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PAX 2017 Expectations

DoomsdayPlayDoomsdayPlay Registered User new member
edited October 2016 in PAX East
Year by year PAX prices have slowly been going up, but this year it jumped from 95 for 3 days to 165.

With this price jump, do you have any higher expectations from PAX?

Price changes aside, were there things from last year that you'd hope they'd change this year?

DoomsdayPlay on
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Posts

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    I think that the cost of the convention center likely goes up each year. Single day badges barely rose at all this year in price, and 3-day badges were already a low percentage of all the badges sold, so there's not a whole lot of difference.

  • DoomsdayPlayDoomsdayPlay Registered User new member
    Huh, that would make sense. Didnt know weekend passes were a low percent, just assumed that they were just so popular that they sold out the quickest.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Yeah weekend passes transitioned over the past few years to a "nice bonus" for those people who got in the queue first.

  • DoomsdayPlayDoomsdayPlay Registered User new member
    I've been more of a lurker than a poster these last few years ( of course mainly to around when PAX East is getting ready to start ).

    I definitely see your name around here the most haha. Maybe you'll have an sensible answer for this too.

    Every year I expect them to fix the spacing issues at PAX, the game panels have the most uncomfortable pathways, while the tabletop section is a dead wasteland for most of PAX. Don't you think they'd cater to the majority of the people there? I mean i think tabletop games are cool and all, but there is just so much wasted space for practically half of the convention floor.

    Maybe the convention center has certain rules on how they want things laid out?

  • jayh0vajayh0va Registered User regular
    I've been more of a lurker than a poster these last few years ( of course mainly to around when PAX East is getting ready to start ).

    I definitely see your name around here the most haha. Maybe you'll have an sensible answer for this too.

    Every year I expect them to fix the spacing issues at PAX, the game panels have the most uncomfortable pathways, while the tabletop section is a dead wasteland for most of PAX. Don't you think they'd cater to the majority of the people there? I mean i think tabletop games are cool and all, but there is just so much wasted space for practically half of the convention floor.

    Maybe the convention center has certain rules on how they want things laid out?

    Just to play devil's advocate...I thought the expo floor last year was one of the best it's ever been laid out. I never felt super cramped as in previous years and it was MUCH bigger than before as well. This expansion along with VR and E-sports meant that tabletop was insanely small last year. I struggled to find a table every time I went other than late Friday night. It definitely a difficult balance as PAX has to try to allocate 12 acres of space in a way that caters to the widest audience.

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  • robirexrobirex BostonRegistered User regular
    jayh0va wrote: »
    I've been more of a lurker than a poster these last few years ( of course mainly to around when PAX East is getting ready to start ).

    I definitely see your name around here the most haha. Maybe you'll have an sensible answer for this too.

    Every year I expect them to fix the spacing issues at PAX, the game panels have the most uncomfortable pathways, while the tabletop section is a dead wasteland for most of PAX. Don't you think they'd cater to the majority of the people there? I mean i think tabletop games are cool and all, but there is just so much wasted space for practically half of the convention floor.

    Maybe the convention center has certain rules on how they want things laid out?

    Just to play devil's advocate...I thought the expo floor last year was one of the best it's ever been laid out. I never felt super cramped as in previous years and it was MUCH bigger than before as well. This expansion along with VR and E-sports meant that tabletop was insanely small last year. I struggled to find a table every time I went other than late Friday night. It definitely a difficult balance as PAX has to try to allocate 12 acres of space in a way that caters to the widest audience.

    I thought tabletop was pretty small too. I could never really find a table until Sunday. Maybe I was distracted by all the other PAX greatness, but I fancy myself a tabletop game lover so I was checking it out often. Perhaps I was just looking at the wrong times. I did not have an issue with the layout of the expo floor. It was slow moving at times, but there was a lot of people so it was to be expected. I hope that PAX is more of the same from last year.

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  • TopherRocksTopherRocks Rockstar Beard Grower Kent, OH or Long Island, NYRegistered User regular
    jayh0va wrote: »
    Just to play devil's advocate...I thought the expo floor last year was one of the best it's ever been laid out. I never felt super cramped as in previous years and it was MUCH bigger than before as well. This expansion along with VR and E-sports meant that tabletop was insanely small last year. I struggled to find a table every time I went other than late Friday night. It definitely a difficult balance as PAX has to try to allocate 12 acres of space in a way that caters to the widest audience.

