How was Expo?

[noncommittaldave]

Just wondering what the locals thought about expo. I didn't make it. Anybody order anything or score a new machine?

[Hilton]

I thought it was WAY better than the past 2 years.

Free Play was great! Solid and clean playing EMs, classic 80s B/W games, Phoebe's games, and well laid out with 2 smaller rooms rather than 1 big room.
All the new games were super fun to play. I put in my deposit for WOOLY. Completely silly to sell off 4 games to buy 1, but I really like the game and now I will have more space to backfill

PBLife party was a blast. Great contraptions to play from BangerJay and crew!

Expo was really cool this year.
I honestly do not have a single critique.

I picked up a WOOLY and will be paying for it over the next year (assuming it makes it to 100 and goes to official production)

[noncommittaldave]

so... Will the wooly dudes contact you if the magic # of 100 (?) is hit? I wouldn't think selling 4 games before knowing would be a good thing. I bet you're going to be selling that whirlwind... but probably not to me!

Hope they end up making that. Seems like a cool game. i shoulda manned up and went.

[Methos]

This was our third, and was miles better than the previous two years. Both the free play area and vendor area were much improved. I brought a game for the first time and had help both ways. The vendor area had most of the machines able to be played, which was a change from last year. I noticed one local vendor who was not there who had several machines with a "do not touch" sign on them. Good ridence.

There is so much to observe as you walk around. You can really see who is into customer service and who isn't, I will just leave it as that. I won't pre-order any game, but for those who do - there were some great choices on the floor. One complaint was very little "old pinball" junk to go through. Dayuff and a few others, not much else.

[Hilton]

so... Will the wooly dudes contact you if the magic # of 100 (?) is hit? I wouldn't think selling 4 games before knowing would be a good thing. I bet you're going to be selling that whirlwind... but probably not to me!

Hope they end up making that. Seems like a cool game. i shoulda manned up and went.

You don't want to pay what this Wwind cost me (and neither does anyone else). I paid a premium and have another $500 dumped on top of that already.

I do not plan to sell others untill I hear they have crossed the line with 100 games committed. I already sold RS. Stargate is committed for purchase and leaving when the buyer decides to pick it up of I need the remainder of the cash. That is all I need for the 4500 main payment by 01 Feb.

That said, if WOOLY does not happen then I will likely buy AMH in its place.

[Eric_S]

I think this was the best Expo I've been to. I went to my first one in 2004 and have been to all of them since (except 2008). It has been five or six years that I wasn't disappointed with the show. Tons of free play games, great vendors, a fun Expo Brawl tourney.

The only issues were with the hotel. Tom called twice to confirm a cot for our room and when we got there, they said we couldn't have one as it was a fire code violation. Also, the min-fridge smelled like balls.

[Methos]

We stayed at the Extended Stay down the road. Saved about $120, but it wasn't too hot either. Never had room service and "breakfast" was some fruit and granola bars. The fridge didn't smell like balls, but did smell like ass. Not sure where to stay next year.

[DeaconBlooze]

Well they straight up lied to you, Eric, we had a cot in our room. Maybe they just didn't care if we perished in a fire.

I had a blast this year! Others have already said it, but it was much improved. It seems like there was a new focus on having a great variety of free play games. That's one of the most important things to me. The seminars and expo hall are great, but I really go to spend some times on games I don't see very often.

The Expo hall seemed better than years past. I agree with Mark, something irks me about seeing a game priced 2k above it's market value, and tucked away behind tables not available for play. I think pincades is the only one that really does that anymore.

It was cool to see virtual pinball have a presence at the show. I know there's a debate around whether they're "really pinball", but they're at least somewhat close, and when you put games you can't play in real life in them - like Fx2 - they really shine.

I ordered TBL at the show. Not usually my style to preorder, but it's a dream theme for me, and I liked what I saw. The DP guys made themselves very available, they were really friendly, and ready to answer some questions. I think the game looks great, and the shots felt clean. The carpet reminded me of MM or AFM. I was hoping for a more "mechanical" feel, with the ball actually pushing back the carpet, but it seemed like you were activating a switch, which would then unroll the carpet.

