Unless you hang around a few select retrogaming forums or have previously attended the Oklahoma Video Game Expo (OVGE) in in Tulsa, chances are you’ve never heard the name “Brad Prillwitz” before — and even if you have been to those places, you still may not be familiar with Brad’s name. Never one of the flashiest or loudest people in the room, all it took was a few minutes of talking with him to know that he was one of the nicest.

Late one rainy evening in 2006 I found myself in a hotel room with Brad (who went by “PureEnergy” on the Digital Press and Atari Age forums) along with Steve (“MegaManFan”), his wife Michelle (“Mrs. MegaManFan”), and OVGE organizer Jesse “Crossbow” Hardesty. Here’s what I wrote on my blog back in 2006 about that night:

I still had to drive back to Oklahoma City that night, so I broke up the dinner party around 9:30pm. In the five mile trip between the restaurant and the hotel, a huge rain storm came out of nowhere. Winds went from 0 to 60mph in no time. My truck was rocking back and forth in the parking lot, and I decided I would wait at the hotel for a few minutes for the rain to subside. Crossbow and I bolted from my truck to inside the hotel, where employees with walkie-talkies were running around trying to find where all the rain leaks were coming from. In the lobby we ran into Brad Prillwitz who was talking with Mr. and Mrs. MegaManFan, who invited us all up into their room to hang out for a bit. Up there, MegaManFan showed us his booty (don’t ask) and Brad graciously handed out Pac-Man-themed scratch-off lottery tickets. I think everybody won a couple of bucks on them but me, so Brad handed me another card. No cash prizes for me on that one, either. Ah well — I was never that good at Pac-Man, anyhow.

Brad was cool like that; he’d give you whatever he had if he thought it would make you happy. For what it’s worth, here’s a picture of the lotto ticket he gave me that night. I wish I had taken a picture of him with it.

The next time I saw Brad (outside of OVGE) was in 2008 in a grocery store parking lot. Brad was “thinning out his collection” and decided to sell his Amiga 500 computer. I didn’t own an Amiga at the time, so we agreed on a price and I told him to hit me up the next time he was in the city. A few weeks later when Brad was in OKC the two of us met in a random grocery store parking lot. The price the two of us had agreed on would have been a good price for a loose Amiga 500, but it wasn’t until we met that Brad mentioned that the computer also came with a mouse, a video adapter, a bunch of cables, and over a thousand floppy disks. “Oh, and I have another spare Amiga computer here if you want that too,” he added. It was one of the few transactions I ever made where I insisted on paying more than what the seller was asking. In the end I got the impression that Brad was not all that interested in the money. I think he was the type of guy that was more interested in “finding a good home” for stuff than he was at making a buck off of it. We were kindred spirits in that aspect.

Aside from his generosity and eternally upbeat demeanor, at least throughout OVGE what I think Brad was best known for was his tournaments. Each year Brad would set up tournaments and let kids and adults alike compete for prizes and for fun. Brad never charged money for any of his tournaments — I think he honestly just got a kick out of other people enjoying his games. Brad owned a rare copy of “Pepsi Invaders” (a version of Space Invaders that was commissioned by Coca-Cola back in the early 80s), and each year he would set up his own Coke/Pepsi tournaments, letting people play this rare game and giving away tiny cans of soda to the winners. And the losers. Heck, knowing Brad, everybody who asked for one got one until he ran out.

I mentioned earlier that when I bought Brad’s Amiga 500, he was thinning his collection. Brad was always either thinning or building his collection. Here is Brad’s first post on Digital Press, posted on November 15, 2003:

Hello classic gamers,

My name is Brad Prillwitz (purenergy), and I live in Sherman, Texas (about one hour North of Dallas, Texas.)

I’ve been reading the forums for a long time, but haven’t posted much. I can’t remember when I found the Digital Press site. Possibly through the newsletter?

My favorite games: (not anymore, as my collection has been sold.)
Atari 2600: Skeleton+
Atari 5200: Miner 2049er
Atari 8-bit computers: Jumpman
Atari 7800: Tower Toppler
Atari Lynx: Chip’s Challenge
Atari Jaguar: Tempest 2000
NES: Super Mario 3
SNES: Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario World 2
Gameboy: Tetris Blast
Gameboy Advance: Wario Ware
N64: Rush 2
Gamecube: Hudson Collection Vol. 3: PC Genjin (Bonk’s Adventure, Import)
Sega Master System: Montezuma’s Revenge
Game Gear: Devilish
Genesis: Sonic 3
Saturn: Last Gladiators Pinball
Dreamcast: San Francisco Rush 2049
Playstation: Driver
PS2: Katamari Damancy
Vectrex: Frogger
Intellivision: Diner
ColecoVision: Jumpman Jr.
Neo Geo: Viewpoint
Neo Geo Pocket Color: Crush Roller
TurboGrafx: Devil’s Crush
Turbo CD: Gate of Thunder
X-Box: Halo

I collect for any system listed above, but currently, I’m looking to complete my Dreamcast collection. (update: my colelction has been sold, due to tough economic times. Hope to start collecting again someday.)

In real life, I’m an assistant manager for a major retailer. Not the greatest job, but I’m happy. (update: now working another job that I won’t mention, because it sucks and pay is low.)

I’ve been in the gaming world since my parents bought a Pong clone, back in the seventies! The first system that I purchased was a ColecoVision, which still works today. I remember spending hours playing Pepper II, and Mousetrap, back in the good ol’ days. After the crash in the mid eighties, I bought everything from a mail order retailer called Video Take Out, located somewhere in California. They even had some rare goodies like Atari Video Cube for the 2600, and some hard to find 5200 games. Video Take Out kept me informed of what was about to be released, and I bought my first NES from them. I will never forget trying to get R.O.B. to balance those spinning tops! And, R.O.B. ended up in the trash a few years later, when nobody wanted him.

I enjoyed meeting classic gaming fans at the CGE shows that I’ve attended (CGE99, CGE2K1, CGE2K3), and it’s great to find more classic gaming fans at the Digital Press site! And, the Oklahoma Gaming Expo in Tulsa this year was fun. Nothing like CGE, but because it was smaller, it was more personal. I would like to see more competition at any gaming event, kind of like the couch at CGE this year. Not for any prizes, but to enjoy the games more, and have a more “personal and up close” event. (Every gaming expo has been a wonderful event to remember, not the games, but the people who enjoy the games!)

Happy gaming!

Happy gaming indeed, old friend.

Brad Prillwitz passed away at the age of 47 on April 30th, 11 days shy of his 48th birthday. According to Brad’s sister Debbie he was an organ donor, which isn’t the least bit surprising. Debbie also mentioned that most of Brad’s retro games have been passed on to his nephew Josh. I know I speak for all of the OVGE regulars when I say that we are looking forward to meeting Josh this fall.