Back in mid-October, I attended the Portland Retro Gaming Festival, for some looks back of video games past among its dedicated fandom.

The Portland Retro Gaming Expo is a non-profit gathering since 2006, sharing the appreciation for the classic era arcade and old school physical media-based games inside a large convention center. A good amount of panels, special guests, dealers, and creative people show-up. Also, lots of restored games with a chance to relive classics and join with other fans.

My attendance was encouraged by local friends, coming back from the show in recent years. I didn’t expect much than the usual small convention. The show exceeded expectations, with a lot of surprises, and much more shopping than I intended.

The biggest highlights are some amazing treasures on display, and for sale. Some of which are featured below in pics I sporadically took.

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I have never seen a R.O.B (Robotic Operating Buddy) accessory for the original Nintendo Entertainment System until now. What a strange little relic, perfectly representing the odd mid-80s robotics craze.

I sadly never experienced the cult hit of the early 90s that is Sega CD’s Night Trap, starring Dana Plato. But, it’s fascinating weird part of history and a turning point in gaming. Here is an original import edition, for the truly hardcore fan.

The Nintendo Knitting Machine, perhaps the most obscure and rarest of Nintendo peripherals, allowing its user to use its gaming console to sew! This never entered the market, but some tech demos like this one does exist,

An original copy of the classic PC game, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? here and complete with its own handy encyclopedia!

Lots of weird handheld odds and ends, kind of cheap.

One table full of Sega games, showing off the beautiful box art on those hard cases.

One of many tables in the showroom. Check out Sega’s Activator, a peripheral for the short-lived Sega Mega Drive and Sega System 32, allowing very limited body- motion control for some games. Not nearly successful from its launch in August 1993, and would take another 2 decades for such an idea to truly catch on.

My favorite waste of time, one of the tables where you take a bag and fill it with whatever for $5.00. See anything interesting?

Lot so oddball import games of old, well-preserved.

Another rarity, the Panasonic Q, a hybrid DVD player, and Nintendo Gamecube, sold only in Japan for a brief time.

Some earlier treasures from the Radio Shack era of PC gaming.

Some earlier rare consoles. Not sure on these, but I like that the old monitor had plugs in the front for connection.

The very rare NES TMHT (!) edition for European release.

And here is just one table part of the separate Nintendo mini-museum. Chock full of pieces of Nintendo’s golden era of game-related merchandising.

Pre-NES era Nintendo import toys..

More Nintendo electronic rareness, pre-NES times..

More earlier Nintendo oddities…

From the Nintendo World Championship 1990, including the rare and most expensive game cart. Only 90 copies exist, at a price that has gone for over $100,000 on eBay in 2014.

A rare poster signaling the coming of Tetris…

And that’s the last Nintendo relic goodness.

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That’s all from the show for this year in pics. Next year’s Portland Retro Gaming Fest, I plan to attend, look deeper into the aisles and presentations, searching more for cool treasures of gaming past.