2025 Celebrities, Speakers and Special Guests

For 2025 we have an exciting lineup of guests and panels! Information on autograph and picture opportunities will be posted as we get closer to the show.

As always it's a great mix of Video Game Industy Alumni, Content Creators and Video Game Actors and Voice Talent! Stay tuned for frequent updates between now and Oct 17 when PRGE 2025 kicks off!

All our Guests listed here have been confirmed. If a Guest has an unforeseen emergency or conflict and can not appear at the event, the Portland Retro Gaming Expo will immediately update this page and announce the schedule change on social media. No ticket refunds will be given for a guest's cancellation.

Please check the cancellations section for an up-to-date list.

As much as possible, we will post any photography or autograph fees that we know of. Please note that most celebrities etc. are slated to appear Saturday and Sunday, but not on Friday. Also see notes for each individual and check frequently for updates!

Video Game Actors and Voice Talent

		Charles Martinet Super Mario Bros: Mario, Lugi and many others! Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Charles Martinet is an American actor and voice actor. He is best known for voicing Mario in the Super Mario video game series. Martinet voices Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi in the Mario franchise as well. Another notable voice he's done would be the dragon Parthanax in the popular video game Skyrim. Also in 2022, the most recent Dragon Ball movie, Dragon Ball Super Super Heroes he voiced the villain Magenta.
		Samantha Kelly Super Mario Bros: Princess Peach, Toad Appearing: Saturday and Sunday She's been falling into boiling lava and dodging shells for the last decade. Samantha Kelly is a voice actor and radio personality who has played Princess Peach and Toad since 2007. She's been playing characters in video games since 2003, including "Sunny Day" the sports announcer in the Backyard Sports series for kids. Born in Kenya, she's lived all over the world, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Germany. She loves doing games that cross borders and taking down bad guys without messing up her hair. Autograph $40 Selfie $40 Combo $60
		Laura Faye Smith Super Mario Bros: Princess Rosalina Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Laura Faye Smith is an LA-based voice actor, best known for voicing Princess Rosalina for Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers games (starting with Super Mario 3D World in 2013) and Noelle in Genshin Impact. She has also voiced Kana (male) for Nintendo's English cast of Fire Emblem Fates, Tamara "Meds" Malari in the ongoing sci-fi audiodrama The Sojourn, as well as numerous characters for Mad Head Games. She has done an extensive amount of commercials, dubbing, theatre, and audiobooks. She appeared as DeEtta Calvert on NBC's Grimm, and has also appeared in TNT's Leverage, Brat TV's Chicken Girls, and Investigation Discovery's Betrayed and Stranger Among Us. Autograph $40 Selfie $40 Combo $60
		Kenny James Super Mario Bros: Bowser Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Kenny is best known as the voice of Bowser in the Nintendo Super Mario Bros franchise with over 35 title credits. He has been providing the voice and personality of Bowser since Super Mario Strikers in 2005. Other voice work includes Zingo, a story telling dragon for a children’s program, narration and audiobooks. While he currently lives in Dallas working in voice-over, Kenny was also a prolific theater actor performing in musicals, dramas and comedies, in the Puget Sound area. Autograph $40 Selfie $40 Combo $60
		Mike Vaughn Super Mario Bros: Iggy Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Odds are high that you’ve heard Mike’s voice somewhere (extra points if you seen him on-camera), but just to be sure here’s an obnoxious list of the credits you might recognize: Iggy Koopa & Ludwig von Koopa from many Nintendo titles, Spider-man in Web of Shadows, any number of zombies from Back 4 Blood, Marvel’s What if…?, and Call of Duty: World at War. There’s also Jasper Sitwell in Marvel’s Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, various voices in games like Lost Ark, Genshin Impact, Ice Scream 2 thru 4, Final Fantasy: Type 0 and Mobius, Rise of Nightmares, or even as Maryman on GTA: San Andreas. The full list of Mike’s work can be found on IMDB, and more fun clips at mikevaughn.com!

