It may not strictly be Xbox related, but when something promises to deliver gaming goodness, we’ve just got to tell you about it. That is exactly the case with the upcoming PLAY Expo Blackpool.
Hosting an incredible line-up of special guests and activities, PLAY Expo Blackpool is the longest running retro-game show, embarking on its sixth blockbusting year. Taking place at the Norcalympia Exhibition Centre, on July 15th and 16th, you can be sure of plenty of video gaming mayhem and a huge roster of guests and events.
Confirmed Attendees include all of the following:
David Pleasance – UK Managing Director – Commodore® UK
The man responsible for steering the good ship Commodore in the UK as it launched the phenomenally popular Amiga home computer, David Pleasance, will be joining the show for a fascinating talk about his time in the industry and will take part in a Q&A afterwards. Knowing more than most about how gaming took hold of a nation, David will be certain to regale the audience with some amazing tales about the home computer wars of the 80’s and 90’s!
Big Boy Barry – Games World™
From TV’s ‘Games World’ we are pleased to confirm Videator, presenter and industry playboy ‘Big Boy Barry’ will be at PLAY Expo Blackpool all weekend. Big Boy Barry was the star of 1990s TV show ‘Games World’, which he hosted alongside David Walliams. The Big Boy will be taking part in a Q&A session about his time in the games industry, secrets from behind the scenes of the show as well as hosting some tournaments and taking part in a number of stage activities over the weekend.
Mark Cale – System 3® Founder
Leading a software panel with surprise special guests, the legendary publisher System 3, headed my Mark Cale will be at PLAY Expo Blackpool this July. With hits such as The Last Ninja™, Myth™, International Karate™, Putty™, Constructor™ and Ferrari Challenge™, System 3 is recognised as one of the founding pioneers of the gaming industry. Mark and the team will take part in a Q&A session after the talk.
Gary Bracey – Ocean® Software Director
Former Ocean Software Director Gary Bracey will be joining the event on Saturday July 15th. Gary will be chatting about his time at Ocean Software, throwing in some licencing anecdotes and will no doubt be name dropping some of the very interesting people he had the good fortune to meet and work with. He will also be talking about some of the more recent projects he has worked on and will open up a Q&A session afterwards.
Big Bagley – ZX Spectrum™ Next
Industry legend Jim Bagley is joining PLAY Expo Blackpool again this year to talk about the ZX Spectrum Next. Jim will be bringing along a next console to demo at the event. Fingers and toes crossed he will have a FINAL build board to show to visitors. After the talk, Jim will take part in a Q&A about his involvement with the Spectrum Next project.
Jon Stoodley – Charity World Record Attempt
Pacman™ World Record holder Jon Stoodley will be attending PLAY Expo Blackpool and will be attempting to set a new Pacman World Record on the 20th Anniversary Pacman arcade machine which allows players to continue through the famous split-screen board of level 256. Jon will be playing over the whole weekend at the event to raise money for a local charity: Blackpool Carers Centre. With your help, he can raise money and awareness for this special cause
But it’s not just the guests who are the stars of the show and whether you wish to lose yourself in the latest AAA blockbusters found in the Next-Gen Gaming Zone or prefer the fun of the Indie Gaming scene, PLAY Expo Blackpool promises to bring a staggering array of indie games to the show. There will also be a host of arcade cabinets in situ for those with an arcade itch to scratch, whilst tournaments will be going on all weekend, letting you show off your skills on Mario Kart 64 or Tekken 7.
Expect plenty of VR action with PSVR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Hololens all available, whilst those who prefer to stand out from the crowd will be pleased to hear of a Cosplay Masquerade running on both days. A Minecraft area, the Harmonix sponsored Rhythm Zone, Logitech’s LAN Gaming Zone and Photo Shoot opportunities will also be present.
Andy Brown, Director for Replay Events commented, “Back for its sixth year, it’s clear to see that PLAY Expo Blackpool is fast becoming an unmissable event on the UK gaming calendar. Our sheer wealth of content, world-class special guests and unmissable interactive action provide superb value for gamers of all ages and we look forward to delivering another memorable weekend of gaming.”
So, if you’re near Blackpool, UK come the 15th and 16th July 2017, you could do worse than pop on over and check it out.
Tickets are on-sale now at www.playexpoblackpool.com and start at just £10 for children under 16.
