Rare Video Game Pickups! Game Hunting at the Pinball Expo 2021 Chicago
41In this episode, we recap our visit to the 2021 Pinball Expo in Schaumburg, Il and highlight some amazing, and somewhat rare, video game pickups.
One of the things that I have missed most since the world came to a screeching halt in March of 2020 has been attending video game conventions. It's been a while since I've been able to attend a convention for the first time, but recently I was able to do just that, thanks to the folks with VGS and the 2021 Pinball Expo. Now in it's 37th year, this is a celebration of all things silver ball, including a free play area, swap, meet area, and even new machines for people to check out and play.
The team who put on the event looked to change things up a little bit this year by adding a retro video game component. This included not only inviting me for a panel, but retro video game YouTubers Adam Koralik, Ray Price (Arcade 816), Steve Wright (Mr. Wrightway), & his lovely wife Cristal (aka Zap Cristal). I was a late addition as I didn't know if I could commit to attending due to the pending sale and purchase of our houses, but thankfully everything worked out in the end.
Held over the last weekend in October 2021, there was a definite energy and vibe as soon as you walked in the convention center. You could tell people had pent up energy, and really a desire to get out and get back to normal. This included things such as a huge free play area, and I played more than my fair share of pinball. They also had a number of arcade cabinets set up, including the only existing Beavis and Butthead prototype. All of the cabinets and pinball machines were provided by the team from Galloping Ghosts located nearby in Chicago, and they did not disappoint. Well, Beavis and Butthead definitely showed why the game never got produced. Things have been locked down pretty tightly in Illinois, so this taste of normal was a definite welcome change.
Heading into the show, I knew that I also had the Midwest Gaming Classic coming the next weekend, but I was looking for a few odds and ends for my collection. I needed a PC Engine or Core Grafx for a future project, and a friend of Adam Koralik had a booth, a gentleman by the name of Keith. He had a huge collection that he was selling off, including sealed Saturn games, some amazing imports for the PC Engine, a Turbo Duo, & he also had a Core Grafx in the box!If I didn't want to spend quite so much he did have a loose version, but if I was going to invest I wanted the box so I ended up picking that up.
Keith also had one of the most unique consoles that ever flopped available in his booth and something I had never seen in person before. Sega tried to launch an edutainment-based console called the Pico. Think of it as an early version of a LeapPad but you could connect it to your TV. Well, Keith had Sega Pico's for sale, at a ridiculously inexpensive price. $5 if you just wanted the system, $15 with one of the cartridges. Not only did I pick one up, but I also picked two up, for that price. I just couldn't go wrong.
The last thing I picked up, which wasn't something that I covered in the video, but I did post photos to our Instagram Page, was something not video game-related. I am a big Disney fan and enjoy collecting and trading Disney pins. One booth actually had some very cool Disney pins, including a magnetic kissing Mickey and Minnie, and a 45th anniversary of Disney World pin featuring Mickey. I actually attended the 45th, and I have a hoodie I wear frequently from that visit, so picking these up was a no-brainer.
While not my typical convention, it was nice to get out of my norm and check out a different part of the gaming hobby. I've always enjoyed playing pinball, and I had no idea that the community was as big as it was. I'm also thankful that I got to hang out with good people, good friends, and have good times. They are already making plans for the 2022 edition, and we are making plans to attend VGS next July at the same venue. Thanks to Todd Friedman for inviting me, thanks to Adam Koralik for making it known that I was in the area, and thanks to all of you for reading and watching.
#PinballExpo #RareVideoGames #Sega #PCEngine #VGS
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