ReplayEvents

Hello Everyone. I couldn't see anything on the forums about Play Blackpool (www.playblackpool.com) our upcoming retro games show. As we just made a big announcement yesterday that we think you will be interested in, I thought I'd post about what is happening at the show for you guys. Yesterday, after three months of planning, we announced that a number of the original Gremlin Graphics team will be coming to Play Blackpool for the weekend and will be taking part in a number of features over the two days. So far we have Ian Stewart (founder), Tony Crowther, Peter Harrap, Ben Daglish and Shaun Hollingworth all confirmed. We also have at least three others who are very interested in coming but cannot commit until nearer the time due to projects they are working on, but they are also 'key' Gremlin Graphics names. We will have a Gremlin Graphics presentation which will feature archived video footage, photos and anecdotal history from the guys that worked at the company over the years. This will be followed by a Q&A session with the attending Gremlins where you can ask the panel any questions about games, the history of the company, what they are currently up to or even what their favourite colour is, should that be troubling you. Also, there will be a signing session where you can bring in your treasured Gremlin Graphics items to get signed, or if you are still hunting that elusive game we have a hall full of traders who might just have the item you are looking for. The Atic Bug will be attending and are bringing a number of new posters from their Gremlin range, all of which you can take to the signing sessions. The guys from Amibay are preparing a pretty cool Gremlin based tournament, and we are going to make sure the winner gets some great prizes. And, in honor of our attending guests we will have a big Gremlin Graphics display with all our (and hopefully your) favourite games running on original hardware. Of course there is plenty more stuff happening at the show: - - Amibay are attending and will be hosting a number of live hacking sessions. - A hall full of traders, selling all manner of gaming merchandise and apparel including plenty of Atari games, computers and consoles. - The forth heat of the Classic Gaming Championships - we continue our search for the UK's best classic gamer. - A full tournament zone run by RetroCollect with ace prizes. - An Indie games zone with retro inspired games including some on Oculus Rift. - Megaplay powered by Projector Games - crazy 24 player big screen gaming. - A retro themed play, featuring Sir Clive Sinclair, Alan Sugar and a Sinclair C5! - A GamesThatWeren't zone which features a number of previously unreleased games. - A live Podcast from Retro Asylum, the UK's most downloaded retro podcast. - Heaps of computers, consoles and handhelds running a broad selection of games. - A large arcade provided by Retro Games Party with loads of classic cabs and pinball all set to free play. - The VideoGameCarnival with all its insanity - possibly even some jelly. - The sixteen player ring, with Halo 2, Rallisport Challenge and other games. - A classic PC LAN zone, featuring a selection of networked FPS, Strategy and driving games. - A Cosplay masquerade, dress up as your favourite game character. Or just look in puzzlement at others! - Mohicankids Charity Tombola - all proceeds go to GamesAid. Plus even more stuff yet to announced. Phew! So, hopefully we'll see some of you at the show? Replay Events Play Blackpool - www.playblackpool.com

The re.play area takes shape! Planning for the re.play area of Play Expo has now been completed and we can reveal some of the great retro gaming zones that will be available to our visitors. Remember that everything is free to play (including our already-announced Arcade and Pinball areas) and there will be over 350 classic games and systems to choose from... Replay Lounges Our popular Replay Lounges have already appeared at past events such as GEEK 2012 and The Gadget Show Live, but this will mark their debut at our own show. Each lounge consist of four large-screen TVs, each offering a classic multiplayer game – just sit down, grab a joypad and join in! We will be featuring dedicated lounges for FPS games like Goldeneye, plus a dedicated racing game lounge featuring Micro Machines and Mario Kart 64. Additional lounges will feature other multiplayer party classics like Bomberman, Super Smash Bros and the legendary Warlords. Lightgun Shooting Gallery Go for your guns and shoot to win! Our shooting gallery will feature big screens and a range of classic lightgun games such as Point Blank, Virtua Cop, Time Crisis and Duck Hunt! Genre-specific Game Zones We’ll be charting the rich history of the major gaming genres with each getting its own specific area at the show. So whether you like driving games, beat em ups, sports, platformers, shooters or even puzzle games, there will be an area for you featuring standout titles from the past 35 years. Classic Computers It all started for many of us in the 1980’s with an 8-bit computer like the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 or BBC Micro. If you’re a little younger then you may have tried your first taste of gaming on an Amiga or Atari ST. This zone will have them all, along with some of the less well-known computers from that classic era. Import Only Some of the greatest games and systems never even made it to British shores. This zone will showcase a variety of offerings from distant lands that you may never have seen before! Console Curiosities Here we aim to introduce you to some of the most bizarre consoles and games you’re ever likely to see! Ever killed zombies with a keyboard, played a platform game with a set of bongos, or controlled Tetris with a Balance Board? If not then you’re sure to enjoy this weird and wonderful array of obscurities. If you have, then we’ll still have some surprises for you! Retro Request Zone If all the great games we’ve chosen in our other zones don’t appeal to you, don’t worry! The Retro Request Zone will feature all the popular consoles from the Atari 2600 to the XBOX with a selection of games available for each. Just request your chosen game from the Play Expo crew and your own piece of gaming heaven will be delivered for you to enjoy. And there’s much, much more... But we’ll save a few surprises for the show itself!

