Sometimes the squeaky wheel does get the grease, and in this instance a peeved retro gaming influencer gets news coverage. This weekend, a tweet from occasional Dr. Eggman cosplayer JohnRiggs lamented that larger outlets such as IGN and Kotaku failed promote the fact that the Blockbuster World Championship 3 is happening at this year?s Portland Retro Gaming Expo (Oct 14th to 16th). Well John, I?ve got you covered, even if the show seemingly doesn?t employ a PR agency.
Portland Retro Gaming Expo or PRGE for short is one of those shows I?ve always wanted to see on account that I am a fervent retro collector and I also follow the exploits of Kelsey Lewin, Cody ‘DSKoopa’ Spencer and the duo?s store Pink Gorilla Games. This year?s show will feature a two round tournament harkening back to the two nationwide tournaments held by the once ubiquitous rental chain. Unlike any schmoe, PRGE can claim they have the backing of Blockbuster, in the form of the last Blockbuster which is situated in Bend, Oregon. In fact the GM of said Blockbuster, Sandi Harding will be on hand to witness the festivities.
The first round will pit contestants in 10 man Saturn Bomberman where players who win 3 rounds will advance. The second round consists of a score attack in (Downfall OG Plus (Which may be an endless runner-ish game where you have to keep going down a pit without being scrolled off/falling off the screen) on the Atari Jaguar. The prize pool is an impressive $1750 and the winner will be one tournament win away from tying the illustrious Dr. Disrespect?s two time victories.
Those interested in entering the tournament can find official details here. However, without the tournament, there will be plenty of fun to be had at Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2022 and Portland, despite its homeless situation, is still a fun town to visit. Also IGN and Kotaku both have means of sending news tips; those links can be found via these links here and here.
I almost for sure thought a publication like @Kotaku or @IGN would’ve done an article about the @Blockbuster World Video Game Championship coming back to PRGE, supported by last Blockbuster in Bend, OR.
There’ll also be a Blockbuster replica onsite for awesomeness. pic.twitter.com/YlpV5qSYu5
? JohnRiggs (@johnblueriggs) September 24, 2022