Video Games! Toys! Transformers! Star Wars! 2023 Utah Retro Game Swap

In this episode, we share our experiences from attending the 2023 Utah Retro Gaming Expo where we We Re-Bought Part Of Our Childhood collection, and something we haven't owned in over 30 years.

While I have attended a number of video game conventions in the Midwest, along with the Southeast Game Exchange, that's pretty much been the extent of my travel for the YouTube channel. That is until September 2023 when I was invited to set up a table and host a panel at the Utah Retro Gaming Expo. Hosted by Minus World Games based in Layton Utah, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, this is my first time to a game convention this far west.

Friday was my travel day, and it was interesting because it was also my last day at my old job. I packed up my office, headed home to grab the rest of my stuff, and drove two and a half hours north to Chicago to fly out. This meant that I wouldn't get into Salt Lake City until almost midnight local time, and by the time I got there and got my rental car picked up everybody had either hit the bars or hit the sack for the night.

I brought a number of items with me for my 3D printer store to sell, including my latest prints featuring the Game Boy, Famicom Disk System, GameCube, and Legend of Zelda LED lights. I also brought some of my staples including my Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega, Xbox, and Dreamcast lights.

This was the first year they had invited guests to be a part of the show, and in addition to me, my good friend John Riggs was to my right most of the weekend, and Ryan from Archades games was to my left. John had his homebrew games and other items for sale, well Ryan was showing people how to dump the ROMs from their existing cartridges and use emulators to play them through a soft modded Xbox Series S.

I tend to plan out my panels pretty specifically before I go to a convention. I know what I'm going to say. This convention was all a bit different because Ryan and I really didn't have a chance to touch base ahead of time so we just riffed for about an hour. We talked about everything from different controllers, YouTube issues, and just the general gaming community. We both had fun and it was good to spend time with him and kind of get to know each other a little bit better in front of everybody else.

Once the panel was over, I decided to take a little bit of time and walk the floor. My youngest daughter had wanted me to see if I could find her a Princess Daisy or Princess Peach stuffy, and I thought I saw one when I got in first thing in the morning, but when I went back it was gone. I was extremely shocked to see the amount of toys at this show. And classic toys too from Transformers, Star Wars, and Star Trek. We're talking about the original 1980s-era TIE fighter and Millennium Falcon were here. Optimus Prime, Megatron, the Protectobots, Technobots, there was a lot of stuff here. I actually saw two that I had to pick up, the first being a Mail-In exclusive named Power Dasher. I had this as a kid, I remember my excitement getting it, and I love the fact that it's back in my collection. I also picked up a Metroplex that was nowhere near complete, but I plan on 3D printing replacement parts and pieces.

There are a lot of import games at this convention, something I love to see. One vendor actually had quite a few boxed import N64 games and they looked terrific. One in particular caught my eye, however. Mischief Makers is a pretty expensive US game, but he had $40 on it, marked down from $50. I offered him $30, he fired back with $35 and I accepted.

My final pick up of the weekend is completely due to Jay over at @YTSquarePegs. He had recently featured Motocross Madness for the original Game Boy and it reminded me of how much I loved that game as a kid. That was actually the one game I was on the lookout for at the show. I couldn't find a US version, but one table did have a Japanese version, and the only wanted six bucks for it. I offered him five and we sealed the deal.

Once we packed up the show for the night, I headed out to dinner with Daniel Pesina, his brother Carlos, Tim Kitzrow, Paul Niemeyer, John, and a friend of Daniel. We had an amazing server who rolled with the punches all night long, and was just generally fun. I can truly say that while I was friendly with the Mortal Kombat guys, Tim, and Paul in the past after the conversations we had that night I truly consider them friends.

This was a terrific convention and I truly believe it has nowhere to go but up. It has lots of floor space, terrific vendors, and really did offer something for everybody. I am very thankful to Tracy and the crew for having me out, and I would love to attend again next year.

#GameHunting #UtahRetroGameSwap #Transformers #StarWars #Toys #Collectables