF this year. I'm not making that mistake in 2018. I don't think I'm going to another Expo unless there is a significant exclusive draw (e.g. game reveal that I'm interested in).

Taken from Facebook. It's hard to argue with THE KING.

Steve Ritchie: Best Pinball Show ever, anywhere. Kim and Ed, you guys do it better and right. Thank you very much for having us!

Listen, this is my 17th TPF. Each of the last 3 years I've told the organizers that it was the best TPF ever. I haven't travelled to other shows so I can't compare but TPF gets better every year. . .

For those complaining about the airport, we've all had bad airport experiences in airports all over the country. It happens. True that DFW is a quirky and sometimes frustrating airport... So are many others...

Just wanted to say that if anyone desires more pinball fix, that www.midwestgamingclassic.com is just around the corner (April 7-9).

I have been to quite a few shows (MGC, TPF, PAPA, VFW) and MGC still takes the cake hands down (for me) due to just the shear hobbyist level of energy and excitement. The show features some of the best quality personal games in the public space, great diversity, fun with all the other gamers (counsel, vid, board, cosplay, etc). One of the great things about MGC is that you are also likely to be able to party with some of the greats if you bring a game and get to be part of the best afterparty ever

Like TPF, MGC continues to get better and better every year!

It's not a show thread unless Clay is here to tell you why his is better.

Expo gets lamer every year, I'd be glad to see someone take their crown. TPF works for me as the candidate, shorter flight than Chicago!

The entire point of this thread seems to be to talk shit about other shows so don't see why a Clay post to that effect wouldn't fit in perfectly.

TPF has been the top show for at least 2-3 years now. Yeah, Expo in Chicago is a better attended show by the pinball professionals, but it's becoming a huge stinker in regards to playing pinball and cost. As a result, TPF has taken over as the more desirable show to attend. You have a higher number of games on the floor, better condition games, a better facility, and lately it's becoming almost on Expo's level as a news generator. I don't see why TPF won't continue to increase while Expo continues to see a decline.

I beg to differ,your snowmen suck!

snowman_over (resized).jpg

Chicago deserves a pinball show. It just needs new organizers or someone to start a whole new show. The old guards and their set ways are killing it. It has actually outgrown it's current location as you cannot find any parking during peak times. Trying to walk across Milwaukee Ave is a true to life game of Frogger. It needs to be closer to mass transit.

Eh, I wouldn't say anyone "deserves" anything. I mean, let's look at last year. Stern throws their weight around to get the space they want at Expo, and then it ends up being half machines you can't even touch or play, and just a generally pathetic presence. Put all their energy into a stupid party, where you still had to pay for all your drinks and food. People had a good time, but it was despite Stern, not because of them.

What exactly about any of that is something that should automatically happen?

Let the people who actually care and put the effort in get the shows.

No one is going to start a new Chicago show as long as Rob and Mike are around (unless maybe Terry expands the Pinball Life party). Someone who has the ear of Rob and Mike needs to get them to understand that things need to change if Expo is going to remain relevant to the greater pinball community. The problem isn't "set ways" - it's downright stubbornness and flat out denial (and the hotel contract may be a factor).

Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine started the infamous Illinois Pinball Show a couple miles South of Expo at the Pal-Waukee Airport Hotel. What a great venue; Potato Basket anyone?

I'd love to see a new and better show launched a week or two before expo.
I would support that.

To be fair, Expo's $240.00 ($230.00 when paid for in advance) "package" includes the banquet; a $90.00 value.
Stern Tour; a $50.00 value
Seminars; a $60.00 value
Bumper Jumper Blast party with decent, included food, gotta be worth something, say $20.00?
Expo is called a 5 day show. At least it's a 4 day show.

As for the "free booze" at TPF, nothing's free, it's "included" with your room at the host hotel. Staying somewhere else? No free booze for you unless you rip them off (As Mike sez: That'S tHEfT of SeRVicES). Same with the free breakfast.
I recall one time when I stayed at an EmbassySuites or Doubletree by O'Hare and they didn't have the normal "Manager's complimentary cocktail party". When I asked about it they said there was some Illinois or Cook COuNty law that prohibited it. But, they gave you a freebie from the Mini-Bar. A beer was worth eight bucks and there was no tip jar.

