GamesYouLoved at Play Expo 2014 - day one

Day one update - www.playexpo.net 

Manchester - 11th October 2014

Magic. Absolute bloody magic. Whether we’re talking atmosphere, cutting edge gaming or arcane retro technology, Play Expo has it all. The team at GamesYouLoved enjoyed today so much, we really had to give you an update tonight.

We had a great time even after a fairly disastrous beginning. After cramming in a quick breakfast with the Funstock team (full English, of course), we jammed a bunch of old school consoles and equipment into the car and headed off. Immediately upon reaching the venue however, our car window refused to close, the mechanism had broken! We hadn’t even set up yet, so picture those stress levels going through the roof. Suddenly we’re in hard mode; getting the stand put together while trying to get the AA on the phone!

Fortunately everything was fixed and good to go soon after the doors opened. What struck me about Play Expo was the amount of space given over to gaming itself, almost half the venue was dedicated to games already released for people to actually play rather than obsessing over new and upcoming releases. This idea of gaming in the present and of course, the past, instead of a fixation on future gaming really speaks to me, the expo certainly lives up to its title.

 

Loads of floorspace was filled with every game under the sun, many of which were multiplayer set ups, you felt like you could start a game with anyone. There were a couple of consoles I hadn’t even heard of before, I tried an FM Towns Marty for the first time, there goes my credibility eh?

There was still a strong presence from the new console generation though, the big three were out in force.

The real hype was radiating from the arcade section: an absolutely mindblowing collection of cabinets, shoot’em ups, racing games, all that good stuff set to free play so you could game as much as you want. Personally the chance to play some real shooters by CAVE on an actual arcade cab was just awesome. With all the score competitions going on there were opportunities for all that bedroom practice to be seen by fellow gamers who genuinely appreciate it too. I’ve got a score to settle with Typing of the Dead tomorrow, that’s for sure.

It was all about playing the games, but also the retro community that surrounds us all. Retro Joe, Tooty UK (Stuart), Rich King Retro, Cybersnake (Jason), Dave 'imagamegeek' to name but a few where there. The GamesYouLoved crew and these guys and others took time out to chat and do some mutual filming too. All in a days work for these massive retrogaming fans. Not only this but we hooked up with Sam (@MrSidC64) to chat about his Commodore book on the www.funstock.co.uk stand - where we fitted in a short interview of this and his new Amiga Kickstarter which begins Monday 13th October.

A little walk through the venue presented me with crazy cosplay karaoke competitions going on in one corner next to a casual Smash Bros tourney run by the Bristol boys who’d come up for the weekend. Alongside this Retro Collect had their many competitions on and kept the energy up all day - great job guys.

There were enough stands selling retro games, quality prints and other merchandise to make me believe my wallet had a mind of its own. There was even a bloke selling swords, but thankfully the cosplayers weren’t all armed to the teeth.

So the end of the day found me back on an arcade cab playing Progear, just dying to finish my credit (it was a good run!) while being asked repeatedly by security to finish up as it was closing time. Eventually I had to relent and abandon my plane to its fate. See you all tomorrow though yeah?

By Ben Cataldo

GamesYouLoved

GYL at Eurogamer - and the lead up to Play Expo 2013 with Replay Events

GamesYouLoved went and conquered the Eurogamer Expo this year. We reflect on what it was all about, how vibrant and extensive the gaming landscape is and just how much relevance and interest there is in retro, despite the the imminent launch of the 8th generation of consoles. 

Established in 1999, Eurogamer.net is a focal point for game news and reviews and one of the largest gaming resources in the UK. Since the first Eurogamer Expo event in 2008, attendance has grown year on year exponentially, as hordes of gamers clamber to get their peek at upcoming titles.

The expo was held at Earl’s Court in London, which aptly accommodates the crowds and the huge developer exhibits and enclosures. As we arrived we couldn’t help but notice the promotion of current game franchises, from billboards and hoardings outside the venue entrance through to banners and posters in the foyer, through to the main hall. This all added to the buzz and air of geek excitement. 

There was plenty of audio-visual to absorb, as exhibitors clambered for attention, as expected for an expo featuring the industry’s leaders. The main hall was broken into zones; from the current and next -gen, merchandise, through to an indie area, retro-arcade (we’ll come to that), tournament and cosplay stages, and even a nice relaxed boardgame area.

