The action was specifically taken "in the interest of public health safety.”[1] The 12th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from May 31, 2019 – June 2, 2019.
[2] The 11th annual Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show took place at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center from June 8–10, 2018.
There was a premiere for the movie "The Space Invaders: In Search of Lost Time" with a Q&A with director Jeff Von Ward and locals Aaron Davis and Barry Shilmover gave a talk on "Turning Your Pinball Design Ideas Into A Real Machine!"
The show featured "Jersey Jack" Guarnieri speaking about the making The Wizard Of Oz Pinball, as well as the first public peak at a prototype of the game.
John Popadiuk (Circus Voltaire, World Cup Soccer '94, Tales Of The Arabian Nights, Theatre Of Magic) spoke about his history with pinball design.
Eugene Jarvis, video game and pinball designer and programmer (Robotron: 2084, Defender, Firepower, Narc, Smash TV, Gorgar, Cruis'n) gave a talk about his experience and history in the industry.
Twin Galaxies was on hand to judge world record high score attempts and presented their Trading Card Expo.
Special guests included pinball and arcade designer Steve Ritchie (Firepower, Black Knight, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation, World Poker Tour, Spider-Man), ex-NBA player Todd MacCulloch and arcade and pinball sound designer David Thiel (Q*bert, The Three Stooges, Family Guy, Pirates of the Caribbean).
Guest speakers included Steve Wiebe from the movie The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, pinball and arcade designer George Gomez (Satan's Hollow, Tron, Spy Hunter, Johnny Mnemonic, Monster Bash, Revenge From Mars, The Lord of the Rings, Batman), arcade and pinball sound designer David Thiel (Q*bert, The Three Stooges, Family Guy, Pirates of the Caribbean), and pinball designer John Trudeau (Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot, Judge Dredd, Black Rose, The Flintstones, Congo).
[8] Guest speakers included game designer Dennis Nordman (Scared Stiff, White Water, Demolition Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Wheel of Fortune), game artist and sound creator Greg Freres (Medieval Madness, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Revenge from Mars, Scared Stiff), music and sound designer Brian Schmidt, star of the documentary movie High Score, Bill Carlton, and Clay Harrell from This Old Pinball.
Steve Wiebe returned, but instead of speaking, he made his 6th public attempt to reclaim the world high score on Donkey Kong.
Walter Day hosted a press conference to present the International Video Game Hall of Fame's inaugural ceremony with 12 world record high score holders.
[11][12] Wiebe also demonstrated on a Donkey Kong arcade game some of his moves for scoring higher points and how to navigate harder levels.