RetroBarcelona Breaks Attendance Record with 9,000 Visitors

The 11th edition of the classic video game fair in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat surpasses all expectations with a resounding public success.

Generic image of a retro video game fair with classic machines and crowd.
IA

Generic image of a retro video game fair with classic machines and crowd.

The classic video game fair RetroBarcelona has concluded its 11th edition with resounding success, breaking the attendance record with 9,000 visitors.

The event, held at La Farga de l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, occupied more space than ever, offering up to 400 original gaming stations with arcades, consoles, and computers from the eighties and nineties. The success surpassed all expectations, attracting a diverse audience of all ages, not just those who grew up with these games.
This edition, the fourth to take place in L'Hospitalet, utilized the entire 8,000 square meters of the exhibition center. In addition to playing with historical machines, attendees could purchase vintage merchandise and attend renowned conferences, such as those by composers Michiru Yamane ('Castlevania') and Yoko Shimomura ('Street Fighter II', 'Kingdom Hearts').
The event director, Carles García, expressed great satisfaction with the public's response, highlighting the increasing presence of families. "Classic video games evoke a lot of nostalgia, but we are increasingly seeing entire families, where parents explain to their children that these are the machines and games they played with when they were young," he stated.
The fair also welcomed other personalities from the video game world, including Florent Gorges, Gina Tost, and Ray Bacon. The Japanese composers generated significant excitement, with queues of fans seeking their autographs and a joint conference that included a musical performance.
As a new feature, the third Game Jump was held, where 44 vocational training students in video game design and development created playable prototypes within 48 hours, some participating in an improvised camp within the pavilion.
One of the main attractions was the presentation of 'Gaudí: El vent de Barcelona', a thriller video game set in pre-Olympic Barcelona, originally created in Japan in the 80s and restored by Shiyuden. The game, set to launch in autumn for PC and major consoles, will include Catalan translation while retaining the characteristic graphics of its design era.