Retro City Festival was SoCal's flagship Retro Video Game Convention held in Pomona, CA on January 5th and 6th. It was a nice cool day, with some rain, but the convention was held inside, where everyone was buying and playing video games. Video Game Convention all have their similarities such as the vendor hall, the arcade hall, the tournaments, and the panels, but Retro City Festival had so much to offer because of how welcoming the community was.
Everyone has their favorites, but Retro City Festival really showed that everyone does in fact have their favorites. Playing areas for popular consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System were playable, next to consoles such as the SEGA Saturn, the Panasonic 3DO, and even the Apple Pippin, and everyone was having a blast. The arcade hall had some hard to find titles like Cyber Trooper Virtual-On and Scud Racer.
All and all though, the real reason is to buy those rare games that people rarely find, and Retro City Festival had them. Copies of Panzer Dragoon Saga, Snatcher, and Little Samson were seen at the show. Prized game for anyone's collection.
Shout out to our friends at Boss Fight Books, who write books inspired by classic video game such as Super Mario, Metal Gear Solid, and Chrono Trigger. Our friends over at Valley Vintage Collection were showcasing their upcoming SEGA Dreamcast 20th Anniversary collection of merchandise, in celebration of 20 years of the Classic Console.
In all honesty, while there was not a lot of "variety", hours flew by because the community was so respectable and strong. Within seconds, you could talk about one of your favorite console for hours because everyone relates. It is not a place where people go to show off their physical collection, but rather their passion and history.