(Topic ID: 225509)

Midwest Gaming Classic (MGC) 2019 - April 12,13,14 at the Wisconsin Center

By Crashnburn

5 years ago


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  • Latest reply 4 years ago by Jazman
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    There are 863 posts in this topic. You are on page 17 of 18.
    #801 4 years ago

    Those things looked amazing. It took a lot of control to not buy one. I have no where to currently put one, but maybe once I get a house/gameroom.

    #802 4 years ago

    I bought a Run-DMD as an impulse buy since I had a spare Stern DMD. I definitely didn't need it, but it's cool.

    #803 4 years ago

    I'm really upset that I missed that guy when I was wandering around the vendor hall - I'm ordering one from his site now. Too cool!

    #804 4 years ago

    Wow, somebody really didn’t like the show.. We had a great time- thanks very much to all involved. We drove in for all three days- spent $0 in parking. IMO- unbelievably better then Sheraton. It is an amazing amount of space. You could put twice as many pins in that hall and still have plenty of room. How you would be able to hear anything, no idea.
    I will concede that ticket prices are high and location is not ideal for people with trailers. I validated the ticket expense with I was basically trying to buy. I saved $thousands!! Or at least hundreds in shipping. Not a fan of Wonka or BK. If I had a few kids over 9, the prices might have kept those people home. But even with those prices- it was crowded. So the demand was proven.

    A few pins were out for most of the show. MMr- only saw that working Fri. Lexy- didn’t see it working any day. POTC- balls kept sticking upper playfield.. It happens. Still- huge amounts to play. We played probably 5 hours straight a couple of those days- didn’t even get a drink of water.

    #805 4 years ago

    Thanks, I wasn't sure who it was, but I changed my link to support the vendor who comes to MGC.

    #806 4 years ago

    I went to the show for a few hours on Sunday.......planned to go last year as well, but with the weather we had that weekend, there was no way I was driving home in that.

    So this was my first experience with MGC in the Wisconsin Center.

    The venue is a VAST improvement over the Sheraton. Everything is nicely spaced out but yet compact enough that its all located together. Tons of room and you could easily navigate around to all the games. NO separate rooms all over the place. No cramped hallways. No tent......think of the disaster last year would have been with that? Also high ceilings with excellent ventilation........that makes a big difference for the heat in the game rooms and sometimes the "ripe smell" of some folks who may have wanted to consider taking a shower that morning...........

    There were alot of console games there and that's just not my thing anymore, but that's ok! Something for everyone and I just chose to spend my time where I wanted. Like the organizers have said. This is show is for everyone. So I just chose to look at what I wanted. Anyone complaining about "not wanting to go to downtown Milwaukee"......please.......this isn't downtown Milwaukee from 10 years ago. It is VASTLY improved over the past decade with all of the improvements done and getting to the show was simple. Literally less than a mile off the highway.

    An amazing amount of new pins......that was great. Highlight for me was finally scoring an extremely nice dedicated Pac Man at a fair price.......usually find them and they are beat to hell.......not this time.

    I will gladly be back next year.

    #807 4 years ago
    Quoted from dkazz1:

    NO separate rooms all over the place.

    ummm... you should have gone down to the 2nd floor

    Some great rooms in those areas for sure!

    #808 4 years ago
    Quoted from Whysnow:

    ummm... you should have gone down to the 2nd floor
    Some great rooms in those areas for sure!

    LOL Hilton....you know what I mean

    #809 4 years ago

    My brother-in-law and I went Friday night for the 2nd year and a row and really enjoyed the show again this year!

    Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle was the surprise game this year for me, personally. It won the weekend.

    Silverball Mania was beautiful and Star Gazer played awesome. I had my first chance to play a Flash Gordon and put more games on it than any other game at the show...I want to get and restore one now!

    Thanks to all that had a part in the show!

    #810 4 years ago

    I couldn't believe the price on the P3 game. seriously $5,000! geeks mania wanted that game gone. such a shame, so much potential, I wish I had the money. I would have grabed it.

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    #811 4 years ago
    Quoted from cavalier88z24:

    I couldn't believe the price on the P3 game. seriously $5,000! geeks mania wanted that game gone. such a shame, so much potential, I wish I had the money. I would have grabed it.
    [quoted image]

    I wish I had seen that price!

    I assume it sold at the show?

    #812 4 years ago
    Quoted from dkazz1:

    LOL Hilton....you know what I mean

    I know.

    I will say I do miss the elevator pinball and bathroom videogames at the Sheraton.

    #813 4 years ago
    Quoted from Whysnow:

    I wish I had seen that price!
    I assume it sold at the show?