    I have to agree with the layout, aside from say the corners near the escalators (where doom was and Rockstar historically ends up in the past) feels a bit cramped, but otherwise the floor had great flow. I do find the E-sports stuff to be a huge waste of space, especially with how much of tabletop it ate up. It seemed like it could be better used for actual booths, vendors, TT freeplay...anything really.

  • DoomsdayPlayDoomsdayPlay Registered User new member
    Must of been walking by during the least busiest times. Are all the tables on the other half for tabletop / cardgames or are they there for the food booths too?

    I also have to agree on how much of a wasted space the e sports section ate up. Its not like it was something that was being used constantly. So most of the time it was empty.

    Out of the 4 years I've gone, I will say that last year was one of the better setups.

  • SnowDogSnowDog Central MARegistered User regular
    You can have my tabletop space when you pry it from my cold dead hands ;)

  • mynameaintyaomynameaintyao Registered User regular
    I think I've entered a dream world where 100% of the East passes weren't sold out days after the launch. I can deal with attending only on Fri and Sun.

  • robirexrobirex BostonRegistered User regular
    I think I've entered a dream world where 100% of the East passes weren't sold out days after the launch. I can deal with attending only on Fri and Sun.

    Yeah, I'm very surprised. I wonder how many badges they released.

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  • iltailta Registered User regular
    edited October 2016
    robirex wrote: »
    I think I've entered a dream world where 100% of the East passes weren't sold out days after the launch. I can deal with attending only on Fri and Sun.

    Yeah, I'm very surprised. I wonder how many badges they released.

    I do wish they reported that still.

    In any case, I think that South has probably taken a lot of pressure off of East.

    Even more so, based on what PA staff have said, the lack of 3-days probably helped ease the pressure considerably on Friday and Sunday pass numbers. Previously, they had to assume that all 3-day pass-purchasers were going to attend each day; now, they don't have to worry about that, which means far more F/Su passes are available than previous years. Good news for everyone except those who lucked into the comparatively cheap 3-days before.

    ilta on
  • SolanalesSolanales CMYKMatter Registered User regular
    I think the new layout that they went with last year was much more accommodating as well so perhaps that has something to do with it. I didn't feel nearly as crammed in as in previous years. I remember in 2015, the southernmost pathway between the Square Enix booth and a bunch of smaller vendors was absolutely impossible to get through most of the day, but in 2016 there were no issues. They even had a "fast" lane where you could dodge most of the expo hall traffic by going around it all near the bathrooms and coming back in on the other corner. That was a huge improvement.


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  • Streetlight345Streetlight345 Seekonk, MARegistered User regular
    jayh0va wrote: »
    Just to play devil's advocate...I thought the expo floor last year was one of the best it's ever been laid out. I never felt super cramped as in previous years and it was MUCH bigger than before as well. This expansion along with VR and E-sports meant that tabletop was insanely small last year. I struggled to find a table every time I went other than late Friday night. It definitely a difficult balance as PAX has to try to allocate 12 acres of space in a way that caters to the widest audience.

    I have to agree with the layout, aside from say the corners near the escalators (where doom was and Rockstar historically ends up in the past) feels a bit cramped, but otherwise the floor had great flow. I do find the E-sports stuff to be a huge waste of space, especially with how much of tabletop it ate up. It seemed like it could be better used for actual booths, vendors, TT freeplay...anything really.

    I have to disagree with you, the e-sports part might have been my highlight of last year for me. Everyone has there opinions on what should and shouldn't be there tho. Personally, I don't enjoy any of the YouTube stuff and the personalities that go with it.

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  • RhileyRhiley Registered User regular
    It wouldn't be so bad if the esports stuff was off in a separate building or something but it takes up a huge amount of space and isn't utilized all day long. As it is it takes away space from stuff that is used all day so it's a poor use of limited space even if some people like it.

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  • SolanalesSolanales CMYKMatter Registered User regular
    I have to disagree with you, the e-sports part might have been my highlight of last year for me. Everyone has there opinions on what should and shouldn't be there tho. Personally, I don't enjoy any of the YouTube stuff and the personalities that go with it.

    I went to the Streetfighter finals and the LoL finals. Those were an absolute blast. I do have to admit though that when those spaces weren't being use, they were just giant empty areas. I love esports and have been a big proponent of them taking a more prominent place at conventions. I think the large turnout that they saw for most of these events would be encouraging for organizers, but perhaps they could find ways of making use of that space when the matches weren't happening.


