Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, Mega Man and Ms. Pac-Man are all iconic video game characters who will be working overtime at the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo at The Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City August 12-14. Here, guests can play retro video games on more than 300 machines, ranging from home consoles from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s to old school PCs to old-fashioned arcade cabinets.
“There are so many games to peruse and discover. Some people come here and find titles they didn’t know existed,” said operations coordinator Joel Albino. “You don’t have to be a hardcore retro gamer to have fun on this event.”
PLAY FREE ALL DAY
The annual Long Island Retro Gaming Expo held at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Charles Lindbergh Blvd, Garden City.
Credit: DanielGoodrich
A massive free play area with over 100 game setups is ready for participants to test their skills on various systems such as Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, NES — Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari 2600, Turbografx-16, PlayStation, Xbox and many others.
“There will be setups split into different sections based on game genre, game type, and platform a game is played on,” said freeplay Lieutenant George JS Smith. “No time limit or registration is required. Visitors can play games when a station is open and available.”
LI RETRO GAMING EXPO 2022
WHEN | WHERE 4 to 10 p.m. Aug. 12 (no vendors); 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., August 13; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. August 14; The Cradle of Aviation Museum, Charles Lindbergh Blvd., Garden City
RECOGNITION August 12: $15 (adults), $10 (children, ages 4-12); August 13: $30 (adults), $15 (children); August 14: $25 (adults), $15 (children); three-day pass: $60 (adults), $35 (children)
INFO liretro.com
CHARACTER COSPLAY
The Long Island Retro Gaming Expo features a cosplay competition for both kids and adults at The Cradle of Aviation in Garden City.
Credit: HETEGE LLC
Those who want to turn themselves into their favorite video game character at the expo can enter the cosplay competition for adults on August 13 at 3:30 PM or children (aged 14 and under) on August 14 at 1:00 PM
“When it comes to cosplay, many people have the misconception that bigger and flashier is always better. It’s not that simple,” said cosplay competition coordinator Elizabeth Vazquez. “We are looking for the passion, dedication and hard work of the participants.”
TOURNAMENT TIME
Get involved in the various tournaments hosted by Mid-Tier Summit Gaming, such as Super Smash Bros. 1 vs. 1 Double Elimination or GoldenEye 007 FFA Single Elimination.
“There are two types of competitions. First, there are the traditional tournaments where you play someone else in a game. Then we have the high score challenge, which is a lot more informal. You walk up and see if you can get the best score as a single player,” says Albino. “If you don’t like how you did it, you can try again if you want. Whoever has the highest score when the time window expires will receive a medal and a prize.”
HISTORY EXHIBITION AND MUSEUM
Step back in time at the history exhibit where more than 40 video game systems will be arranged chronologically in rows starting from the 1970s through 2013, all of which are playable, plus the Arcade Age exhibit features over 100 upright arcade cabinets.
“Guests can play Computer Space, the first commercially released video game,” said Chief Curator George Portugal. “There are less than 200 known working examples of this game worldwide.”
The museum exhibit contains over 60 rare items that are displayed in two ways: standard free game tables with controllers and non-playable items in a display case.
“The museum contains many items that were never released in the United States, such as Nintendo’s Color TV-Game 15, one of Nintendo’s very first game consoles, released only in Japan in 1978,” said museum coordinator Brendan Bailey.
PANEL DISCUSSION
In addition to playing video games, expo-goers can learn about retro video games through panel discussions with guests such as YouTube personality John Riggs of Rigg’d Games and “Pat the Punk” Contri, author and co-host of the Completely Unnecessary podcast.
“We offer a mix of entertaining, educational, and interactive sessions,” said Ryan Shapiro, co-founder of LI Retro Gaming Expo. “Everything from an intro to indie game development, retro gaming history from experts in the hobby, and even a live demonstration of how to fix an older game console.”
VIDEO SELLERS
At Flashback Gaming, in East Northport, game enthusiasts can find retro game consoles such as the translucent Nintendo 64 game systems on display here on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.
Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
Buy retro video games, home consoles, character memorabilia and more by shopping at the Expo Marketplace with over 70 sellers.
East Northport’s Flashback Gaming will be on display at two booths featuring not only used games ($5-$850) and systems ($100-$200), but even CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TVs ($30-$130).
“People love the homey feel of playing retro video games on the old CRT TVs,” says store co-owner Christina Flores. “
David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday’s exploreLI, where he covers entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.
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