Video Game Industry Alumni

		Michael Cranford Creator of "The Bard's Tale" Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Legendary Michael Cranford created the popular "The Bard's Tale" on the Apple II and the follow-up "The Bard's Tale II - The Destiny Knight" - both of which got ported to tons of other systems. After more design and programming work he left the industry to pursue an academic career. Almost thirty years later, Michael came full circle when he was asked to assist with the development of "The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep".
		Ralph D’Amato Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Producer Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Ralph D’Amato started in production on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game franchise where he was a producer on the first eight titles. One of the soundtracks he helped produce for the franchise won the first ever MTV Video Music Award for Video Game Soundtrack. Ralph became the Director of New Media for Tony Hawk Incorporated where he created one of the most-visited Action Sports websites on the internet, ShredOrDie.com. Recently Ralph produced his first film, the award-winning, full-length documentary Pretending I’m a Superman - The Tony Hawk Video Game Story, (THPSfilm.com), that tells the story of how skateboarding went mainstream. Ralph is currently the Director of Production for a video game startup called Playgig and hopes to continue his success in the video game industry.
		Nolan Nelson Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Character Artist Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Nolan Nelson has been working in the video games industry for over 20 years. He started his career in Video games as a Character Artist working on WCW "Mayhem" a wrestling game for PS1/N64. He later landed his dream Job at Neversoft Entertainment to work on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, where he grew his career from Character Artist to Art Director. He also had the privilege of helping to build the THPS Soundtrack. Nolan worked on nine THPS games including 2, 3, 4, THUG, THUG 2, American Wasteland, Project 8 and Proving Ground. He also worked on several Guitar Heroes including 3, World Tour, 5, Metallica, Band Hero and Warriors of Rock as well as Spider-Man PS1 and a COD NX1 prototype. He has continued his career working on Epic Skater 1 and 2, LEGO Hidden Side, Nickelodeon Kart Racers , NBA Ball Stars, Hotel Transylvania and a few other unreleased tiles . Nolan currently works for Playgig as an Art Director.
		Chris Rausch Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Designer Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Chris Raush is a 30+ year industry veteran. He Started at Virgin Interactive in 1993, before leaving to join Neversoft as one of the original developers of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise. He worked on game design, level design, and music, among others. Eventually, Chris left Neversoft and co-founded SuperVillain Studios — working with partners like Disney, Microsoft, and Sony. Currently Chris is the Studio Director for Nicalis, overseeing design and production for numerous projects, and involved in non-gaming projects like a VR experience for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia!
		Darren Thorne Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Level Artist Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Darren was born and raised in Alaska and started pursuing a degree in graphic design there, but finished college in New Mexico. He got his start in the games industry at American Laser Games in Albuquerque as an intern in the summer between his junior and senior years, where he continued working until after graduation. During his years in the video game industry, Darren worked at ALG, Novalogic, Digital Dialect, and eventually Neversoft. After working on the final Tony Hawk game in 2007, he left the industry to try new things. Nowadays he spends summers working on a log cabin in Alaska, and during the rest of the year, resides in California where he plays tennis, fixes an old house, and practices photography.
		David Crane Atari and Activision Appearing: Saturday The legendary David Crane joins the 2025 Portland Retro Gaming Expo! David designed and programmed many Atari 2600 classics like Pitfall!, Freeway, Decathlon and many more. He also co-founded software giant Activision, later worked at Absolute and created games for the NES and Super NES. A long-time fan favorite, we're happy to have him back at the show, along with his Activision colleagues Garry and Dan Kitchen!
		Garry Kitchen Activision and Absolute Entertainment Appearing: Saturday Speaking of legends... Garry Kitchen's second game for the Atari 2600 was Coleco's mega-seller port of Donkey Kong and he has created many hits since! Working for Activision he continued with the Atari 2600 and then the Commodore 64, before switching to the Nintendo Entertainment System. After co-founding Absolute Entertainment he created more NES and Super NES hits and is still active in game development!
		Dan Kitchen Activision and Absolute Entertainment Appearing: Saturday And where there is Garry, brother and fellow legend Dan Kitchen cannot be far. Dan has developed and produced a whopping 240+ games on 25 platforms! From the early Activision days working on the Atari 2600, then the GameBoy, various SEGA and Nintendo consoles, to Xbox & Xbox 360 and PC and Apple devices - there is hardly a platform Dan hasn't worked on! And Dan is still actively developing games today!
		Dion Olsthoorn Atari 2600 Programmer Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Dion Olsthoorn, a software engineer from the Netherlands, discovered his passion for programming at age 15 when he received his first computer - a Commodore 64. Captivated by its possibilities, he wrote his first games in BASIC, sparking a lifelong fascination with game development. A seasoned Atari 2600 programmer, his latest project is the official port of the iconic puzzle-platformer Lode Runner.
		Bruce and Laura Gottlieb Stirring Dragon Games Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Bruce and Laura Gottlieb are the founders of Stirring Dragon Games, an independent game studio focused on making adventure and role playing games with classical retro roots. If Origin Systems and Sierra Online had a baby... it would be Stirring Dragon Games. Bruce is a game industry veteran with 30yrs experience. Before going independent, he worked for companies including Rocket Science, Radical Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and Konami. Laura is a lifelong gamer with a background in business development and marketing. Their passion is creating unique games that awaken your imagination and invite you to become co-creators in the adventure.

