We are delighted to confirm our first guest for PLAY Expo Blackpool 2026 - and what a guest we have for you! The legend Eugene Jarvis will be attending PLAY Expo Blackpool on both days for talks, meet and greets and signings.
'Legend' is an overused term in the videogame world, but Eugene Jarvis unquestionably deserves the title. He joined Atari's pinball division in the late 70s before moving to another pinball giant, Williams, just as they were trying to enter the growing coin-op market. His debut title for them, Defender, released in 1981, was a huge commercial and critical success and established Williams' as a major force in the arcade business. He would continue making games for the company as an independent developer, working with Larry de Mar, to produce Robotron 2084, one of the defining titles of the Golden Age of Arcades, as well as the ambitious, if far less successful, Blaster.
In the second half of the Eighties, Eugene worked on such arcade hits as NARC and Smash TV before heading up the team that produced the long-running driving series, Cruis'n USA, in the Nineties. Since 2001, he has been the President of Raw Thrills, a company which has almost single-handedly kept the arcade videogame scene alive, releasing scores of titles, including The Fast And The Furious, Guitar Hero Arcade and the mammoth Halo: Fireteam Raven.
Eugene will be in conversation with Paul Drury, author of The Arcade (1971-1999): The Stories Behind Classic Coin-ops, Told By Their Creators, for which Eugene has written the foreword. The book will be officially launched at the show, and buyers will be able to have their copies signed by both the author and Eugene.