Midwest Gaming Classic 2018

MGC's facebook page had a lot of complaints about moving down town and parking when they announced it initially.

They were kind of salty about it. Said $10 parking shouldn't break the bank. And if this is their last year, they'll go out with a bang. (Not much $10 parking unless you have a hotel room somewhere.)

Most street parking is free on Saturday, but limited to 2 hours. Not sure how closely MKE meter maids will enforce that during the day. Or how fast it will fill.
 
MGC's facebook page had a lot of complaints about moving down town and parking when they announced it initially.

They were kind of salty about it. Said $10 parking shouldn't break the bank. And if this is their last year, they'll go out with a bang. (Not much $10 parking unless you have a hotel room somewhere.)

Most street parking is free on Saturday, but limited to 2 hours. Not sure how closely MKE meter maids will enforce that during the day. Or how fast it will fill.

Has there been talk of this being the last year?
 
Has there been talk of this being the last year?

No, my context was poor. It would be the last year if down town was a bust.

The guys running this do it for fun. They don't make money on it.

If the MGC had a bust year, I doubt they would front the cash (and risking losing it) for the next year.

They have to put up 6 figures to pull this off. From my understanding, most of that (now) is from previous MGCs.

But, like anything, one day will be the last. Moving cabs is for the young.
 
The show is not designed to turn a profit to pay anyone, as all the money from each year's show is poured into the next year's show. They spend more on the show each year anticipating a calculated percentage of growth. So far they've been able to achieve their objectives. Dan Loosen, one of the show's founders, has already been quoted as saying, "if the MGC fails to meet it's budget in any year, [Gary and I] are on the hook personally. That'll be the end of it."

The move to the Wisconsin Center this year is a HUGE risk. I'm not sure the show will survive the move. Time will tell.
 
The show is not designed to turn a profit to pay anyone, as all the money from each year's show is poured into the next year's show. They spend more on the show each year anticipating a calculated percentage of growth. So far they've been able to achieve their objectives. Dan Loosen, one of the show's founders, has already been quoted as saying, "if the MGC fails to meet it's budget in any year, [Gary and I] are on the hook personally. That'll be the end of it."

The move to the Wisconsin Center this year is a HUGE risk. I'm not sure the show will survive the move. Time will tell.

Brad phrased it better than I did. :)
 
UPDATE - the tickets have been spoken-for.

My wife and I have had to cancel our plans to go to MGC.

I had pre-purchased two adult admission tickets for Saturday. If I anyone would like to purchase them from me (at a nice discount from the $90 that I paid), please send me a message! Thanks.
 
Last edited:
My wife and I have had to cancel our plans to go to MGC.

I had pre-purchased two adult admission tickets for Saturday. If I anyone would like to purchase them from me (at a nice discount from the $90 that I paid), please send me a message! Thanks.

Yo! Are these still available?
My buddy and I are going and don't have tix yet.
 
I heard from on KLOVer that was there - he said that while the new show space was nice and huge, he felt the show felt a bit dis-jointed in a way. Not "cozy" like the old show was. More clinical, and sterile, like your typical "expo."

I asked Dan (one of the show founders) how the show did financially, and he said he's not sure yet.
 
I thought it was 10,000 times better and I'll totally go again next year!! I got to play a lot more games. I didn't have people rubbing against me or have to stand in line to go nowhere. There were a lot of exhibitors and I was able to buy some pin supplies and classic console crap that I didn't need. It was a bit of a walk to get to the rooms, but the rooms were great. (Mario's birthday party being the best as usual, and they brought like 15 minis.)

Overall, I thought it was amazingly better than the old venue and such a better experience.
 
I had a blast, and so did my friends and his kids.

It does feel like video games are declining and pins are talking over in the game hall.

It would have been nice if everything was on one floor instead of 2.

I'm glad we weren't in the "tent" (old MGC expansion tent) during the rain/sleet/snow though!

Finding parking was much easier than I thought it would be. But, weather may have decreased show traffic.

Edit: I was a little sad that the game hall was as warm as it was (not as hot as at the Sheraton), but warmer than I would have liked. Cool is better to keep the "funk" down and better for the games.
 
Last edited:
The show was great. Yes it felt different not being crammed into a tiny hotel with the hallways literally cluttered with consoles and things that just didn't fit into the main rooms. It was odd not waking up and essentially falling into MCG my leaving your room. it was mildly disjointed as mentioned but its was the first year in a new HUGE location. That being said it was much easier to move around and access areas of the show. We have a 2 year old and at the old location we would not have even been able to use a small stroller to move her around when she was tired. At this location we were able to use the full size stroller easily. The rooms were un-carpeted but quieter due to the high ceilings. There was no grinding yourself against strangers just to move down an aisle of games. Overall it was a much better, albeit different, experience.
 
My first MGC but I had a blast. Myself and 8 friends all went and everyone had nothing but positive things to say. Id like to see more vectors, drivers, and rare stuff but I 100% get why people dont bring them. The galloping ghost had some amazing things on hand.

My idea was pay a bounty on games people request throughout the year. Like if everyone wants a ZK they allot some money to pay someone to bring one for people to play. Same thing with pins.

All in all it was fun and I plan on bringing games next year
 
I really enjoyed the MGC and echo what many other posters have already said. It's a shame that the weather didn't cooperate -- which likely kept the number of arcade games down since many did not have the option of transporting games in open trailers. But beyond that, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the event grows into the new venue.

A personal highlight:

I ran into Eugene Jarvis after he gave a talk with Gary Stern. My wife and I spotted him wandering the game hall. She encouraged me to go say hello, which I did somewhat reluctantly. We struck up a conversation and I mentioned to him that Robotron was on the floor. He then asked if I wanted to go play a game. Well how can you say no to that?!?! We played Robotron and then continued talking over a beer. Great guy.
 
Last edited:
I ran into Eugene Jarvis after he gave a talk with Gary Stern. My wife and I spotted him wandering the game hall. She encouraged me to go say hello, which I did somewhat reluctantly. We struck up a conversation and I mentioned to him that Robotron was on the floor. He then asked if I wanted to go play a game. Well how can you say no to that?!?! We played Robotron and then continued talking over a beer. Great guy.

I managed to talk for a while with Eugene about his time at Atari.

30703842_2025490827465240_7870524413119037440_n.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom