ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)

[mhs]

ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival

July 30 - August 2, 2015

Pittsburgh, PA, USA

 

Welcome to the greatest arcade in the universe!

 

Gamers behind the Replay Foundation and PAPA are taking over the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and filling it with more than 700 full-sized arcade and pinball machines, over 2,000 console titles, tabletop games, a showcase of new products by game developers, roaming magicians, live musicians, face-painters, entertainers,competitive tournaments offering over $100,000 in prize money, and more!

 

The ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival will feature the largest public collection of full-sized pinball, arcade, tabletop, and console games anywhere in the solar system. The majority of these machines are maintained year-round by the Replay Foundation at our dedicated gaming facility. Gamers will be invited to attend a series of speaker panels dedicated to all aspects of arcade and gaming culture, or to browse merchandise in the event’s extensive marketplace. If that still isn’t enough, be prepared to try your luck at a series of traditional carnival games or inside one of several oversized, inflatable obstacle courses. In total, we will be offering attendees a show floor packed with over 110,000 square feet of entertainment.

 

Over $100,000 will be at stake for the competitive player. Thousands of games will be available for the casual fan. A family-friendly atmosphere will be available for the kids, and no one has to leave the galaxy to attend!

[VectorGamer]

I hope to be there!

[Hyperboy]

I'm definitely showing up for this!

[mhs]

ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival

http://www.ReplayFX.org

July 30 - August 2, 2015

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Update #3

Tickets for the ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival are set to open this Sunday, December 7, at noon EST.

Since our last update, the Replay Foundation has added a full-sized arcade or pinball machine to the collection at a rate of more than one per day, putting us on schedule to easily eclipse the 700 machines promised in our advertising. Anyone interested in following our progress as we acquire games and build the Greatest Arcade in the Universe can do so on ourReplayFX Facebook page.

For competitive pinball players, December 7 at noon EST also means the opening of reservations for the Pinburgh Match-Play Pinball Championship, as run by the Professional & Amateur Pinball Association. At the most recent Pinburgh, all 400 available openings sold out in ninety minutes. For 2015, the field has been expanded to 700 competitors, and the prize pool has expanded to a guaranteed $100,000 thanks to sponsorship from pair Networks Inc.. With the largest tournament in history now taking place alongside seminars, vendors, and 130,000+ square feet of gaming, we refuse to predict how fast reservations will go. If you want to participate, our best recommendation is to set your alarm and be on the website when the clock hits noon EST. Over 160 players will take home cash prizes, and our team is doing everything possible to ensure the event is a competitive, fun, and social atmosphere for everyone involved.

$42 vendor spaces in the ReplayFX marketplace are nearly filled, and we expect the remaining spaces to sell out within the next few weeks. Any vendors who are interested in participating at this lower price point should contact our marketplace team immediately. We are also currently accepting applications for discussion panels and volunteers. A full list of vendors and discussion panels will be announced in the Spring of 2015.

If you are interested in participating in this unique and exciting festival, built by gamers for gamers, don’t hesitate to contact us. Everything so far is proceeding as planned, and that includes our preparation for one of the largest crowds ever at a classic gaming exhibition. ReplayFX will be a perfect time to show off your new product, enjoy a few drinks and lots of games with friends, or to enjoy a family-friendly vacation at the Greatest Arcade in the Universe!

More detailed announcements will be released over the coming months. In the meantime, don’t forget to buy tickets andreserve your spot in Pinburgh on December 7 at noon EST!

Sincerely,

Mark H Steinman
ReplayFX Event Director

[VectorGamer]

I made my hotel reservations today. If you're going to this show, you may consider reserving a room now as the hotel at the conference center is already sold out.

[Hyperboy]

I'm all set up, Really looking forward to this!

[mhs]

Hi all. Nice to see some chatter on here.

 

We actually expanded the hotel blocks at the Westin three times, and it sold out all three expansions within a few days. They eventually cut us off and can't give us anymore rooms. For now, the Renaissance block still has a few rooms left. The Renaissance is where a portion of Festival staff are staying, so you can probably tell from that decision it's not very far away. There are also blocks set up at a few other hotels to help spread the crowd, with the nicest hotel probably being the Omni, though that one is slightly further than the others (half mile).

