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- My Heroes -
©1999 - Donald A. Thomas, Jr.
all rights reserved - http://www.icwhen.com

(Revised 08/27/99 )


by Donald A. Thomas, Jr.

Typically, I try to be very careful when using emotionally-charged descriptions of events. Such depictions can come across as mushy or disingenuous. Just the same, I think it will be impossible to ignore emotions to describe Classic Gaming Expo ’99 (CGE99). It was more than just revisiting friends or having Ed Logg’s daughter ask me for my autograph. It was more than the award presented to ICWhen.com by Walter Day of Twin Galaxies during the Friday night celebrity dinner. Although I admit those things are memorable, they fall far short to describe the show’s brilliant ambiance.

John Hardie and Keita Iida have been video game fans for a very long time. I remember them contacting Atari Corporation in Sunnyvale, California frequently to learn about what we were working on. They were always receptive to any freebies we might send them and always interested in any great deals that Atari had not yet advertised. That may not be an unusual story. Atari received thousands of such letters and phone calls every week. But not too many fans planned their vacations to visit Atari or took time off from work to attend a cross country trade show in which Atari was an exhibitor.

These gentlemen regard the video game industry as a magical kingdom. The pioneers of the industry are their greatest heroes and there is no boundary, financial or otherwise, that holds these men back from their greatest pleasures in life… Classic Video Gaming. I think that is where the true magic begins. The magic that captivated the hearts of CGE99 organizers was shared with everyone who attended.

For those who are not interested in classic video gaming, what John and Keita have done has little meaning. Personally, I understand. I would have little interest to meet a room full of archeologists at some type of bone and fossil exposition. Notwithstanding, what these guys have done is no less than remarkable. For the first time in video game history, a gathering of the industry’s most noted pioneers has taken place. Not at some private resort. Not in a mansion accessible only by limousine. But at a place and in a venue advertised to the public. These men and women put aside their personal and corporate lives to attend a special event organized by a group of young, energetic and inexperienced show promoters. Not only did CGE99 attract the industry’s most noted personalities, but the floor was swarming with lights and cameras from media opportunists hoping to interview even half of the dozens of names that attended the show.

Not many of us will fully appreciate the obstacles that confront a trade show organization of any size. Usually, a trade show is funded by some greater source of cash, but CGE99 was fully funded by the remaining college funds the organizers had saved… in many ways the show was funded by their allowances. And the expenses are great. There are scouting trips, there are t-shirt and caps that must be paid in advance. There are Las Vegas event fees and hotel expenses. There was the fully paid celebrity dinner hosting well over 100 people. There are the special favors that some guests demanded, not appreciating the fact that the organizers were paying for them from their own pockets. There were equipment rentals and catering guarantees. Not to mention, time off from work and phone bills into the hundreds of dollars.

If the financial issues are not enough, there’s the sinister side of individuals whom try to ruin the success of others. There were the online controversies. There were unproven accusations by people who should know better. There were newsgroup posts forged in the name of show organizers and there were a few people bitter that CGE99 was not an opportunity to make a lot of appearance fees.

Personally, I am very proud of Keita Iida, John Hardie, Sean Kelly, Don Rogers, Larry Anderson and the numerous other volunteers who contributed to this year’s show. No, I’m not really proud of them as much as I’m proud to know them as a new part of history that is in the making. In my view, they have earned their positions as members of the video game industry as much as any of the guests that attended. These guys are now my true heroes.

I look forward to sharing next year’s show with my heroes.


Visit ICWhen.com for over 160 exclusive photos from CGE '99.

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- Profile -
©1997-1999 - Donald A. Thomas, Jr.
all rights reserved - http://www.icwhen.com

(Revised 08/27/99 )

©1998 Donald A. Thomas, Jr. all rights reserved


Donald A. Thomas, Jr.Donald A. Thomas, Jr. (curator@icwhen.com) has been a dedicated Atari products user and recreational coin-op gamer since the early eighties. He officially joined Atari Corporation in November of 1989. Previously, he worked as the Advertising Director at the Federated Group, a 65-store chain of electronics stores once owned by Atari. For the first several months, Don worked for the Tramiels as the Portfolio Marketing Manager. While at Atari, he applied his best efforts to help product launches including the Portfolio, Lynx, Falcon, ST Book, Jaguar and a variety of other hardware and software products. In his most recent years at Atari, Don was the Customer Service Marketing Director until the tearful end when Atari sold its assets to JTS in 1996. One of Don's biggest accomplishments is the development and implementation of a sales entry and management application for the entire Customer Service Department. It was installed on deadline and never suffered downtime. Don is well known as Atari's "official" spokesperson and for his Internet-based "Crazy Don" sales during the final months of Atari's autonomy. Don currently holds a prestigious position in the gaming industry and is publicly accessible through his web domain (http://www.icwhen.com). I.C. When offers a comprehensive chronological history of video games and computers which Don has developed over the past few years.

COME CELEBRATE THE GOLDEN AGE OF
ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT!

Father of Videogames -- Ralph Baer

The "Father of Videogames" Ralph Baer demonstrates the "Brown Box" which he developed in 1967

 


Are you nostalgic about Atari, Intellivision, Apple II or Odyssey? Do you appreciate the accomplishments of programmers, hardware engineers and executives that brought you many hours of enjoyment in front of the TV, monitor or at the arcades? Well, over 650 dignitaries, media and general attendees descended upon Las Vegas on August 14-15, 1999 to attend Classic Gaming Expo '99™, which was a grand spectacle solely devoted to celebrating the history of video, arcade and computer games.

For those who couldn't make it this year, or attended the event and want to look back and reminisce, we will have a thorough recap of the show, including pictures and video. Additionally, an official CGE'99™ video will be available for sale shortly. Please visit the CGE'99™ Video Page for information on how to order your copy today. In the meantime, several websites contain CGE'99 highlights and pics, among them being I.C. When, GameSpot and IGN Pocket.

Moving forward, we plan to begin preparations for Classic Gaming Expo 2000™ once we take a moment to catch our breath. Please check back periodically as all announcements surrounding next year's show will be made right here.

Finally, we'd like to thank everyone for attending the show and helping to make CGE'99™ a major success. We'd especially like to thank Les Caron, Clint Dyer, Robert Worne, Larry Anderson, Kevin Stazco, Don Rogers, Joe Santulli, Lee Krueger, William Smith ("Smitty"), Rob Brown, Leonard Herman, and Tom and Debra Keller for going way beyond the call of duty in helping out -- bigtime.

See you next year!

- The Classic Gaming Expo Coordinators
...John Hardie, Keita Iida & Sean Kelly

Journey Back: Inside the Classic Gaming Expo

additional screens (9)

The anticipation is over, and Classic Gaming Expo '99 (CGE) is now a thing of the past. Despite an Internet scandal in which an important industry leader backed out of a commitment and accused the CGE team of inappropriate behavior, the show went on (as all shows must) and a grand time was had by all who attended.

CGE was the brainchild of two die-hard video-game collectors: Keita Iida and John Hardie. Iida and Hardie's experience in organizing classic video-game meetings began in late 1995 when they co-founded NAVA (North Atlantic Videogame Aficionado), which still meets every six weeks in Videogame Connections, the store owned by Mike Etler in central New Jersey. In 1998, they hooked up with Rich Tsukiji, the organizer of the annual World of Atari conventions. With Hardie and Iida's assistance, World of Atari '98 moved to Las Vegas and expanded to classic gamers of all kinds, not just Atarians. However, because of the name of the event, many gamers stayed away, believing it to be an Atari-only event.

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