{"id":15164,"date":"2019-03-16T17:08:40","date_gmt":"2019-03-16T17:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/?p=15164"},"modified":"2019-03-18T16:20:21","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18T16:20:21","slug":"arcade-expo-2019-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/2019\/03\/16\/arcade-expo-2019-live\/","title":{"rendered":"ARCADE EXPO 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s been two years since we were last at the Museum of Pinball in Banning for an Arcade Expo show. In that time there has been a number of changes to the building and the collection, but the essence of the show remains the same – an amazing collection of pinballs of all ages combined with an equally impressive range of video games, all available to play over the event’s three days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The hills surrounding the Museum of Pinball<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Museum of Pinball is located in semi-desert around 75 miles East of Los Angeles, at the foot of a mountainous landscape. It may be March, but there is still snow on the peaks and while the daytime temperatures might be warm in the sunshine, they drop away quickly once the sun drops behind the hills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"New
New signage at the entrance to the compound<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Museum doesn’t open to the public daily, weekly, or even monthly. Instead, it hosts four major events each year – Arcade Pinvasion and INDISC Pinball Festival in January, Arcade Expo in March, and Pinball Madness in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The reason we are here<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tickets for Arcade Expo could be pre-purchased online, or bought on the day from the ticket desk. A purchased entry got you a coloured wristband with which you could come and go as often as you wished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The ticket desk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Friday and Sunday entry cost $50 each for an adult, while Saturday is $65. Kids entry is priced at $15 per day, while a three-day adult pass is also available at $130 ($35 for kids). These are online prices. On the day prices are $5 higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show began in the courtyard outside the Museum building where food vendors had set up. On Friday there were two stalls selling hot dogs, ice creams, burgers and other ‘street food’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The first food vendor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The second food vendor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Food items purchase in the courtyard had to be paid for with tickets bought from a special stand. All food was priced in tickets, with each ticket costing $1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Food
Food and beverage was priced in tickets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With no food allowed inside the Museum, there is an outdoor seating area in front of the food stands. At night the area is warmed by living flame heaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The seating area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was a bar area inside the Museum with a serving window into the courtyard. Here, cash was used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The bar adjacent to the patio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Some
Some cocktails with your cocktails?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A little further down the hill from the Museum building we find a shooting gallery with electromechanical gun games along with a seating area where live music would be performed later in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The gun games collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Seating
Seating for the live music audience<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was also a Funhouse facade which is presumably used for some of the other events held at the Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The entrance to the Funhouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back up the hill, we return to the main entrance to the Museum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Arcade
Arcade Expo rules to enjoying the epicness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the wall is a large white space where visitors are invited to make their mark using the pens provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"It
It was early in the day when we took this picture – the wall soon received more visitor contributions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beyond that is a display case showing some items found inside pinballs which arrive at the Museum, as well as the collection’s oldest exhibit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Some
Some of the few exhibits not available to play<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As you enter the Museum you have two main choices – turn left for pinballs, or turn right for videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This
This way to the pinball collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"This
This way to the video games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is a third choice, and that is the Museum’s gift shop which has a selection on T-shirts, posters, patches, coasters, and other pinball and gaming items for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Museum gift shop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"More
More items from the gift shop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"More
More shirts just outside the gift shop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Entering the pinball hall, you immediately appreciate the scale of the collection, with rows upon rows of games from all eras. For anyone experiencing this for the first time, this is often a jaw-dropping moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The central rows of machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The newest machines are at the front of the hall, while the machines in each row are broadly determined by the manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bally
Bally dot matrix machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Williams
Williams solid-state machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Bally
Bally solid-state games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Data
Data East and Sega titles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"More
More Data East Pinball games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is also a shorter row showcasing the latest (or sometimes, last) titles from other pinball manufacturers Dutch Pinball, American Pinball, Heighway Pinball, HomePin and Spooky Pinball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Recent
Recent machines from assorted manufacturer at the back, Sega pinballs at the front<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The Big Lebowski, Houdini, Alien and Full Throttle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Thunderbirds\"
Thunderbirds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Spooky
Spooky Pinball titles – Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle, Domino’s Pizza, Rob Zombie’s Spookshow International, America’s Most Haunted, The Jetsons and Total Nuclear Annihilation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The other newest titles are from Stern Pinball and they are found on the other side of the hall in the Stern zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Players
Players on some of the Stern Pinball machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Stern
Stern Pinball games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A second row of Stern titles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Some