    I talked to Kyle as I was loading up Sunday and the P3 was unsold at that point. I'm assuming it's not sold

    #814 4 years ago
    Quoted from Whysnow:

    I wish I had seen that price!
    I assume it sold at the show?

    It did not sell. the owner was replacing the left flipper link when I was talking to him. about 1 p.m. sunday

    #815 4 years ago
    Quoted from AudioHaven:

    My brother-in-law and I went Friday night for the 2nd year and a row and really enjoyed the show again this year!
    Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle was the surprise game this year for me, personally. It won the weekend.
    Silverball Mania was beautiful and Star Gazer played awesome. I had my first chance to play a Flash Gordon and put more games on it than any other game at the show...I want to get and restore one now!
    Thanks to all that had a part in the show!

    Let me know when you are ready to order your ACNC. It was great to be able to have my game and to also have a customer that was generous enough to let us use his BRAND NEW game at the show.

    #816 4 years ago

    Ive played the P3 out at geeks. Its definitely been used. A lot of the plastic parts are cracked. I don't know if its just cosmetic or not.

    #817 4 years ago
    Quoted from BrewNinja:

    Ive played the P3 out at geeks. Its definitely been used. A lot of the plastic parts are cracked. I don't know if its just cosmetic or not.

    I looked into it a bit more.

    Game is blasted out and has some pretty substantial issues from the sounds of it. I was told it has blown multiple boards and has rotary motor issues from someone that checked it out at MGC. Those games get road hard... I have no idea how they can keep up with the maintenance over there.
    I now understand why it did not sell even at 5k.

    #818 4 years ago

    Also it's a P3.

    #819 4 years ago

    Doesn't surprise me in the least. Last I saw it, it looked pretty rough (but then again, most of their games do).

    #820 4 years ago

    I dont know if anyone has said it yet, but I was very happy to see Death Ball back. That game is awesome.

    #821 4 years ago
    Quoted from aobrien5:

    I dont know if anyone has said it yet, but I was very happy to see Death Ball back. That game is awesome.

    It is pretty kickass! Last backer cab ended up in Madison at IO barcade. If you want and excuse to play some Deathball and pinball...

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    #822 4 years ago
    Quoted from Trogdor:

    I will concede that ticket prices are high

    So, first, I will concede that the ticket price are very high too. (And I'm not replying to you in this, just in general after seeing your note above...) It's part of the issue with doing a show like this though - we invest SO much into content, and content costs a crapload of money. While the preliminary numbers look better than they have in years past, I'll simply say we had to make the show make me full time last year because the workload is so intense, but how it stands right now there is no way to pay Gary a full time salary to join me - even with pretty good preliminary numbers.

    We tend to think of the show as a premium product because of the amount of content we put forth, and it seems a lot of people agree with that.

    Having said all that, the price increase from the Sheraton to the Wisconsin Center was $5 / day, and $0 / day on a two day pass. We did not increase ticket prices this year while adding more space. It isn't like these prices suddenly appeared or anything.

    If you compare us to other shows, I think we work out pretty fair. Correct me if I'm wrong - TPF was $70 for a weekend pass, $30 for Friday, $40 for Saturday and $25 for Sunday. We place a premium on our Friday passes and drastically limit them. If you take that day and the theory out, the difference in single day admission for us is just $5 on Saturday. Pinball Expo is $30 each day except Saturday when it is $35. I don't currently see a three day cheaper options, so our three day pricing ($100) is $5 more than that, and I don't think any of their dates are capacity limited.

    And, while I totally get that the not-pinball stuff isn't for everyone, I don't feel like the amount we run over those two shows is crazy when you consider all that extra stuff. Finally, I don't know what Expo's rules on kids are, but I know we go to higher ages on the free kids thing than other shows generally do.

    I mean, look - ultimately, a show like ours isn't for everyone. And that's totally cool. It's been built over the years to become what it is, and we like it for that. But, I can say with certainty that a reduction in price of even $5 a day would have moved the show from "comfortable" to "well, that was the last show everyone!" real fast. I don't perceive *that* happening.

    #823 4 years ago
    Quoted from Trogdor:

    A few pins were out for most of the show.

    Lexy was brought unworking. I know pretty much the whole story, but in short I don't think the system has been stress tested to work "in the wild". GeeksMania was willing to take a bath on it to get out from a bad investment, unfortunately, and one which is really disappointing on a number of levels. Enough said about that.

    Also, the Full Throttle was out for most of the show, which I bought right before the show to share at the show and couldn't look at, and I'm frustrated to say that I got the game home, set it up, and it... works fine?!?

