Blackpool computer game event puts on second expo in the year

Retro gaming event Play Expo Blackpool return to the Norcalympia Exhibition Centre at the Norbreck later this month.

It is run by Reply Events, a company set up in Blackpool by managing director Andy Brown.

The company took a risk this year by shifting the date of its popular event to February from summer.

But the gamble paid off with the expo staged in February half-term week, achieving its highest ever visitor numbers and attracting passionate gamers from across the North West.

The new October event on the weekend of 27th and 28th, will feature the same mix of arcade machines, vintage games consoles, with group and solo play.

There will also be five times the normal number of pinball machines, virtual reality games, gaming tournaments featuring Super Mario Kart and Street Fighter.

The event will also feature a cosplay masquerade, where fans dress up as computer games characters or superheroes with elaborate home made costumes.

Organiser Andy Brown, managing director of Replay Events, says: “We were overwhelmed by the February show’s success and wanted to reward our loyal fans in Blackpool, where our PLAY Expo series of events was born.

“We are excited by how many new things we have got on offer this time round and hope that our scheduling of the show, during the October half-term break, will allow children, parents, and anyone else seeking some great indoor fun on an autumn’s day, to head inside the Norcalympia Exhibition Centre.”

The business has expanded into cities all around the country with the company running events at 11 separate venues. Manchester’s two day expo saw 25,000 people through the doors. Andy was inspired to launch the expos by the enjoyment he got playing the games machines at the arcades in Blackpool as a teenager.