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Pax West badge date speculation

1235

Posts

  • Captain Ironsides Captain Ironsides Registered User regular
    4-day badges are low. Get in while you can.

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  • havok978havok978 Baltimore, MdRegistered User regular
    havok978 wrote: »
    I3izzy wrote: »
    havok978 wrote: »
    I3izzy wrote: »
    Marino wrote: »
    This hotel situation sucks royally...again.

    No issue with me, I am guessing this is user error

    Nope. A lot of stuff didn't even show up unless you saw the note on the side that said they kept everything to "event dates," and even then Sheraton was gone and the Hyatt was only Fri-Mon

    Then why did it let me book Sheraton for Thursday and I could have done Wednesday if i wanted?

    Maybe you have the golden touch. But only like three hotels showed up for me until I switched over to the "event dates" like the little note on the side said, and the Sheraton and Hyatt weren't there.

    It's wildly inconsistent for me right now. Sometimes it'll show Thurs-Mon as available, click on the hotel and suddenly it's not available and you get redirected to look for something else.

    Speaking of inconsistent, anyone else notice that "Near to far" isn't really sorting properly? Like the first one listed for me is like a mile away, then the next one is few blocks, then several down on the list its like a mile away again.

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  • EvilBadmanEvilBadman DO NOT TRUST THIS MAN Registered User regular
    The hotel site operates on providing Hotels based on IN/OUT dates and Occupancy. Compounding that is some hotels disappear if you go beyond the show dates by default which is just very, very irritating.

    FyreWulff wrote: »
    I should note that Badman is fucking awesome
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  • jhangel77jhangel77 OlympiaRegistered User regular
    edited May 2019
    Just got a couple 4-days!! Thus continuing our streak of being able to celebrate our anniversary (we met at PAX; it will be 9 years) and birthday at PAX!! (Although, I've gone since 2007)

    jhangel77 on
    Extremely lucky PAX Prime Veteran


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  • havok978havok978 Baltimore, MdRegistered User regular
    EvilBadman wrote: »
    The hotel site operates on providing Hotels based on IN/OUT dates and Occupancy. Compounding that is some hotels disappear if you go beyond the show dates by default which is just very, very irritating.

    Yeah. When I put in the dates I wanted, it literally only gave me like 3 hotels. Apparently you can email them to be put on the waitlist, but you have to have another reservation first. It just seems so much more needlessly complicated than it used to be...

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  • cbelleviecbellevie Registered User regular
    Reading about booking hotels makes me much less whiny about having to drive from North Bend :-)

  • SpiritfireSpiritfire Brookfield, WIRegistered User regular
    Getting in the virtual queue is about the closest I can experience to waiting in line at PAX each year. Made it through, hovered the cursor over the four day pass dropdown menu, and then closed the window before doing something stupid. Have a blast, everyone!

  • Bladed CicadaBladed Cicada Registered User regular
    LMAO. Four days are $8 dollars cheaper? Eight. Dollars. That's almost enough to cover one of the $12 "service" fees that have only existed since ReedPop took over! Monday is still as expensive as all other days even though it's a shorter day and they had to launch a "contest" last year to get people to buy Monday... Clearly learning lessons.

    I'm pretty sure the small gap in cost is due to complaints in previous years about 4 individual day badges costing so much more than weekend badges.

    Yeah, I've just been going for over 10 years and it has gone markedly downhill since ReedPop took over and Robert went on to other things. Most of the good events last year took place outside of the con and didn't require a badge. The floor was overrun with lounges exclusive to streamers, stages for things no one cared about (Facebook? Really?) and has turned into just another event to market as heavily as possible to consumers. It used to feel like a community con that was being put on by the community for the community. Now it feel like SDCC where it's just a big shameless cash grab with fewer and fewer reasons to attend.... Lol but I'll see you guys that weekend! Well, maybe only on monday once scalpers are selling below face just to stop the bleeding.

