Special Event
Highlights From Sac Gamers Expo 2019
From vendors with a massive inventory of retro titles to an indie showcase and more, these are the highlights of the Sac Gamers Expo 2019.
Gamers Sunday
As the year comes to an end, Sac Gamers Expo 2019 gave the community one last chance to congregate. This was an opportunity to either cosplay one last time in the year, find a retro game or just hangout with other like minded enthusiasts.
This one day event brought industry leaders and respected commentators for a chance to meet their fans. This Overall, this was the perfect day for anyone who enjoys gaming. Rain or shine, nothing stopped us from enjoying the day.
Vendors
Sac Gamers Expo 2019 brought together a good number of vendors and a few artists from Northern California. The vendors hall was just a treasure chest of classic games from so many different eras. From Atari and NES to more modern titles along with table top games, there was so much to see (and a budget to watch).
Retro Attack Gamer is an online vendor based in Santa Cruz that specializes in retro games and accessories. Among the many retro game vendors, they stood out as they had a good selection of classic titles in good condition at an affordable price.
Following establishing their shop at AFKxp, the team from The Retro Fix had one of the most impressive collections. From PlayStation 1 and 2 titles to GameCube and N64, they have gone all out to showcase their collection for any curious buyer.
ToyFusion is Sacramento’s largest collectable toy store and they offered some alternatives to video games. From Magic: The Gathering to Yu-Gi-Oh!, they had all your card and table top needs.
Mostly known for their presence at toy shows in the Bay Area, Nostalgik had a good collection of retro games and accessories for sale. From SNES titles to retro game toys and old issues of Nintendo Power, there was plenty for an old school gamer to see.
The Gaming Museum
The Gaming Museum was the chance to learn the history of gaming and witness its evolution. The collection included classic consoles along with rare titles and collectable merchandise. Among the highlights of the collection were debug / developer consoles, the Assassin Case copy of Elemental Gearbolt, and a copy of NBA Elite 11along with the PS3 Special Edition.
Indie Game Show Case
Organized by the Sacramento Developers Collective, this was a showcase of indie titles being developed by studios in the Northern California area. From passion projects to student projects, this was a demonstration of what a vivid imagination and limited resources are capable of creating.
My Loot
I walked into Sac Gamers Expo with $100 in cash and no shopping agenda. I was on the hunt for any games that interested me or I use to own and now wanted to correct a mistake I once made.
Here is a list of everything I bought and the price tag:
- Red Dead Revolver (PS2) for $10
- Spider-Man (PS1) for $5
- Time Splitters: Future Perfect (PS2) for $20
- Drakengard (PS2) for $28
- True Crimes: Streets of LA (PS2) for $6
- Viewtiful Joe (PS2) for $10
- Zone of the Enders (PS2) for $10
- 007: From Russia With Love (PS2) for $5
Overall, I walked away with some great classics while having some change left over.
Disclaimer: Sac Gamer Expo provided me with media passes for the event.
8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides an insight into the video game community and industry of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Stan Rezaee
Stan Rezaee is the founder and Editor of 8Bit/Digi. He is a journalist and gamer from the Bay Area who has been writing about the medium for over five years.
Thank you for the coverage, not many people know about Sac Gamer Expo which is sad as its the only video game fan convention in the Bay Area. I love Fanime but the anime stuff overshadows the gaming and there is ony one retro game seller. We need more of these events and I’m glad next year it will be a two day event.