The Portland Retro Gaming Expo is the second largest video game convention in the United States. A convention I have been attending for well over a decade. While usually working as an exhibitor, this year I was invited as a member of the media.
Stepping onto the convention floor felt like walking straight into a time machine, kinda felt like a second home of sorts. The flashing neon and blaring chiptune music of the arcade cabs and the console play area was fun to see and seemed a bit more than last year.
I was able to get in ahead of the show starting which was really nice of the organizers. I got to see people setting up their booths, some of the arcade cabs being burned in and even some pinball machines being calibrated.
Once the show opened to the public, well it was quite the sight.
It felt like a tsunami of people descended onto the show floor. Thousands of fellow retro gaming enthusiasts soaking in the sights and sounds of the show filled the convention halls; seemingly in an instant.
From rare vintage hardware tucked away in vendor cases to the bustling free-play arcade, vendors setting up, to the instantly crowded convention floor reminded me why I fell in love with this hobby in the first place.
Let’s check out some of the highlights of the show this year.
One of the most delightfully bizarre sights on the floor was the Neontendo. This is a literal car that was custom built to play classic NES games on the go. Seeing this rolling tribute parked right on the convention floor, complete with Nintendo theme and screens built into its setup, was an absolute treat. It’s the kind of over-the-top fan creation that you can only ever expect to experience at an event like this, seamlessly blending car culture with retro gaming nostalgia.
Over at the Vectrex booth, the spotlight shone brightly on the upcoming Vectrex Mini, and it completely stole the show for me. Running demos like Flea via HDMI out with crisp vector graphics was amazing to see. Featuring a wireless controller, the Vectrex Mini bridges the gap between classic design and modern convenience. Holding the wireless controller and seeing the stunning color options provided by UV overlays (for games they used them with) made it crystal clear that a lot of love is going into making vector gaming accessible and exciting for a brand-new generation.
As cool as it was to see and play the Vectrex Mini in person, the true amazing sight was seeing Jay Smith at the booth. Jay Smith is the guy that invented the Vectrex, as well as the ability to have Barbie dolls move their joints. I saw the way his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face when he saw and played the Vectrex Mini.
The way his expression turned from joy to awe when seeing the enclosure featuring the insides of the Vectrex Mini with it connected to a display through HDMI was just simply magical and really heartwarming.
Moving on from the Vectrex booth, I spent a bit of time at the Audacity Games booth. Audacity Games is an independent game developer and publisher of games for the Atari 2600. The company consists of Garry and Dan Kitchen who are both from Activision, and David Crane; the creator of Pitfall.
They were there to show off their new game Casey’s Gold and they also had the rest of their games for sale too. One thing about these guys is they really treat you like a friend, even if it’s your first time meeting them. Unless of course you walk up and start trying to offer to bring them shirts, a story for another time perhaps.
When I approached the booth and said hello, I was drawn immediately to Casey’s Gold. I picked up the joystick and almost immediately had Dan Kitchen come up right beside me. But you see, it wasn’t some guy giving a sales pitch, it was a friend.
Dan made me feel like he was my friend. A friend that was super excited to show you all the ins and outs of his new game as you played it. You know those scenes in movies where the character just gets lost in the moment and everything just falls away? Well that was me in that moment playing Casey’s Gold with Dan Kitchen. It was just us, standing on the convention floor, playing, and enjoying this awesome game together. It truly felt like a magical experience and one I will never forget.
Speaking of Atari, their presence was massive this year, particularly with the showcase of the newly anticipated Atari 800XL. Seeing it fresh from the factory, reading cartridges in real time, and feeling the build quality of its keyboard was a computer geek’s dream. It’s a wonderful nod to the retro computing scene that proves Atari is heavily invested in bringing their classic computer heritage back into the spotlight.
Aside from the Atari 800XL, they also had the Intellivision Sprint, and even some prototype consoles on display. The AtariAge side of the booth was just as good as the Atari side. It was an absolute goldmine for physical media collectors, packed to the brim with fresh homebrew releases. Titles like Tony Montezuma’s Gold for the 2600, Ninjish Guy Perilous Island for the 7800, and Tiger Heli for the 7800 were all on display and playable.
Another really cool aspect of the Atari booth was the playable demo from the upcoming Godzilla King of Monsters Remastered.
I never really got into the original game, but had played it a few times here and there. But this remaster was really fun to play. It felt familiar, yet very modern and new. Controls were responsive and performance was smooth and quite nice. While there was only the vs mode with two different characters to play as, it was still a lot of fun to play and I am really looking forward to the final release.
Moving on from the vendor area, I went over to the arcade free play section. I played some Virtua Fighter 2, and Rush 2049. I also played some pinball on the Star Wars and Target Pool tables. Going from modern to very early pinball within the span of a few minutes was really cool to experience.
From the rare candy cabs of Japanese arcades to both the woodgrain and modern cabs found in America, there was no shortage of amazing games to play for hours and even days on end if one so chose to do so.
Easily one of the highlights of the show was attending the Atari panel with Nolan Bushnell, Joe Decuir, and moderated by Tim Lapetino.
Before the panel started, Jay Smith came in to pay his respects to Nolan Bushnell of Atari. To see them both shake hands and thank each other for their contributions to the industry was truly a remarkable sight and one that is definitely for the history books!
Kicking off the 50th anniversary celebration of the Atari 2600, hearing these two icons swap stories about the console’s origins, the trials of bringing arcade gaming into home living rooms, and the chaotic early days of the digital revolution was pure history in motion. It was an inspiring and deeply entertaining panel that offered a rare glimpse into the minds of the men who literally changed the world.
On my last day at the show, I went around to various booths and said my goodbyes. Which while doing so and packing up my pickups, was kinda bittersweet. While the show came to an end for me, it’s some of the most fun I have ever had at this show
The Portland Retro Gaming Expo was an unforgettable celebration of community, history, and pure, unadulterated fun. It was an absolute triumph of a show, and I am already counting down the days until we can do it all over again next year!
In addition to writing articles, Ryan Byers also creates content for his YouTube channel called "Obscure Games and Consoles", collects video games, and dabbles in video game development.