  • Captain Ironsides Captain Ironsides Registered User regular
    LMAO. Four days are $8 dollars cheaper? Eight. Dollars. That's almost enough to cover one of the $12 "service" fees that have only existed since ReedPop took over! Monday is still as expensive as all other days even though it's a shorter day and they had to launch a "contest" last year to get people to buy Monday... Clearly learning lessons.

    I'm pretty sure the small gap in cost is due to complaints in previous years about 4 individual day badges costing so much more than weekend badges.

    Yeah, I've just been going for over 10 years and it has gone markedly downhill since ReedPop took over and Robert went on to other things. Most of the good events last year took place outside of the con and didn't require a badge. The floor was overrun with lounges exclusive to streamers, stages for things no one cared about (Facebook? Really?) and has turned into just another event to market as heavily as possible to consumers. It used to feel like a community con that was being put on by the community for the community. Now it feel like SDCC where it's just a big shameless cash grab with fewer and fewer reasons to attend.... Lol but I'll see you guys that weekend! Well, maybe only on monday once scalpers are selling below face just to stop the bleeding.

    Yeah, I started going in 2009 and last attended in 2012. Every year was an absolute blast. I certainly hope it hasn't changed that much, or gotten that much worse.

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  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    It's funny you say that because 2017 was probably my best year at pax, ever.

  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    So my friend got into the queue at like 12:29 pacific. Still got four day badges. I think we’ve peaked on demand.

  • havok978havok978 Baltimore, MdRegistered User regular
    Am I crazy, or has it not sold out yet? This feels weird

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  • ArtereisArtereis Registered User regular
    Picked up a Sunday badge so I can hopefully watch this year's Acq Inc.

  • Captain Ironsides Captain Ironsides Registered User regular
    edited May 2019
    4-day badges are sold out! But I just checked, and if you keep refreshing the page, you might get lucky with some freed up badges. Seems to be taking a lot longer than previous years.

    Captain Ironsides on
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  • havok978havok978 Baltimore, MdRegistered User regular
    4-day badges are sold out! But I just checked, and if you keep refreshing the page, you might get lucky with some freed up badges. Seems to be taking a lot longer than previous years.

    Ah, there you go. I hit continue and it said sold out.

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  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    havok978 wrote: »
    Am I crazy, or has it not sold out yet? This feels weird

    It makes sense. Half of what made it sell out was the fear that it would sell out. So people scrambled and bought all the tickets as fast as they could.

    Once that fear is broken...and last year it was...the attitude changes. For like five or six years I’ve instantly bought the max for all days, because I wanted to make sure all my friends could make it. And until last year, I’ve had no trouble finding friends or friends of friends to buy those badges.

    Last year IIRC wound up with Friday, Sunday, and Monday badges I couldn’t even resell online for face. Nobody cared. So this year? I bought one four day for me, and one single day for the girlfriend, and that was it.

    It’s also probably that demand itself is waning, due to both multiple conventions and changes to this one.

  • havok978havok978 Baltimore, MdRegistered User regular
    mcdermott wrote: »
    havok978 wrote: »
    Am I crazy, or has it not sold out yet? This feels weird

    It makes sense. Half of what made it sell out was the fear that it would sell out. So people scrambled and bought all the tickets as fast as they could.

    Once that fear is broken...and last year it was...the attitude changes. For like five or six years I’ve instantly bought the max for all days, because I wanted to make sure all my friends could make it. And until last year, I’ve had no trouble finding friends or friends of friends to buy those badges.

    Last year IIRC wound up with Friday, Sunday, and Monday badges I couldn’t even resell online for face. Nobody cared. So this year? I bought one four day for me, and one single day for the girlfriend, and that was it.

    It’s also probably that demand itself is waning, due to both multiple conventions and changes to this one.

    Hmmm. I wonder if the return of the 4 day pass helps also.

