ATARIPITBULL #1 Posted April 28, 2002 I live near Detroit, Michigan and from my front door to the doors of the convention hall it was a 545 mile long drive with my wife and my 1 year old son in the car with me and I tell you this, next year if they have some new game coming out that I just have to have for my 2600 collection, I will fly in. Don't get me wrong, it was fun being there and seeing all these Atari nuts under one roof, I bought three new boxed games for my collection: (Bugs Bunny,Polo & Mr DO's Castle), but for the most part I had everything else they were selling in my collection and I never got to meet Albert or any other Atariage member there. I think for the next Philly so we can meet other members of Atariage we should have something on our shirts like a button or something that lets other members know who they are. please forgive me now because I have to go and sleep for about 11 hours from this long ass drive I had, and did I mention that my son threw up in my car all over my wife, but that was the only fun part about the drive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JCroniger #2 Posted April 28, 2002 I bet your wife doesn't agree with your sense of humor. (it is funny though) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Albert #3 Posted April 28, 2002 I'm surprised you didn't see me, I was wearing an AtariAge shirt (which has our logo and name in pretty large view). Our table was near the middle of the floor and had our name and logo plastered all over it (as you'll see in the photos when I post them). I was in and out of the booth, walking around the show floor, and I was in attendance ever minute the show was open. Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet! We even handed out AtariAge name badges (and badge holders), which I printed 50 of and would have printed many more if I had known the PhillyClassic badges didn't have a space for your name. For CGE2K2 and other future shows, we'll make sure people have ample opportunity to arm themselves with AtariAge shirts, buttons, name badges, stickers, and so forth. ..Al Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bergbros #4 Posted April 28, 2002 Sorry that you did not find us. I was there on Friday and the last two hours on Saturday. My drive was a whopping 15 miles from my home in the Philly burbs. I wanted to see you. I did see the AtariAge table and got a name tag. I got to see the famous StanJr. and Tempest and was able to talk in length with Stan. I really enjoyed talking the games with Stan and it was good to see that Stan was just as offended about how bad Star Wars Episode I felt. BTW, I never said that Berzerk was a BAD game, just that it is very repetitive and, like Pac-Man, I know they could have made it better. I loved the free arcade and I was graivtating towards the Sinistar game. That game always got the juices moving. Frenzy was there and so was Pleides, a game I liked as a kid but found it a rather boring Phoenix knockoff now. What got me was the inordinate number of handheld games being sold there. I mean there was a vendor just dedicated to the sale of handhelds like the Merlin, Zaxxon, Pac-Man (the ones that look like minature Arcade games) and even the head to head baseball and Coleco football I had as a kid. THere was also a lot of Vectrex games being sold. I was very disappointed that there were very few Atari Lynx games. It was really SOngbird and one table that had three Lynx titles, thats it. All and all, I enjoyed reliving my youth at the show and I especially enjoyed talking to the AtariAge organiazers and posters. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atarinvader #5 Posted April 28, 2002 I hope Stan gave you some AI freebies? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StanJr #6 Posted April 29, 2002 Yeah, I passed out stickers to pretty much everybody, I think. I may have run out and if I missed you I apologize. It was a total blast hanging out with the atariage crew. Albert is like the coolest guy ever. Sorry I missed Ataripitbull, but it was cool to meet bergbros, Cassidy (another super swell guy), Nateo (boy genius), Cafeman (who I didn't actually speak to but I saw him), same goes for Joel Park, and a few others. If I left anybody out I apologize again, I'm still sleepy from the trip and somebody at Philly gave me a nasty cold that I can't shake (damn you!). This thing was an absolute blast. I'll be there next year for sure, but I'll fly not drive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skatepunk60 #7 Posted April 29, 2002 Yep u missed me .. ill be expecting one in the mail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tempest #8 Posted April 29, 2002 I finally got back today! My flight got cancelled last night due to the engine starter sheering off! Then the rough weather moved in and I was trapped. So I spent the night at the Ramada Inn (with a voucher thank God), and got back this afternoon. I had a blast in Philly. I spent most of my time helping Albert and Joe man the Atari Age booth. I got alot of neat stuff, but most of it wasn't on my list. Now I collect those mini Coleco handheld arcade games. Another collection I have no room for... I got to play all the new unreleased games (Cracked, Missing in Action, Pick Up, and Save The Whales), in fact Al forced me to play them with that damn 7800 Painline joystick so he could take the pictures. The things I do for this page! The games were ok, but nothing special. Pick Up was a boring shooting game with a semi-adult theme, Save the Whales was a damn hard shooter, Cracked is just like the 7800 version but with only two levels, and Missing in Action was a crappy side scrolling punching game like Double Dragon. Nothing I couldn't live without... Friday night I went out drinkning with some DP people and Bob Polaro himself. Man that was a blast! I bearly got back to the hotel room in one piece. Bob's stories were great, too bad I don't bump into ex-Atari programmers more often. Saturday night I went to Dave and Busters with Albert (Atari Age), Joe Grand (SCSIcide), some guys I knew whose names I can't think of right now (forgive me!), and Walter Day (Twin Galaxies referee). If you've never been to a Dave & Busters it's truely a sight to behold. It's amazing I ever got up in the morning... Tempest [ 04-29-2002: Message edited by: Tempest ] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StanJr #9 Posted April 30, 2002 Yeah, I was SO going to D&B Sat. night, but I got back to my hotel room after dinner and don't you know I fell asleep! I woke up about 2 am and said !!! I missed it! I'm such a dork. But being at the convention all day really knocked me out! Still tired Stan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Albert #10 Posted April 30, 2002 quote: Originally posted by StanJr: Yeah, I was SO going to D&B Sat. night, but I got back to my hotel room after dinner and don't you know I fell asleep! I woke up about 2 am and said !!! I missed it! I'm such a dork. But being at the convention all day really knocked me out! I also fell asleep upon returning to my room, but people kept calling and waking me up, so I eventually took a shower. Then Matt (who was in the same hotel) and I went to pick up Joe, who was staying at another hotel. We then drove into Philly and tracked down the Dave & Busters. To my surprise there was a $5 cover, which then got us upstairs only to find out that there was a THREE HOUR WAIT for a table to eat dinner. Joe and I walked around the floor for a bit, gawking at the games and, uhmm, yeah the games. We finally did get two tables adjacent to one another in the game area. Those tables were first come, first serve, so we got lucky in that regard. After driving all the way to Philly we decided to just eat there, even if we couldn't all sit at the same table. It was like eating in the middle of an extremely busy casino, minus the "CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING!" sound. This was the largest D&B I've been in, and I've been to several. It's 70,000 square feet and simply immense. It's located on a pier along whatever river happens to be sitting next to Philadelphia. Mental note for future visits: Don't go there on Saturday night for dinner! ..Al Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cassidy Nolen #11 Posted April 30, 2002 I knew it would be busy. 3 hours>? geez. Its a burger joint! I fell asleep after dinner, and that was about it for me too. I really wanted to go there with you guys. You all were great to meet, and I know this is the sort of revivalist stuff that keeps us all going. Cant wait for Vegas! I know there will be some of the same faces and even more great people to meet. Talk to you guys soon! Cassidy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rolenta #12 Posted April 30, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Albert: It's located on a pier along whatever river happens to be sitting next to Philadelphia. That's the Delaware River. It separates Pennsylvania from New Jersey. It's the one that Washington crossed during the Revolutionary War. [ 04-30-2002: Message edited by: rolenta ] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rolenta #13 Posted April 30, 2002 [ 04-30-2002: Message edited by: rolenta ] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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