Memories and bragging rights: Timeless battle at State Fair’s arcade video game showdown

Some fairgoers probably thought of them as relics, the last physical reminders of a bygone video-game era going unused in the corner of the esports exhibit.

But, for others, the classic arcade machines — emblazoned with neon paint and dated by well-worn joysticks and chunky eight-bit visuals — will always be a window to the world of their childhood spent in 1980s arcades.

Nine retro arcade games are featured at this year’s California State Fair inside the esports exhibit, meant to inspire nostalgia and curiosity in younger generations whose only experience with classic arcade games may have been at Mountain Mike’s Pizza. And for an hour on Monday, players of all ages squared off in the Arcade Game Gauntlet for cash prizes and something much more timeless: bragging rights.

The competition shifted the spotlight from current esports to classic titles like Pac-Man, the original Mario Bros. and Galaga until the screen flashed ‘Game Over.’

The competitors spanned from 19-year-old Dani Love, to Dan Leon, whose 21-year-old son watched over his shoulder as he played. There were only four official participants, but plenty of onlookers trickled in during the tournament to pop in 50 cents for a few minutes of fun.

Brian Schmidt tried his luck on Stargate Defender, a game in which the player is flying in a spaceship shooting at alien invaders — he said that he probably hasn’t played it in 35 or 40 years, but still remembered pretty well how to play.

Meanwhile, his daughter, 10-year-old Alexa, said she likes to play “reality games” like Minecraft, but said her first attempt at Stargate went “not very well.”

Bob Spano brought his son to the exhibit to play one of the retro games for the first time, too; 21-year-old Lucca said his first impression of Space Invaders was that it was “slow, but enjoyable.”

The tournament eventually came down to Leon and Fox Hamilton, competing on Pac-Man and Galaga. While they waited to break dollars into quarters, they laughed about being out of practice. Then, they pumped in coins and hunched over the machines with a concentration remembered from their teenage days.

Many of the attendees’ memories of gaming as kids were attached to a place: Leon said he used to go to the arcade around the corner from his high school with friends, while Jeff Garzona said that he played games at the laundromat near his house. Now, most kids are used to playing games wherever they want.

“The most dynamic aspect of the world of gaming changed when they came out with the first Nintendo Game Boy,” Brian Schmidt said. “Eventually, you could play all of the arcade games at home, whenever you wanted.”

Tournament organizer Spencer Love noted that “old-school” games also tended to be single-player, challenging players in a different dimension.

“They were more about competing over time than head-to-head,” Love said. “You would be competing with a high score, with a number, without even knowing who that person was. Now people are competing across the globe, meeting people online.”

But Love said that he thinks the desire to play games in-person is “still alive,” especially for so-called 1v1 games, where two competitors go head-to-head. College Esports International, the group running the esports exhibit, is hosting five official in-person gaming competitions during the State Fair, where competitors will play on stage and their computer feeds will be displayed to an audience.

“Once people get good at it, they really are itching to play in-person,” Love said.

Fox Hamilton was ultimately crowned the winner of the arcade tournament, while Leon earned second place.

“I used to play all of these games growing up,” Hamilton said. “I think I set the high score on one of those machines today.”

The full list of arcade games at the fair includes:

• Stargate

• Space Invaders

• Millipede Atari

• Rally-X

• Star Trek Next Generation pinball

• Tron

• Pac-Man

• Mario Bros.

• Galaga

The games are located in Expo Center, Building 5, and will be available until the fair ends on Sunday. There is a change machine next to the games for anyone willing to part with their dollar bills.