[EAST] The OFFICIAL American Classic Arcade Museum @ PAX-East 2013 Thread

mpsmps Registered User regular
edited February 2013 in PAX East
The American Classic Arcade Museum (ACAM) is proud to announce that we are returning to PAX-East. As in past years, we will be providing the PAX-East retro arcade full of classic 1970's and 1980's arcade video games.

In 2010, the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) held their first East Coast event in Boston after running a hugely successful event for many years in Seattle. Gary Vincent, President of The American Classic Arcade Museum, had first been approached by the promoters of the Expo in late 2009 to help create an exhibit of classic arcade games at the first PAX-East. The American Classic Arcade Museum had become a powerful presence, and having the Museum create the exhibit for PAX-East seemed logical to the event organizers. Gary and the ACAM crew took 21 video games to the Expo in 2010 and set up a small arcade in a private room off of the main Expo floor.

Over the last few years as the PAX-East event has grown, the ACAM presence has grown along with it. This year, ACAM will have two 24-foot trucks stuffed with close to 50 arcade games & a small army of staffers. ACAM will also be holding two panel sessions with video game industry insiders and former arcade game developers.

“I was concerned that first year,” said Vincent. “I knew the focus of the Expo was on newer games so I wasn’t sure how people would respond to us. It took about thirty seconds until all my concerns went away. The room was packed from the moment we opened the doors and all throughout the weekend. The most interesting thing to me was that I would say the average age of the crowd at the Expo was in their mid-20s and many of them had never experienced an arcade before.”

Mike Stulir, Board member for The American Classic Arcade Museum, couldn’t be happier with the way things came together over the last few years. “ACAM’s facility is very family-friendly in terms of lighting, music & environment. However, we feel a need to have some presentation of what the average arcade was like back during the heyday of the neighborhood arcade. PAX-East has become our annual time to pull out all of the stops and recreate that late 1970’s to early 1980’s arcade environment with a darkened room booming with era-appropriate music." Stulir says that the Museum is able to participate in events like PAX-East, MAGFest and Escapist Expo due to the notoriety and respect the Museum has earned since it’s founding. “Our position as the leader in arcade game historical preservation is due to the hard work of Gary Vincent, Bob Lawton, our Board of Directors and our volunteers. We have built a strong reputation not just with the gaming community, but with the game developers as well. We are especially proud of our close relationship with the PAX-East staff, and we expect to be part of this show for many years to come."

The concept of the Museum came almost by accident. ACAM is located within the Funspot Family Entertainment Center in Weirs Beach, NH. Having been a manager at the Funspot for man years, Gary and Funspot owner Bob Lawton were looking at all of the old video games they had back in 1996. Many of them were not in use on the floor anymore. Gary said “We have so many, we should start a museum.”

And that’s exactly what they did.

ACAM was founded and established as the first 501c3 non-profit facility dedicated to the preservation, history and play of classic arcade games. Today, The American Classic Arcade Museum encompasses almost all of Funspot’s third level. It also helped Funspot become the recognized as the largest arcade in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. Over the years as more machines were added by being purchased or donated, the American Classic Arcade Museum soon became the Mecca for arcade game enthusiasts, and the merely curious. It is now the largest collection of fully operational video games from the 1980s in the world. In fact, every year players from around the world come to Funspot to play in the Museum’s International Classic Video Game Tournament. The museum has gained national and international recognition being highlighted in ESPN: The Magazine, MSNBC, EDGE Magazine, Retro Gamer, 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, including the critically acclaimed “King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.”

To learn more about The American Classic Arcade Museum, or to find out how you can contribute to our preservation efforts, visit http://www.classicarcademuseum.org

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  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    The American Classic Arcade Museum is pleased to announce the following panel session at PAX-East 2013 in Boston, MA:

    ACAM – CLASSIC VIDEOGAME PANEL
    Saturday, March 23rd, 2013
    Boston Convention & Exhibition Center -- Corgi Theatre @ at 4:30pm

    Join Mike Stulir of The American Classic Arcade Museum as he discusses the birth of the video game industry, and the classic age of console and arcade video games. Appearing with Mike are legendary arcade game designers including the people behind arcade games such as "Super Missile Attack," "Ms. Pac-Man," "Food Fight," "Quantum" & the "Cruis'n" series of driving games. Console representation will include designers of the Atari 7800 hardware/launch titles, and Atari 2600 games such as "Kangaroo," “Centipede,” & "Joust."