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  • cbelleviecbellevie Registered User regular
    edited May 2019
    LMAO. Four days are $8 dollars cheaper? Eight. Dollars. That's almost enough to cover one of the $12 "service" fees that have only existed since ReedPop took over! Monday is still as expensive as all other days even though it's a shorter day and they had to launch a "contest" last year to get people to buy Monday... Clearly learning lessons.
    Yeah, I've just been going for over 10 years and it has gone markedly downhill since ReedPop took over and Robert went on to other things. Most of the good events last year took place outside of the con and didn't require a badge. The floor was overrun with lounges exclusive to streamers, stages for things no one cared about (Facebook? Really?) and has turned into just another event to market as heavily as possible to consumers. It used to feel like a community con that was being put on by the community for the community. Now it feel like SDCC where it's just a big shameless cash grab with fewer and fewer reasons to attend.... Lol but I'll see you guys that weekend! Well, maybe only on monday once scalpers are selling below face just to stop the bleeding.


    I couldn't agree more about last year. The focus on streamers and stages was frustrating, did not feel at all like the PAX we first fell in love with. Just felt like a ton of wasted space we had to walk around. I am sure someone enjoys it, but not us. And it probably makes the PAX folks a decent amount of dollars.

    cbellevie on
  • Bladed CicadaBladed Cicada Registered User regular
    It's funny you say that because 2017 was probably my best year at pax, ever.

    Oh for sure, any given PAX can be the best or worst for any given person, any given year. And it's not all ReedPops fault as the publishers and developers changed how they do the shows. And maybe it's just because 07 - 12 were some magical years for games, there were tons of great things I got to see at PAX before release, including the first Borderlands( I still remember thinking, Actual numbers popping up when you do damage? Ok...) But here are some of the differences summed up. For the first X amount of years, you would need to bring extra bags to carry all the promo and free stuff publishers and developers gave to you, just for walking by. That changed to, well, you guys need to at least demo the game. Fair enough. Then the merch booths took the place of the promo booths. Alright, I don't mind paying for stuff I like. Then the publishers and developers slowly started being displaced by distributors (Comcast, Ebay, Facebook, Discord etc) at the same time ticket prices went up year over year. Essentially paying more to receive less value and to be more of a target audience for Marketing. So, it kind of comes off now, to me at least, that I'm paying about $250 for an opportunity to buy more things I could have bought outside the con, to be marketed to and to walk all over downtown to the other host venues that DON'T REQUIRE A BADGE. You could have gone to the bethesda event last PAX, drank and ate food for free, demoed games and got free promo stuff, for at least 2 days WITHOUT a badge. Bethesda wasn't even in the hall last year. Their typical space, which is large, was dedicated to that Valve wonder game Artifact where people got to stay in the booth all day...for what turned out to be a bust of a game. Ticket prices should be going up because the year over year increase in quality of the show increases, not because a stock holder need a ROI. But I digress..blah blah blah, capitalism blah blah blah. End rant :D

  • DracilDracil Registered User regular
    Had a second friend joining! Bought her badge, refreshed page and it was sold out. Glad I got it just in time!

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  • every day's greatevery day's great Registered User regular
    edited May 2019
    mcdermott wrote: »
    It’s also probably that demand itself is waning, due to both multiple conventions and changes to this one.
    Demand balancing supply is not necessarily a bad thing. I liked how last year you could actually show up and buy a Monday badge on site!! Hopefully they won't drop Monday because of low demand.

    It does seem like there are fewer tabletop exhibitors in the wake of Unplugged, which is unfortunate since one of the best things about PAX is that it includes tabletop as well as pc/console/mobile. With luck streaming will be handled this year, lines won't be capped at 10:00:00, the exhibit halls will be bursting with great games, and the general awesome PAX vibe will return!!

    every day's great on
  • BitTWistBitTWist Kitsap CountyRegistered User regular
    wow, just jumped in to see what tickets where available, and all where. Even 4 days.

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  • every day's greatevery day's great Registered User regular
    edited May 2019
    It's funny you say that because 2017 was probably my best year at pax, ever.
    2017 had Acquisitions Inc. Internships – those were great!!

    every day's great on
  • Captain Ironsides Captain Ironsides Registered User regular
    edited May 2019
    BitTWist wrote: »
    wow, just jumped in to see what tickets where available, and all where. Even 4 days.

    Geezus. Still finding 4-day badges available.