    So... sorry about that every one. Interesting game. Not sure how long I'm going to keep it around, but it seemed like something unique to bring to the show.

    On a related note, the other games that I brought I am SHOCKED by how dirty they are. Played them seemingly hundreds of times in my basement and nothing. Take them to the show, and I totally need to give a few of them some pretty heavy duty baths. ColorDMDs in them all sure look great though!

    #824 4 years ago
    Quoted from Whysnow:

    I know.
    I will say I do miss the elevator pinball and bathroom videogames at the Sheraton.

    I do too.

    Without trying to sound cheesy, I miss some of the simple stuff.

    I haven't played a single game with my younger son at the show - now age 4 - because ever since it's moved I haven't been able to stop to hang out with him for more than a few seconds. Both of my kids are really good with this and don't mind, but for a family show I am frustrated now not to get them time to play with my own family.

    I also like I mentioned earlier never got to walk the vendor hall.

    That insane time crunch was never an issue for me at the Sheraton. While things always got crazy, it never got that crazy.

    This year from a managerial side was significantly improved over last. Knowing the venue better definitely helped. I think the biggest issue for me now is that while there are tons of great people and teams who help do things, we do a lot of "crossover" things where I need to ensure that I am there to make them run smoothly. These things - from two or three of the stage presentations, to the after parties, and so on - all make it harder to keep up with. I wrote down a bunch, and for me personally, that's what I'm working on for next year - finding a way to claw some time back

    #825 4 years ago
    Quoted from goatdan:

    If you compare us to other shows

    Pricing is right on. Rocky Mtn Showdown is $35/day. $85 for the weekend.
    NW pinball show is $65 for the weekend. I was thinking of going to one of these next year, yes I could go this year but there are vacation limits, so I checked them out.

    #826 4 years ago

    I'll tell you the highlight of going to MGC was visiting Galloping Ghost pinball and arcade. WOW this place is amazing. If you haven't been go for the arcade place, it has everything you could ever imagine! Amazing totally first class.

    #827 4 years ago
    Quoted from goatdan:

    Also, the Full Throttle was out for most of the show, which I bought right before the show to share at the show and couldn't look at, and I'm frustrated to say that I got the game home, set it up, and it... works fine?!?

    Awww man, that stinks, had I known, I would have popped over Friday night. I am 99% sure it is cables. I have found that all the USB connectors/cables need to be seated just right, or it does weird stuff.

    I had weird stuff going on with it when I first got it (it was shipped to me), but after reseating literally everything, it has worked flawless in the year that I have had it.

    #828 4 years ago
    Quoted from ralphwiggum:

    Awww man, that stinks, had I known, I would have popped over Friday night. I am 99% sure it is cables. I have found that all the USB connectors/cables need to be seated just right, or it does weird stuff.
    I had weird stuff going on with it when I first got it (it was shipped to me), but after reseating literally everything, it has worked flawless in the year that I have had it.

    Hah, I found out Saturday night, and it apparently had been working at some point on Friday I was told. I was too tired to really look or care much, and then by the time I thought about it Sunday it was pack up time.

    Set it up downstairs, works great.

    Getting your games out of storage will be more of an adventure than I like to admit. IT's like a CRT jungle down there at the moment! Hopefully, we can make some time soon

    #829 4 years ago

    Dan.
    Don’t forget Chicago expo charges extra to see the seminairs. The weekend pass just includes vendor halls and free play room.

    #830 4 years ago

    Simply put, I think Dan and Gary put on the best show that is sustainable in Milwaukee.

    Many of us on Pinside are just into Pinball, but if it were just Pinball it wouldn't get the attendance they do and it wouldn't be economically feasible to put on at the WI center. Let's face it even just the pinball section has outgrown the Sheraton, and the Marco booth at Sheraton was maybe 10 pins.

    Cost-wise it is pretty reasonable. Think about it, normally you'd pay $15-20 a day for most of the all-you-can play arcades, so for a little more than double you get more pinball and arcades AND the seminars AND the vendors AND the industry celebs AND walking distance to good food.

    #831 4 years ago

    Once upon a time I used to let my customers tell me what I should price things at and I was never so broke in my life. I struggled for years from a very precarious place, in some sort of misguided service to the customer.

    Later I came around to figuring out what was the actual value of what I was providing and letting the customers decide by paying for it if they agreed. They did. If there were some that would prefer I suffer for them, then maybe I didn't need them as a customer any more.

    Life is a lot better now and my businesses never stronger from being funded properly.

