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PAX East 2012/Anime Boston overlap
flargh
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Registered User new member
Is it true that PAX East 2012 will come to the BCEC on Easter weekend? That's when the New England Anime Society puts on Anime Boston at the Hynes. I'd be really sad if I had to miss PAX next year.
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And yes, this is more or less predatory con scheduling by the PAX organizers. Which is somewhat unfortunate, since AB is a non-profit con, and PAX East isn't.
I just hope the attendance at AB doesn't get significantly hit next year, otherwise it could very well kill the con.
Double-booking like this isn't any better for PAXEAST than it is for Anime Boston. Mistakes like this happen because the booking window in the spring is obscenely small, and consequently multi-year deals are signed way in advance to head off the possibility of "losing your spot" and having to schedule earlier in the spring when the weather/attendance might be crappier.
The culprit here is the BCC, who should've noticed the double booking issue and worked with their calendar to get one of these two moved. My solution to the quandry? I'm doing both. I enjoy both cons but skew towards AB, where I'm a featured panelist, so I'll get a 3-day membership at AB but may end up with a Saturday or Sunday-only badge for PAXEAST. In any case, I doubt this mistake will happen again.
Also gives me PLENTY of opportunity for hotel discounts, but by god, the city is going to be Geeksville for that weekend.
It actually wouldn't surprise me if the MCCA did it on purpose either. Word on the street is they've been wanting AB dead, or smaller, for years.
That doesn't really make sense. If they didn't want to host AB, they could just refuse to run the event at their venues.
PAX has enough overlap with AB that they certainly don't want to run the same weekend. They want to keep their vendors happy, and there's certainly overlap for the vendors.
Strange that the schedules are bumping around so much. Easter is April 8 next year, which is 3 weeks later than PAX this year, and 2 weeks earlier than AB this year.
Also, its no surprise that the generally younger demographic tends to be a bit more destructive with property at the Hynes and Prudential Center. If they could replace AB with a similarly sized convention, but an older demographic, they'd come out making more money, since they wouldn't be doing so much for maintenance.
If they're scheduled together, AB won't suffer too much anyway. Considering PAX isn't all cosplayers and has a LOT of non-cosplayer, non-anime attendees, it should be fine. PAX may take a small hit, but I don't think it'll be too big a problem. I'd be going.
I went to AB its opening year, and I do remember them screaming "Don't put stickers on the walls!!"
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
how is it rude? are they in charge of paying attention to every event that could be happening?
as someone else here said, spring events have a very limited time frame. if ANYONE had reserved the con center for the weekend before or after, they may have been limited. Either PAX East happens then, or it doesn't happen. they have to fit the Expo into their work schedules too. So if that was the available day it was the available day.
I don't think it'd cross their mind to say "WAIT! ... let's make sure AB isn't going to do that too.. cause if they are we just won't have PAX this year. That's the polite thing to do"
it's more likely they didn't have the option to do any other day. and so they picked that.
If you want to go to AB so badly, go to that and not PAX. But do not blame PAX for this. It isn't as though AB is the only one allowed to have a convention in Boston. And they're not BOTH anime cons. One is anime. One is video games and comics, developers, and geek culture. They're actually quite different.
No convention gets priority over a city.
What you're saying is almost like saying "omg. my BEST FRIEND who is 21 is having a birthday party this weekend. But this other person I know who was born on the same day, but is only turning 18 is having THEIR party the SAME DAY! HOW RUDE!"
know what I mean? it's just sort of a silly argument
Unless they 100% did not have a choice on the date, I agree. I have never been to Anime Boston, but they've been doing this for years. Not really fair to make people decide which to go to.
The issue, is that REED Exhibitions, the company that runs PAX, is known for doing stuff like this.
From what I've heard from various AB staff, there were actually other dates available for PAX East, and this particular date was chosen.
I can't get any more into it, but suffice to say, the date was not accidental. It was intentionally chosen by REED, especially since it would be in the best interest of the MCCA to not have both conventions on the same weekend.
This. I fell into the trap of trying to compare AB and PAXEAST last year, when they were in the same venue and in close proximity. But when I discussed this with my friends, I got a lot of "Well, I don't watch anime, I just get the Final Fantasy games sometimes" and "I don't really play video games, I like cartoons". There is some obvious overlap between the audiences, but I don't think it's really all that prevelant.
Also, they're very different cons. IMO PAXEAST may have that bumpin' expo hall and beefy open tabletop/console/PC gaming resources, but AB has more diverse concerts and a much broader, more fan-oriented panel program. I'll go to both, because I couldn't imagine missing either of them, but I'll be going to each one for different reasons.
Haha holy crap, you sure do like to gossip!
but again I argue: is it up to a group from Seattle to know or be responsible for this? they may not know about AB. and regardless, it's not as though AB has seniority. It's an event. PAX is also an event. Neither has an obligation to pay attention to the other. The idea isn't to force anyone to CHOOSE either party over the other. The idea is to put on a show for the attendees. If you are more into anime, go to AB. If you are more into gaming, developing or comics, go to PAX. It's what you feel is your priority. I don't have a tough choice, as I've said all ready. But I also understand some people have a tough choice. But that doesn't give anyone the right to blame AB OR PAX for the scheduling conflict. They don't have to honor the other con.
Also, AB has been locked into the Easter Weekend thing because it's usually the only weekend available. Because all AB attendants pretty much know that, it's pretty likely PAX is having the same issue.