    It's crazy that this actually feels like a "slow" sellout.

    Captain Ironsides on
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  • havok978havok978 Baltimore, MdRegistered User regular
    BitTWist wrote: »
    wow, just jumped in to see what tickets where available, and all where. Even 4 days.

    Geezus. Still finding 4-day badges available.

    It's crazy that this actually feels like a "slow" sellout.

    There's like a few 4 days and saturdays that keep getting passed back in forth. Its sold out, then its not, then its sold out, then its not lol.

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  • Bladed CicadaBladed Cicada Registered User regular
    Also! I work in Hotels so here are some tips if you have trouble finding rooms.



    Event Blocks - Room blocks for events are made for a specific date range for a certain number of rooms. Depending on how the hotel allows booking, you might be searching for 4 days, they are sold out on one and so the whole date range will show as unavailable. Or you might be looking for a day that wasn;t contracted. If their site won't show other available dates, try doing one date at a time.



    Proximity - While the event hotels certainly have their perks like proximity to the event and a generally filled with event attendees, they are not the only options and there are often cheaper options with comparable amenities not too far from the WSCC. Seattle has the streetcar, the light rail, monorail, ride and bike shares etc. Getting around is probably easier than you think unless you have extensive cosplay or need to carry a lot.



    Pricing - Aside from trying to use Online Travel Agents like Expedia, also try using a rate aggregate site like Room Key. That site will show you the lowest brand rate (usually require a loyalty membership which are free) and you can filter by what you want.





    Timing - Being early can save and is definitely safer, but if you are able to wait til "last minute", hotels will often try to dump unsold inventory.



    Bonus tip - The Seattle Market has had a HUGE influx of new hotels and it's gotten very competitive. Shop around!





    Good Luck!

  • Captain Ironsides Captain Ironsides Registered User regular
    havok978 wrote: »
    BitTWist wrote: »
    wow, just jumped in to see what tickets where available, and all where. Even 4 days.

    Geezus. Still finding 4-day badges available.

    It's crazy that this actually feels like a "slow" sellout.

    There's like a few 4 days and saturdays that keep getting passed back in forth. Its sold out, then its not, then its sold out, then its not lol.

    I know they're technically sold out, just that some are being returned back to the shelf. It's just crazy. This is the first time I've actually witnessed a PAX sellout, but I've done my research on previous years.

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  • DruidsFlameDruidsFlame Registered User regular
    It's funny you say that because 2017 was probably my best year at pax, ever.

    Oh for sure, any given PAX can be the best or worst for any given person, any given year. And it's not all ReedPops fault as the publishers and developers changed how they do the shows. And maybe it's just because 07 - 12 were some magical years for games, there were tons of great things I got to see at PAX before release, including the first Borderlands( I still remember thinking, Actual numbers popping up when you do damage? Ok...) But here are some of the differences summed up. For the first X amount of years, you would need to bring extra bags to carry all the promo and free stuff publishers and developers gave to you, just for walking by. That changed to, well, you guys need to at least demo the game. Fair enough. Then the merch booths took the place of the promo booths. Alright, I don't mind paying for stuff I like. Then the publishers and developers slowly started being displaced by distributors (Comcast, Ebay, Facebook, Discord etc) at the same time ticket prices went up year over year. Essentially paying more to receive less value and to be more of a target audience for Marketing. So, it kind of comes off now, to me at least, that I'm paying about $250 for an opportunity to buy more things I could have bought outside the con, to be marketed to and to walk all over downtown to the other host venues that DON'T REQUIRE A BADGE. You could have gone to the bethesda event last PAX, drank and ate food for free, demoed games and got free promo stuff, for at least 2 days WITHOUT a badge. Bethesda wasn't even in the hall last year. Their typical space, which is large, was dedicated to that Valve wonder game Artifact where people got to stay in the booth all day...for what turned out to be a bust of a game. Ticket prices should be going up because the year over year increase in quality of the show increases, not because a stock holder need a ROI. But I digress..blah blah blah, capitalism blah blah blah. End rant :D

    So much this!