    Moderator:
    Mike Stulir, The American Classic Arcade Museum

    Panelists & Special Guests:
    Steve Golson
    Jonathan Hurd
    Eric Pribyl
    Mike Horowitz
    Kevin Osborn
    Carlos Smith
    Tom Flaherty
    Mike Feinstein
    Betty Tylko
    Josh Littlefield

    Tickets for PAX-East are almost sold out. For info, visit http://www.paxsite.com

    More info on The American Classic Arcade Museum can be found at http://www.classicarcademuseum.org

  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    The American Classic Arcade Museum is pleased to announce the following panel session at PAX-East 2013 in Boston, MA:

    ACAM – PRESERVING VIDEOGAME HISTORY
    Sunday, March 24th, 2013
    Boston Convention & Exhibition Center -- Sphinx Theatre @ 1:00pm

    What happens to the source code, development equipment and historical information from all of those video games from the 1970's & 1980's? Why is that historical material important to museum facilities and current/future generations of game developers? The American Classic Arcade Museum and our guest panelists will answer those questions, and describe the importance, value and methodology of preserving video game history.

    Moderator:
    Mike Stulir: The American Classic Arcade Museum

    Panelists:
    Gary Vincent: President, The American Classic Arcade Museum
    John Andersen: Gaming historian and freelance writer
    Joey DeSena: Co-host of "Retroware TV" series "The Video Game Years"
    Jonathan Ferguson: Instructor in Game Design and Production for The Game Studio at Champlain College

    Tickets for PAX-East are almost sold out. For info, visit http://www.paxsite.com

    More info on The American Classic Arcade Museum can be found at http://www.classicarcademuseum.org

  • vttymvttym Ardent Gamer Northern NJRegistered User regular
    I'm glad you guys will be making the trip again. The Classic Arcade is one of the highlights of PAX for me, and is the hook I've used to get more and more people to come each year.

    See you there!

  • scottyb1218scottyb1218 BostonRegistered User regular
    This is fantastic. Looking forward to attending!

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  • BigDumbHippyBigDumbHippy Registered User regular
    I hope space ace comes back and more pinball

  • PopinskiPopinski Registered User regular
    I take trips to funspot all the time. And now I'm headed to my first PAX. I can't begin to express how excited I am for all the festivities, but having the ACAM there is icing on the cake.

  • jdixon1972jdixon1972 Registered User regular
    Curse you ACAM!!!!!! You take up too much of my time at every PAX East I go to!!!!! Seriously, though, there would be a big hole in my heart if you guys didn't come. The classics need to be represented just as much as the new stuff. I live outside of Boston, but I have never made it to Funspot. I so want to take a weekend off and go up and play all my childhood favorites. Thanks, ACAM!!! I really do look forward to your panels and games. I hope Dragons Lair comes back, and maybe some of the more rare laserdiscs titles? I'd kill to see Thayers Quest.... Oh, and more pinball, please!!! Would love to see Pinbot or Black Knight.

  • sillyzombie666sillyzombie666 massRegistered User regular
    LOVE THIS ROOM

    I REJECT YOUR REALITY AND SUBSTITUTE MY OWN
  • rewarrewar Boston, MassRegistered User regular
    this will be my 2nd PAX East.. and i'm now super pumped knowing FunSpot will be back.. this was easily one of my happiest/most favorite spots last year.. i spent more time in that room just walking around.. playing a few games and remembering how awesome a trip to the arcade is.. the music was the best.. the games were the best.. thanks for doing this for us!! (i also want to echo the MORE PINBALL sentiments) that new "retro" pinball machine was AWESOME

  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    Thanks to everyone for all of the support. We are so pleased that there is so much interest in the arcade at PAX-East.

    I have been getting a bunch of private messages requesting games that we should bring. Unfortunately, it is impossible to please everyone, so we cannot take requests. We will do our best to bring a good mix of popular titles, and some obscure titles you may have never played before.

  • ProprietyPropriety PAX Pokemon League Leader! Registered User regular
    I love the ACAM room. Just standing in it, it's like being transported to another world. An awesome world! Hopefully I'll get to spend more time in it this year.

