Well, it didn't take long for this topic to start up again.
If everyone here is bitching about PAX Prime being too small, then go to PAX East or PAX Aus or wherever the next one ends up being? Oh, you want to fly in from Boston because Prime is better? Then what does it matter if we have a new PAX Vegas that can take a half million people, if those same half million still want to come here for Prime?
Am I crazy to think it's weird that one of the largest justifications for keeping Prime in Seattle is the game companies that are based there? Excluding thousands of people so a few more of the developers that would can attend seems weird to me. PA being located there, and tradition both make a ton of sense. Enough that it seems reasonable to leave it there. That being said, what would the effects be of having a fourth pax? PAX Ginormous in Vegas, or PAX midwest (Minneapolis has a nice convention center... *cough* and I live close *cough*) etc.
Another interesting thought is mini-cons. Is there some incarnation of PAXx that makes sense? One of the great things about PAX is the community. While you couldn't experience teh scale of it at a smaller mini-con, it would still be great to meet new friends and share your different gaming passions with like-minded people.
Portland has no venues as large as WSCC, which is already way too small to house demand for PAX.
I'm not sure of the exact square footage available, but between the Oregon convention center and the Rose Quarter (Memorial Colosseum has a lot of convention space, plus it could be the concert stage) there would be a good bit of space.
I doubt that it would be an acceptable alternative to Seattle, since everyone always goes "ew, Portland" but I think it's a good thing this sort of discussion happening.
Am I crazy to think it's weird that one of the largest justifications for keeping Prime in Seattle is the game companies that are based there? Excluding thousands of people so a few more of the developers that would can attend seems weird to me. PA being located there, and tradition both make a ton of sense. Enough that it seems reasonable to leave it there. That being said, what would the effects be of having a fourth pax? PAX Ginormous in Vegas, or PAX midwest (Minneapolis has a nice convention center... *cough* and I live close *cough*) etc.
A 4th PAX isn't gonna be in the US, it's gonna be in Europe somewhere - if I had to guess offhand I'd say the UK.
Am I crazy to think it's weird that one of the largest justifications for keeping Prime in Seattle is the game companies that are based there? Excluding thousands of people so a few more of the developers that would can attend seems weird to me. PA being located there, and tradition both make a ton of sense. Enough that it seems reasonable to leave it there. That being said, what would the effects be of having a fourth pax? PAX Ginormous in Vegas, or PAX midwest (Minneapolis has a nice convention center... *cough* and I live close *cough*) etc.
Another interesting thought is mini-cons. Is there some incarnation of PAXx that makes sense? One of the great things about PAX is the community. While you couldn't experience teh scale of it at a smaller mini-con, it would still be great to meet new friends and share your different gaming passions with like-minded people.
No, what you're weird for thinking is that putting it in a bigger space and allowing more people is somehow better. As someone who went to East this year (60,000 attendees) I can tell you that's not the case. Queues to demo games literally filled up for the day within 2 minutes of the doors opening. You can let half a million people into PAX, it's not going to increase the amount of GAMES that are coming out.
Am I crazy to think it's weird that one of the largest justifications for keeping Prime in Seattle is the game companies that are based there? Excluding thousands of people so a few more of the developers that would can attend seems weird to me. PA being located there, and tradition both make a ton of sense. Enough that it seems reasonable to leave it there. That being said, what would the effects be of having a fourth pax? PAX Ginormous in Vegas, or PAX midwest (Minneapolis has a nice convention center... *cough* and I live close *cough*) etc.
Another interesting thought is mini-cons. Is there some incarnation of PAXx that makes sense? One of the great things about PAX is the community. While you couldn't experience teh scale of it at a smaller mini-con, it would still be great to meet new friends and share your different gaming passions with like-minded people.
No, what you're weird for thinking is that putting it in a bigger space and allowing more people is somehow better. As someone who went to East this year (60,000 attendees) I can tell you that's not the case. Queues to demo games literally filled up for the day within 2 minutes of the doors opening. You can let half a million people into PAX, it's not going to increase the amount of GAMES that are coming out.
