Pixels to PlayStation: RetroGameCon brings generations of gamers together
Pixels to Playstation: RetroGameCon brings generations of gamers together
For over a decade, RetroGameCon has brought thousands of gamers of all ages to Syracuse to experience everything from cosplay to the newest and oldest in gaming technology.
RetroGameCon has grown over the years since its first event in 2013 to become the premier gaming expo in the state of New York.
Thousands of gamers from across the Northeast and Canada flocked to Syracuse this past weekend for three days full of music, art, gaming, cosplay, and more.
Walking into Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center, attendees couldn’t help but be blown away by the sheer scale of RetroGameCon. Once guests had entered through the main doors, they were greeted by a life-size diorama of a 1980s living room complete with posters for ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, an Atari console, and a Walkman cassette player.
After getting lost in the 80s for a while, attendees moved into the main convention area, complete with hundreds of vendors selling everything from artwork, cosplay accessories and thousands of rare video games that would certainly take a while on Facebook Marketplace to accumulate.
Around the perimeter of the vendors, multiple TV sets from old box TVs to modern flat screens were set up for gamers of all ages to play their favorite games on their own or in a friendly competition.
Walking through the crowded vendor area in the center of the room, bumping shoulders with characters from gamers’ favorite titles, it was evident that there was a wide range of people who came to experience all the event had to offer. Young children ran around, marvelling at the eye-catching cosplay ,and veteran gamers browsed retro video games that the younger crowd may never have seen before.
One of the attendees, Justin, donning a Ghostbuster costume complete with a “No Ghosts” flight suit and anti-ghost weaponry, has been coming to RetroGameCon almost every year since 2013.
“I’m in my 40s and it’s great to know that there are other people in their 40s who are into the same stuff as I am,” said Justin regarding his decision to be a regular attendee of RetroGameCon.
He dresses in cosplay every year, which is a large part of the draw, and had pulled together his costume using various accessories from Etsy and other marketplaces before painting them and patching them together into an incredibly accurate portrayal of the famed Ghostbusters.
Justin was only one of the many cosplayers in attendance. The event featured multiple people roaming around in costumes, from a man wearing complete military tactical gear and hauling a massive toy assault rifle, multiple Super Mario Bros. inspired cosplays, and Kinger from ‘The Amazing Digital Circus’, who was a huge hit amongst convention-goers.
Justin also spoke about seeing his peers around him at the event, who all love the same things that he does, which helps to prompt a sense of community for the eventgoers.
Two younger convention goers, Taylor and Lee, had been at the convention all three days and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Both dressed as characters from Team Fortress 2, a 2007 first-person shooter game, and remarked on the nostalgia that the event inspires.
“It was local and I’ve been a fan of games like TF2 and older games for a while,” said Taylor when asked why she decided to come for the first time.
The two attendees said they loved seeing all of the older games still going strong and still being played at this scale and that they will certainly be back next year.
The gaming world can often be more isolating if you’re into niche titles or of a demographic where gaming isn’t as common. RetroGameCon shatters this and brings the widest array of people to one place to share in a common passion. The scale of the event is astonishing, and people of all age ranges can appreciate this tapestry of gaming past and present.
Throughout the event, there were multitudes of smiling faces and deep concentration from those choosing to try out the games on offer; exactly what a video game is meant to invoke.
A digital producer for The NewsHouse
is Assistant Visuals Producer for The NewsHouse.