Portland Retro Gaming Expo

Portland Retro Gaming Expo
StatusActive
GenreVideo gaming
VenueOregon Convention Center
Location(s)Portland, Oregon
CountryUnited States
InauguratedSeptember 26, 2006
Attendance27,000+ (2023)
Filing status501 (c)4 non-profit
Websitehttp://www.retrogamingexpo.com/

The Portland Retro Gaming Expo (PRGE) is an annual gaming convention and trade show celebrating gaming and video games as part of popular culture.[1] This includes current video games, retrogaming, arcade games and pinball, board games, collectible card games and panels and Q&As with videogame industry pioneers and personalities.[2]

Origins

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In the summer of 1997[3] a group of gamers from the Pacific Northwest called the NorthWest Classic Games Enthusiasts (NWCGE) gathered for their first meeting in the Seattle, WA area and decided to create an annual gathering. In 2001 this event grew to a weekend show and combined with an annual Atari Championship sponsored by a local arcade,[4] which had been running since 1996.[5] In 2006 NWCGE spawned a local event in the Portland, Oregon area which subsequently renamed itself to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo[6] and found a permanent home in the Oregon Convention Center.

Shows

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Initially focused on retrogaming, the Portland Retro Gaming Expo quickly expanded to a wide range of gaming aspects. The show features a large free-play arcade with hundreds of coin-op and pinball machines, multiple console play areas, the official Blockbuster World Video Game Championship,[7] the Classic Tetris World Championship,[8] a themed museum, art shows, indie games, obsolete media formats, a collectibles live auction, many classic and modern tournaments and live DJs and bands. Multiple presentation tracks with industry alumni and content creators cover gaming-related topics and culture. An ongoing feature have been panel presentations by industry alumni such as David Crane (programmer), Garry Kitchen, Joseph C. Decuir, Howard Scott Warshaw, Jennell Jaquays, Rebecca Heineman, Ed Fries, Matt Uelmen and other former Atari, Activision, Imagic, Nintendo, Sega and Microsoft employees.

The retrogaming heritage is also represented by the Portland Retro Gaming Expo logo which recalls the iconic Atari CX40 joystick in front of stylized tree rings, highlighting Portland's lumber industry history.

References

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  1. ^ "The Portland Retro Gaming Expo helps keep the classics alive". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  2. ^ "Tetris championships, rare video games: Welcome to 8-bit paradise". Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  3. ^ Reutter, Hans. "20 Years of Pacific Northwest Gaming Shows". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  4. ^ "The (Brief) History Of The Portland Retro Gaming Expo". Retro Gaming Expo. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  5. ^ "The low-tech equalizer". SeattleWeekly. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  6. ^ "The Portland Retro Gaming Expo—And Its Tetris Competition—Returns". Portland Monthly. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  7. ^ "PRGE will be hosting the first Blockbuster World Video Game Championship since the '90s". KOIN. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  8. ^ "The Portland Retro Gaming Expo - And Its Tetris Competition - Returns". Retrieved 2024-02-10.
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