Midwest Gaming Classic 2022 Recap - Friends, Games, Pickups, and More

In this episode, we recap the fun we had with friends, some of the games we played, and the pickups and purchases we've added to our collection from the 2022 Midwest Gaming Classic.

Did you miss our floor walk live? Check it out at https://youtu.be/HFaCRzVQ-QU

It's a bit surreal for me to think about the fact that my hometown of Milwaukee Wisconsin hosts one of the largest and best gaming conventions anywhere in the US. It seems like we were just there, as they had to move their date to November in 2021 due to COVID-19, but they are now back to their traditional April date.

This year, I actually shared an Airbnb with a number of other YouTubers. Kris from @GameDad, Jay, Meredith, and their son Victor from @Square Pegs, and Thor from Hey It's Thor (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGg592yq3SXqZxua5UW_NrQ). I had to work on Friday so I did not get into town until about 10:00 at night. When I arrived I actually received several gifts from the crew, including a cactus and a pineapple vase from Jay due to the fact that I hate pineapple and don't believe it belongs on pizza. Thor laser etched a Super Mario 3 cartridge for Jay, Kris, and myself, and it looks absolutely killer. I had tried to 3D print some RoXolid Productions coins to hand out at the event, but I just couldn't get the prints to go correctly. Instead what I did is I printed out some Diskuns and handed them out to the guys.

Going into the show, I was looking for several things that I have not found in some time. I was looking for a reasonably priced dog bone controller for the NES, a copy of Adventure Island 4 for the Nintendo Famicom, a copy of Cruisin' for the Wii, and a few other odds and ends. My daughter Cassie and her boyfriend Jeffrey were once again with me, and Cassie was looking for a Wii Remote and Nunchuck, a copy of EA Playgrounds, and Mario Galaxy for the Wii.

While Cassie had been with me in November, this is the first time her boyfriend Jeffrey had been to anything like this, and he was in awe the entire weekend. It's great seeing something that I love so much for the first time again through someone else's eyes. And there was a lot to see. The vendor hall, which was traditionally next to the free play arcade on the third floor, was now all the way down on the first floor. In November, the con did not seem small, and there seemed to be a lot of vendors, but there were many more this year. I would say even more than 2019, the first year that I attended.

One of the things that I wanted to do this year was to show my appreciation and thanks to a few others at the show. I actually 3D printed custom Famicom disk system cases for the Immortal John Hancock, @JohnRiggs, and our friends with the booth Gamers 4 Gamers. It was absolutely awesome to see their reaction, especially with the fact that each one was personalized for them. They are literally one out of one, just like the people who receive them

My pickups were rather like this weekend, as I only saw one dog bone controller but it was at a booth from a seller that has sold other people non-functioning equipment in the past so I did not pick it up. I never saw a copy of Playground, Cruisin', or Adventure Island 4 which was a bummer. I am floored that I managed to score the Nintendo storage cart from gamers for Gamers 4 Gamers an amazing price. It's one of the reasons I love doing business with him, they always have unique products and they also have extremely fair pricing.

One item I almost picked up but decided against it was an Atari Jaguar with a copy of Tempest 2000. I have kind of a morbid curiosity with the system, and a friend of mine had it in high school. I've played it, I've played Cybermorph, Alien versus Predator, and of course Tempest 2000. The only two games I really want though are Tempest and AvP, and for 350 bucks it just wasn't worth the investment for me. It was a fair price, but they're just other things that I would want to spend that money on.

I cannot compliment Dan and the entire team that puts on the Midwest Gaming Classic enough. Coming off of COVID I know he has been stressed, but the team pulled everything together magnificently. The vendor Hall was packed, and while I would have preferred to have it back on the third floor with the free-play arcade, this absolutely worked. Everyone that I talk to was amazing and amazed by this show. We will be contacting him again shortly to get plans lined up for the 2023 Midwest gaming classic, an event I am proud to say is my home convention.

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107

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