Official numbers for East were never released, but if you're talking turnstile I expect it is far larger than 60k, since it was well over 70k for the first East that was in the BCEC (2011)
Am I crazy to think it's weird that one of the largest justifications for keeping Prime in Seattle is the game companies that are based there? Excluding thousands of people so a few more of the developers that would can attend seems weird to me. PA being located there, and tradition both make a ton of sense. Enough that it seems reasonable to leave it there. That being said, what would the effects be of having a fourth pax? PAX Ginormous in Vegas, or PAX midwest (Minneapolis has a nice convention center... *cough* and I live close *cough*) etc.
Another interesting thought is mini-cons. Is there some incarnation of PAXx that makes sense? One of the great things about PAX is the community. While you couldn't experience teh scale of it at a smaller mini-con, it would still be great to meet new friends and share your different gaming passions with like-minded people.
No, what you're weird for thinking is that putting it in a bigger space and allowing more people is somehow better. As someone who went to East this year (60,000 attendees) I can tell you that's not the case. Queues to demo games literally filled up for the day within 2 minutes of the doors opening. You can let half a million people into PAX, it's not going to increase the amount of GAMES that are coming out.
Official numbers for East were never released, but if you're talking turnstile I expect it is far larger than 60k, since it was well over 70k for the first East that was in the BCEC (2011)
I pulled 60k out of my hat because I happened to be walking past a local news reporter doing a bit atop the escalators at the BCEC on Friday, and he said 60k. Could be mistaken - the point is, it's a lot more people, and more is not always better.
Wow, 3.2mil sqft in Las Vegas? Has my vote, and can you imagine the parties? Am I the only one who thinks PAX Vegas would be a good idea?
Las Vegas knows conventions.
Sands Expo and Convention Center here in Vegas would easily fit a PAX:
Over 2.25 million square feet of show floor and meeting space.
Connected to the Sands Expo, The Venetian and The Palazzo offer more than 7,000 suites all under one roof.
More than 40,000 hotel rooms within a 10-minute walk
And that's just one of the convention centers here. All of the major players in town (Caesar's Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, etc) have convention areas. I don't think PAX Prime needs to move to another city, though. Just to a venue that can handle its size now.
There are plans to expand it actually, but I'm not sure if it will actually help.
I have to agree with this. While I have to admit I know nothing about the technicalities involved, it's my understanding that the hard cap we've hit on PAX tickets has everything to do with fire codes for the convention center. Increasing the floor space of a given structure wouldn't necessarily increase the safe population limit of that building unless the maximum egress rate was proportionally increased as well (again, just based on my own nonexistent knowledge). We've likely been able to bargain and finagle a few extra badges the last couple years by shunting population into nearby offsite venues, but even that doesn't make a sizable dent in the demand.
The problem I see with changing venues is that, of the twenty-five or so people I personally know who attend PAX, all but two are able to attend only because it is in Seattle. I'd even have to include myself in that group. If I had to spring for airfare, PAX would probably become an every-other-year indulgence, rather than the single week of vacation I look forward to every year. Yes, this is a selfish reason for me to not want it to move, but I've already budgeted my next two years of PAX Prime and don't want to change that.
Also don't know how much this will help, but if there was some way we could encourage people to only attend one PAX per year, it could at least slow down the sellout of badges. Even something as simple as a request from Gabe and Tycho could make a difference. I know that even if I could afford it, I don't need to go to Boston and Aussie, and would gladly leave room for those who are closer to their respective PAXes.
Finally, there's always the option of more PAXes. I don't know if Gabe and Tycho (or the Internet's infrastructure, considering our propensity for melting servers) could physically handle the strain of yet another event, but consider a southwestern US location, such as Vegas or LA, in say the middle of January. I'm from Spokane myself, but I don't imagine those places see much in the way of snow...maybe? Anywho, anything to ease some strain off of the crush of warm bodies that invades the NorthWest every fall would help too, I imagine.
In the end, I'm sure it'll take someone much smarter than myself to figure this one out. It's the ultimate expression of supply and demand, and no easy way to increase the supply in sight.
EDIT: Forgot to mention, if you think it'd be hard to expand the WSCC, come take a look at the convention center we have over here in Spokane. It's shaped like a boat. No, really, it's a freaking boat
EDIT EDIT: Speaking of the Spokane Convention Center, here's an idea I came up with a couple years back. At the same time as PAX Prime, have a mini-PAX over here. Have exhibitors (some who are also present at Prime, the rest are those who couldn't make it to Prime) use up our 100,000 square feet of exhibition hall space and set up livestreams to the various Prime panels and theatres in the meeting rooms and such. I don't know if the Internet would crack under the strain, but again I'm just thinking out loud here.
