Houston Arcade & Pinball Expo 2024
Houston Arcade & Pinball Expo returns to the Marriott Westchase in October 2024. Coordinated by Keith Christensen, Erich Stinson, Blake Dumesnil and the Houston Area Arcade Group (HAAG), Houston Arcade Expo brings casual gamers, hardcore gamers, hobbyists and industry professionals together with literally thousands of computer, video and arcade games to play during one ecstatic weekend.
This years’ Expo will once again have a heavy focus on the silver ball. Approximately 100 pinball games have been confirmed with several more expected. Recent products like Labyrinth (the first pinball game produced in the City of Houston), Jersey Jack’s The Godfather, Chicago Coin Company’s Pulp Fiction, The Princess Bride by Multimorphic and John Wick by Stern are planned to be there along with old favorites like Last Action Hero, Black Knight 2000, Big Guns, Space Shuttle, Pinball Magic and Cactus Canyon. The oldest game currently on the roster is World Series by Rockola. Organizations like Gandalf’s Arcade, Space City Pinball League, Wormhole Pinball, Poison Girl and Einstein’s Pub will be supplying pinball tables along with contributions from local hobbyists such as Brian Foytik and James King. There is a concentrated effort to bring several Stern Deadpool pinball tables in honor of the recent film Deadpool & Wolverine by Marvel Studios.
In a corral headed by Brian from the Guru Guys and Anton Gale, dozens of modified game consoles from the 8, 16, 32, 64-bit eras and beyond will be there to enjoy. Fighting games, first-person shooters and sports games will be provided; multiplayer and single player games galore. Another enthusiast will bring two interlinked PlayStation 1 consoles for Ridge Racer LAN play. Retro World Series makes its way back to Houston to host its delightfully unique brand of tournaments with Ms. Pac-Man, Super Smash Bros 64, Goldeneye and Pong competitions. A convoy of retro computers dating as far back as the early 1980s will be there along with plenty of software programs to tinker with. Currently (about) 30 arcade video games from the distant past to nearest corner of memory lane are confirmed, with a few dozen more expected. A wonderful blend of mainstream hits and oddities such as Missile Command, Alien vs. Predator, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Razing Storm, Dance Dance Revolution Supernova, Virtual-On and Mace: The Dark Age will populate the ballroom floor.
Several game industry professionals like Brian F. Colin (co-creator of Rampage and Arch-Rivals), Tim Kitzrow (voice of your favorite Midway sports games and Williams pinball tables) and the Barrels of Fun staff (Labyrinth pinball) are committed. Gaming author Brett Weiss will be there for a meet-and-greet. He will also be documenting the event.
Live music is a regular fixture at the Arcade Expos. Radio Cult and Consortium of Genius return to the stage. Oscillation Communications will be creating live soundscapes with their synthesizers. Austin-based artist Le Destroy of Cyberpunk 2077 fame will perform late Friday night (warning: explicit lyrics).
In a stunning turn of events British new wave band Wang Chung (Nick Feldman and Jack Hues) will be gracing the Expo with their presence. The duo be preforming on Friday night only at 9:30 PM local time. This is your chance to hear their hit songs like Everybody Have Fun Tonight and Let’s Go.
The Expo starts Friday, October 11th at high noon and will last until Sunday, October 13th at 2PM. VIP passes sold online provide soft opening access for Thursday, October 10th. Prices are subject to change as we get closer to the Expo date.
Houston Arcade Expo is a wonderfully unique live event were you can catch up with current arcade hits and mingle with people who have worked on great games from the past while those enjoying the classics in the same hall. This is a show no Space City gamer will want to miss!
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