The vendor hall is always the first spot I visit and my primary reason for attending. If you get there early you can snag weird deals like the ones in this box. It's not really my thing to buy this kind of junk but I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn it goes fast.

There were two types of items that there seemed to be tons of this year. The first were pong clones and other bulky plastic systems from the 70s. One thing that's remained constant throughout the history of video games is our apparent love for giant plastic accessories. If anything, that Marksman is sleek and compact compared to the stuff we have today.

Import games were the other items that appeared in abundance this year. Usually there's one vendor who specializes in import games and a small handful here and there. This time there were two import vendors (three if you count Anime figures) and every vendor seemed to have a couple import games. For example, the vendor that had this copy of Phantasy Star maybe had a total of four import games along side a mass of Super Nintendo cartridges.

This whole economic downturn thing never seemed to impact the classic video game scene. Quite the opposite, prices in 2008-2009 were higher than ever. In 2010 it seems like things finally caught-up. I saw deals like crazy, overall prices were lower than any previous year. Sure, rare items were sky-high but there were bargains galore for common items.

This vendor had a shelving unit filled with Genesis games for 50% off. Most were common but there were a few good ones buried in there. I walked away from this rack with Faery Tale Adventure, Clue, and Beavis and Butthead.

I snagged this picture because of the awesome box art. Console boxes today take themselves way too seriously.

I'm holding out hope that I find a complete collection of these at Half Price Books someday.

This vendor had a wide selection of new 3rd party controllers for many systems. They had a stack of these Eclipse Sticks for the Saturn. This wasn't a very good controller but it was way better than the flimsy one originally packaged with the Saturn.

There was one vendor I hadn't seen before who only sold import PC Engine games. He was the exception to the declining prices seen elsewhere. Great selection though, if you were looking for a specific title there was a good chance he had it. I held off on buying anything there because I hadn't yet visited Mad Gear LLC who always have an amazing selection of import PC Engine games.

The PlayStation market has officially bottomed-out. This shouldn't be too surprising, with the PlayStation 2 being backwards compatible there's not much reason to hang onto the original except for nostalgic value. Maybe when the PlayStation generation starts turning 30 (~2015) that trend will reverse.

There was a vendor called Opcode Games who was selling new Colecovision games. Kudos to them if they actually obtained a license to sell Pac-Man products from Namco.

I didn't leaf through this box of cheap handhelds but I'm certain there were some great deals for collectors.

Obligatory photo of random boxed systems.

Why was I tempted to buy that Sega Saturn Netlink even though it's totally useless? It's the same thing that compels me to want a Sega Game Gear TV Tuner.

Here's a snapshot from the aforementioned Mad Gear LLC. The economy finally hit his business and he was none too shy to talk about it. All these $10 import games were at least $20 last year. I searched for any PC Engine CD games that weren't adult or karaoke titles and found two. Although it turns out one of them is an adult title after all. If my wife is reading this I swear it looked like a regular adventure game on the outside.

I also bought a copy of Snatcher for PC Engine for $25, that's $10 cheaper than when I debated buying it last year. It's great to get deals but at the same time I hope business picks-up for him and all the other vendors.

I don't think I've seen one of these in person before, it's the adapter to play Atari 2600 games on an Intellivision.

Unlike the stuff at Mad Gear LLC, these import Nintendo 64 games were still pricey. Not being a fan of Nintendo 64 imports, I had no idea they used NES-style boxes in Japan. I prefer these to the style used here in the states.

This is the first time I've seen a boxed Power Glove here, looks a little chewed on.

I decided to try out the Vectrex a little this year. It was running their blatant Asteroid knock-off Minestorm. That game worked really well on that crazy little screen. Although I'd like to own one of these, I doubt I ever will because they sell for too much online and there's a very slim chance of finding one in the wild.

Did I photograph an Osborne before? This wasn't exactly a gaming powerhouse but has the distinction of being the first "portable" computer.

Here's Jordan vs. Bird running on an Atari computer with pastel colors. Sorry to any readers in the U.K. but I never got into the Atari computer line so I can't identify which one this is.

Update: Visitor Silvergunner, not surprisingly from the U.K., identified this as the Atari XEGS. Released in 1987 it was an Atari 65XE computer with modifications to make it more appealing to console gamers. It was not a success but I'll admit the case design looks nice.

They always have at least one Jaguar hooked-up at the Midwest Gaming Classic (it did start as an Atari Jaguar festival originally). Alien vs. Predator and Tempest 2000 are the only games anyone ever seems interested in playing, which I can't argue with.

I know I photographed something like this before but had to do it again. I'm a complete sucker for gaming accessories like these.

I'm glad they had one of these GenMobile systems out because I was debating buying one. I thought the screen looked great but didn't care for the controller. It felt like the d-pad on the original PlayStation controller which I didn't care for. This would be a great system for RPGs but I can't imagine playing Street Fighter II on it.

Last up is a picture of a work-in-progress project from the "BenHeck.com Experience" room. Ben Heck was there helping someone with a pinball machine when I stopped in. Of all the WIPs lying around this was the most fascinating. It's an Xbox controller with an LCD screen in the middle. The Nintendo 64 cart lying next to it makes it appear like a portable Nintendo 64 project but can that system really be modded to fit something so small?