There simply isn't any more room in Seattle. Even the stadiums, while they can hold a lot more, aren't setup for the amount of electronics that PAX would need to run. A lot of that estimated headcount includes outdoor spaces. I'm not really one for flying. I would be willing to go to Vegas or California for PAX, but I have no intrest in going to the east coast. At the same time, moving the convention to California would probably increase demand just as much as it increased supply. People coming to see PAX in Seattle are here for PAX, but there's probably tons of people that are less obsessive about these things that would buy tickets just to have something to go see that's in California with the nice weather and billions of other attractions.
So in short, I don't know if there's really a solution.
Gamestop also has a manager convention the same week as PAX in Vegas, so a lot of developers would already have stuff in Vegas. I would totally support a Vegas PAX as that city is meant for conventions on the grandest scales.
Am I crazy to think it's weird that one of the largest justifications for keeping Prime in Seattle is the game companies that are based there? Excluding thousands of people so a few more of the developers that would can attend seems weird to me. PA being located there, and tradition both make a ton of sense. Enough that it seems reasonable to leave it there. That being said, what would the effects be of having a fourth pax? PAX Ginormous in Vegas, or PAX midwest (Minneapolis has a nice convention center... *cough* and I live close *cough*) etc.
Another interesting thought is mini-cons. Is there some incarnation of PAXx that makes sense? One of the great things about PAX is the community. While you couldn't experience teh scale of it at a smaller mini-con, it would still be great to meet new friends and share your different gaming passions with like-minded people.
No, what you're weird for thinking is that putting it in a bigger space and allowing more people is somehow better. As someone who went to East this year (60,000 attendees) I can tell you that's not the case. Queues to demo games literally filled up for the day within 2 minutes of the doors opening. You can let half a million people into PAX, it's not going to increase the amount of GAMES that are coming out.
I was also at East and thought it was phenomenal! The expo was neat, but it was my least favorite part about it. The console freeplays, the TT area, the panels, the concerts, the people, ad hoc boardgames, all of that stuff was the best part. I agree that more expo would not only produce very little benefit, but would also dilute the current PAXs because of developers having to choose which to attend. Perhaps there is potential for a new PAX that focuses more on the community and gaming, and less on the expo spectacle?
Am I crazy to think it's weird that one of the largest justifications for keeping Prime in Seattle is the game companies that are based there? Excluding thousands of people so a few more of the developers that would can attend seems weird to me. PA being located there, and tradition both make a ton of sense. Enough that it seems reasonable to leave it there. That being said, what would the effects be of having a fourth pax? PAX Ginormous in Vegas, or PAX midwest (Minneapolis has a nice convention center... *cough* and I live close *cough*) etc.
Another interesting thought is mini-cons. Is there some incarnation of PAXx that makes sense? One of the great things about PAX is the community. While you couldn't experience teh scale of it at a smaller mini-con, it would still be great to meet new friends and share your different gaming passions with like-minded people.
No, what you're weird for thinking is that putting it in a bigger space and allowing more people is somehow better. As someone who went to East this year (60,000 attendees) I can tell you that's not the case. Queues to demo games literally filled up for the day within 2 minutes of the doors opening. You can let half a million people into PAX, it's not going to increase the amount of GAMES that are coming out.
I was also at East and thought it was phenomenal! The expo was neat, but it was my least favorite part about it. The console freeplays, the TT area, the panels, the concerts, the people, ad hoc boardgames, all of that stuff was the best part. I agree that more expo would not only produce very little benefit, but would also dilute the current PAXs because of developers having to choose which to attend. Perhaps there is potential for a new PAX that focuses more on the community and gaming, and less on the expo spectacle?
Yeah, I've got another thread on this board titled something like "Some things Prime could learn from East", and it echoes what you siad. The tabletop at East was out of this world amazing, but the actual video game section was just a pathetic mess.
I love having PAX here in Seattle (since I'm local), but I wouldn't complain if it (and SDCC) moved to Vegas... I love that city + it would be great for space, hotels, and parties.
For those saying they should take the SDCC route of having named badges - having been to SDCC pretty regularly (every year for the last 4 or 5), that doesn't really help their registration/hotel process, which is basically as much of a cluster (if not more so) than PAX.
