MOOSE JAW — The late 1990s and early 2000s produced some of the best gaming consoles ever made, such as PlayStation, N64 and Xbox, which also featured some very memorable games.
The nostalgia for those platforms and games is still strong in many people nearly 30 years later. So much so that four friends in Moose Jaw are planning to host a gaming convention focused almost exclusively on games from that era.
The inaugural Saskatchewan Retro GameCon is on Saturday, Sept. 13, at the old Sears location in the Town ‘n’ Country Mall. There will be more than 1,800 square metres (20,000 square feet) of activities, from gaming tournaments to vendors to cosplay and more.
Admission is $10, “super admission” is $20, which includes an entry into one tournament, and “super admission 64” is $30, which includes entries into all three tournaments. Meanwhile, children under age 10 can enter for free.
Jared Dormer, one of the co-organizers, explained that Saskatchewan Retro GameCon is a celebration of all things pop culture, but with a focus on retro video game tournaments. He and his friends have discussed organizing such a convention for two years, but their “small plans” grew quickly during the past two months thanks to community support.
Besides Dormer, other organizers include Andrew Fath, Scott Benson and Jared Robinson.
Fath is Dormer’s brother-in-law and the two enjoy attending conventions. However, they found that those events rarely focused on video games, which is what they like. The closest cities with video game-focused conventions were Vancouver, B.C. and Portland, Oregon, which were far away. So, they thought they should host something closer to home.
The group’s initial idea was to rent a small venue with 20 vendors, but after Dormer contacted the mall, those plans changed after the latter offered them space in the former Sears outlet. That propelled their plans forward and allowed them to “dream a little more;” they now have over 40 vendors from across Saskatchewan attending.
“It’s just been really cool. Like, when you put something like this out there, you never know if it’s a crazy idea or what,” he said. “But it seems like there is a lot of public interest, which is great.”
He noted that organizers want to treat the vendors “like gold” since they are “the heart and soul” of conventions. So, they kept admission fees low so attendees could spend their money at vendor booths.
Dormer also reached out to the Moose Jaw Gamers Association (MJGA) to determine its interest level in supporting the event. Its members were “super excited” to participate, while the organization agreed to be a major sponsor.
The association will host a “retro corner” with free-to-play board games, retro consoles and pinball. The corner will also have a giant television playing cartoons, movies and music videos from the 1980s and 1990s.
“It’s trying to transport (people) back into the living room with friends, is the hope … ,” Dormer remarked. “It’s awesome to have (the MJGA) on board.”
The four organizers are defining “retro games” as anything older than two generations ago, which Dormer joked “makes (him) feel super old” because that includes platforms like the Xbox 360 and N64.
“And that’s just our definition. It’s about 20 years-ish old and that’s kind of when the nostalgia starts to kick in,” he chuckled, adding that organizers want to one day include retro board games and card games.
There will be three tournaments, including Super Street Fighter, and a challenge tournament where people have five minutes to acquire the highest score in Super Mario Bros. 3. The organizers plan to reveal the third tournament soon.
The winners of those three tournaments will face off in another game to determine the champion.
Follow the Saskatchewan Retro GameCon on social media for more information.