    That guy with the ridiculously long scarf at PAX. Say Hi!
    Love Pokemon? Going to PAX Prime/East/Aus/South? Challenge the PAX Pokemon League!!!
  • purevalpureval Somersworth, NH Registered User regular
    I would like to highly recommend that people do not just stop by the ACAM room, but plan an extra day into the trip and go up to Funspot as well. I take my family up several times a year and it is a blast.

  • repeterepete Registered User regular
    please keep up the great song selection

  • NickzillaNickzilla Nottingham, UKRegistered User regular
    First PAX but will 100% be checking this out!

  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    repete wrote: »
    please keep up the great song selection

    This is something we have tried to have some fun with over the years. In 2010, we did a lot of 80's stuff.....Huey Lewis & The News, Michael Jackson, The Bangles, Cindi Lauper, etc. In 2011, we changed it up and did a lot of late 70's/early 80's new wave music like The Cars, Bananarama, Oingo Boingo and Devo. Last year, we went with harder rock using bands like Aerosmith, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, etc.

    We have something different planned for this year as well, so I hope everyone likes the music. Our goal is to set an atmosphere that makes you feel like you are back in the early 1980's. Plus, I am told that Adam is bringing back his seizure-inducing laser light show.....with 50% more seizure-inducing laser effects. :)

    Mike Stulir
    The American Classic Arcade Museum

    mps on
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    Nickzilla wrote: »
    First PAX but will 100% be checking this out!

    Let me fill you in on what to expect. We have a 3,600 sq ft room with 45-50 classic arcade favorites. All games are set to free play, and you are welcome to stay and play as long as you want. We are a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving these classic games, and we are almost completely run by volunteers like myself. If you like what you see, please swing by our donation kiosk and make a contribution.

    Mike Stulir
    The American Classic Arcade Musuem

    mps on
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    edited February 2013
    Propriety wrote: »
    I love the ACAM room. Just standing in it, it's like being transported to another world. An awesome world! Hopefully I'll get to spend more time in it this year.

    That is our goal....making our visitors feel like they have stepped in a time machine. We hope you get more time to spend with us as well. :) Our hours for the show will be:

    Friday: Show open through midnight
    Saturday: 10am through midnight
    Sunday: 10am through 3pm

    pureval wrote: »
    I would like to highly recommend that people do not just stop by the ACAM room, but plan an extra day into the trip and go up to Funspot as well. I take my family up several times a year and it is a blast.

    You can't make a trip to ACAM and not see all that Funspot has to offer. After you are done playing the 325+ classic games on the floor in ACAM, go downstairs into Funspot and try out some more modern games, driving simulators, bowling, skee-ball, air hockey, etc. It truly is a great place to take a family for a day of fun.

    Mike Stulir
    The American Classic Arcade Museum

    mps on
  • bakasamabakasama Registered User regular
    the ACAM room is honestly where I spend the most time at PAX, it's "out of the way" but still close enough to everything that I can just hang out, recharge my batteries, and get a couple games in. I loved the pinball last year!

  • NickTheNewbieNickTheNewbie Registered User regular
    ACAM is the best part of PAX. Next to the MAGFest Jamspace, of course ;)

  • coconutcrowcoconutcrow Massachusetts, USARegistered User regular
    edited February 2013
    I went to the preservation panel last year, and loved it. Really interesting stuff!

    Can't wait to see what you've got in store for this year!

    coconutcrow on
    Steam, Wii U, PSN: CoconutCrow
    3DS Friend Code: 4210-4889-9706
  • CabadrinCabadrin Boston, MARegistered User regular
    You guys are some of the unsung heroes at PAX. I always love coming in and seeing what you've brought. Thanks for coming again this year!

    e2TtnRd.png
  • TimeSyphonTimeSyphon Registered User regular
    Absolutely love this room, thank you for coming to PAX

  • GausGaus Registered User regular
    The arcade has always been my favorite room of PAX every year. It's always great to see the machines that you guys bring up. Thanks again for coming!

    Professional assassination. It's the highest form of public service. - Chiun
  • KorvasKorvas Registered User regular
    this is the must stop for me! I don't care if its the only thing I get to do during pax, I have to visit this room, at least 10 times. it's so awesome! you first timers have no idea how much awesome is packed into the acam room. I can't wait!!!

  • jdixon1972jdixon1972 Registered User regular
    Yeh, I have to say that this room is like digital crack. The first year it was at Pax, I did nothing but play Dragons Lair and Donkey Kong (I think that was the first year, it's still a blur).