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  • robirexrobirex BostonRegistered User regular
    Do they post attendance numbers? I am curious whether attendance numbers were low last year comparative to years prior. Perhaps that had a lot to do with how easy it was to get around last year as well. With the additional badges on sale this year maybe we can expect to be packed in again?

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  • SolanalesSolanales CMYKMatter Registered User regular
    robirex wrote: »
    Do they post attendance numbers? I am curious whether attendance numbers were low last year comparative to years prior. Perhaps that had a lot to do with how easy it was to get around last year as well. With the additional badges on sale this year maybe we can expect to be packed in again?

    They haven't released attendance numbers in awhile because they didn't want a competition between east and west to form. I think there were just as many people. My only evidence is anecdotal as the lines seemed just as long, but it seemed the expo hall was just set up better than before. I think honestly what we're seeing is just the abolition of 3 day passes easing pressure in general. I'm sure at least some 3 day pass buyers didn't attend on Friday due to work, but wanted the 3 day pass for the reduced cost and prestige of it.

    We may see increased attendance just due to people more realistically buying the days they want to go. That's my hope anyways. I enjoy seeing PAX succeed.


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  • nevermore13nevermore13 Registered User regular
    There may be an attendance increase but I believe they purposefully made more room in the expo floor aisles for traffic flow. I don't see that reverting back to how it was.

  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    I think I've entered a dream world where 100% of the East passes weren't sold out days after the launch. I can deal with attending only on Fri and Sun.

    East Sunday has never sold out faster than 15 days. And before 2015, Friday always took over a week. It's really interesting seeing the attendance patterns differ between West and East. At West all days sell out roughly at the same time (Monday lasts less than twice as long as Saturday). For East, Saturday is way more popular than any other day. In 2015 Friday sold 50 times slower than Saturday. And this year it's already 80 times slower and we're not done yet.

  • SolanalesSolanales CMYKMatter Registered User regular
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    I think I've entered a dream world where 100% of the East passes weren't sold out days after the launch. I can deal with attending only on Fri and Sun.

    East Sunday has never sold out faster than 15 days. And before 2015, Friday always took over a week. It's really interesting seeing the attendance patterns differ between West and East. At West all days sell out roughly at the same time (Monday lasts less than twice as long as Saturday). For East, Saturday is way more popular than any other day. In 2015 Friday sold 50 times slower than Saturday. And this year it's already 80 times slower and we're not done yet.

    I mean if you're on the floor, it's noticeable on Sundays how few people are there compared to other days. Friday is still pretty busy, but you can usually get around pretty well. Forget doing much of anything on Saturday lol


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  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    edited October 2016
    Solanales wrote: »
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    I think I've entered a dream world where 100% of the East passes weren't sold out days after the launch. I can deal with attending only on Fri and Sun.

    East Sunday has never sold out faster than 15 days. And before 2015, Friday always took over a week. It's really interesting seeing the attendance patterns differ between West and East. At West all days sell out roughly at the same time (Monday lasts less than twice as long as Saturday). For East, Saturday is way more popular than any other day. In 2015 Friday sold 50 times slower than Saturday. And this year it's already 80 times slower and we're not done yet.

    I mean if you're on the floor, it's noticeable on Sundays how few people are there compared to other days. Friday is still pretty busy, but you can usually get around pretty well. Forget doing much of anything on Saturday lol

    That backs up their reasoning for not selling 3-days. If the same number of tickets are sold for each day, but the show isn't at a similar density each day then tickets are going unused to some degree. So a fair assumption is that this year, Friday and Sunday will see higher attendance since people buying those tickets can be assumed to have actually wanted them.
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    For 2017, Friday's time is based on it selling out at the time the chart was made. And Sunday's is based on it not selling out at all. Note the Y axis is logarithmic so each major tick is a factor of 10.

    YoungFrey on
  • SolanalesSolanales CMYKMatter Registered User regular
    Just going off that graph, we may see a busier Sunday. That's great for PAX in general. Hopefully more even spread of population coupled with the better layout will make for a smooth experience.


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  • jayh0vajayh0va Registered User regular
    YoungFrey wrote: »
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    For 2017, Friday's time is based on it selling out at the time the chart was made. And Sunday's is based on it not selling out at all. Note the Y axis is logarithmic so each major tick is a factor of 10.

