Show Report -- California Extreme 2008
by David Lundin, Jr.

Think of five classic arcade games and you'll find at least four of them here.  Pre-registration grants you access to the show half an hour early and for those streaming inside during that special half hour, it really does feel like a time capsule.  A frenzy of cameras popped out to grab images of the games and venue before it became crowded with arcade patrons.  It is almost like prying the door open to an arcade vault and being one of the first to enter.  There's so much to see, there's so much to do and there's so much to play.  Then you turn a corner and it begins again with even more games and memories rushing back to the point where you become enveloped in the nostalgia and wonder that places like this used to create.  It's simply beautiful to see all these vintage games and pins all running, their marquees shining, their start buttons flashing, their attract screens playing.  Best of all they're all on free play or have a credit switch.  It's almost as if the greatest arcade you could possibly imagine was laid before you and was at your disposal for play.

The show floor was laid out in U shaped banks of machines starting at the door which eventually followed the walls once passed two banks of machines.  After that pinball machines lined one wall until they neared the corner where the mini-sized cabaret arcade cabinets took over.  A few cockpit cabinets lined the back wall before reaching the Twin Galaxies high score and California Extreme pinball competitions in the adjacent corner.  A few vendor tables took up the final wall until running back to the entrance where T-shirts could be purchased.  The center of the room was reserved for cocktail tables, easily over a dozen of them.  Just beyond the cocktail area a giant video screen played 80's music videos streamed off a laserdisc video jukebox.  The rest of the hall was filled with a few more rows of pinball machines as well as a few more U shaped banks of arcade cabinets, in other words the place was packed with games.

And the games... amazing games in amazing condition.  A few prototype cabinets show up every year and I felt very fortunate to try my hand at the unreleased Marble Madness II: Marble Man, Hard Drivin's Airborne, and Beavis and Butt-head.  Hard Drivin's Airborne was my favorite of the prototype games, imagine Hard Drivin' mixed with the flying cars from the film Back to the Future Part II, complete with a steering wheel that doubles as a flight yolk by pushing in and pulling out.  It even blows wind in your face to simulate the feeling of flight.  There was a good selection of laserdisc games although talking to one other attendee there were fewer this year than last.  Just the same, I hadn't seen a Super Don-Quixote in practically forever but there was one there.  Lots of my favorite games were at the show as well and those who are regular readers of my columns here at RTM will recognize some of the names.  There was a good condition Paperboy upright, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and two Joust cocktails which all got more than a few plays from me.  I hadn't stood before a Xybots cabinet in years but there was one there and lots of two player action on it as well.  By far one of my favorite machines at the show was a Bosconian cabaret, a game that never really was all that popular sadly but one I've always really enjoyed.  Played quite a bit of another of my favorites, S.T.U.N. Runner, as well.  I held high score on Galaga '88 all day Saturday (471,280 at 5-27, set it early in the morning) and Sunday (467,770 at 5-27 and then improved with 582,770 at 5-28) until during the last hour and a half of the show my score fell to 1,610,900 at 5-29 (game completion bonus).  On the front Warlords cocktail I had team high score and single player high score all day Sunday.  Speaking of Warlords, I must have spent a quarter of my entire time at the show playing on the cocktail tables, it was a complete blast playing against and talking to people over such a great game.  For an added kick of nostalgia, at ten o'clock Saturday night the lights were dimmed for the last two hours of the show that day.  It was moments like that which took the show from incredible to surreal.

While there were a lot of guest panels and events just across the way at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the only one I attended was a candid presentation by Aaron Giles of the MAME project.  It was really very interesting to hear him talk about the project and what drives him to continue working on a program that I personally use every time I write a NES'cade (and previously Titles of Tengen) column.  I don't think it gets said enough but thank you to the entire MAME team for continuing to refine and expand a project that, allows us to dive into the past for analysis of games we otherwise wouldn't be able to take a look at.  I know I wouldn't be writing here at RTM without it.

