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Best con in the worst place award.

sparrsparr Registered User regular
edited May 2007 in PAX Archive
I would like it to be known, by the 3 people who have not already figured it out, that PAX has, by far, the highest (good)Wickedness:(bad)Location ratio of any convention in the world. I can only imagine the meeting at which someone said "Hey, let's throw this kick ass party for our 30000 closest friends... and let's do it in the least populous corner of the third largest country on Earth!".

My sadness goes out to my brothers in cant-make-the-trip-ness. And my envy to the Supertrip-ers.

sparr on
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    Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited May 2007
    Seattle is an awesome place to have PAX. I have no complaints about the locale other than last year's crowdedness, which has (hopefully) been allieviated by the larger venu.

    Moe Fwacky on
    E6LkoFK.png

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    Xenocide GeekXenocide Geek Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Never mind the fact that the people who throw the convention, Jerry and Mike, live in the Pacific Northwest.

    We may not have that big of a population up here, but our kick ass to suck ratio is like, 50000:1. with kicking ass leading.

    nyah.

    Xenocide Geek on
    i wanted love, i needed love
    most of all, most of all
    someone said true love was dead
    but i'm bound to fall
    bound to fall for you
    oh what can i do
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    BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Never mind the fact that the people who throw the convention, Jerry and Mike, live in the Pacific Northwest.

    We may not have that big of a population up here, but our kick ass to suck ratio is like, 50000:1. with kicking ass leading.

    nyah.

    pwnt

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
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    b0wserb0wser PAX HHL Deputy Manager CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Southwest BC also holds quite a number of people, we may as well be one target population really.

    b0wser on
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    whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    You're obviously not from around here. If you were to spend 10 minutes in Tacoma or 5 seconds in Spokanistan, you'd be grateful that it's in Seattle for the forseeable future.

    whypick1 on
    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
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    xxhennersxxxxhennersxx Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    sparr wrote: »
    I would like it to be known, by the 3 people who have not already figured it out, that PAX has, by far, the highest (good)Wickedness:(bad)Location ratio of any convention in the world. I can only imagine the meeting at which someone said "Hey, let's throw this kick ass party for our 30000 closest friends... and let's do it in the least populous corner of the third largest country on Earth!".

    My sadness goes out to my brothers in cant-make-the-trip-ness. And my envy to the Supertrip-ers.

    Least populous? wow man. Hmm...Seattle is pretty big. I live in Tacoma and don't mind makin it to Seattle.

    Where would you have the convention? Throw the fact that Gabe and Tycho LIVE in Belleview, it just makes sense. Nintendo, Microsoft are both located in Washington.

    Sorry man, it just makes sense.

    xxhennersxx on
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    AydrAydr Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    sparr wrote: »
    I would like it to be known, by the 3 people who have not already figured it out, that PAX has, by far, the highest (good)Wickedness:(bad)Location ratio of any convention in the world. I can only imagine the meeting at which someone said "Hey, let's throw this kick ass party for our 30000 closest friends... and let's do it in the least populous corner of the third largest country on Earth!".

    My sadness goes out to my brothers in cant-make-the-trip-ness. And my envy to the Supertrip-ers.

    Least populous? wow man. Hmm...Seattle is pretty big. I live in Tacoma and don't mind makin it to Seattle.

    Where would you have the convention? Throw the fact that Gabe and Tycho LIVE in Belleview, it just makes sense. Nintendo, Microsoft are both located in Washington.

    Sorry man, it just makes sense.

    Not to mention that Seattle is so much better than the rest of the country.

    Aydr on
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    AkiotenaAkiotena Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Downtown Seattle is great for cons--it's very accessible by foot traffic and for those that journey across country to attend and/or don't have cars, it makes life a whole hell of a lot easier. The bus system is great as well.

    The sheer amount of hotels there are to stay at and the numerous restaurants in the area are great. And for those who enjoy it--COFFEE CAPITAL, hello.