  • koolarookoolaroo Registered User regular
    Seeing as these are on freeplay maybe I will be able to be Dragons Lair now. That game always cost too many tokens so I never got to beat it.

  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    Thanks to everyone for their praise and support. We love bringing this exhibit to PAX-East every year, but it is a monumental amount of work. All of the positive feedback really makes the hard work worth it. Remember, we are a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving these classic games, and we are almost completely run by volunteers like myself. If you like what you see, please swing by the donation kiosk we will have at PAX-East and make a contribution.

  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    With PAX-East quickly approaching, we are hard at work getting games ready for the show:

    20130308_152015.jpg
    ACAM volunteer John Zabel (l) and ACAM President Gary Vincent track down a power supply problem in Time Pilot.


    20130308_144519.jpg
    Funspot employee Chris Ferguson (l) polishes the playfield of Flash pinball while ACAM volunteer John Zabel tests the trackball on Missile Command.


  • jdixon1972jdixon1972 Registered User regular
    Ack! ACAM, you're such a tease!!!!!!!! I can't stand seeing all those arcade cabinets and not being able to play them NOW!!!!!!

  • GausGaus Registered User regular
    Thanks for all the hard work guys! Is there any chance that Robotron 2084 is going to make an appearance?

    Professional assassination. It's the highest form of public service. - Chiun
  • coconutcrowcoconutcrow Massachusetts, USARegistered User regular
    edited March 2013
    mps wrote: »
    With PAX-East quickly approaching, we are hard at work getting games ready for the show].

    Nice! Will there be a list posted of all the cabinets coming, or should we just be patient?

    Wicked pumped!

    coconutcrow on
    Steam, Wii U, PSN: CoconutCrow
    3DS Friend Code: 4210-4889-9706
  • CabadrinCabadrin Boston, MARegistered User regular
    mps wrote: »
    Remember, we are a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving these classic games, and we are almost completely run by volunteers like myself. If you like what you see, please swing by the donation kiosk we will have at PAX-East and make a contribution.

    Totally did not know this. I'll toss a donation your way.

    e2TtnRd.png
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    Nice! Will there be a list posted of all the cabinets coming, or should we just be patient?

    Wicked pumped!

    Be patient. :) We learned the hard way years ago not to post a complete list in advance. We can only bring 50 games, and everyone wants something different.

    I will say this... We will be bringing three pinball machines. We have a TON of requests for pinball, and after a lot of internal discussion, we decided to take a chance and try it again. Pins are much more susceptible to breakage/damage in transit than video games, and the pins we brought in 2010 got busted up pretty bad between the truck ride and the loading dock workers. We did not bring any in 2011 because of that, and only had one last year courtesy of our friends at Retro Pinball LLC.

    Flash pinball will be in our arcade at PAX-East 2013 along with an uber-rare pin called Al's Garage Band Goes On A World Tour courtesy of our our awesome volunteer Scott Gaulin and his son Zach. Can't recall what the third table is off the top of my head, but it is in the process of being shopped.

    Also, since our friends from General Computer Corporation (GCC) will be participating in our Saturday afternoon gaming panel with us again, we will have all four of the arcade video games they created: Midway's Ms. Pac-Man & Jr. Pac-Man, and Atari's Food Fight & Quantum.

    Remember, we are a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving these classic games, and we are almost completely run by volunteers like myself. All of the games will be set on free play, so no need to come armed with quarters. We love bringing these classic games to PAX-East so everyone can enjoy them, but it is a very expensive show for us to attend. If you like what you see, please swing by the donation kiosk we will have in our arcade at PAX-East and make a contribution. Donations can also be made through our web site.

    Mike Stulir: Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum
    classicarcademuseum.org




  • coconutcrowcoconutcrow Massachusetts, USARegistered User regular
    edited March 2013
    mps wrote: »
    Nice! Will there be a list posted of all the cabinets coming, or should we just be patient?

    Wicked pumped!
    Be patient. :) We learned the hard way years ago not to post a complete list in advance. We can only bring 50 games, and everyone wants something different.

    I will say this... We will be bringing three pinball machines. We have a TON of requests for pinball, and after a lot of internal discussion, we decided to take a chance and try it again. Pins are much more susceptible to breakage/damage in transit than video games, and the pins we brought in 2010 got busted up pretty bad between the truck ride and the loading dock workers. We did not bring any in 2011 because of that, and only had one last year courtesy of our friends at Retro Pinball LLC.

