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Questions Regarding Exhibitors...

TaramoorTaramoor StorytellerRegistered User regular
edited January 2005 in PAX Archive
To whom it may concern:

I'm actually quite curious as to how exhibitors are allotted space or how special events (such as the Black Arrow tournaments or the Halo 2 demo) are arranged.

Do you (Robert/Mike/Jerry/Other) contact exhibitors informing them of the event, and they then inform you of their interest? Or do they just have to know about the event beforehand? Do you actively solicit them, or do you just give them the information and hope for the best? How far in advance do you know who and what is going to show up?

What I'm wondering mostly though is, is there any way we here who are fans of PA and video games can influence who and what shows up at, say, PAX05?

Like, an online petition or something? Because I don't want to have to leave the house.

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    eelektrikeelektrik Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Personally, the best thing they could get next year, would be Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft all being there with there on booths... So no one gets left out, and everyone gets to see more cool stuff... I dont know if they can get them, Id think Nintendo would be willing since they are in Washington and the first PAX had a good turnout, but I dont know about Sony... Still, its worth trying, however it is they go around getting exhibitors.

    eelektrik on
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    Robert KhooRobert Khoo Registered User, ClubPA staff
    edited September 2004
    The exhibitor/vendor process is by no doubt the most difficult (and long) element when planning PAX. We first had to allocate the space in the convention center that would be the "exhibition room" and divvy up that space into chunks for exhibitors. Given we insisted only top tier developers and publishers show up, limiting the number of slots to ten seemed like the right choice- quality of quantity, right?

    At this point it's talking to the right people at the right companies- each one is different. Sometimes it's their PR division and othertimes it's the product manager to specific games. Figuring this out is an incredible pain in the ass.

    Once we're talking to the right people, the hardest part kicks in, which is convincing them that PAX is going to be awesome and they'll get a great return on their investment (let's not forget shows are really expensive for firms to show up to.. if you're sending 7 people, that's 7 plane tickets, 28 hotel room nights and 14 missed workdays those people could be using to work on other projects). Try doing this for an untested and unproven show to people who don't know what the hell Penny Arcade is and then you'll understand why i was pulling my hair out for 5 months. I'll be honest- one of the proudest moments for us was to fill up that exhibition room.

    Given we only "found out" we were doing a show (Gabe and Tycho came in and said "let's do a show") in March, I wasn't able to begin talking to companies until about April/May. Next year, however, will be much much easier i believe given the success of PAX 04 and the extra 6 months we have to prepare.

    So that's probably more information than you care for, and I still haven't answered your question, which is whether you can influence who shows up. The answer is "sorta" because just wanting a company to show up is only half the battle- it needs to work for them as well. So let me know who you want to show up and why (specific titles that will be out next xmas, etc.), and I'll try my hardest to get in contact with them.

    -robert

    Robert Khoo on
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    Red Machine DRed Machine D __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2004
    Robert Khoo wrote:
    The exhibitor/vendor process is by no doubt the most difficult (and long) element when planning PAX. We first had to allocate the space in the convention center that would be the "exhibition room" and divvy up that space into chunks for exhibitors. Given we insisted only top tier developers and publishers show up, limiting the number of slots to ten seemed like the right choice- quality of quantity, right?

    At this point it's talking to the right people at the right companies- each one is different. Sometimes it's their PR division and othertimes it's the product manager to specific games. Figuring this out is an incredible pain in the ass.

    Once we're talking to the right people, the hardest part kicks in, which is convincing them that PAX is going to be awesome and they'll get a great return on their investment (let's not forget shows are really expensive for firms to show up to.. if you're sending 7 people, that's 7 plane tickets, 28 hotel room nights and 14 missed workdays those people could be using to work on other projects). Try doing this for an untested and unproven show to people who don't know what the hell Penny Arcade is and then you'll understand why i was pulling my hair out for 5 months. I'll be honest- one of the proudest moments for us was to fill up that exhibition room.

    Given we only "found out" we were doing a show (Gabe and Tycho came in and said "let's do a show") in March, I wasn't able to begin talking to companies until about April/May. Next year, however, will be much much easier i believe given the success of PAX 04 and the extra 6 months we have to prepare.

    So that's probably more information than you care for, and I still haven't answered your question, which is whether you can influence who shows up. The answer is "sorta" because just wanting a company to show up is only half the battle- it needs to work for them as well. So let me know who you want to show up and why (specific titles that will be out next xmas, etc.), and I'll try my hardest to get in contact with them.