    #832 4 years ago

    It was a long but good weekend at MGC. Bringing older machines is hard because you don't know what to expect. Skateball did fine but Kiss when heating up had a sticky flipper, but held up enough to win an award. Thanks to all my artists and tech, who help so much in creating what we do. Turning basketcase machines into new works of art is a passion we all share and hope to continue doing for quite some time.

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    #833 4 years ago
    Quoted from frolic:

    Once upon a time I used to let my customers tell me what I should price things at and I was never so broke in my life. I struggled for years from a very precarious place, in some sort of misguided service to the customer.
    Later I came around to figuring out what was the actual value of what I was providing and letting the customers decide by paying for it if they agreed. They did. If there were some that would prefer I suffer for them, then maybe I didn't need them as a customer any more.

    Exactly. And I'll be honest, there is no debate amongst Gary and I about lowering the price. I can't say we won't think about raising the price. If that makes people not come I get it. But if we raise the price, it's also because we feel the value is there... And also because we want to make sure that attendance levels are proper. Price is the best way to play with that.

    #834 4 years ago

    Think about all the modern pins you played at the whole of MGC. For each play, charge yourself $1. Say, 50 cents for older machines. Add all that up, and that is going to be more than the cost of tickets to MGC. Thhen there's the free play on computers, game consoles & arcade games.

    You get plenty of bang for your buck at MGC.

    #835 4 years ago
    Quoted from goatdan:

    Also, the Full Throttle was out for most of the show, which I bought right before the show to share at the show and couldn't look at, and I'm frustrated to say that I got the game home, set it up, and it... works

    I sure hope you revoked the "bringing a game benefits" for this machine.

    #836 4 years ago
    Quoted from yancy:

    Anyone get pics of kcz's restored Silverball Mania? How does the song go, "she used to be mine..."

    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sbm-my-turn/page/2#post-4950983

    #837 4 years ago

    Took some final pictures.

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    #838 4 years ago
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    #839 4 years ago
    Quoted from kcZ:

    Took some final pictures.
    [quoted image]

    Very glossy! Radcals?

    #840 4 years ago
    Quoted from zaphX:

    Very glossy! Radcals?

    SprayMax 2k and a lot of elbow grease buffing.

    Edit: Actually Jurassic Park was not SprayMax 2k... It was Finish 1 - 2 part auto clear sprayed out of a gun. I switched to SprayMax 2k for my Silverball Mania... I like the SprayMax better

    #841 4 years ago
    Quoted from kcZ:

    SprayMax 2k and a lot of elbow grease buffing.
    Edit: Actually Jurassic Park was not SprayMax 2k... It was Finish 1 - 2 part auto clear sprayed out of a gun. I switched to SprayMax 2k for my Silverball Mania... I like the SprayMax better

    The finish and corners on your SBM are the finest I have seen. Outstanding work.

    #842 4 years ago

    Such a great looking JP

    #843 4 years ago
    Quoted from Whysnow:

    It is pretty kickass! Last backer cab ended up in Madison at IO barcade. If you want and excuse to play some Deathball and pinball...
    [quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]

    Awesome! Wish my local barcade would have picked one up. Glad it went somewhere it'll be appreciated!

    #844 4 years ago

    Many thanks to Dan and his team for a great time at this year's MGC. My RFM performed flawlessly. I had 304 plays in 2018 and 240 in 2019. The show is growing and there are more games to play! It was cool to watch YOP scoring 325,888,480. In addition to MGC, I also I hit Tom Taylors open house, the Pabst museum tour and the Milwaukee Brewing Company. My nephew and his friend ( 30 year old's ) came up on Sunday and gave me an education on all things video gaming and they had a great time. It just confirms that there is something for both young and old at this show. I enjoyed the Black Night seminar and many of the other new games. Dan was walking down the line of cars waiting for load out saying hello and apologizing for the line of cars, and I told him I live only an hour away and keep up the good work. Have a safe and happy year everyone and I will be back next year just to hear the staff curse on how heavy that damn RFM is....

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    #845 4 years ago
    Quoted from chad:

    Who brought the Doctor Who pinball with different sound music.? Was that a pinsound board by chance?

    That was me. And yes it was a pinsound board with pinball pro speakers

    #846 4 years ago
    Quoted from Frogman:

    Anyone know where the tournament results are posted?

    The main tournament results are posted on IFPA's website here: https://www.ifpapinball.com/tournaments/view.php?t=31915

    Other tournament results can be found here: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/tournament-standings/

    #847 4 years ago

    Some guy insisted we take this picture. I don't remember the context, so I'm going to preface it with anyone who came and wasn't thoroughly entertained, this is for you...

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    #848 4 years ago

    Ha!

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    #849 4 years ago

    oops

    #850 4 years ago

    take, not that

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