    Flash pinball will be in our arcade at PAX-East 2013 along with an uber-rare pin called Al's Garage Band Goes On A World Tour courtesy of our our awesome volunteer Scott Gaulin and his son Zach. Can't recall what the third table is off the top of my head, but it is in the process of being shopped.

    Also, since our friends from General Computer Corporation (GCC) will be participating in our Saturday afternoon gaming panel with us again, we will have all four of the arcade video games they created: Midway's Ms. Pac-Man & Jr. Pac-Man, and Atari's Food Fight & Quantum.

    Remember, we are a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving these classic games, and we are almost completely run by volunteers like myself. All of the games will be set on free play, so no need to come armed with quarters. We love bringing these classic games to PAX-East so everyone can enjoy them, but it is a very expensive show for us to attend. If you like what you see, please swing by the donation kiosk we will have in our arcade at PAX-East and make a contribution. Donations can also be made through our web site.

    Mike Stulir: Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum
    classicarcademuseum.org



    Thanks for the reply! It'll be neat seeing what you guys end up bringing.

    Pinball's always fun, so I'd be happy just with that. And, if I can when the con comes around, I'd love to donate! :)

    See you at PAX!

    coconutcrow on
    Steam, Wii U, PSN: CoconutCrow
    3DS Friend Code: 4210-4889-9706
  • Josh5890Josh5890 ChicagoRegistered User regular
    Looking forward to checking this out.

    This space for rent
  • 1badv61badv6 Registered User new member
    Delivered some games yesterday including the "Al's Garage Band goes on a world tour" from my private collection to ACAM. It will be interesting with the snow storm hitting on one of our loading days. We'll be scrambling, but I know I'll be very much looking forward to another year bringing a little bit of ACAM goodness to everyone at Pax-East. Be sure to stop by and say hello.

    Volunteer, The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot
    579 Endicott Street North - Laconia, NH 03246
    The first 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and display of classic coin-operated amusements
    http://www.ClassicArcadeMuseum.org
  • mpsmps Registered User regular
    On behalf of the entire ACAM staff, we want to thank you for all of your support and kudos during the weekend. Bringing these classic arcade game cabinets to PAX-East is a monumental task as each one weighs 300 pounds. The 50 games we brought equate to roughly 15,000 pounds/7.5 tons of games. Getting all of the love from the PAX-East attendees makes all of the hard work worth it. We hope to see all of you next year, and we will be doing another PAX-East Day @ ACAM this November.

    I do want to address one problem we were faced with during the weekend. We closed one hour early on Sunday afternoon due to circumstances beyond our control, and we apologize to the disappointed people we had to turn away. This was a tough decision, but we really had no choice. On Saturday evening, two of our volunteers were sick with flu-like symptoms and a third had food poisoning. To make matters worse, another one of our staffers had a reaction to some new medication and had to be taken to the hospital, and will be there for several more days. With 50 percent of our staff out sick on Sunday, we made a difficult choice to close early due to the extra time required to pack our massive exhibit with only four people.

    I do want to thank PAX-East staffer Ryan Hartman for understanding our difficulties and sending two Enforcers to help us pack our exhibit. Without their help breaking down our projector screens, signs and computers/electronics, it would have been a very late night for us.

    See you all at PAX-East 2014!!!

    Best regards,

    Mike Stulir
    Board of Directors
    The American Classic Arcade Museum
    www.classicarcademuseum.org

  • Mike TooleMike Toole Registered User regular
    The ACAM Room is one of my absolute favorite parts of the show. I took some time to polish up my Missile Command skills, and tried out some games I'd never played before, like Food Fight. Thanks for everything you guys do, I'll be at PAX Day in November for sure!

  • mr_effmr_eff MassachusettsRegistered User regular
    The fact that you had a Sinistar machine blew me away. I remember playing that when I was 7 years old, and being terrified of that evil, ship destroying face. And getting to play a real, physical pinball table, after playing pinball on my iPad so much over the last year...it was wonderful. Thanks for doing what you do. I'll be there in November come hell or high water.

  • vttymvttym Ardent Gamer Northern NJRegistered User regular
    Thank you for bringing this awesomeness to PAX every year. It's no small task, and I hope the attendees were generous with their appreciation0, monetarily speaking.

    I hope your staff gets better soon.

This discussion has been closed.