    -robert
    If you need someone to (to use Jungle colloquialism) bang some monkeys, then I'll be here for ya. Anything to make PAX05 the best PAX ever. :D

    Red Machine D on
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    futilityfutility Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    D, don't you mean that you'll say you'll do stuff, and promise people awesome things, have stuff fall through. dissapear for awhile while not answering any questions, yell at people when you reply to their questions, and then let someone take over and do the work while you get most of the credit?

    futility on
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    ctishmanctishman Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Signs point to "take it to a goddamn PM".

    ctishman on
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    Get the PAX 2008 Countdown widget and while away your sad, pathetic life watching it tick down the hours to PAX '08!
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    graizurgraizur __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2004
    Majesco-Publishers of

    Many cools games listed here.

    graizur on
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    duderdude2duderdude2 Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Nintendo! Any of their games would be fine, but of course the highest profile one coming out next Xmas (barring any delay) would be Zelda. And that'd be a huge event.

    duderdude2 on
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    eelektrikeelektrik Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    As cool as the new Zelda looks, the main reason Id love to see Nintendo there would be to see the new system. They said theyll be showing it off at E305, PAX would be another event they could show it off at, along with whatever cool Gamecube and DS titles theyre working on for the 2005 holiday season(like the aforementioned Zelda, which does look fucking insanely cool). Microsoft and Sony may show off their new consoles at E3, and again, Id like to see them at PAX.

    eelektrik on
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    coolpcoolp Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    It would be awesome if Epic showed up and showed off some new UnrealEd3 stuff, or even have their next game playable :shock:

    Also, it would be sweet if you could get Midway to bring in John Romero and Tom Hall for some Q&A and for showing off some of the future Midway games. No, I'm not saying this is as some thinly vieled PA comic reference, NARC and Area-51 both look awesome, and it would be cool to have them there to answer questions about them and stuff.

    coolp on
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    eelektrikeelektrik Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    coolp wrote:
    It would be awesome if Epic showed up and showed off some new UnrealEd3 stuff, or even have their next game playable :shock:

    Also, it would be sweet if you could get Midway to bring in John Romero and Tom Hall for some Q&A and for showing off some of the future Midway games. No, I'm not saying this is as some thinly vieled PA comic reference, NARC and Area-51 both look awesome, and it would be cool to have them there to answer questions about them and stuff.

    Isnt Romero working on the next Gauntlet? Thats the Midway game I want to see...

    eelektrik on
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    TaramoorTaramoor Storyteller Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Actually, Robert, that was exactly the kind of thing I was curious about. There's no real reason for me to want to know the process behind it, but I've always been an advocate of the "Know as much as you can about as much as you can" school of thought.

    Well, I think what PAX05 will really need would be some hands-on time with the next-gen consoles (Nintendo, Sony, MS) since they are expected to be shown and announced at E3'05 which is a good few months before PAX. It'll be a tough sell, I'm sure, but hey, you're not a busy guy or anything right?

    Barring that, and whatever the ultra-mega-ginormous titles are coming for Christmas '05 *cough*ZELDA*cough*. I'd really like to see some indie or smaller developers, perhaps spotlight those located right here in our very own Washington state, I don't know. But the thing is, the people who went PAX already knew about and were planning on purchasing Fable, Halo 2, Conker, and Forza beforehand. But if games like Odama, Psychonauts, or any other little gem buried in the back corners of publishers booths could show up, then it might really help those games out come retail time.

    (I'm just being selfish. I really want to play Odama, damnit!)

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    LegacyLegacy Stuck Somewhere In Cyberspace The Grid(Seattle)Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    Taramoor wrote:
    (I'm just being selfish. I really want to play Odama, damnit!)

    If it's not out by then, I'd be shocked. I'd say...June.

    Legacy on
    Can we get the chemicals in. 'Cause anything's better than this.
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    TaramoorTaramoor Storyteller Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Legacy wrote:
    Taramoor wrote:
    (I'm just being selfish. I really want to play Odama, damnit!)

    If it's not out by then, I'd be shocked. I'd say...June.

    That should've said "wanted to play" I guess. I was just providing an example. I like my games a little on the weird side, so as much fun as it was playing Conker, Halo 2, and Fable at PAX, (not so for Matrix Online) if there'd been something a little more bizarre it really would've made my day. Also, we have no idea what kind of titles will be considered "upcoming" when PAX05 rolls around. There may be a Fable 2 in the works, there might be a new Kid Icarus game, hell, "Porkfry's Backyard Rock Fight" might be gearing up for release.