 

Several thousand daily tickets have been sold so far, and our actual advertising won't begin until March, so we're very pleased with the turnout.

 

Vendor spots are also filling up quickly, and the early bird $42 rate is going to be pulled soon. If you're interested in being a vendor or presenting a seminar panel, get in touch.

 

The website is currently full, and we still have a lot of surprises planned that haven't been announced yet. When it all rolls around, I think attendees will be very pleased with what they find.

 

And for kicks, I'll share that we just picked up a Pippin, Odyssey 2, NEO GEO CD, and Vectrex to go along with the rest of the console area. None of these have been announced on the site yet. The Atari section still hasn't arrived yet, but it's coming, and it will be big! In total, we will have a minimum of 70 consoles set up, most retro, at all times, NOT counting what Microsoft brings. This, of course, is in addition to all the rest...

 

Happy to answer any questions if anyone has them.

 

~Mark

Edited January 6, 2015 by mhs

[mhs]

The ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival, held July 30 - August 1, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will include over 700 arcade and pinball machines, thousand of console games, guest speakers, entertainers, live music, and more! If you are interested in bringing games, vending at the festival, or in learning more, please get in touch. Tickets are available now!

Media Partnership:

The ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival has agreed to a media partnership with Clear Channel radio properties 105.9 WXDX, 102.5 WDVE, and 94.5 3WS. Attendees in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania market can expect to hear promotion and prize give-a-ways on these stations this summer!

Kong Off:

In other big-time news, Richie "the King of Arcades" Knucklez will be bringing The Kong Off 4, otherwise known as the greatest Donkey Kong tournament ever conceived by human-kind, to ReplayFX! Billy Mitchell, Steve Weibe, Hank Chien, Robbie Lakeman, Walter Day, and Joel West are all confirmed to be attending. If you know anything about Richie, you know he has an exciting tournament planned, and the ReplayFX crew will be doing everything in our power to help make it awesome! More information will be available on this exciting event soon!

If you're in the New Jersey area, we recommend you stop by Richie Knucklez Arcade in Flemington to show your support! Look it up, you won't be disappointed!

Walter Day's Replay World Championship:

It is impossible to discuss classic arcade tournaments without mentioning Walter Day, the original video game referee, the founder of Twin Galaxies, and a man once honored at the Smithsonian Museum for his part in an exhibit entitled "The Art of Video Games". The crew at the ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival have been working diligently with Walter over the past several months and are proud to finally announce details to the first ever arcade tournament known as "Walter Day's Replay World Championship."

This tournament will offer a $5,000 prize pool and will be open to all competitors. A $25 entry fee will gain each competitor 25 attempts across eight classic video games from the golden-era of arcades. The format has been designed with the intent of introducing a little bit of luck, and a whole lot of fun, into the process. We encourage players of all skill levels and ages to participate. Tournament details are available now!

Pinburgh:

Tickets for the Pinburgh Match-Play Pinball Championship went on sale December 7, and all 700 reservations sold out in under ten hours. We are extremely grateful at the outpouring of support for Pinburgh and ReplayFX within the pinball community. The tournament continues to grow every year, and we thank all players for their generosity.

We also want to remind everyone that the last day for full refunds on Pinburgh tournament registrations is March 31, 2015. From April 1, 2015 forward, only partial refunds will be given. Fifty players remain on the Pinburgh waitlist, and we still expect at least that amount of turnover before the beginning of the event. If you are a pinball player who is interested in participating in the largest tournament in history, please visit our website and sign up for the Pinburgh waitlist. Players are also reminded they will need to purchase their Daily, Full-event, or VIP passes to go along with their Pinburgh reservations prior to July 30, 2015 in order to be allowed to participate.

The full list of Pinburgh players and waitlist is continually updated on the ReplayFX website. Please check today to ensure your name is in place and spelled correctly.

Also, since we still get this question a lot, all games will be on free-play :-) All festival passes include access to vendors, live music, seminars, console, tabletop, strolling entertainers, daily challenges, and more.

