Due to running mid-shift this year, I wasn't really down with going out for a big lunch or dinner. I ate more con food at PAX this year than I have eaten in all prior PAXes combined. I waited in this many lines for food: zero. Not once. There are so many stands selling food, that if I was walking from one place to the next, and it was around meal time, and there was an empty line? Get me some food.
To be fair, most of the good places are good because the majority of the congoers don't want to walk the extra two blocks. LTK, the italian deli, Papagayo, etc.
I directed some attendees to the Starbucks in the Westin for coffee.
That review of PAX East wasn't bad, they bitched about logistic issues which all large cons have to an extent and generally were happy with everything else. PAX's are not perfect they have their problems just like every other convention. They do a lot right but that doesn't leave them open to criticism though most of the criticism is in the location not the convention...
I thought certain parts of it were fair, like bitching about the line in Tabletop. On the podcast, they mention that two of the people decided not to come back to PAX after Friday because they had such a lousy time. I doubt they spent 40 minutes in line to check out a game, but between 4-6PM, tabletop checkout was fucked. One of the Enforcers spilled a case of IDs everywhere, and then a bunch were misfiled in the rush. At one point we had three people at the same time standing around waiting for lost IDs. Talk about a backup. I completely overhauled the process on Saturday, though, and that thing was running like a machine.
They also spent a whole 5 minutes complaining about lack of booth swag and low quality of swag bags. Do people really still care about this? I go to PAX b/c it is a major intersection of many social circles, and it is one of a few occasions per year I get to see these friends. These reviewers see PAX as nothing but a shopping mall, so I guess they do come for the swag?
One thing I did learn from them though was apparently the free M:tG decks have changed, and now include a rare card. Oops, threw mine out in the hotel.
And I'm tired of hearing about the badge debate. They used a screenshot showing that almost 2,000 badges were sold on eBay this year, but there is one thing they didn't show - badges on eBay are now selling for almost face value. $35 profit for a set of weekend passes is not going to cut it after eBay and PayPal fees! If badges continue to sell out immediately, it is just b/c of demand, and people buying max number because they can (hoping to transfer to friends, using eBay as a backup).
Not counting location and venue-driven complaints, my criticisms of PAX this year were: - 4,000 sq feet cut to Tabletop freeplay space hurt - Arcade room has gone to absolute shit - Still feel like closing at midnight is lame - For PAX South specifically: I thought the $35 water bottle was a crazy idea as the show's unique merch item
Other than that I really didn't have any complaints, and can't see myself having others as a general attendee. Edit: One thing. If I was both an attendee and wanting to playtest Thornwatch, I'd likely be frustrated with how disorganized that was. PA pumps it up so much and talks about how people will get to play it at the con, but then they don't publicize how, or when, at all. Typically someone from PA would drop by Tabletop in the afternoon and say, like "oh yeah we think we'll come down here around 8PM, maybe, and grab some tables over there and just set up, maybe start a line for people that want to play." We'd get a thousand questions about the specifics, and couldn't give attendees what I felt was a good enough answer.
They also spent a whole 5 minutes complaining about lack of booth swag and low quality of swag bags. Do people really still care about this? I go to PAX b/c it is a major intersection of many social circles, and it is one of a few occasions per year I get to see these friends. These reviewers see PAX as nothing but a shopping mall, so I guess they do come for the swag?
If PAX Reddit is any indication, it seems the majority of PAX attendees are like this. They spend the majority of time in the expo hall. They leave the con when the expo hall closes. They want swag very badly.
Isn't that the difference between the crowd going to an Industry Expo and the crowd wanting to play games.... One is looking for spectacle and new stuff and sag while the other is looking for open tables and socialization, maybe a new game demo at a table and a big library of games to play?
PAX attempts to do both and overall succeeds but people looking for the experience of a "Industry only" Expo like E3 are going to be a bit disappointed.
Average anime con attendees line up in advance to get into the dealer's room. Most of the people who show up to PAX early line up to get into the expo hall.
Just for the record, they're just re-reviewing the plans, not scrapping them.
Reviewing means scrapping in that industry.
Honestly, while the changes would be great for PAX, they'd be an absolute disaster for Boston. PAX is basically the only thing that uses the new space in the BCEC as it is.
Comments
I directed some attendees to the Starbucks in the Westin for coffee.
They also spent a whole 5 minutes complaining about lack of booth swag and low quality of swag bags. Do people really still care about this? I go to PAX b/c it is a major intersection of many social circles, and it is one of a few occasions per year I get to see these friends. These reviewers see PAX as nothing but a shopping mall, so I guess they do come for the swag?
One thing I did learn from them though was apparently the free M:tG decks have changed, and now include a rare card. Oops, threw mine out in the hotel.
And I'm tired of hearing about the badge debate. They used a screenshot showing that almost 2,000 badges were sold on eBay this year, but there is one thing they didn't show - badges on eBay are now selling for almost face value. $35 profit for a set of weekend passes is not going to cut it after eBay and PayPal fees! If badges continue to sell out immediately, it is just b/c of demand, and people buying max number because they can (hoping to transfer to friends, using eBay as a backup).
- 4,000 sq feet cut to Tabletop freeplay space hurt
- Arcade room has gone to absolute shit
- Still feel like closing at midnight is lame
- For PAX South specifically: I thought the $35 water bottle was a crazy idea as the show's unique merch item
Other than that I really didn't have any complaints, and can't see myself having others as a general attendee.
Edit: One thing. If I was both an attendee and wanting to playtest Thornwatch, I'd likely be frustrated with how disorganized that was. PA pumps it up so much and talks about how people will get to play it at the con, but then they don't publicize how, or when, at all. Typically someone from PA would drop by Tabletop in the afternoon and say, like "oh yeah we think we'll come down here around 8PM, maybe, and grab some tables over there and just set up, maybe start a line for people that want to play." We'd get a thousand questions about the specifics, and couldn't give attendees what I felt was a good enough answer.
PAX attempts to do both and overall succeeds but people looking for the experience of a "Industry only" Expo like E3 are going to be a bit disappointed.
Average anime con attendees line up in advance to get into the dealer's room.
Most of the people who show up to PAX early line up to get into the expo hall.
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2015/04/30/boda-borg-boston/
Honestly, while the changes would be great for PAX, they'd be an absolute disaster for Boston. PAX is basically the only thing that uses the new space in the BCEC as it is.