Not saying one is better than the other as TPF sure was blast last time I went. Believe me, both shows are a money grab.

I'm not sure it matters. They just put on a great show and aim to improve every year. Beyond Ken, Paul, Ed and Kim, a huge community from not only DFW, but the entire region comes out to support the show. As a (very) minor contributor, I am proud to be associated with it.

I'm really glad to see this since my Met (which was in the tourney area this year) was in your booth. I'd never asked and wondered. Missed ya at the show man.

Side note... glad to see you were having fun, Frax. With the red hankey on your head, there was no mistaking it

We have had a couple of "Pinball Expos" down here in Australia that fall into similar circumstances category. The first was a clearing sale auction for beat up container pins masquerading as an Expo and the second was an insider's club designed to perpetuate purple circle membership for self promoting prestige purposes.

Neither event lasted for more that two consecutive years which speaks for itself.

Expo or TPF the US organisers know how to run a public pinball event which prohibits the politics and cliques that seem to go hand in hand with the hobby and puts the promotion of pinball itself at the forefront.

That is the key to their longstanding success and why I am happy as funds/time permits to spend 15 hours on a plane to experience it.

Kudos to anyone who is associated with or attends either.

SHAME SHAME remember out forefathers!!! So quick to jump out of the boat, Expo will always be the main pinball show...because of the long history and the fact that's its in Chicago in my opinion!

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Don't bet on it. I hate to say it, but every year, Mike angers more and more vendors, volunteers, helpers, etc., I think the time will come when enough of them simply say f' it, and they'll be done. What will happen to Expo when that happens will be interesting to see.

TPF, on the other hand, is run by people who bend over backwards to help everyone involved in the show any way they can. Not ONCE this past weekend did I hear anyone complain about the job Ed, Kim and the rest of the crew did.

I'll just say, if there was only one show I could go to each year, TPF would be the one.

After last year, I was told that there may be a competing show next year... I have promised to bring games if that competing show gets started and I know quite a few others that have also committed to helping if it gets legs.

"Chicago".

Trying to justify the high cost of Expo is a bit of a stretch. The banquet is certainly not worth $90 nor is the tour $50.
Putting TPF in the same league with regard to "cash grab" is just silly.

Chicagoland.
Like the Metroplex.

Why? So he can take in all the advice and do as he pleases anyway?

Each show has something about it that makes it special. But I do feel like if I had to rate shows TPF is the best show. This was my 3rd year and each year it gets better. Ed, Kim and group do an amazing job.

JJ

I like how the Expo registration websi, I mean order form, lists the pricing for the items you say are certainly not worth the prices charged as "ONLY $90.00" and ONLY "$50.00"

Also, Expo has the game hall open through the night from Friday at 1 pm until the show closes on Sunday. No other North American show does that to date.

Expo '16 Registration (resized).PNG

Didn't even make a full minute before saying Pinball Wizards.

Is that a baby-faced Josh Sharpe @ 2:13?

Again, I really think it has to do with the goal of the shows.

Chicago actually has more than one show that features pinball, just in different ways that aren't as hobby friendly, which is why no one on here really talks about them.

I do think that absolutely someone could start another show in the Chicago area, but I think that timing it out would be difficult. It would NOT make sense to run on the same weekend as Expo or near it. Expo will continue to do just fine with it's industry group that will continue to support it. It would be difficult to run in the winter because it's winter. I would be surprised if they ran around this time because of the MGC up north here. So, you're stuck with summer, during which there are a lot of other shows in other parts of the show vying for attention.

Expo is still important to the industry to make announcements at as I know of a number of operators who look around that time to start deciding where their money is going to go for the next year. That part isn't going to change with a hobby-centered show starting. Besides that, the timing of the shows is a big part of their announcements - If TPF was after a couple of the other large shows, I imagine they would have had less announced there. But, seeing as how TPF basically kicks off the "pinball show season", it makes sense that a bunch of big announcements happen there, so those companies can then decide how to best showcase what they do after that point.

I can definitely see a hobby show rising in the Chicago area, but I don't see it "competing" with Expo based on the specific niche Expo serves.

Not sure what your point is. Just because the form says the price is is something is $x doesn't mean it's actually worth $x. If I list a non-working beat up Popeye as being worth $6000, does that make it worth $6000?