Malicious Cosplay:

The cosplay competition at ReplayFX will be run by our friend Kim at Malicious Cosplay! Kim has been a strong presence in the cosplay community for years and will be joined by a talented team of creative professionals. The cosplay contest held at ReplayFX will offer a $1500 grand prize for Best in Show and an additional $1500 spread between the winners of several additional categories. Fifty openings are available for pre-registration at ReplayFX.org, and an additional 25 openings will be made available at the festival. Participation is free with purchase of a festival pass, but contestants must go through a pre-judging process before being included. More information on the contest is available now.

Live Music:

We're proud to announce the official hiring of several magicians, face painters, and the six live bands listed below!

The OneUps

Dancing Queen

The Triforce Quartet

Flashback

Scott Blasey

& Universal Beat Union

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra:

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is also getting in on the gaming action and will be hosting Distant Worlds: an evening of Final Fantasy music at nearby Heinz Hall! Tickets are on sale now!

We look forward to bringing you more exciting updates in the future!

Sincerely,

Mark H Steinman

ReplayFX Event Director

[VectorGamer]

I hope there aren't rare games being tied up in tournament play. One of the draws for me making the trip is playing games I haven't played in years. Will the tournament run the duration of the show or will there be scheduled times for that so we can get on those games?

[Hyperboy]

Double Post

[Austin]

Can't wait for Pinburgh. I really need to reserve a hotel room somewhere close ASAP.

[mhs]

I hope there aren't rare games being tied up in tournament play. One of the draws for me making the trip is playing games I haven't played in years. Will the tournament run the duration of the show or will there be scheduled times for that so we can get on those games?

 

I'm not sure if you're talking about Pinburgh, Kong Off, or Walter Day's Replay World Championship. All of those schedules are posted on the website, but I'll give a run down here to save you a little time.

 

Pinburgh will use 275 pinball machines for the tournament. These games will be unavailable to the public all day Thursday and Friday evening until around 9:30 - 10pm. They will then be available to everyone from that point on through close at 5pm on Sunday. There are an additional 250 pinball machines (roughly) that will be available while Pinburgh is occurring. The full list of pinball machines to be used in the tournament will be posted this summer, so you are more than welcome to take a look and see what is available and when.

 

Kong Off will use 12 - 20 Donkey Kong machines, but there will be additional Kong's on the show floor for anyone to play.

 

Walter Day's Replay World Championship will use eight different arcade machines, although all are currently scheduled to have duplicates on the show floor.

 

The console lounge games will be available at all times.

 

So, to recap, prior to Friday evening, there will be between 425 - 475 pinball and arcade machines available. After 10pm on Friday, there will be 700+. The rarest game at the festival will likely be Tattoo Assassins, of which we believe only three exist, and two of them will be at ReplayFX.

 

Hope that helps.

[VectorGamer]

Bought my tix today. It would've been nice if we could have printed our tix ahead of time to avoid the lines. The information I have says we have to provide our order confirmation and ID when we show up.

 

If you go to this event be sure to visit the PA Coin-Op Hall of Fame while you're in the area.

[Austin]

Just barely over two weeks away...

[mstulir]

The American Classic Arcade Museum (ACAM) is pleased to announce that ACAM contributor Steve Golson (co-creator of Ms. Pac-Man) and ACAM Vice President Mike Stulir will be presenting discussion sessions at the ReplayFX Festival this summer. Steve will talk about Crazy Otto, the game that eventually evolved into Ms. Pac-Man. Mike will be speaking about our departed friend Ralph Baer & his impact on the birth of the videogame industry.

This is shaping up to be an incredible event, and ACAM hopes to see you there!

