User:Seattleretroguy/sandbox

The Portland Retro Gaming Expo (PRGE) is an annual gaming convention and trade show celebrating gaming and video games as part of popular culture. This includes current video games, retrogaming, arcade games and pinball, board games, collectible card games and the creators and history of the video game industry.

Origins
In the summer of 1997 a group of gamers from the Pacific Northwest called the NorthWest Classic Games Enthusiasts (NWCGE) gathered for their first meeting in the Seattle, WA area and decided to create an annual gathering. In 2001 this event grew to a weekend show and combined with an annual Atari Championship sponsored by a local arcade. In 2006 NWCGE spawned a local event in the Portland, OR area which subsequently renamed itself to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo and found a permanent home in the Oregon Convention Center.

Shows
Initially focused on retrogaming, the Portland Retro Gaming Expo quickly expanded to a wide range of gaming aspects. It features a large free-play arcade with hundreds of coin-op and pinball machines, multiple console play areas, the official Blockbuster World Video Game Championship, the Classic Tetris World Championship, a themed museum, art shows, indie games, obsolete media formats, a collectibles live auction, many classic and modern tournaments and live DJs and bands. Multiple presentation tracks with industry alumni and content creators cover gaming-related topics and culture.

Focus areas...