Had the good fortune to attend PAX East this year and aside from the acres of tabletop space in the BCEC what I liked best between the two was the larger meeting rooms in Boston - seemed like fewer people were being turned away from panels due to capacity. But a great point was made about the expo: let's say PAX Prime moved to Vegas. We might have tons of space, but exhibitors won't necessarily be able to scale to meet demand. So while more people would get to see the Wil Wheaton Awesome Hour, the lines for demos and swag and meeting people in band-land won't get any shorter. They'd probably get longer, in fact. Is that a better experience? Worse? Just a trade-off?
Well, I didn't attend last year, but the last time I attended in 2011, I had trouble finding space for free play in general. I mean expo is nice and all, but for some of us, a lot of con time is just to play with other people which more space would help. And people do the multi-hour line at E3 and other cons already for swag and early previews.
What if, instead of allowing single day tickets, one had to purchase the pass for the whole weekend instead? I'm not sure if this would solve anything but it's just something I thought of.
The only other suggestion I would have is to take over the whole of Seattle Center, including Key Arena.
The thing about having any further PAXes in North America is that many of the same people who already attend both Prime and East will just buy up tickets for the new show as well.
One possible longer-term solution hinted at briefly during the Khoo+A at Prime last year was the possibility of overlapping PAXes. In response to a question about when the freshly-announced PAX Aus would occur, Robert replied that "you're going to have to make some tough decisions". At first people thought this might mean PAX Aus could clash with either East or Prime, forcing people to choose between PAXes (in the end, the "decision" for this year was between PAX Aus or SDCC).
Overlapping PAX would be great, except for the fact that all the special guests like G&T cannot be in two places at the same time. So unless you do stuff like splitting all those special guests across all conventions, everyone will just go to the one where all the guests congregate.
So, I can't imagine this is a really good idea, but right now nothing's perfect, so hey!
What if- we had 2 Pax Primes? One Labor Day weekend, one the weekend before/after. Put Pax Dev in-between them. You could double the badges without anyone having to move out displays and reset somewhere else. You could probably even tweak the system so people can only attend weekend A or B. The staff/guest fatigue might be a but much to handle, but if they're willing or could be divided up, it might work!
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wait over here for someone to tell me how awful this would be...
As much as I'd love for PAX Prime to move here to SF, I doubt that that will happen.
As someone who lives on the west coast, Prime appeals to me due to it proximity. (That and I can't stand east coast weather, be it winter or summer!) A PAX held in Vegas would interest me, and I'd probably ditch Prime for it. Again, due to proximity. But I do doubt they will add a third PAX to the US when there is demand for ones overseas. That is, if another PAX is even added so soon.
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After giving it some thought, I have decided to hold PAX AZ at my house. There will be swag bags, a tabletop area, and an XBox360 and Wii U. Wil Wheaton will be there. Tickets on sale now for $10,000.
Queues to demo games literally filled up for the day within 2 minutes of the doors opening.
//offtopic
What games were those? I got to try pretty much all of the demos at East, and the only line I got into at opening was ESO. >_>
//on topic
If they're going to move Prime, move it to the Phoenix Convention Center. 900,000 ft^2 (I think more than Seattle). This suggestion has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I live in Tucson only a few hours away. None at all.
I would be rather sad to see it move though; Seattle is my favorite US city, and it's awesome to have an excuse to visit once a year.
Overlapping PAX would be great, except for the fact that all the special guests like G&T cannot be in two places at the same time. So unless you do stuff like splitting all those special guests across all conventions, everyone will just go to the one where all the guests congregate.
Indeed, I imagine in this purely hypothetical scenario, splitting guests is exactly what they'd do to evenly load attendees. Gabe in City X, Tycho in City Y, with a potential videoconference for the Q+As and Make-a-Strip. Any high-profile guests could even hypothetically fly from one city to the other between days. Since I'm being fanciful, if the wifi was up to the task (sorry, cheap shot), the two simul-PAXes could even have an online multiplayer Omegathon finale
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Queues to demo games literally filled up for the day within 2 minutes of the doors opening.