More Info

What: ReplayFX Arcade & Gaming Festival
Where: David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA
When: July 30th - August 2nd, 2015
Info: RePlayFX.org

Steve Golson Session: Friday, July 31st, 4:30pm in room 407

Mike Stulir Session: Friday, July 31st, 6:00pm in room 407

 

Hailed as “The Mecca of Classic Gaming” by multiple news outlets such as MSNBC and "One of the shrines every sports fan should visit" by ESPN: The Magazine, The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot is the first 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to preservation & play of vintage coin-operated amusements. Located on the third floor of the immense Funspot Family Entertainment Center in Weirs Beach, NH, the museum celebrates the origins of the arcade industry with popular games from the past. Asteroids, Pac-Man, Centipede and Gorgar are just a few of the 300 games currently on display & available for play in the museum. The museum has gained national and international recognition being highlighted in ESPN: The Magazine, MSNBC, EDGE Magazine, Retro Gamer UK, The Escapist, Yankee Magazine, in-flight airline publications and locally in NH to DO magazine & The Boston Globe. ACAM has also been the backdrop for several feature films and is utilized by collegiate educational institutions as a learning & research facility for their students.

For more information, visit http://www.classicarcademuseum.org

[+Cafeman]

I am going to attend on Friday and Saturday. I look forward to seeing Walter Day, Eugene Jarvis, Steve from GCC, and Mark from Classic Game Room HD , as well as rooting through the wares and playing games and listening to the bands. Man, I will be exhausted, will have to pace myself. Is there any way for AA members to identify each other? It'd be nice to meet some of yinz.

[Austin]

I am going to attend on Friday and Saturday. I look forward to seeing Walter Day, Eugene Jarvis, Steve from GCC, and Mark from Classic Game Room HD , as well as rooting through the wares and playing games and listening to the bands. Man, I will be exhausted, will have to pace myself. Is there any way for AA members to identify each other? It'd be nice to meet some of yinz.

 

I will be there but for Thursday and Friday I will exclusively be participating in Pinburgh, no time for anything else.

[+Cafeman]

Kong off awards....

[+Cafeman]

Well, I had a great time on Friday and Saturday. There wasn't much to route through as far as game vendors, I found a few things but mostly it was commons. One vendor had a ton of Sega Genesis 'homebrews' (hacks of other games , but with professional looking carts/labels/boxes) but I'm not interested in that.

 

But the arcade! over 700 arcade and pinball games! Huge! Plus a huge consoles section! I had a blast trying different pinball games like Funhouse, Terminator, Metallica, Black Night, Pinbot / Bride of Pinbot / Pinbot adventures, and a lot more that I can't recall the names of. Played a lot of coin-op games. Watched the DK experts' techniques in the Kong-Off. Each seems to have their own strategies. The one young fellow, whose name escapes me , he will jump over 2 barrels, climb down a ladder and jump over the two barrels again - they try to milk the screens for as many points as possible before the inevitable kill screen after level 21. I saw several kill screens. High scores over a million.

 

It was a treat to meet folks like Mark from Classic Game Room HD (Pittsburgh based but I'd never met him before) and talk old games with him; also Eugene Jarvis and George Petro; also Billy Mitchell and Walter Day and the various DK experts; also Steve Golson of GCC who created Crazy Otto / Ms. Pac-Man. Very entertaining seminars from those guys.

 

VG musical group The One-UPs were there. They played live Friday night and they were smokin'! watching live footage of Sonic the Hedgehog and hearing their jazzy interpretation was so awesome, those guitars & drums & sax really compliment one another as they play complex and enjoyable arrangements.

 

Most of the swag I picked up was stuff like a few odd Atari and Sega Genesis carts I didn't have, and also custom Beer Steins (CGR) and Coffee Mugs (it says "Energy Tank" on it, pretty nice looking mug). I hope Replay/FX and Pinburgh happens next year too.

[+Cafeman]

A couple pics. Man, my phone usually takes nice pictures in outdoor light, but most of my snapshots at the show , in the darkened convention center, are either blurry or overexposed.

 

I sat down at one of the Genesis consoles and played Road Rash for half an hour. Put my name in. Then after upgrading to the next bike, I paused it for the next person. Later I came back and somebody had reset the whole game anyway.

 

The two Imperials would shake their heads and pat their helmets every time the one would blow up the Death Star in Star Wars arcade!

 

Shot of the game floor, most of it.

 

Finally, one vendor had some sweet custom paint jobs, including this Earthworm Jim Genesis!

[VectorGamer]

video finally uploaded

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2yg0t44qz4