Content Creators

		Summoning Salt Speed Runner, Content Creator Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Summoning Salt will be making his first ever public appearance at Portland Retro Gaming Expo. There will be a meet & greet, autograph signing, and the world premiere of a new video before it goes live on YouTube! Stay tuned for more details.
		Andrea Subissati Rue Morgue Magazine, Faculty of Horror Podcast Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Andrea Subissati is an award-winning writer, podcaster and content creator. Just don’t say her name five times in a mirror. In 2010, her master's thesis on the social impact of zombie cinema was published under the title When There’s No More Room In Hell: The Sociology of the Living Dead. Since then, she has been published in The Undead and Theology (2012), The Canadian Horror Film: Terror of the Soul (2015) Yuletide Terror: Christmas Horror on Film and Television (2017) and Scared Sacred: Idolatry, Religion and Worship in the Horror Film (2020). Andrea joined the staff of Rue Morgue magazine in 2014 and became Executive Editor in 2017. In addition to writing, she is co-host and producer of the award-winning Faculty of Horror Podcast with Alexandra West. She hosts Rue Morgue TV and has appeared in the horror documentary Why Horror? (2014), CTV’s Pop Life, Banger TV‘s Locked Horns and Hollywood Suite’s A Year In Film. Andrea stalks the streets of Toronto, Ontario, with her undead Pomeranian, Dante.
		Brett Weiss Video Game Historian Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Gaming historian Brett Weiss has been a professional writer since 1997. He’s the author of 13 books, mostly about the NES, Super NES, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Sega Genesis, and other retro games and gaming consoles. His latest book is The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1988-1998. He's also got a YouTube show, Tales from a Retro Gamer, and has been in various gaming documentaries. Weiss has written countless articles for numerous publications, including Game Informer, Fangoria, Filmfax, the Comics Buyer's Guide, and Old School Gamer, among many others. Weiss also has a national column in AntiqueWeek called The Pop Culture Collective.
		Pat Contri Pat the NES Punk Appearing: Saturday and Sunday Pat Contri is a game historian, collector, and online content producer best known for Pat the NES Punk, Flea Market Madness, the Completely Unnecessary Podcast, and The Video Game Years. He has produced Nintendo guidebooks for the NES, SNES, and N64. Pat Contri celebrates 15 years of being a retro gaming YouTuber! Pat will discuss his history of being a retro gaming "influencer," talk about his projects and the new N64 book, do a Q&A, and maybe have a surprise or two, including the “famous” Play the Punk Challenge!
		John Riggs Rigg'd Games Appearing: Saturday and Sunday John Riggs runs the popular Rigg'd Games YouTube channel. His tutorials on how to edit and modify NES games for beginners all the way to advanced modders are awesome and a huge hit! He also frequently covers how to troubleshoot and fix broken video games. This year he talks about how to publish video games - without knowing how to write actual code! Join him at PRGE!
		Two Girls One Ship Video Games and Romance Appearing: Saturday and Sunday How does your video game bae stack up against the rest? Jennasis and Virvada love video games and romance, and this is a panel dedicated to analyzing all that video game relationships have to offer. They talk about specific games, favorite love interests, where video game romance started, where it's headed, and everything in between. A fan favorite returns to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo!
		OtterlyNoah YouTube Content Creator Appearing: Saturday and Sunday OtterlyNoah is a YouTube Partner who analyzes your favorite video games, movies and TV shows from a deeper, often psychological lens. A fan favorite, we are glad to have him back at this year's show! OtterlyNoah will look at the vast history of how video games have represented mental health, from American McGee's Alice to Hellblade - be prepared for some enlightening insights!
		Darren Hupke Pixels and Polygons Appearing: Friday to Sunday Darren Hupke runs Pixels and Polygons, the umbrella for his podcast and published works. A lifelong and avid gamer, Darren first put down his controller to create his book series 32 Bit Library that dissected and discussed the PlayStation’s library in book form a few years ago. Since then, four volumes have been released, and his monthly Retro Game Zine and weekly podcast Pixels and Polygons complement those books. Darren's LinkTree

Cancellations

All of our guests and celebrities are professionals with busy schedules and emergencies and scheduling conflicts do occasionally happen. Please accept our apologies and we will continue to do our best to bring you more exciting talent! We will post any cancellations as soon as we become aware of them in this section here.