    Bump and +1 for Logarithmic Data Viz 8-)

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  • Bunta_FujiwaraBunta_Fujiwara Albany, NYRegistered User regular
    I have never had much to do on Sunday. Last year we ended up just leaving that morning. I really wish they'd make a push to make things more spread out. I swear sometimes there are like 2-3 big name panels happening in a 4 hour span, then it's dead. Gearbox used to to Sunday, last year they did Saturday (and their panels have gotten steadily worse anyways).

    Also, I really hope they try to encourage more game/game production panels, as the last couple years have been bare. I remember panels on Uncharted/Naughty Dog, Bioshock, Mass Effect, etc. I feel like that presence has gone down, and I really wish they'd ramp it back up.

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  • Jordman12Jordman12 Registered User regular
    edited October 2016
    My only expectation / hope is that I get picked again for the 2017 PAX East Omegathon. In 2015 and 2016, my partner and I were given the team name of "Team Hats". Although, I can't imagine why. Its not like we wore our hats throughout the weekend of PAX East for both years.
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  • craiolacraiola MARegistered User regular
    I have never had much to do on Sunday. Last year we ended up just leaving that morning. I really wish they'd make a push to make things more spread out. I swear sometimes there are like 2-3 big name panels happening in a 4 hour span, then it's dead. Gearbox used to to Sunday, last year they did Saturday (and their panels have gotten steadily worse anyways).

    Also, I really hope they try to encourage more game/game production panels, as the last couple years have been bare. I remember panels on Uncharted/Naughty Dog, Bioshock, Mass Effect, etc. I feel like that presence has gone down, and I really wish they'd ramp it back up.

    Sunday is one of my favorite days. Its usually the mad rush to hit up the expo floor to do anything you missed Fri and Sat, and then there's Acquisitions Inc which is probably my favorite panel of PAX. I'm sure we'll see the Bioware Base back this year with Andromeda releasing in Q1 2017, they always have tons of content panels.

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  • Bunta_FujiwaraBunta_Fujiwara Albany, NYRegistered User regular
    craiola wrote: »
    I have never had much to do on Sunday. Last year we ended up just leaving that morning. I really wish they'd make a push to make things more spread out. I swear sometimes there are like 2-3 big name panels happening in a 4 hour span, then it's dead. Gearbox used to to Sunday, last year they did Saturday (and their panels have gotten steadily worse anyways).

    Also, I really hope they try to encourage more game/game production panels, as the last couple years have been bare. I remember panels on Uncharted/Naughty Dog, Bioshock, Mass Effect, etc. I feel like that presence has gone down, and I really wish they'd ramp it back up.

    Sunday is one of my favorite days. Its usually the mad rush to hit up the expo floor to do anything you missed Fri and Sat, and then there's Acquisitions Inc which is probably my favorite panel of PAX. I'm sure we'll see the Bioware Base back this year with Andromeda releasing in Q1 2017, they always have tons of content panels.


    I hope so. I always have a blast at PAX. I just have found the content provided the past couple years to be a bit more lacking, in my opinion of course. Hopefully Protomen again as well!!

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  • InfiniteNuLLInfiniteNuLL Registered User regular
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    I think I've entered a dream world where 100% of the East passes weren't sold out days after the launch. I can deal with attending only on Fri and Sun.

    East Sunday has never sold out faster than 15 days. And before 2015, Friday always took over a week. It's really interesting seeing the attendance patterns differ between West and East. At West all days sell out roughly at the same time (Monday lasts less than twice as long as Saturday). For East, Saturday is way more popular than any other day. In 2015 Friday sold 50 times slower than Saturday. And this year it's already 80 times slower and we're not done yet.
    Keep in mind when West happens. Some people are still on summer vacation during that time. East takes place during the middle of the school year.

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  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    I think I've entered a dream world where 100% of the East passes weren't sold out days after the launch. I can deal with attending only on Fri and Sun.

    East Sunday has never sold out faster than 15 days. And before 2015, Friday always took over a week. It's really interesting seeing the attendance patterns differ between West and East. At West all days sell out roughly at the same time (Monday lasts less than twice as long as Saturday). For East, Saturday is way more popular than any other day. In 2015 Friday sold 50 times slower than Saturday. And this year it's already 80 times slower and we're not done yet.
    Keep in mind when West happens. Some people are still on summer vacation during that time. East takes place during the middle of the school year.

    I just find it dramatic how divergent the factors end up making East. Also East is in a more isolated location (as I hear it told), with the food, bars, and hotels further away. At West all of those are right there. So East seems to favor the "go super-hard one day" approach, and West is more "come and go all day for several days".

