JEDDAH: During a night to reminisce over the “good old days,” a number of gamers showed up with their consoles from the late 90s and early 2000s at Jeddah’s Game Park on Saturday.
Owner of Game Park, Bandar Rouzi, opened the gaming space three months ago.
“My friends and I would usually go to cafes or rent a space for gaming, and I decided to create Game Park,” he told Arab News. “The numbers of visitors are increasing day by day.”
He said that he wants classic video games to make a comeback.
“We welcome anything related to gaming. I have been playing these old SEGA and Nintendo games for a long time. I want them to make a comeback and for people to play them because they hold such dear memories.”
Retro games are popular abroad but Saudis are nostalgic, he said. “I think we (Saudis) hold on to old things more than others. Whenever we find something old that we love, we keep it and take care of it, and relive some memories with it.”
Some of the retro games of the event include Street Fighters, Tekken, Mortal Combat, Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario, Pac-Man, Need for Speed, and Resident Evil.
“People still play these games and there are tournaments for them,” he said, adding that they are using all of PlayStation’s consoles, Sega and the old Super Nintendo consoles, as well as the family computer.
Ziyad Felemban, who works at Xentrics, a gaming electronic sports center in Jeddah, said such events are an opportunity for gamers to connect with each other.
“In these events, gamers can talk about their interests. If someone talked to me about cars, I wouldn’t be that interested, but if someone talked to me about gaming, we could start a conversation there,” he said.
Felemban said the beauty of retro games is their simplicity. “The first game I played was Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Sega Mega Drive — they call it Genesis in the US — I remember when I was a child, games used to be so simple; all you had to do is turn left or right plus press another button. It didn’t have all these instructions (as is the case with the new games).”
Ahmed Melibari, a computer scientist and graphic designer who is a veteran gamer, said that what today’s generation mostly has in common is gaming.
“Back in my day, not many were interested in electronic games. These days, video games have become a unique language between all gamers,” he told Arab News.
Melibari kept and took good care of his consoles from 1999.
“I call them treasure. I have always loved collecting these devices since my childhood. The first gaming device I owned was an MSX, and I bought every other device that came after it and collected them,” he said.
The Sega Mega Drive is the oldest device he owns from 1999.
“I bought it as soon as it was released in the market. It was very rare that someone buys a device from Sega. In the 90s, there was a debate about the best console in the market, much like today with the Sony 4 and Xbox One. Back in my day it was between Sega and Super Nintendo,” he said.
Melibari is very attached to his classic games and consoles. “They are the reason I entered the computer science world, programming and graphic design,” he said.
Classic games were better than the new ones, he said. “There was more depth to their stories.”
Saudis relive childhood with retro game night
https://arab.news/z3ujs
Saudis relive childhood with retro game night
- The Sega Mega Drive is the oldest device he owns from 1999
Jeddah Fit Expo 2026 offers inspiration, innovation
- Sports, fitness, wellness in spotlight at Jeddah Superdome
- Gyms and fitness brands offer visitors a wide range of interactive experiences
JEDDAH: Jeddah Superdome welcomed more than 1,000 athletes of all ages on Wednesday for a heart-pounding session which placed sports, fitness and wellness in the spotlight.
The Jeddah Fit Expo 2026 is taking place until Jan. 31 and visitors on the first day were treated to a heady environment filled with high-intensity energy and in which cutting-edge fitness trends met the inspirational spirit of sportsmanship.
More than 300 brands and over 200 exhibitors engaged in in-depth exchanges and interactions according to organizers, while jointly forging an event for the global sports and fitness industry.
Mohammed Al-Aidarous, from the event’s organizing committee, told Arab News the expo aimed to spread the culture of fitness as a daily lifestyle and sought to encourage best international expertise and practices, while empowering and developing local sports talents.
He said: “The sports and fitness industry is a rapidly growing sector globally. Especially in Saudi Arabia, there is an increasing focus on health and fitness among the general public. Consequently there is a growing demand for fitness-related products and services.”
The exhibition, which is in its fourth edition, has brought together suppliers of fitness equipment and sports and leisure products, along with representatives from nutrition and health sectors, wellness clinics, youth sports education, and artificial intelligence solution providers.
Many of the participants are introducing new products to meet changing market trends, leveraging the national fitness policies, deeply exploring market demand, and expanding their presence in the sports industry market, thereby providing users with more professional services.
Gyms and fitness brands at the event are offering visitors a wide range of interactive, educational and commercial opportunities designed to promote healthy lifestyles while showcasing the latest industry innovations.
Danya Aljamal, an event coordinator at GymNation, said: “We are here to show sports enthusiasts who we are and what we can do to make them change their lifestyle with sports. GymNation is about enjoying your time, having fun, challenging yourself and making the best form of your body.”
She added: “We will be offering visitors our famous Hyrox class. It is designed to help enhance your strength and explosive power through a combination of targeted, high-intensity exercises and I hope people enjoy it.”
AI is rapidly reshaping athletic training environments. The exhibition features platforms that analyze an athlete’s movement, track progress, and offer automated corrections.
Saudi entrepreneur Mohammed Kaki, founder and CEO of FitLife, an Al-powered health-tech startup delivering B2B personalized nutrition and wellness plans, said: “We are proud to share the FitLife platform and feel excited to take these insights and relationships to the next level during this three-day event.
“FitLife is an app developed to make people’s fitness journey much easier and more convenient. Our algorithms were developed to produce accurate programs with a full range of workouts and recipes designed to fit people’s daily schedule and preferences.
“Our objective at FitLife is to foster growth and revolutionize the way people perceive health and fitness.”
Kaki indicated that the startup was also aiming to support coaches and specialists in sports and health organizations through AI solutions.
Beyond the exhibition stands and workshops, bodybuilding, calisthenics, taekwondo and volleyball are among the activities taking place at Jeddah Superdome.