    The convention center is gloriously huge, I must say. I am excited to go to PAX there simply to see how they use all that space. Oh, and there's a good crepe-making place right outside the convention center. :D

    Akiotena on
    "It's pretty easy to figure out how much DPS you're doing as a corpse on the ground."

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    djdoomikedjdoomike Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Seattle is probably the most fitting place to have a video game convention. Two of the big three console makers (Microsoft and Nintendo) are just a few minutes away from Seattle, along with several other studios (Valve, Insomniac, Monolith, Bungie, and way to many to list)

    also Boo yock a shaa

    djdoomike on
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    ElectricTurtleElectricTurtle Seeress WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Seattle metro area is made of win. If you ever came out here you'd understand. Where are you and why can't you make it? What prevents you from hooking up with the supertrip(s)?

    ElectricTurtle on
    yfrxgugaj8wu.png
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    BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    No matter where pax is held there will be someone bitching that its too far away or the city it is in sucks.

    Cant win :(

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
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    yourevilgodyourevilgod Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    See what people don't understand is that Seattle is home to the arts be it painting, music or digital. there is a better ratio of nice people to compleate jackasses then most major cities. and its relativly safe. well until PAX showes up that is. so fo you nay-sayers remember this Seattle Rocks.

    yourevilgod on
    BEHOLD, The pwnage of Cheese
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    DondumsDondums Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Let's hold PAX in the middle of Arizona. In the fucking desert.

    We can use tents and the cacti for nourishment.

    Dondums on
    internet
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    RelativioxRelativiox Halo Nerd Forerunner shield world OnyxRegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Neliwood wrote: »
    Let's hold PAX in the middle of Arizona. In the fucking desert.

    We can use tents and the cacti for nourishment.

    Dude lay off AZ.

    (Though I do agree with you.)

    Relativiox on
    iris_forumsig.gif
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    EvilBadmanEvilBadman DO NOT TRUST THIS MAN Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Breaking News Bulletin:

    Bitching about location of PAX looks to be up a quarter point this year.

    EvilBadman on
    FyreWulff wrote: »
    I should note that Badman is fucking awesome
    XBL- Evil Badman; Steam- EvilBadman; Twitter - EvilBadman
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    Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited May 2007
    http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/03/seattle-named-top-video-game-city-in-the-nation/
    A joint survey commissioned by Sperling for BestPlaces and Microsoft has rated Seattle, WA followed by the Twin Cities and "Hotlanta" as the top cities in America for video games. If you don't already know, the Seattle area is home to both Nintendo and Microsoft US headquarters. GameDaily writes: "The survey took into account the number of video game systems owned per household (Xbox 360, Xbox, Window-based PCs, PlayStation 2 and GameCube), the number of games purchased, number of game rentals, and frequency of online gameplay via Xbox Live or Windows games, and other factors."

    Here are the top 15 cities according to the survey:

    1. Seattle
    2. Minneapolis-St. Paul
    3. Atlanta
    4. Detroit
    5. Phoenix-Mesa
    6. Washington, D.C.
    7. St. Louis
    8. Boston
    9. San Diego
    10. Philadelphia
    11. Chicago
    12. Dallas
    13. Houston
    14. San Francisco
    15. New York

    also, http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12579
    Seattle Named Top Video Gaming City

    Microsoft proudly announced today that Sperling's BestPlaces has compiled a list of the top video gaming cities, and Seattle took top honors (although MS is in Redmond). Seattle beat out other big cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and more.

    The land of grunge rock and Starbucks coffee is also the "epicenter of interactive entertainment," according to Sperling's BestPlaces, a firm that has been helping people find their own "Best Place" to live, work and retire for nearly 20 years.