//offtopic
What games were those? I got to try pretty much all of the demos at East, and the only line I got into at opening was ESO. >_>
//on topic
If they're going to move Prime, move it to the Phoenix Convention Center. 900,000 ft^2 (I think more than Seattle). This suggestion has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I live in Tucson only a few hours away. None at all.
I would be rather sad to see it move though; Seattle is my favorite US city, and it's awesome to have an excuse to visit once a year.
Edit: Holy HTML meltdown batman!
Prime has the benefit and curse of being between E3 and the Holiday season, so a lot of announced but not publicly playable games are at Prime.
I have really mixed feelings on the idea of moving PAX to Vegas. Or anywhere else outside of Seattle.
I love Vegas, I go there a lot, but the strip is soulless. Vegas has the capacity and then some, but it lacks for a lot of other things.
Seattle has a lot of charm and character. Pike Market and Belltown are unique, the whole feeling across Seattle is unique. PAX Prime is basically Penny Arcade's homecoming game/dance. It would be weird if it weren't at home.
That said I think the idea of a very large scale video / tabletop / etc fan-oriented convention in Vegas is awesome, I'd go to the shit out that.
pax prime is fine the way it was. i think you should shrink it back to just the wscc and leave out the other places (and heaven forbid sell less tickets, sorry everybody) since everybody goes to the convention center anyways which pushes capacity and makes the lines crazy. before they expanded out to other buildings out of the convention center the lines were fine. even the long lines were never more than hour of waiting. now when the doors open every station has enough people waiting to be busy for half the day. and you can't move prime anyways otherwise it wouldn't be prime. we were the first and will always be the best. if it is some were else it will just be called pax vegas, or pax midwest, etc and you can't just not do a pax
I'm not saying it's the best solution, but you can't argue with 3x the space. Portland also has a ton of hotels around the area due to the Rose Quarter being right next door.
From what I heard, WSCC is the best venue in the Seattle area for PAX. The issue with moving PAX Prime to another city, is that it would no longer be PAX Prime. Prime is what it is because it's in Seattle. To alleviate the growing numbers for Prime, they added East and now Australia. Perhaps they'll add a Midwest show in future, but only PA knows what they want to do.
Even though I couldn't get tickets for Prime this year, I would hate to see it in another city.
I think it needs to be two weeks and have a way to cut down on the scalping. my coworker bought a 2 4 day passes for more than a twohundered dollars apiece from someone who bought more to sell them. As for somewhere i wouldnt go it wouldnt be pax
As much as I'd like Prime to move to a new venue near Seattle, there just simply isn't anything bigger. Though if Portland's convention center is bigger, it wouldn't be so bad if they moved it there. But I understand why it's in Seattle.
From what I can tell over the years, PAX is the biggest convention WSCC has all year round. I've been to ECCC and SakuraCon which are no where near the size of PAX (though ECCC is catching up). And any other conventions are not as large (I commute to Seattle weekly- I've see plenty of cons).
All in all, yes, it sucks that we don't have anything more accommodating for PAX, but there really isn't any other places to expand in Seattle that haven't been already taken. Perhaps they can think of something up that I'm missing, idk.
Let me guess... all the people from or around Seattle are going to say "It needs to stay Prime and stay in Seattle". Bottom line is that if it's grown bigger than Seattle can handle, it needs to move. As the OP so eloquently wrote - it should be something we all plan to go to every year and enjoy, not a lottery where it feels like it's just luck of the draw.
And just for the record, I've been going to PAX since '09 and I'm from Louisiana.
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If everyone here is bitching about PAX Prime being too small, then go to PAX East or PAX Aus or wherever the next one ends up being? Oh, you want to fly in from Boston because Prime is better? Then what does it matter if we have a new PAX Vegas that can take a half million people, if those same half million still want to come here for Prime?
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Portland has no venues as large as WSCC, which is already way too small to house demand for PAX.
Another interesting thought is mini-cons. Is there some incarnation of PAXx that makes sense? One of the great things about PAX is the community. While you couldn't experience teh scale of it at a smaller mini-con, it would still be great to meet new friends and share your different gaming passions with like-minded people.
I'm not sure of the exact square footage available, but between the Oregon convention center and the Rose Quarter (Memorial Colosseum has a lot of convention space, plus it could be the concert stage) there would be a good bit of space.
I doubt that it would be an acceptable alternative to Seattle, since everyone always goes "ew, Portland" but I think it's a good thing this sort of discussion happening.