So please, let's not start drama and insanity here. Let's not go around pointing fingers and spreading rumors of fake controversy and battles for the most attendees. Let's try and be adults here and realize that this is no one's fault, it's no one's issue, and that if it does happen to fall on the same day, that there's no one to blame and only one thing to be asked: which would I rather go to?
more than anything I'm saying this: why start a feud or a war on here? accept it and don't start trying to get people angry or blaming anyone. There is literally NO need for that. It helps no one. So how about you stop trying to get people angry and thinking the PAX group is trying to tear down the fabric of the Boston con status quo?
Haha holy crap, you sure do like to gossip![/QUOTE]
THANK YOU. It's gossip and it's not helpful. I thank you for saying that, Mike
I actually have the same feeling. I won't go to AB because I'm just not that into anime. I want to go to PAX, and 99% I will go next year, but I really hate missing Easter with my family.
According to Wikipedia, you're just flat-out wrong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime_Boston#Event_history
Anime Boston has jumped around from March to May with no real discernible pattern. If Anime Boston was always "3rd weekend in April," then I'd say that it's a rude move. Given how Anime Boston jumps around, it's an unfortunate coincidence.
Yeah.. If they put it on Easter weekend, I certainly won't be able to go. My wife surely won't be cool with me leaving on Easter and her parents wouldn't even be remotely cool with me missing out on family get togethers for PAX. :-/
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
Oh jeesh. Nevermind then! Not even an issue.
Yeah, just looked up Anime Boston's website: http://www.animeboston.com/about/general_faq/
Thank you Explosion for showing a reputable source to back us up. I said this earlier and Carter replied:
It was not on Easter weekend in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009.
Carter appears to be trolling this thread with false information.
EDIT: [strike]Additionally as Krissta noted, the dates for the 2012 AB haven't even been announced yet so there is no way PAX could have known which date to chose to "steal" the date from NEAS. As far as I'm concerned Carter is full of shit.[/strike] never mind Fetch26291 has shown that the MCCA already announced it.
This is from the MCCA site.
PAX East 2012 and AB 2012 are both April 6-8, 2012.
http://www.massconvention.com/events.html
Page 7
edit: fuck, beaten!
24,000 attendees? They must be /joking
Until Reed reports actual attendance numbers and not turnstile, we'll never know for sure!
And as for REED purposely putting it on the same day, is ridiculous. Having two huge conventions in the same weekend would be detrimental for each one's attendance and how much money they'd make. And while AB is a non-profit, REED is not. And so this particular decision would be very bad for how much money the company would make from attendance.
A. The only people to blame for this is us. Obviously Anime Boston has nothing to do with it, and neither does the MCCA/Boston/Reed. There are a number of factors playing into the decision to choose Easter Weekend, including:
1. Actually having dates where the entirety of the convention center is open, and that's not just for show days. It takes us five full days to setup and two full days to strike.
2. Not overlapping the Boston Marathon
3. Not being close to any large event/conferences within boston that would hurt our ability to negotiate for lower hotel room rates for attendees.
4. Not overlapping with GDC (since many developers and publishers go to both)
5. Not overlapping with Anime Boston
6. Not overlapping with SXSW
7. As far away from PAX Prime the previous year (so not too early) so we can plan the show.
8. As far away from PAX Prime, E3 and SDCC the next year (so not too late).
So, that said, when looking at that list, I came to the realization a long time ago fulfilling all of those is an impossibility. One of two of those gives every year. (same with prime, only with different criteria/shows) For instance, this year we needed to overlap with SXSW, and tons of speakers and guests couldn't make it because they were booked for that. It's just a reality of the show.
That list is pretty much in order of importance. Tough decisions need to get made because of it, and to get #s 1-3 in alignment, #s 4, 5 or 6 had be compromised. It's unfortunate, but it had to happen.
B. It is in NO ONE'S best interest that we overlap with each other. IT ONLY HURTS BOTH SHOWS. I have no desire to "crush" another show or anything like that - the dates fell as the dates fell.
C. I spoke with Nick Amento over at A/B last week about it, and I'll tell you the same thing I told him. We'll do whatever we can to help support their show. A free booth selling A/B badges, letting them run shuttles from here to their show - I'm down with whatever helps them succeed.
Anyway, I hope this gives you some insight into our thought process and that it's not some sort of flippant decision. Thanks everyone.
-robert
how dare you bring common sense and reason into this...
http://forums.animeboston.com/showtopic.php?tid/12281/
Good to know that the staff of both shows are trying to work it out.
Thanks Khoo for clearing things up. I think the whole idea that this is some grand scheme to come to Boston and run Anime Boston out of business is a bit ridiculous. Stuff like this happens from time to time. As others pointed out, people more into anime are gonna head over to AB. People more into gaming are gonna head to PAX. There's probably gonna be a bit of overlap between the two as well. If anything, I think it probably splits the attendance both ways, so I don't think anyone is really getting an advantage.
I think this would actually be awesome. I typically wouldn't head to AB because its so close to PAX East and trying to coordinate two vacations and two trips in such a small time frame wouldn't work. But something like this would make me seriously consider getting a pass and popping over there throughout the weekend.
Maybe I'll have to bring the boy in for Sunday. Have a swag hunt instead of an Easter Egg hunt
Can I officially request an Easter Egg hunt in some form for the kids?
i would guess no on the easter egg hunt, being a religious holiday and all. but a secular swag hunt seems like a neat idea.
I was thinking Easter Egg was a gaming term so it works in two ways