Midwest Classic 2003 Write Up
The 2003 Midwest Classic was a year of transition. The event moved out of the PieperPower Center for the first time and into the much larger space, although it was still small compared to what it would become. Pinball expanded from one machine in 2002 to a wall of games and four vendors in 2003. The show was starting to take on the formula that it would use to become the show that it is today!
Because this show like the 2001 and 2002 shows before it was developed as more of a gathering, this report will touch on some of the larger segments, and includes an original show report posted after the show by Show Organizer Dan Loosen giving his thoughts about the show itself!
Classic Gaming and Computing Museum
In 2003, the Museum expanded into its own room and a new format -- while before 2003, the Museum had been just a small segment in the main event, the Museum was given its own identity in 2003 by being placed in its own room and for the first time allowing everyone to play just about everything contained within the Museum itself!
Vendors
The vendors were the largest thing to expand in 2003, with the biggest expansion being the addition of multiple pinball part and machine vendors! The addition changed the dynamic of the show for good, and although the size of the pinball displays and vendors now dwarves what was shown that year, but the people that set the groundwork truly arrived in 2003.
Show Report
This section is an original reposting of the show report that Dan Loosen did for the 2004 show to give you an insight on what the show was like as a small event, and what people were talking about just after the show!
Dan's Show Report
Despite the best intentions to pull together all of the details for the 2003 show early, as usual we found ourselves in a race to the finish line just like the prior two years were, but as always when it came to the time we were shutting down, another Midwest Classic had come and gone and we had decided that all of the crazy work that goes into the event was worth it.
The Midwest Classic grew by leaps and bounds in 2003. The biggest change was the presence of a large amount of pinball machines, dealers and fans. I am a huge pinball fan, and the GOAT Store [Ed: the GOAT Store is owned by Dan and Gary and underwrites the Midwest Gaming Classic to this day] actually owns two machines (although only one works correctly) and expanding the pinball display was something that I had been pushing for. Thanks to friend and new co-organizer Tom Lucht, the pinball section was incredible.
Tom brought many of his machines that he was selling, including a Cirqus Voltaire that was a pre-production model and different than the final run. Guests were able to play until their hearts delight on the various machines. Both electro-mechanical and solid-state machines were out in force and the machines constant play all day.
Two of the largest pinball vendors in the industry were also on hand. K&K Amusements was there selling every pinball part that you could imagine, and even some that you couldn't. We stocked up on parts for the GOAT Store machines for the year at his great booth. Across from the K&K booth was the Illinois Pinball Company with a huge amount of great pinball items. The company reproduces parts for Bally, Williams, Capcom and Alvin G games, and had many of their most popular parts ready for sale.
The video game stuff was great. Dan Iacovelli and Terance Williams headed up the Jagfest On Tour display and demonstrated two new Force Designs Jaguar games, as well as held tournaments for Jaguar fans throughout the day. The new independently developed Atari 2600 game Gravity Ball was on display and looking good, as were a slew of other oddities and rarities that other collectors had brought to enjoy with others.
A personal favorite of the day was getting to play the Korean-only NUON game Crayon Shin-Chan. The game played a lot like the Simpson's arcade game, and I wish it worked on my NUON DVD player!
Feet of Fury, the Dreamcast independent game that the GOAT Store produced was officially released at the event and was a hit! People danced the day away to the beat of the game and talked with the programmers Dan Potter and Roddy Tommin of Cryptic Allusion, LLC, who had made the trek up from Texas to be at the event.
There was a great MIDI Maze tournament across from our booth that I watched all day, but never got to try. The museum was also greatly expanded, but again I barely had any time to get in and see it. When I did, I was floored by the sheer quantity of consoles there even though I knew what was coming. Nearly every home console system that was ever released for the US home market as well as countless classic computer systems was represented... and PLAYABLE! The museum is definitely one of the jewels of the Midwest Classic, and something that no video game or computer fan should miss.
When the day was over, we raffled away the arcade game Ajax, a classic Konami scrolling shooter and then started to pack up. Running an event like this takes a lot out of you, but makes many friends and gives you great memories that you will keep for your lifetime. Plans for the 2004 Midwest Classic were underway the moment that the 2003 one opened, and I can guarantee that we will work feverishly to ensure that the event continues to grow but still remains just as fun for everyone in attendance. A special thank you to the many people that helped us put the event together, as without them there would be no Midwest Classic!
Summary
The 2003 Midwest Classic was sort of an end to the small shows that were held. With just over 200 people in attendance, it was still a small scale event, but the changes that were put into place for the 2003 show clearly primed the pump for the huge explosion of vendors, displays and attendees that occurred in 2004. In many ways, the 2003 event was completely different in size, scope and everything else than the events that have been held since that time, and it was the perfect time to retire the original name of Midwest Classic because just one year later, the event would barely resemble the 2003 show.