As much as I'd love a PAX in my town, let's be honest. If there's gonna be a PAX in the Midwest, Chicago's the place to do it.
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No, what you're weird for thinking is that putting it in a bigger space and allowing more people is somehow better. As someone who went to East this year (60,000 attendees) I can tell you that's not the case. Queues to demo games literally filled up for the day within 2 minutes of the doors opening. You can let half a million people into PAX, it's not going to increase the amount of GAMES that are coming out.
Official numbers for East were never released, but if you're talking turnstile I expect it is far larger than 60k, since it was well over 70k for the first East that was in the BCEC (2011)
I pulled 60k out of my hat because I happened to be walking past a local news reporter doing a bit atop the escalators at the BCEC on Friday, and he said 60k. Could be mistaken - the point is, it's a lot more people, and more is not always better.
Las Vegas knows conventions.
Sands Expo and Convention Center here in Vegas would easily fit a PAX:
Over 2.25 million square feet of show floor and meeting space.
Connected to the Sands Expo, The Venetian and The Palazzo offer more than 7,000 suites all under one roof.
More than 40,000 hotel rooms within a 10-minute walk
And that's just one of the convention centers here. All of the major players in town (Caesar's Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, etc) have convention areas. I don't think PAX Prime needs to move to another city, though. Just to a venue that can handle its size now.
I have to agree with this. While I have to admit I know nothing about the technicalities involved, it's my understanding that the hard cap we've hit on PAX tickets has everything to do with fire codes for the convention center. Increasing the floor space of a given structure wouldn't necessarily increase the safe population limit of that building unless the maximum egress rate was proportionally increased as well (again, just based on my own nonexistent knowledge). We've likely been able to bargain and finagle a few extra badges the last couple years by shunting population into nearby offsite venues, but even that doesn't make a sizable dent in the demand.
The problem I see with changing venues is that, of the twenty-five or so people I personally know who attend PAX, all but two are able to attend only because it is in Seattle. I'd even have to include myself in that group. If I had to spring for airfare, PAX would probably become an every-other-year indulgence, rather than the single week of vacation I look forward to every year. Yes, this is a selfish reason for me to not want it to move, but I've already budgeted my next two years of PAX Prime and don't want to change that.
Also don't know how much this will help, but if there was some way we could encourage people to only attend one PAX per year, it could at least slow down the sellout of badges. Even something as simple as a request from Gabe and Tycho could make a difference. I know that even if I could afford it, I don't need to go to Boston and Aussie, and would gladly leave room for those who are closer to their respective PAXes.
Finally, there's always the option of more PAXes. I don't know if Gabe and Tycho (or the Internet's infrastructure, considering our propensity for melting servers) could physically handle the strain of yet another event, but consider a southwestern US location, such as Vegas or LA, in say the middle of January. I'm from Spokane myself, but I don't imagine those places see much in the way of snow...maybe? Anywho, anything to ease some strain off of the crush of warm bodies that invades the NorthWest every fall would help too, I imagine.
In the end, I'm sure it'll take someone much smarter than myself to figure this one out. It's the ultimate expression of supply and demand, and no easy way to increase the supply in sight.
EDIT: Forgot to mention, if you think it'd be hard to expand the WSCC, come take a look at the convention center we have over here in Spokane. It's shaped like a boat. No, really, it's a freaking boat
EDIT EDIT: Speaking of the Spokane Convention Center, here's an idea I came up with a couple years back. At the same time as PAX Prime, have a mini-PAX over here. Have exhibitors (some who are also present at Prime, the rest are those who couldn't make it to Prime) use up our 100,000 square feet of exhibition hall space and set up livestreams to the various Prime panels and theatres in the meeting rooms and such. I don't know if the Internet would crack under the strain, but again I'm just thinking out loud here.
PAX Prime attendance: '07, '08, '09, '10, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16
So in short, I don't know if there's really a solution.
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Bumbershoot is outdoors.
Let's trail some logic here: Outdoors...video games...electronics....Seattle with its famously gray and wet climate...electronics...hmmm....
I was also at East and thought it was phenomenal! The expo was neat, but it was my least favorite part about it. The console freeplays, the TT area, the panels, the concerts, the people, ad hoc boardgames, all of that stuff was the best part. I agree that more expo would not only produce very little benefit, but would also dilute the current PAXs because of developers having to choose which to attend. Perhaps there is potential for a new PAX that focuses more on the community and gaming, and less on the expo spectacle?