    Additionally, Friday badges have been 'low' for over a week. The changes don't seem to correlate to time of year or how far in advance of East they go on sale. They one real correlation I could see is that Friday and Sunday slowed down the year after South was started. ie. the first time East was sold after South was sold, Friday and Sunday both took a lot longer to sell out. Saturday and 3-days sales but still sold out faster than 2014, but they speed up less than previous years. But for 2016 Friday and Sunday sped up again. So maybe the hype for the first South pushed East down, but the low-key reality saw East demand bounce back. However, the 2nd South showed it to be a real contender and East dropped again. Total hypothesis here, I just find it all interesting.
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  • melzwaymelzway Registered User regular
    You could be right. I am very surprised there are still Friday badges left. I go hard all three days. While I enjoyed to organizational changes they made last year which made navigating the expo floor much easier, the lines were still way too long especially for major games. I'm hoping South continues to be better attended and East less congested.

  • CoanCoan TorontoRegistered User regular
    I hope so. I always have a blast at PAX. I just have found the content provided the past couple years to be a bit more lacking, in my opinion of course. Hopefully Protomen again as well!!

    They've been teasing more new stuff in the next few months, so if they play PAX again, we'll probably get more than the taste we had last year.

    I'm hoping they have new stuff since they always blow the roof off, but I'd almost want to see someone else get a shot instead if they don't.

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  • RedK232RedK232 Registered User regular
    edited November 2016
    Yea Pax East is a awesome con experience but its there isnt alot of restraunts, food places nearby really. There are a small bunch here and there but not like restaurants nearby. You gotta get like a uber/lyft for that. Since East is the only one i can go to at the moment i normally always go the 3 days. If i was able to go to others i would maybe consider like a 2-day here and 3-day there kind of thing. I still hope it stays in Boston after 2020 just cause of the size the convention is and its connection to hotels. Hopefully new restaurants will open up nearby :p.

    RedK232 on
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  • jayh0vajayh0va Registered User regular
    RedK232 wrote: »
    Yea Pax East is a awesome con experience but its there isnt alot of restraunts, food places nearby really. There are a small bunch here and there but not like restaurants nearby. You gotta get like a uber/lyft for that. Since East is the only one i can go to at the moment i normally always go the 3 days. If i was able to go to others i would maybe consider like a 2-day here and 3-day there kind of thing. I still hope it stays in Boston after 2020 just cause of the size the convention is and its connection to hotels. Hopefully new restaurants will open up nearby :p.

    huh?
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  • TopherRocksTopherRocks Rockstar Beard Grower Kent, OH or Long Island, NYRegistered User regular
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    I just find it dramatic how divergent the factors end up making East. Also East is in a more isolated location (as I hear it told), with the food, bars, and hotels further away. At West all of those are right there. So East seems to favor the "go super-hard one day" approach, and West is more "come and go all day for several days".

    I've always been team go hard all day every day and worry about not dying when I'm kicked out of the building.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    While it's improved a lot, I can't argue that East isn't the most sparse for nearby food options in comparison to the other PAXen. There's things within walking distance, but it's not surrounded by things the way that South and West (and probably Aus?) are.

  • Bunta_FujiwaraBunta_Fujiwara Albany, NYRegistered User regular
    zerzhul wrote: »
    While it's improved a lot, I can't argue that East isn't the most sparse for nearby food options in comparison to the other PAXen. There's things within walking distance, but it's not surrounded by things the way that South and West (and probably Aus?) are.

    I thought the food trucks outside was a great addition (don't remember seeing them previous years). I usually pack snacks, but you can only eat so much pre-packaged garbage before needing something of substance during the day.

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  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Yeah the food trucks were a great option, although super duper busy at most times.

  • jayh0vajayh0va Registered User regular
    zerzhul wrote: »
    While it's improved a lot, I can't argue that East isn't the most sparse for nearby food options in comparison to the other PAXen. There's things within walking distance, but it's not surrounded by things the way that South and West (and probably Aus?) are.

    Ah...I haven't been able to compare it, so that makes sense. Compared to where I live, the number of options within walking distance is mind blowing. I will say that wait times during peak meals are shocking (food trucks, restaurants, etc).

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  • SolanalesSolanales CMYKMatter Registered User regular
    I will say that it seems like that section of town is improving more and more each year. I remember it being harder pressed to find food in 2015 than in 2016. I'm hoping with the new hotels popping up around the convention center, we'll continue to see more eatery options along with it.


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