    BestPlaces and Microsoft today announced that based on a survey commissioned by Sperling, Seattle has become the top city in America for gaming. The survey took into account the number of video game systems owned per household (Xbox 360, Xbox, Window-based PCs, PlayStation 2 and GameCube), the number of games purchased, number of game rentals, and frequency of online gameplay via Xbox Live or Windows games, and other factors.

    "The large amount of games played on Xbox Live and the high number of video games owned put Seattle at the top of list, but clearly the survey confirms that games are sweeping the U.S.," said Bert Sperling, founder of Sperling's BestPlaces.

    Interestingly, metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C didn't even make it into the top five. In fact, New York placed last on the list of 15 U.S. cities.

    Moe Fwacky on
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    BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Moe ftw.

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
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    BamboozaBambooza Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Not sure if that’s a win or simple decapitation.

    Bambooza on
    The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
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    BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Bambooza wrote: »
    Not sure if that’s a win or simple decapitation.

    Either way its a win :P

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
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    ElectricTurtleElectricTurtle Seeress WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Own zone!

    ElectricTurtle on
    yfrxgugaj8wu.png
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    Xenocide GeekXenocide Geek Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    yes, i do believe that we have thoroughly bolstered Seattle's ego, and destroyed the competition.

    wewt!

    Xenocide Geek on
    i wanted love, i needed love
    most of all, most of all
    someone said true love was dead
    but i'm bound to fall
    bound to fall for you
    oh what can i do
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    DreamwriterDreamwriter Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    I can see where someone may think this - Seattle *is* in a far off corner of the country. Just as bad as if it were at the tip of Florida. The center of the country would mean physically less distance for the average American to travel. Of course, the fact that Seattle has the largest population of gamers offsets that quite a bit.

    And Bellevue isn't really designed for people to walk around and do cool things - it was designed with cars in mind - so in the past PAX may not have been the optimal place. But downtown Seattle is perfect. It's a huge area with a high concentration of shops, restaurants, coffee shops with Wifi (boy is there a high concentration around the convention center!) It's designed for people to get everywhere on foot. And for the lazy/out of shape, there are tons of busses running all over downtown, and they are all free (as long as you don't leave the city). Unfortunately, the bus tunnels are closed right now (as they add light-rail), so the busses all run on surface streets.

    There's a Gameworks arcade less than a block from the convention center (if you dunno what that is, it's a HUGE two story arcade with bar, restaurant and pool tables). A theater next to Gameworks. A block away, a mall with another theater and some upscale restaurants and a GameStop. A couple blocks from that, another mall with a nice international food court and another Gamestop (and FYE). For touristy stuff, the Seattle Center with its Space Needle isn't that far, nor are the Seatle Ferries going to Bremerton, and the sports stadiums are near the ferries. Oh, and Pike Place Market is just down the road from the convention center.

    And of course, being a hop, skip and jump away from Microsoft and Nintendo means it probably doesn't take much prodding to get them to participate. This area is actually one of the big areas in the world for game development, even discounting those two biggies, so there's even more potential exhibitors (and participants).

    Dreamwriter on
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    LindygamerLindygamer Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    That makes me wonder why E3, and this new E for all is in LA. I mean its cool for me. It will be in an area I grew up in and will have familiar surroundings, not like seattle with all your "fresh air" and "public transportation".

    Lindygamer on
    The opinions I don't have are the opinions I don't got.

    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited May 2007
    Figure E3 and this E4All basically show their colors by being in LA as PAX does by being in Seattle. The E's are basically public showcases, while PAX is a gamer-culture event.

    edit: I feel i should mention that the OP of this thread has not logged back into these forums since making his post

    Moe Fwacky on
    E6LkoFK.png

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    Qs23Qs23 Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Moe_Fwacky wrote: »
    Figure E3 and this E4All basically show their colors by being in LA as PAX does by being in Seattle. The E's are basically public showcases, while PAX is a gamer-culture event.

    edit: I feel i should mention that the OP of this thread has not logged back into these forums since making his post

    Put another Pwn'd in Moe's column.

