Midwest Gaming Classic

So another Midwest Gaming Classic has come and gone. This was my second year going. I had a great time and got to play a bunch of fun games I wouldn't normally get a chance to check out. This year there were quite a few pinball machines. Seemed like a lot more than last year. I haven't played much pinball but whenever I get a chance to I tend not to pass it up. There are a couple of pins that I have always wanted to play, one such pin is Tales From The Crypt. I was a big fan of the TV show growing up. Even though I was rubbish at it I still had fun playing.

Aside from the arcade and pinball games I spent most of my time at the show in the museum area. This year they took over a few hotel rooms and filled them with different genres. 

The import room was probably my favorite. I played some Famicom game with a little Jason dude, lots of fun. In the general museum area they had the standard consoles setup and a couple of uncommon ones.

Phillips CDI

Neo Geo AES

So heading into MGC I had planned to focus on building up my Dreamcast and Sega Saturn collection, but I just couldn't find anything I wanted for a reasonable price, especially Saturn games. I really can't believe how expensive they are with most decent titles being price at $20 + dollars. I wish I could find them a little cheaper. I guess I'll have to keep looking. I might have struck out on the DC & Saturn, but that was diffidently not the case for the NES, Genesis, & the N64. I didn't find anything rare, just games that had sentimental value or seemed interesting.

Finally I have Goldeneye

Light gun game! 

Dynamite Headdy, another great game by Treasure.

 MGC 2013 was a blast. Met some cool people and gamed a lot. I can't wait until next year.

MGC Pick Ups

The Midwest Gaming Classic is going on right this very moment. Unfortunately I had to leave a little early today due to a family emergency. Anyways since I do have this moment of down time I thought I'd share some game pick ups.

While not at all rare or anything special I still had to pick up MK & Street Fighter 2 for the SNES. I suppose it's more for sentimental value.

Next up, Bust-A-Move 2 and the awesome Gunstar Heroes. Bust-A-Move has always been one of those games I can pick up and play with ease. It wouldn't matter if it was for 2 mins or an hour it is always a fun time. Gunstar Heroes is a game that flew totally under my radar growing up. It wasn't until I started to collect retro games again that I even heard of it. I played it on an emulator before, but like most games there is just about playing them on the original hardware that makes it that much more satisfying. I got a nice deal on it too. Score! 

Retro Video Game Ad

Retro Video Game Ad

Retro Pick Ups

Took a trip down to HPB today in order to take advantage of some coupons. I picked up Tiny Toon Adventures on the NES. I remember playing this one when I was a kid. Not sure if I rented it or if I owned it, either way I recall liking it. Also picked up a DVD for a buck, Hey Vern, It's Ernest! A short lived Saturday morning TV show starring the one and only Ernest P. Worrell. Anytime Ernest would come on the TV my siblings and I would be glued to it. We loved Ernest movies. I still watch Ernest Scared Stupid almost every Halloween. I played the DVD for my kid on the ride home and was really happy to see them laugh at Ernest and all his different characters. 

Guess What I'm Playing

Guess what I'm playing.

Project : Space Invaders

I picked up a really cool item this weekend off of Craigslist, a Space Invaders cocktail arcade machine. In the last couple of weeks I have been visiting a lot of arcades which got me itching to own a machine. So after days of scouring Craigslist listings I finally found the perfect deal for me. Although it wasn't working I was more than happy to take it off of the guys hands.

The guy told me that the game had been working up until about a week ago and that he wasn't interested in trying to fix it. He showed me that the problem was when you turn on the game all get is pixelated garbage on the screen. After a little research I found that this particular problem is common and that it can be caused by a few things. So I guess at least I had a some places to start at when troubleshooting the issue. Most of the info I have found points to the problem being the reset line on the power supply. So I tested all the voltages on it which seem to be in range. With no obvious culprit causing the screen garbage I guess the next step is to rebuild the power supply. A few people said this corrected the problem right away. Ordered my parts last night so now I'll be waiting anxiously for them to come.

From what I understand about collecting arcade games is that there are two ways to collect. One, to buy working machines in good condition $$$. Or two, buy non working or in less than favorable condition machines for way less and fix them $. I like a good challenge and to tinker with stuff. I think I'm more of the number two type. Hopefully I'll have the game up and running soon.