Saturday the 4th and 5th May saw a large Spectrum Next presence at Play Expo Manchester. Everyone did a fantastic job in getting everything set up, working around issues with the monitors they had been provided with. Everything was good to go just as the crowds started to arrive.
It was a pleasure to have so many great people working on all aspects of the Next in the one room. D Rimrom-Soutter, Søren Borgquist, David Saphier, Tim Gilberts, Kev Brady, Michael Ware, Mike Dailly, Mike Cadwallader and Jim Bagley. Together, our knowledge covered just about everything you could possibly want to know about the Next.
Søren Borgquist poses with Horace (photo from Søren)
Hundreds of people came over to chat over the course of the weekend. Newcomers who had never heard of the Spectrum Next, our wonderful backers who got to see a prototype cased Next for the first time, and some very well known faces visited us too.
Jim Bagley, a veteran of retro computer shows was interviewed by the BBC for their Northwest Tonight programme which aired that very afternoon. No hair and make up, he just dived straight in. Although the Next was not mentioned by name, it was given a very nice close up at the end of the segment! He was also flanked by a couple of large screens showing off Baggers in Space and Warhawk.
Jim discusses the importance of the North West in the birth of the UK computer game industryHorace was a popular attraction. Mike C dares to do a thumbs up with Jim! (photo from D)Tim Gilberts demonstrates NXtel while Michael Ware models his Baggers in Space merchandise. Horace photo bombed nearly every photo (photo from D) Mike Dailly looks pleased whilst the back of Kev Brady’s head demonstrates Melkhior’s Mansion. On the monitor to the right is an early demo of Monkey McGee! (photo from David Saphier)David Saphier (middle left) and Tim Gilberts (right) pose with Mark Payne (left) and Neil Thomas (holding Horace) (photo from David Saphier)A Holy Grail of photos, Matthew Smith about to play Manic Miner on the Spectrum Next! (photo from Mike Dailly)The great and elusive Kev Brady (I think this was the only photo from the whole weekend which isn’t just the back of his head) with Brian Dickinson, solid staple of the entire retro computer community (photo from Kev Brady)Jason Bradbury, former presenter of The Gadget Show photographs the Next, whilst Jim has a thumb failure moment! (photo from Michael Ware)D props up Horace whilst others look on. Front of stage a member of the younger generation gets to see how difficult real games are!Michael Ware and Simon Butler stand together, one stern, the other slightly stern (photo from John Young)More NXtel being demonstrated by Tim. There was a bit of a battle with the Wi-fi network at the event. On the monitor just before Horace, you can see Jinxter from Magnetic Scrolls running on the Spectrum Next (photo from David Saphier)How could you resist a few empty chairs like this and the opportunity to play Baggers in Space and Warhawk? (photo from David Saphier)The talk of the town, the prototype Next! (photo from Mike Dailly)
A huge thank you to everyone who exhibited the Spectrum Next at Play Expo Manchester, and to all of those developers who could not be there on the day, whose work provided a great experience to exhibitors and show goers alike. A huge thank you to everyone who came over to talk Spectrum Next and we hope you enjoyed your time with us!