You were the one saying that both Expo and TPF were cash grabs. I said it was unfair to compare TPF and Expo in that manner. If either is a "cash grab", it isn't TPF.

I hope both shows succeed. Expo is still a premiere show. But it's overall reputation is declining where that of TPF is on the rise.

There have been numerous threads over the years on how Expo can be improved and most people who posted in them really want to see Expo succeed. Unfortunately, Mike's responses typically came across as knee-jerk defensive - not those of someone who was prepared to take constructive critism and suggestions on how to improve Expo. Part of that is ego and stubbornness, part of it is generational change. I have no doubt Mike wants to improve Expo - I'm just not convinced he can get out of his way to do it.

Mike is easy to beat up on, but few seem to really understand what he has done for this hobby. If it weren't for Expo keeping the pinball flame alive for over 30 years it's not likely that shows like TPF would exist or that the level of interest in the hobby would be so high. Most other shows were started because of how successful Expo was, not because it was a failure.

I disagree. To me it makes perfect sense to run 1 week prior to expo or even on the exact same weekend as expo and nearby to get cross pollination the first year. Slightly better weather but still fall season when things have slowed down. Pretty easy to garner the support of the local hobbyists if you treat them well (a low bar to hurdle given the current treatment). Get the hobbyists involved and watch it grow. The first year would be tough. The second year would be better. By the third year you would see the true ramifications.

Anyone going into the idea and not concerned with directly competing with Expo is doing it wrong IMO

I hope someone in the Chicagoland makes a go for it. It seems every year more people come away with a foul taste. That taste wanes over time, but the following year the tastes returns and can be worse than the year before. I think many people would liek to see a show in Chicagoland flourish.

Heck, just a couple of hours at Pinball Life meeting Svengoolie was more fun than the entire 15' Expo...and it was FREE!

If Terry and Margaret went full on with a paid three day event to challenge/rival Expo then I'd much rather fly out for that.
Eating more Lou Malnati's in the process wouldn't hurt either...

I'm hoping to go to TPF next year!

ReplayFX, Arcade Expo and California Extreme deserve a lot of love.

you sir get a thumbs up just for mentioning the best pizza in the world

Do you know the dates of reply FX this year?

But that's the thing - cross pollination only works if you are on the same weekend. So sure, you could get some extra attendance out of that potentially, but...

Expo is a known quantity. The industry will still go there. So, that limits your new games. Then, vendors already know what to expect of Expo, so they probably still go there. Well, we can compete on game bringers - let's say that you get half of the people that had been going to Expo to show up with machines, and another half that won't bring games to Expo to show up - which, for a first year would be quite the showing.

You still end up with the only thing to compete with Expo being a game room. You may get a few more attendees, but I don't think it would be a huge show right away.

If you run the show 5 months apart from it or whatever, you can potentially convince the industry to come, maybe entice a few vendors to come, and get people to bring out their games. You would lose out on a portion of the attendees that may go to both shows, but you would have a much more well rounded show.

Mike should just sell the show to new owners and scooter his way into retirement.

http://replayfx.org/

July 27th-30th

We have been attending TPF since around 2003. Will always go back as it gets better every year.

We attended Replay FX last year and had one of the best experiences ever. We already have our hotel and tourney booked for this year.

We attended Expo for the first time this year. The Stern Tour was awesome because we have never done it, but not a lot of reason to do it again. The show was ok as far as seminars, dinners, vendors and people to talk with. The show area is so small compared to TPF that there is no reason to even compare the two. For us Chicago is done if nothing changes.

My girlfriend and I play in a gaming community (yes, new school as hell, that would be me - we're young) that's having a big event there so I'm ending up going as well as her and found it convenient how it's one of the biggest pinball events too. Kind of weird to have them mix. At least I get to bring machines to get in free even if I don't spend a ton of time pinballing I wish it wasn't FOUR to get in free (for one person) though, that kind of stinks. That's a big haul of machines and even more to look after.

Still kind of wrapping my head around the mixture, I'm mainly going for the gaming thing but was surprised to hear they picked ReplayFX this year. (first year going for them either, along with my girlfriend as well) Guess I'll look all stretchy by the time it's done, jumping back and forth between areas.