Yeah, I've got another thread on this board titled something like "Some things Prime could learn from East", and it echoes what you siad. The tabletop at East was out of this world amazing, but the actual video game section was just a pathetic mess.
For those saying they should take the SDCC route of having named badges - having been to SDCC pretty regularly (every year for the last 4 or 5), that doesn't really help their registration/hotel process, which is basically as much of a cluster (if not more so) than PAX.
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The only other suggestion I would have is to take over the whole of Seattle Center, including Key Arena.
One possible longer-term solution hinted at briefly during the Khoo+A at Prime last year was the possibility of overlapping PAXes. In response to a question about when the freshly-announced PAX Aus would occur, Robert replied that "you're going to have to make some tough decisions". At first people thought this might mean PAX Aus could clash with either East or Prime, forcing people to choose between PAXes (in the end, the "decision" for this year was between PAX Aus or SDCC).
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What if- we had 2 Pax Primes? One Labor Day weekend, one the weekend before/after. Put Pax Dev in-between them. You could double the badges without anyone having to move out displays and reset somewhere else. You could probably even tweak the system so people can only attend weekend A or B. The staff/guest fatigue might be a but much to handle, but if they're willing or could be divided up, it might work!
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wait over here for someone to tell me how awful this would be...
As someone who lives on the west coast, Prime appeals to me due to it proximity. (That and I can't stand east coast weather, be it winter or summer!) A PAX held in Vegas would interest me, and I'd probably ditch Prime for it. Again, due to proximity. But I do doubt they will add a third PAX to the US when there is demand for ones overseas. That is, if another PAX is even added so soon.
TWDT '13: Hufflepuff OotP
//offtopic
What games were those? I got to try pretty much all of the demos at East, and the only line I got into at opening was ESO. >_>
//on topic
If they're going to move Prime, move it to the Phoenix Convention Center. 900,000 ft^2 (I think more than Seattle). This suggestion has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I live in Tucson only a few hours away. None at all.
I would be rather sad to see it move though; Seattle is my favorite US city, and it's awesome to have an excuse to visit once a year.
Edit: Holy HTML meltdown batman!
Indeed, I imagine in this purely hypothetical scenario, splitting guests is exactly what they'd do to evenly load attendees. Gabe in City X, Tycho in City Y, with a potential videoconference for the Q+As and Make-a-Strip. Any high-profile guests could even hypothetically fly from one city to the other between days. Since I'm being fanciful, if the wifi was up to the task (sorry, cheap shot), the two simul-PAXes could even have an online multiplayer Omegathon finale
Prime has the benefit and curse of being between E3 and the Holiday season, so a lot of announced but not publicly playable games are at Prime.
I love Vegas, I go there a lot, but the strip is soulless. Vegas has the capacity and then some, but it lacks for a lot of other things.
Seattle has a lot of charm and character. Pike Market and Belltown are unique, the whole feeling across Seattle is unique. PAX Prime is basically Penny Arcade's homecoming game/dance. It would be weird if it weren't at home.
That said I think the idea of a very large scale video / tabletop / etc fan-oriented convention in Vegas is awesome, I'd go to the shit out that.
Some things like freeplay & tabletop could obviously expand with a larger space... but most companies are still only gonna bring 1 booth.
I dont know what the solution is... it's a complex problem.
Actually, Portland's convention center is 3x larger according to Wikipedia.
Washington's info here and Oregon's info here.
I'm not saying it's the best solution, but you can't argue with 3x the space. Portland also has a ton of hotels around the area due to the Rose Quarter being right next door.
Even though I couldn't get tickets for Prime this year, I would hate to see it in another city.
From what I can tell over the years, PAX is the biggest convention WSCC has all year round. I've been to ECCC and SakuraCon which are no where near the size of PAX (though ECCC is catching up). And any other conventions are not as large (I commute to Seattle weekly- I've see plenty of cons).
All in all, yes, it sucks that we don't have anything more accommodating for PAX, but there really isn't any other places to expand in Seattle that haven't been already taken. Perhaps they can think of something up that I'm missing, idk.
And just for the record, I've been going to PAX since '09 and I'm from Louisiana.