    And whomever said that it should be centralized in the US... the very center of the US is near Lebanon, Kansas. And on the CCST last year, we were about 200ish miles away from it....

    I would rather have it out in Seattle.

    Qs23 on
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    BamboozaBambooza Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Moe_Fwacky wrote: »
    I feel i should mention that the OP of this thread has not logged back into these forums since making his post


    Yes will if they did then you would need a shotgun and/or holy water not just the mighty pen.

    Bambooza on
    The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
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    FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2007
    This is why they should bring PAX to Omaha

    it has a gigantic convention center and is equidistant from every major city in the entire US

    it'll also generate an even level of bitching that it's too far from people on the coasts.

    FyreWulff on
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    Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited May 2007
    Yes, but we like there to be civilization adjacent to the convention center, instead of corn.

    Moe Fwacky on
    E6LkoFK.png

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    TNTrooperTNTrooper Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Wouldn't mind that much as long as we get to eat the corn.

    TNTrooper on
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    FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2007
    Moe_Fwacky wrote: »
    Yes, but we like there to be civilization adjacent to the convention center, instead of corn.

    Omaha has almost 1 million people

    bunch of clubs and bars within walking distance of the convention center for those inclined

    they're building 4 new hotels within 3 blocks of the convention center

    the convention center also has a hotel hooked up to it via skywalk

    FyreWulff on
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    ctishmanctishman Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    It's Nebraska.

    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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    ElectricTurtleElectricTurtle Seeress WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    I don't think that changing from 'a lot of people' hating the location to 'nearly everybody' hating the location is where anybody wants to go (except you because you live there). I lived in the midwest for four years, and in general the weather sucks, the people are mostly dull boors, there's no culture, less education (comparing Seattle to Omaha, we have almost twice the per capita undergraduate and graduate level degrees), and OMG is the midwest white. Not that I'm some self-hating racist, but seriously, we have 11x the number of Asians Omaha does, and that equates to lots of good restaurants and lots of cute girls, as well as a healthier economy. I would not want PAX to go someplace where I couldn't get any good sushi or dim sum, not to mention a wide selection of fine nihonshu. (I <3Umi Sake House, on Saturday I went there and got totally wasted with a friend on a fine bottle of Momokawa Nigori Genshu. The specialty rolls were good too.)

    ElectricTurtle on
    yfrxgugaj8wu.png
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    BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    FyreWulff wrote: »
    Moe_Fwacky wrote: »
    Yes, but we like there to be civilization adjacent to the convention center, instead of corn.

    Omaha has almost 1 million people

    bunch of clubs and bars within walking distance of the convention center for those inclined

    they're building 4 new hotels within 3 blocks of the convention center

    the convention center also has a hotel hooked up to it via skywalk

    How much of the gaming industry is in nebraska?

    It wont ever be there no matter how much you want it to be :P

    Plus why do you want pax moved there when PA is based in seattle? So you dont have to fly to pax? ...k
    Everyone wants pax to move to their hometown.

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
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    BamboozaBambooza Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    I am most puzzled by such an argument of PAX’s location given the vast network of cheep flights that the cattle car of the sky has established.

    Seriously for under $300 one could fly from any city to any city that has an airport in the USA. In fact it would cost me a good deal less to fly to Seattle then drive from Reno, but I have come to enjoy the road trip almost as much as the event itself.

    The other aspect of this argument seems void of reason in less that reason is seeped in ones own selfish over inflated since of self importance. If one wants a PAX like event to happen in their own city, then start it. Do the work, make it happen and then you don’t have to complain about where it’s located as it’s of your own choosing. The best part is if you give us a place to gather we will come. As much as the media seems to think otherwise gamers enjoy social interaction with other like minded people.

