Santa Clara is home to two back to back gaming conventions that bring together locals from around the Bay Area and beyond for two weekends of fun every Summer. California Extreme and MagWest are both located near Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers (though as locals are well aware, the stadium is about an hour drive south from San Francisco proper).
While different events, together they bring an eccentric group of gamers out to celebrate games in different ways. We’ll take a look at both events, first with California Extreme and then later in a separate post we’ll look at MagWest.
California Extreme, the best convention for classic arcade fans
California Extreme has been going on for over 30 years now, bringing classic retro and pinball machines to the Santa Clara Hyatt Regency for a full weekend of free play.
This was my eighth time attending, having discovered it randomly while driving back from the now defunct Gilroy Garlic Festival. I was shocked to discover such a massive convention in my own backyard that I was completely unaware of and ever since its been a yearly pilgrimage for me.
The set up is easy to explain, imagine hundreds of classic and modern arcade games ranging from Joust to Guitar Hero, all crammed into a huge convention center and set to free play. The con is open until 2am, allowing for late night sessions, perfect for when you really want to focus in on one game without distraction (and also a perfect opportunity to try an obscure Japanese rhythm game after the hotel bar closes with less people around to see your failure). The number of machines changes each year, but is estimated to be over 600. So many in fact that in recent years a second hall has been opened offering a place for classic cocktail cabinets, retro redemption ticket games, and even more obscure classics.
But classic arcade titles are just the tip of the iceberg. For many, California Extreme means one thing; Pinball. The convention has become one of the biggest gatherings of Pinball enthusiasts in the world, with hundreds of machines from throughout Pinball history on display and playable. The California Extreme Pinball tournament draws competitors from across the globe and Pinball professionals offer off the cuff instructional play and strategy at one of the many machines set up outside the main hall. If you have even a moderate affection for the bouncing of balls on bumpers, this is the event of the year.
Additionally, a retro console room showcases some of the best games of yesteryear and is always a great place for a quick game of Smash. A dedicated stage for Rock Band play is nearby, while an Indie Game showcase lays just outside the door. Vendors hawking retro games and hardware can be found throughout the hotel and convention hall and vary in price/quality.
The large crowd is friendly but and focused
In recent years the event has gotten very large and crowded, and may be reaching the capacity of the Hyatt Regency. It unfortunately also runs against another event, a craft fair, in the hall opposite of the convention, drawing even larger crowds. The overflow Hilton across the street is an affordable and perfectly decent backup choice if you’re not able to secure a room at the Hyatt, which is almost guaranteed to sell out within minutes of the event date being announced.
The pool area is often the hangout for the non-gaming spouses and bored kids. Here you’ll find families relaxing, swimming, and indulging in the hotels somewhat pricey in house food and drink options. Still, it’s a nice environment for those who want to take a break from gaming non-stop. And the evening firepits really offer up an exquisite atmosphere for talking over your favorite games with other convention goers while downing one of the generously poured cocktails made up by the friendly bar staff.
While it’s heartwarming to see younger gamers get in on the fun, the reality is that these old arcade games offer little fun to most youngsters and the limited gameplay likely isn’t able to hold their attention for long. Therefore the crowd tends to be older and a bit more serious about their hobby. The showfloor can be surprisingly unsocial, though maybe not that surprising considering the sheer audio volume of 600 arcade games packed into a convention hall. There is a bit of an honor code where if someone is behind you waiting to play you need to move off the machine generally when you would expect to put another quarter in after a loss. For the most part this rule is respected, but especially on pinball machines you might run into some real assholes unwilling to share the fun. At that point, its okay to speak up and let them know you’d like a turn, but do it loudly enough that others around you hear and can back you up in case someone feels like being selfish. That being said, this is rarely a problem except with Pinball diehards.
As mentioned before, the Hyatt bar is the goto spot for socializing. Due to its location in the heart of Silicon Valley it’s not unusual to find game developers who worked on many of these old games, sharing pints and stories around the bar. Prices are a bit high, which makes it disappointing that there is basically no food or drink options within walking distance, though thankfully this issue has been somewhat reduced thanks to delivery apps.
Things calm down to a much more manageable level in the evening hours, and many prefer to spend their hours lounging at the bar or pool until later in the night when the hall calms down and it’s much easier to spend time with the game you love.
The games are a cavalcade of classics and obscure machines
Part of the fun of this event is the constant sense of discovery. Sure, you played Frogger a billion times, but have you played the virtually unknown “Satan’s Hollow”? The event is a buffet of some obscure and old machines, many of which are rare and hard to find. Some of them are even fun, though I personally find many retro arcade games to be hard to enjoy in modern times. Still, if you are a lover of the history of video games like I am, its undeniable how important these machines were to the medium and experiencing them like this is intoxicating. One of my personal favorite experiences is around 12:30am when myself and a 17-year-old found ourselves going through the entire playlist of the arcade version of Guitar Hero. “We’ve come this far? We should see it out” he said after just playing five songs.
You’ll also find an embarrassing number of retro Pinball machines that are absolutely fascinating to explore. Some of these machines date back to the 1940s and are quite simplistic by modern standards, but are so endlessly charming with how much character they were able to create with limited mechanical systems that its hard not to admire the sheer ingenuity of game designers of the past.
If you want something a bit more current though, you’ll find plenty of imported Japanese rhythm games that can be exciting and perplexing in equal measure, and it’s always a treat to watch someone play who is really tuned into the game. And fighting game fans fret not, there is nearly every fighter available somewhere on the show floor as well as an officially sanctioned Street Fighter II tournament.
Is California Extreme Worth Going?
You will enjoy this convention if you meet at least two of the following criteria:
- You genuinely enjoy playing retro arcade games like Pacman, Tapper, and Donkey Kong.
- You are a Pinball fanatic.
- You love the history of video games and want to interact with these relics of the past.
- You’re going solo or with an equally minded partner or group.
- If you’re a night person, this convention was tailored for you. That 2am shutdown is generous and even then, you’ll find late night gamers still going after close.
Consequently this event is not for:
- Gamers with children or partners who may not be entertained by these older games.
- Socializers or people looking to network and meet new friends. The convention goers are a bit less social than what you’d find at something like MagWest.
- If your idea of retro is like the original PlayStation, you’re gonna have a rough time. These games are old and presented in their full, shitty glory.
- Crowds bother you. This event can get packed and you may need to patiently wait for a game to open up or play something you’re not as excited for while you wait.