Some of the more recent releases<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Newer
Newer Stern games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The current title – The Munsters – in LE form, along with Gold and Platinum The Beatles machines, Deadpool and more<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jersey Jack Pinball have their own dedicated area with three of their titles featured. Only Pirates of the Caribbean is not in this collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Jersey Jack Pinball collection: Dialed In!, The Wizard of Oz and The Hobbit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The machines were prepared for the show and kept running by a dedicated team of technicians who worked tirelessly throughout, doing running repairs to keep as many machines playable as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The technicians could be seen working on machines all around the hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Enjoying
Enjoying some classic ’80s Williams pinball<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The only vendor actually in the main pinball hall was Moto Glass who had a display of his game-themed etched drinking glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Moto Glass stand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The back part of the hall is where the older games reside. The Museum’s collection goes back to the age of the wedgehead but not as far as woodrail machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nine
Nine wedgehead machines by Gottlieb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Another
Another row of classic Gottlieb machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The EM area is filled with rows upon rows of machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Some
Some EM Bally titles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Rows
Rows upon rows of EM pinballs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Two
Two Bally Freedom machines – a prototype with a pop bumper between the flippers and the production one without<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"More
More of the EM pinballs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Our
Our final look at the many rows of EM machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the entrance to the pinball hall is a side room featuring a long ball bowler. This was used by Marco Specialties this year to showcase the latest Stern Pinball machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Marco Specialties room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Free
Free decals and plastic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, artist Dirty Donny Gillies set up a stand in the Marco room to meet the public and exhibit (and sell) some of this artwork designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jennie
Jennie and Donny<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If playing pinball wasn’t enough, you could pop into the theatre room to hear seminars about the game from those working in the business and those who document its development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact there was a packed schedule of talks taking place throughout the weekend, but the full list was only available to view if you were at the show, as the website only listed a few of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The schedule of events over the three days<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Riley Beres presented her history of pinball talk on Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Riley
Riley Beres spoke about The History of Pinball<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, Mike Vinikour and Mark Guidarelli spoke about life ‘behind the scenes’ at Stern Pinball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mike
Mike Vinikour and Mark Guidarelli tell the audience about various job roles at the company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After describing their individual responsibilities at Stern Pinball, Mike and Mark talked about the many different job roles which go into making a pinball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mike
Mike and Mark talk about the different roles needed to create a pinball machine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rather than talk about the well-known designers and artists, they looked at the behind-the-scenes positions such as Mechanical Designer, the bill-of-materials manager, and the people responsible for the board mapping, cable design and manufacture, certification, building up the initial whitewoods and prototypes, the Hardware and Software Engineers, the game and production artists, and the IT, website and game manual designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were several technical talks on how to fix pinballs, with a plethora of Pinball 101 and 102 talks alongside movie screenings of Pinball 101<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Albert
Albert Wong gave Pinball 101 and 101\/102 talks on Saturday and Sunday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Eric
Eric Neff gave Pinball 102 talks on Saturday and Sunday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Probably the most popular talk was by Museum of Pinball owner John Weeks who teamed up with Kenny Hardy to talk about how and why they created the Museum, why it is in Banning, where all the machines come from, and the way the events held there are organised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"John
John Weeks and Kenny Hardy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Museum of Pinball is also host to the Walter Day Trading Card collection, and the corridor to the seminars theatre are covered with framed sets of trading cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The corridor to the Theatre Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The entrance to the Theatre at the Museum of Pinball<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, there is also a dedicated display room at the front of the pinball hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Walter Day Trading Cards room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"One
One wall in the room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, although it is called the Museum of Pinball, the event is Arcade Expo in recognition of the Museum’s huge video game collection which has a hall all to itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"There
There are rows upon rows of video games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Some
Some games are arranged in neat rows<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Others
Others are arranged around the walls, with no space unfilled<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"More
More of the videos available to play<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"More
More of the videos available to play<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A row of upright cabs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"There
There are larger pieces too, from drivers to dance games<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"More
More driving games all along this wall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The largest and most popular game was this simulator<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"These
These twelve Donkey Kong machines were used for the Kong-Off tournament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can see every machine in the pinball hall, a look in the video hall and a tour of the Museum of Pinball complex for yourself in our exclusive Thirty-Two Minute Tour of Arcade Expo video below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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