    I guess it's a little early to start requesting exhibits for the next PAX.

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    PolagoPolago Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    I've got 3 questions for the Robert dude:

    1.) What is the price of room space? Square feet/time used? etc.

    2.) Is there fee either way for a company to show up at PAX?

    3.) If PAX gains major respect and marketability, will there be fees in the future?

    Thanks.

    Polago on
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    sPider817sPider817 Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    Any chance of smaller gaming webcomics getting invited for panels? I know it's the "Penny Arcade" expo, but it'd be cool to have panelists from all the rungs (ie, upstarts, small audience, and fuckin rockstar). Okay, I'm pretty much just askin if there's any chance of me gettin' invited to be on a panel.

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    Red Machine DRed Machine D __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2004
    sPider817 wrote:
    Any chance of smaller gaming webcomics getting invited for panels? I know it's the "Penny Arcade" expo, but it'd be cool to have panelists from all the rungs (ie, upstarts, small audience, and fuckin rockstar). Okay, I'm pretty much just askin if there's any chance of me gettin' invited to be on a panel.
    Well, out of all the webcomics I can think of, there's only four on the "Rockstar" level: PA, Mac Hall, PvP, and Megatokyo.

    Megatokyo is like the Linkin Park of webcomics... always a dreary style, lots of emo, somewhat pointless and rambling.
    Mac Hall is kinda like the DMB... not everyone can really groove with it, but those who do are fucking rabid. (Myself included... Mac Hall is second only to PA IMHO)
    PvP is the Poison/Whitesnake/Motley Crue/Ratt of webcomics: lots of noise and image with little to no substance or talent.

    Red Machine D on
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    futilityfutility Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    I dunno about that. let's look at this chart by alexa that I copied from some thread on pg 2 of the monkeysden:

    graph?a=1&w=250&h=150&r=1m&u=penny-arcade.com&u=pvponline.com&u=megatokyo.com&u=dilbert.com&u=sluggy.com&

    Pa is more of a web behemoth with all other comics being smaller. I mean fuck it's traffic destroysdilbert, dilbert! which had it's own tv show.


    edit: or here's the comics in question:
    graph?a=1&w=468&h=240&r=3m&u=www.machall.com&u=www.penny-arcade.com&u=www.megatokyo.com&u=www.pvponline.com&

    edit2:
    aand some real competition
    &u=www.homestarrunner.com

    edit3: but PA is probably the king of webcomics

    futility on
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    sPider817sPider817 Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    *raises a flaming effigy of Strong Bad and screams "DESTROY!!!!"*

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    TaramoorTaramoor Storyteller Registered User regular
    edited September 2004
    One of my favorite comics

    20031003l.gif

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    futilityfutility Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    homestarrunner is about the only thing i could find that beat pa. i thought that maybe redvsblue would be comprable, i mean the line to get in to the pannel at pax was the longest one. but they're waaaaaaay behind, though at one point they were about equal with pa. they've had a steady drop prolly due to the fact that they had a poor 2nd year probably due to the fact that season 2 wasn't as good as 1

    futility on
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    eelektrikeelektrik Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2004
    Season 2 was fucking awesome though, and the ending left me with a "What the fuck?" feeling that I quite enjoy...

    eelektrik on
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    futilityfutility Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    the ending was good, the story was alright (maybe better than 1) but the comedy just wasn't there.

    futility on
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    Red Machine DRed Machine D __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2004
    Well, yeah, H*R is bigger than PA, but that's mainly because H*R has a much broader scope of appeal. I know a lot of people who don't get most (if not all) PA strips and newsrants, but everyone I know laughs at Strong Bad.

    Also, on my latest jaunt into civilization, i saw fifteen people with H*R t-shirts. I didn't see ANYONE with a PA t-shirt.

    All in all, H*R is the only site that can really beat PA as far as internet entertainment. Is there a site bigger than H*R in that category?

    Red Machine D on
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    futilityfutility Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2004
    newgrounds.com beats homestarrunner

    pa is probably the top web comic .

    futility on
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    graizurgraizur __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2004
    Getting back on topic, at the risk of repeating myself

    Majesco

    Advent Rising: Assume the role of Gideon Wyeth, a remnant of the last human outpost, who is on the brink of...

    BloodRayne 2: BloodRayne is a dhampir, born from the unnatural union of vampire and human. Blessed with the powers....

