From Feb. 20 to Feb. 22, NSU will host the sixth annual Florida Arcade and Pinball Exposition, also known as “The Florida APE,” in the Arena at the Don Taft University Center.
This will be the first time NSU hosts the expo, and around 2,000 people are expected to attend.
The expo will be set up like an 80s-style arcade and will feature more than 250 videogame and pinball machines from various decades. Attendees can play all the games for free after buying a ticket. There will also be a large section for retro and modern PC and console gaming devices, tournaments and comic book vendors.
Marcel Gonzalez, organizer for The Florida APE, said, “This is a time to relive a memory. You don’t see these games anymore because they’re all from private collections. It’s an experience you just cannot miss.”
The highlight of the weekend, according to Gonzales, will be the International Flipper Pinball Association pinball tournament, which will last all three days. The tournament is open to amateurs and professionals, and winners will receive prize money and a trophy. Last year’s prize was $3,000 and was split between four contenders. Registration will be available inside the expo on Friday.
Along with the tournament, there will also be console gaming contests for systems such as Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Atari and Xbox. This will be the first time the expo incorporates the consoles courtesy of Supercon Gaming and Arcade Odyssey, and Gonzalez said he is excited to see how it turns out.
Jeffrey Paszternak, sophomore business administration and sports recreation and management major, said that he is looking forward to the opportunity to play different video games and systems.
“I’m most excited about playing Nintendo 64 because I am a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda series,” he said. “I used to play it when I was a kid, and I would love to get back into the series in the future.”
Gonzalez started the expo with his close friend Charlie Lyle in 2004 as an experiment to see how successful a pinball exposition would be in Florida. Gonzalez and Lyle both collected pinball machines and showed them at the expo, along with the pinball machines that belonged to some of their friends.
“This is totally different. You’ll never see something like this again,” Gonzalez said.
The expo was discontinued for a few years, but after Lyle’s death, Gonzalez decided to start the expo up again in 2010.
“I kind of had the itch for the expo,” he said. “It was time to start it up again.”
The expo will be open from 3 p.m. to midnight on Friday, noon to midnight on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. For NSU students, staff and alumni, a daily pass is $15, and a ticket for all three days is $35. Tickets are available at the arena box office or at ticketmaster.com
For more information on the expo, visit floridaape.com.