    Bambooza on
    The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
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    BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Bambooza wrote: »
    The other aspect of this argument seems void of reason in less that reason is seeped in ones own selfish over inflated since of self importance. If one wants a PAX like event to happen in their own city, then start it. Do the work, make it happen and then you don’t have to complain about where it’s located as it’s of your own choosing. The best part is if you give us a place to gather we will come. As much as the media seems to think otherwise gamers enjoy social interaction with other like minded people.

    You sir will get a bawls at pax.

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
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    sparrsparr Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    So much for coming back in a week or two to see if anyone replied :)

    For every person that makes it a thousand miles or more to PAX, whether it be by plane, train, or automobile, two people would come to the same event held more central on the west coast (so its not a 17 hour drive from LA), and ditto on the east coast.

    I actually work at a convention, albeit an anime event instead of video games, so I know the problems regarding location. I have a group of friends that carpools to many conventions within a 12 hour radius of Nashville TN, and that hits a crapload of major midwest and east coast convention locations. Some day, when I move to Seattle, I am sure I will love the location of PAX. But until then, I am stuck among the many people who can't afford $300 or $150 and 4 days of driving, or any combination thereof, to get to a convention that I am already going to be spending $200+ on food and hotels for :(

    sparr on
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    Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited May 2007
    It's amazing that after all this prove we provide that Seattle is the perfect place for PAX for several reasons, that you still attempt to deny it. Let's step back a moment and look at the growth rate of PAX. Every year for three consecutive years, PAX attendance has doubled, with a total attendance last year of close to 20,000. Most events of this type take a mimimum of ten years to get this big. In other words, PAX has grown at three times the rate of other similar events. The fact that there are those of us traveling anywhere from across the country to around the world to be at PAX means that Gabe and Tycho must be doing something right. It is unfortunate that you have friends that are unwilling/unable to make the journey to PAX, but all the wishing and complaining in the world is not going to bring PAX to your town. If you want a PAX-like event to happen in your town that bad, then make it happen. Although, a fair warning, it's doubtful that it would match the pure, unadulterated awesome that is PAX. But, who knows, if you do a good enough job at it, you'll have the convention center bursting at the seams in much the manner of PAX, maybe not immediately. Some years down the road, with the right management, and an awesome setup, you too can do it... Until then, you'll just have to deal with traveling to Seattle for the real thing.

    Moe Fwacky on
    E6LkoFK.png

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    randomguyrandomguy Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    omaha had a million people ? that's like putting a million people in the middle of the gobi desert. why torture people ?


    if a million people hit seattle this year ? that would be devastating. total insanity. plus less car fires and riots that would occur when you mix drunk with nerd rage with nothing to do in omaha.

    randomguy on
    "i ate your babies princess."
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    xxhennersxxxxhennersxx Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    sparr wrote: »
    So much for coming back in a week or two to see if anyone replied :)

    For every person that makes it a thousand miles or more to PAX, whether it be by plane, train, or automobile, two people would come to the same event held more central on the west coast (so its not a 17 hour drive from LA), and ditto on the east coast.

    I actually work at a convention, albeit an anime event instead of video games, so I know the problems regarding location. I have a group of friends that carpools to many conventions within a 12 hour radius of Nashville TN, and that hits a crapload of major midwest and east coast convention locations. Some day, when I move to Seattle, I am sure I will love the location of PAX. But until then, I am stuck among the many people who can't afford $300 or $150 and 4 days of driving, or any combination thereof, to get to a convention that I am already going to be spending $200+ on food and hotels for :(

    either you missed or ignored the link that stated seattle has the largest video game company population in the us.

    xxhennersxx on
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    nearlysobernearlysober Registered User regular
    edited May 2007
    Yeah, after two full pages of people giving Sparr the reasons why Seattle is perfect, he comes back with "distance" again. Seattle is a city with deep artistic & techological roots... not to mention videogame companies.

    Next year, they should totally hold the TGS in Eugene, Oregon cuz Tokyo is so far away... Eugene is much more centralized for people coming from the East Coast or Cali.

    nearlysober on
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