Hi folks, just to let you know I have PMed Chandler so I can put him in touch with Dave about an exhibitor pitch. Also as svenski says we are offering a group booking discount - he seems to have that in hand though! Finally. there is an official thread about the event in your events forum: http://www.atariage....h-october-2012/ If anyone has questions feel free to send me a PM. Mat (Community relations)

We've been very busy over the last week and have a whole bundle of confirmations to share... Northern Lights Pinball bringing 75 pinball tables to Play Expo Get your flipper fingers warmed up ready - Northern Lights will be bringing pinball to the masses in style. 75 different pinball tables will be on display at the show throughout the weekend and every one will be set to free play. Making of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Talk and Q&A Sumo Digital Executive Producer Steve Lycett will be talking about the making of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and will hold a Q&A session afterwards. Steve will be discussing working on the sequel, what changes and improvements you can expect and may even reveal a secret or two about Sega's upcoming kart racer! Reflections Software founder Martin Edmondson Talk Martin Edmondson of Reflections Software and Thumbstar Games will be talking about his past and present projects. Martin co-founded Reflections in 1983 and created several BBC Micro Games including Ravenskull and Codename: Droid. He went onto work on many other well known titles with Reflections including Shadow of the Beast, Ballistix, Destruction Derby, Stuntman and most recently the Driver series, of which he is currently Creative Director. Martin also co-founded Thumbstar Games, a global developer, distributor and publisher of mobile games and apps including Bounders World, the reimagining of classic 1980's game Bounder. 'From Bedrooms to Billions' film preview and Q&A session We are very lucky to have an exclusive sneak preview of upcoming videogames documentary 'From Bedroom to Billions' at Play Expo with a Q&A session from Film Maker Anthony Caulfield afterwards. Anthony will be discussing the history of the film from its inception through to the recent successful Indiegogo campaign and will also share his experiences of meeting some of the people from the documentary. Who knows, maybe one or two of them will come along and make an appearance...

Play Expo takes place at Manchester’s EventCity on 13-14th October and is the UK’s newest large-scale Gaming Expo, offering gamers the unique opportunity to experience all aspects of the hobby under one massive roof. The Expo is essentially four events in one: now.play is a showcase of the latest games and innovations from some of the biggest names in the industry, including Nintendo, EA, Konami and Namco Bandai. pro.play is a dedicated area for competitive multiplayer gaming. Our partners from the EGL will be running tournaments on the likes of FIFA, Call of Duty and Super Street Fighter IV, with cash prizes to be won. re.play celebrates the history of gaming with over 300 classic consoles, home computers, arcade and pinball machines. Everything from Pong to the PS3 will be available for visitors to play, with special themed areas, competitions, giveaways and much more. cos.play is a dedicated area focussing on Cosplay, Anime and Japanese Gaming culture, with masquerades, skits and contests throughout the weekend. We want Play Expo to be the ultimate celebration of gaming and believe it is the ideal opportunity for online communities to meet 'in real life' in an environment perfectly suited to their hobby! With plenty of hotels, shops and nightlife nearby and excellent transport links, Manchester is the perfect location for the Expo and for community meets. If any UK or European AtariAge members are interested in coming to the event, we can offer a special package for your community, including a designated meeting place at the event, a 'team photo', lanyards/passes, discounted tickets for group purchases and more... If you have any questions about the event please post them here or send us a PM! You can also connect with Replay Events and Play Expo via the popular social networking sites. We are running weekly giveaways on the Facebook page so please pop along and ‘like’ us! Facebook | Twitter | YouTube