TWD - I went in expecting to buy this one, but ended up deciding against it before the show. I got some plays on it, and I didn't care for it much at first. After I got some plays on it, it really grew on me.

Great to see some of the locals at the show! It's a busy place with a lot going on, I lost some of you there, so sorry for that!

[noncommittaldave]

Congrats on the TBL, Beard Bro! I've been eyeballing that one but i don't trust those damn wooden shoes, tulip sellin' windmill worshippers with my money. That's a joke, i'm mostly Dutch myself. That would explain my stinginess. Can i say this?

[u2sean]

We ended up staying at the Marriott about 3 miles away. Other than the fact that it was completely surrounded by office buildings and tucked so far away from everything else that it seemed like an impossible challenge to find every damn time, it was a GREAT hotel that included breakfast for under $100 night out the door. No funky fridge smells or anything! That being said, I did like staying at the Westin previous years as you could just go up to your room once you've had enough and just wanted to chill for a bit.

This years Expo as others have already stated was just great. Lots of freeplay machines, and they were all in nice playable condition for the most part. In years past it was just a treasure trove of broken down, ratted out garbage. Separating it into another room from the Vendor hall was smart. Made the whole place much more open. I feel that the seminars got screwed. There were some great ones too, but they were way down out of the way and if you didn't know where to look for them you wouldn't even know they were going on. I still don't like the "gotta pay $50 to go to ONE or ALL seminars" bullshit - that's just stupid and actually prevents me from seeking out some good ones. Include it in cost of the daily ticket. If that means increasing the cost $5/day then do it. That being said, I did step in to watch the JJP unveiling of Hobbit as nobody was checking at the door.

Playing TWD, Hobbit, TBL, P3, Full Throttle and a host of other newer machines was just awesome. Of course the Pinball Life party was killer as well. Got to chat / compete with lots of cool folks as well which makes the trip totally worth it. In my opinion, MGC definitely set the bar a little higher and Expo answered the call. Great show.

[Methos]

Agree Sean - staying at the Westin is great because if you need to kick back, you just go up to your room. When you are offsite, it's cheaper but not as convenient. Not sure what we'll do next year.

Congrats on TBL Dave - glad someone local put their name down on one. It looks very impressive. Lots of great new games there this year. So how was the after party?

[pinball4ever]

I've been going to Expo on Saturday only for at least 15 years (and have only missed one year). I agree this was probably the best Expo so far. To me, they looked at MGC and how awesome the setup was and knew they had to something quick (before they lost everyone). My guess is they put someone else in charge of the major decision making.

I really got a kick out of games like TBL, Buffy, Full Throttle, America's Most Haunted, Wooly (didn't get to play, was shut down), etc. I really like talking pinball with everyone. I do wish they had more vendor (used) parts. I was looking for several things and didn't find anything.

I also wish they still had the auction as that was always my favorite part. If you haven't been to one of the Expo auctions, you wouldn't believe the stuff that used to show up. Games you never see anymore, prototype populated playfields, backglasses, etc. Of course, all of these auctions have really become just awful over the years, but I still think they could work if run independently.

[DeaconBlooze]

The TBL party was pretty great. The presidential suite was amazing, two balconies on either side, each about the size of a standard room. It was nice to be able to talk to the DP guys, they were laid back dudes, but definitely passionate about what they were doing.

Sort of interesting - I was bored on the drive home and thought I'd call to see what the presidential suite goes for on expo weekend. They couldn't even tell me because it's already booked for next year..

[Hilton]

It sounds like we have a local or 2 with many of the new games coming out?

Tom > TWD
Hilton and Chris > Predator and WOOLY
BeardBro1 > TBL
Chris > THSE?
DaveM > are you getting something new?


We need someone to get a full throttle! That was a fun game but looked to me like it needed a bit of polishing before it woudl be ready?
WOOLY is obviously a ways off and still in need of orders to even get to the 100 mark.
Predator is delivering soon (I am told I will have mine in Nov?)
When is TBL being produced?

[DeaconBlooze]

TBL is supposed to be ready Q3 2015 (for people around my position). They did hint that they were ahead of schedule..