    Guilty Gear X2 #Reload: The popular fighting franchise makes its debut on Xbox with head-to-head Xbox Live support!

    Ultra Bust-A-Move: The popular, bubble-bursting video game franchise is back, making its debut on Xbox with full...

    Psychonauts: Any mind, any time. For years, the Psychonauts have deployed their psychically-armed operatives all...

    Bomberman Jetters: The Hige Hige Bandits are at it again as they set out to destroy Planet Bomber ...

    Mighty Beanz: Those wacky Mighty Beanz have jumped out of your pocket and invaded the Game Boy Advance...

    graizur on
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    graizurgraizur __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2005
    graizur wrote:
    Getting back on topic, at the risk of repeating myself

    Majesco

    Advent Rising: Assume the role of Gideon Wyeth, a remnant of the last human outpost, who is on the brink of...

    BloodRayne 2: BloodRayne is a dhampir, born from the unnatural union of vampire and human. Blessed with the powers....

    Guilty Gear X2 #Reload: The popular fighting franchise makes its debut on Xbox with head-to-head Xbox Live support!

    Ultra Bust-A-Move: The popular, bubble-bursting video game franchise is back, making its debut on Xbox with full...

    Psychonauts: Any mind, any time. For years, the Psychonauts have deployed their psychically-armed operatives all...

    Bomberman Jetters: The Hige Hige Bandits are at it again as they set out to destroy Planet Bomber ...

    Mighty Beanz: Those wacky Mighty Beanz have jumped out of your pocket and invaded the Game Boy Advance...



    Any word as to what companies are showing interest in attending PAX or does this topic need to stay dead?

    Robert?

    graizur on
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    coolpcoolp Registered User regular
    edited January 2005
    graizur wrote:
    graizur wrote:
    Getting back on topic, at the risk of repeating myself

    Majesco

    Advent Rising: Assume the role of Gideon Wyeth, a remnant of the last human outpost, who is on the brink of...

    BloodRayne 2: BloodRayne is a dhampir, born from the unnatural union of vampire and human. Blessed with the powers....

    Guilty Gear X2 #Reload: The popular fighting franchise makes its debut on Xbox with head-to-head Xbox Live support!

    Ultra Bust-A-Move: The popular, bubble-bursting video game franchise is back, making its debut on Xbox with full...

    Psychonauts: Any mind, any time. For years, the Psychonauts have deployed their psychically-armed operatives all...

    Bomberman Jetters: The Hige Hige Bandits are at it again as they set out to destroy Planet Bomber ...

    Mighty Beanz: Those wacky Mighty Beanz have jumped out of your pocket and invaded the Game Boy Advance...



    Any word as to what companies are showing interest in attending PAX or does this topic need to stay dead?

    Robert?
    Was the site supposed to go up today?

    coolp on
    sig.php?tag=coolp1
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    eelektrikeelektrik Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited January 2005
    Dont forget Majesco is publishing Phantom Dust in the near future since Microsoft passed on it... If its as good as Ive heard, perhaps we should have a tournament for it?


    Also, Please get Capcom to have a booth, just so I can bug them about updating Steel Battalion: Line of Contact, not that it would acomplish much I just want to bug them in person.. and im sure people wouldnt mind trying out the latest Street Fighter/Mega Man/Viewtiful Joe/etc games at the expo anyways.

    eelektrik on
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    Robert KhooRobert Khoo Registered User, ClubPA staff
    edited January 2005
    site's actually done.. it's the prereg system that's the bottleneck now. :( Sooooon!

    -robert

    Robert Khoo on
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    LegacyLegacy Stuck Somewhere In Cyberspace The Grid(Seattle)Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2005
    Robert Khoo wrote:
    site's actually done.. it's the prereg system that's the bottleneck now. :( Sooooon!

    -robert

    How 'soon'?

    Like...this week soon? Or tonight soon?

    Legacy on
    Can we get the chemicals in. 'Cause anything's better than this.
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    Robert KhooRobert Khoo Registered User, ClubPA staff
    edited January 2005
    they keep telling us the 4th of feb, but I'm thinking the end of this week.

    -robert

    Robert Khoo on
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    LegacyLegacy Stuck Somewhere In Cyberspace The Grid(Seattle)Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited January 2005
    Robert Khoo wrote:
    they keep telling us the 4th of feb, but I'm thinking the end of this week.

    -robert

    Oh, kay. I'll stop refreshing every five minutes then... :o

    Legacy on
    Can we get the chemicals in. 'Cause anything's better than this.
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