Probably the single thing I enjoyed most about the show was that the demographic was very much as it was during the height of the arcade era, everyone was there.  Age or gender, none of it mattered, everyone played together and socialized just as if it was the early 1980's once more.  However California Extreme adds things you wouldn't see even at the peak of arcades.  Where else can you walk down a row of vintage pinball machines (including one of my all time favorites, Hit the Deck), play a game of Kangaroo and then look over and see Todd Rogers playing Gorf, it's just insane.  It's as if a collector let you into their room of vintage antiques just so you could manhandle everything on display.  That right there is the amazing thing about California Extreme and why it should live on forever.  The collectors that exhibit games there do so because they understand that the games they are collecting are meant to be played, and socialized around, and be competed at, and be photographed, and be enjoyed - that's why the games were created.  My hat's off to them that maintain these machines, haul them down to the show, set them up, ensure they run all weekend, all just so others can enjoy them.  It's another one of those instances where the video game hobby is populated with just the coolest people on the planet.

Yet with all these games comes temptation.  Many collectors put their games up for sale, sometimes to thin out their collection a bit but for the most part many seemed to want to go after other games while introducing the hobby to others.  My Pole Position MAME conversion had to be stored when I moved simply because there was no way I could get the bulky cabinet upstairs.  Being without a cabinet after having one creates a void in your life so I was on the lookout for a smaller game at the show.  Since that beautiful Bosconian cabaret wasn't up for sale I didn't want to bother anyone about it.  There was a Gyruss upright for less than $300.00 that peaked my interest.  It had very small sprite glitches in the center of the screen and needed a little work but was in decent shape.  However the bulk was the problem - for the current situation of my girlfriend and myself hauling the thing upstairs a cabaret would have to be the target size, or a cocktail - nearly impossible to find for my budget.

As the show wound down on Sunday night I made myself comfortable at the lone Galaxian cocktail at the show, a game that didn't seem get much play that weekend.  I sat there and played the elegant space battle while listening to 80's music videos on the giant screen behind.  My girlfriend joined me soon after and we sat there for almost two hours playing against one another.  The machine was in beautiful shape and a little while later I mumbled out longingly, "this is really what I would like to have."  However the price was more than double what the Gyruss cabinet was stickered at, and we had to work hard to budget the Gyruss price to begin with.  I figured if anything I'd write down the contact information and maybe give the owner a call in a week or so once I had a better idea of what I could spend.  With about an hour to go the owner showed up to pick up his machine.  We got to talking and I basically was honest in what beautiful condition it was in but that I just couldn't afford it right now.  He offered to work down the price a little but I told him I couldn't do it right on the spot. We took down his phone number and I told him I'd let him know later in the week.  I sold some Japanese comics that had been packed away for almost ten years and were only taking up space to quickly raise the cash for the cocktail.  After a couple phone calls it was all finalized, I would soon be the owner of a Galaxian cocktail table.

The gentleman that sold it to me was a class act and delivered it, even helped me carry it upstairs!  He also made sure it was working properly, gave me the contact information of the person he uses for repair on his PCB's, went over any problems the machine has had since he owned it and went over basic usage.  It is amazingly clean inside and has the cleanest power supply, monitor, board, wiring loom and other internals that I have ever seen on a vintage cabinet.  He also sent me PDF's of the operations and troubleshooting manuals and I have a cocktail operations manual on the way.  Galaxian cocktail table #0367 now resides with me and I couldn't be happier.  I've wanted a cocktail table since the day I first stepped into an arcade.

I could go on for days about the experiences shared, the friendships made, and the entertainment had at California Extreme this year.  However there's only one way to really understand just how excellent the show is - attend.  After making this year my first I kick myself for wasting the past eleven years by not being in attendance.  Now that I've been I'll never miss another.  This show deserves to be supported and praised and to thrive.  Thank you again to the organizers, exhibitors and attendees!  It was the most fun I've had in years and I can't wait for the next one.  NES'cade will return next month, at the show I played a whole lot of games that had NES ports I haven't looked at yet.
 

"InsaneDavid" also runs a slowly growing gaming site at http://www.classicplastic.net/dvgi

 
Apple II Incider: The World of the Apple II Today - PART 1
by Donald Lee