It was great to see a large indie developer contingent present, offering a blend of current innovation with classic and modern game styles (great to see Fist of Awesome’s ‘I Fight Bears’, Big Robot’s ‘Sir, You Are Being Hunted’ and Mastertronic’s ‘Chaos Engine’ remake). And with developer sessions and cosplay shows (and a couple of bars!) there was more than enough to absorb.

So opportunity to get along to the Eurogamer Expo may not seem overly relevant for GamesYouloved (GYL) with a retrogaming focus. Sure, it might be one of the UK’s biggest games shows, but it’s emphasis is obviously more towards the current and upcoming rather than the nostalgic and retro.

Or so we thought. Certainly one of the most thriving and popular areas was the Retro-arcade all organised by our friends at Replay Events. Regulars of the retro game circuit will know Replay Events as a predominant computer and video game event organiser, supplying their experience and expertise at countless shows.

This was focus of the event as largest retro area at Eurogamer yet, with a plethora of systems on show providing an awesome overview of all things retro and to remind us all what it was about back in the day. Offering something for everyone Replay Events had gone to town to showcase as much as possible, from the earliest micro-computers to bespoke built arcade emulators to 3rd to 6th generation consoles. There was a real great vibe here though. Whether a retro-head or not, people could get down to some proper sociable gaming action, with consoles linked for multi-player action on the likes of Golden-Eye (N64) and Mario Kart (SNES). Even Sami Cetin (World Record Holder for SNES Super Marion Kart was there)

The GYL team spent some time (maybe too much) moving from machine to machine, interacting, talking to people about retrogaming and getting their thoughts on the event. It wasn’t just older gamers either - seeing kids with their dads getting excited about the retro machines was what it was all about. We saw the younger generation really getting into oldksool and seeing who got a go next on an arcade cocktail table to play Pac Man next. That instant accessibility and appeal is what gaming should be about.

We had a blast though, and the grandness of the occasion reminded us of how big retro gaming actually is. And what better pre-cursor to the upcoming ‘Play Expo’ where we’ll have our own stand space alongside our good friends Funstock.co.uk and will be providing video coverage throughout the event too. Bring it on!

http://www.playexpo.net/2013/10/02/gamesyouloved-to-provide-video-coverage-for-play-expo/

For more info on Play Expo:

http://www.playexpo.net/

http://twitter.com/replayevents

http://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents

http://www.youtube.com/replayexpo

Funstock:

www.funstock.co.uk

RETRO-GAMING TEE’S FOR THE RETRO GAMER! - RETRO GT T-SHIRTS

We were lucky enough to be sent not one, but two of RetroGT’s awesome T-Shirts for a review (and your reading pleasure) and instantly fell in love with them. Great designs printed onto high quality fabric of course!

When you want to be different and original you have gotta think about details, and packaging is for sure one of those details. This packaging is great, with shirts being packed nicely in plastic bags. We loved the 2-colour RetroGT stickers within the bag, and we will defiantly be finding somewhere to stick them!

With the T-Shirts so brilliantly packaged we were eager to try them on and see how they feel, especially when we felt the quality and how soft they are.

Bearing in mind all of the stuff stated above, RetroGT are well up there when it comes to T-Shirt producing. Fine quality garments with big, bold and often retro gaming orientated designs, all wrapped up and at more than affordable prices.

These T-shirts are great for retro and gaming fans alike! With more T-Shirts and designs available on www.retrogt.com you are spoilt for choice!



Do you like these T-Shirts?

We would love to know what you think about this review, so don’t hesitate to contact us via Twitter or Facebook or at info@gamesyouloved.com

Retro gaming clean up!

We just love anything retrogaming at gamesyouloved.com - the games come first but anything related too - TV shows, films, cartoons, toys, books and magazines and you can't beat a bit of lovely merchandise too.

One area we haven't see done in a big way perhaps since smelly erasers of the 80s - is retro gaming cleaning products.  Well the future is now and firebox.com have these on sale (you can buy them elsewhere too!) and the first line are now available:

Go to this page to take a look http://tinyurl.com/cx2jj5c

We can't wait till the really old skool console and micro computer versions are available - but imagine trying to clean you back with an Atari controller!!

What other classic could actually be part of your cleaning routine. Any ideas tweet gamesyouloved.com at http://twitter.com/gamesyouloved

or go to our Facebook page to interact with us and our viewers http://www.facebook.com/gamesyouloved