    I saw that tickets were going to be on sale today in their "cryptic" tweet and then actually forgot until the tweets about tickets on sale this morning. Last year I decided that it was going to be my last because of most of what you said. In addition there were no less than 5 devs demoing games that were a.) coming out within a week of the show, or b.) ALREADY RELEASED.
    Then there was the whole Fortnite thing in Lot 85, sure let me just spend most of my day watching people play an online game.... Oh wait I didn't have to spend money on a ticket and could just watch from home on Twitch? To be clear, the only reason I went over there was for the food (when it was available) but didn't care for watching any of it.

    sEf3HzW.png
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  • SkeleVaderSkeleVader Your Friendly Dark Lord of Destruction Registered User regular
    edited May 2019
    Then there was the whole Fortnite thing in Lot 85, sure let me just spend most of my day watching people play an online game.... Oh wait I didn't have to spend money on a ticket and could just watch from home on Twitch? To be clear, the only reason I went over there was for the food (when it was available) but didn't care for watching any of it.

    That Fortnite area was one of the absolute best things about last year for my group. I hope they do something again this year. However, I am well aware it was not for everyone, just like I was not a fan of the League stuff years ago.

    SkeleVader on
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  • Bladed CicadaBladed Cicada Registered User regular
    It's funny you say that because 2017 was probably my best year at pax, ever.

    Oh for sure, any given PAX can be the best or worst for any given person, any given year. And it's not all ReedPops fault as the publishers and developers changed how they do the shows. And maybe it's just because 07 - 12 were some magical years for games, there were tons of great things I got to see at PAX before release, including the first Borderlands( I still remember thinking, Actual numbers popping up when you do damage? Ok...) But here are some of the differences summed up. For the first X amount of years, you would need to bring extra bags to carry all the promo and free stuff publishers and developers gave to you, just for walking by. That changed to, well, you guys need to at least demo the game. Fair enough. Then the merch booths took the place of the promo booths. Alright, I don't mind paying for stuff I like. Then the publishers and developers slowly started being displaced by distributors (Comcast, Ebay, Facebook, Discord etc) at the same time ticket prices went up year over year. Essentially paying more to receive less value and to be more of a target audience for Marketing. So, it kind of comes off now, to me at least, that I'm paying about $250 for an opportunity to buy more things I could have bought outside the con, to be marketed to and to walk all over downtown to the other host venues that DON'T REQUIRE A BADGE. You could have gone to the bethesda event last PAX, drank and ate food for free, demoed games and got free promo stuff, for at least 2 days WITHOUT a badge. Bethesda wasn't even in the hall last year. Their typical space, which is large, was dedicated to that Valve wonder game Artifact where people got to stay in the booth all day...for what turned out to be a bust of a game. Ticket prices should be going up because the year over year increase in quality of the show increases, not because a stock holder need a ROI. But I digress..blah blah blah, capitalism blah blah blah. End rant :D

    So much this!

    I saw that tickets were going to be on sale today in their "cryptic" tweet and then actually forgot until the tweets about tickets on sale this morning. Last year I decided that it was going to be my last because of most of what you said. In addition there were no less than 5 devs demoing games that were a.) coming out within a week of the show, or b.) ALREADY RELEASED.
    Then there was the whole Fortnite thing in Lot 85, sure let me just spend most of my day watching people play an online game.... Oh wait I didn't have to spend money on a ticket and could just watch from home on Twitch? To be clear, the only reason I went over there was for the food (when it was available) but didn't care for watching any of it.

    Aw man, you didn't even need to watch from home. You, once again, could have literally strolled right on in there, WITHOUT A BADGE, and ate free burgers, fries, drinks, promo sprays etc all while just hanging out. Free. Everyday. Free. No badge. In general, the after parties can be some of the most fun and spectacle laden events too! Guess what you don't need? Wait, no, you do need your pants. Stop it you...but you don't need a badge. Here is what I did last year, again (5th time?), with no badge. Saw Kero Kero
    -Bonito at the Showbox.

    -Went to Bethesa days for two days where I got: free alcohol, free food, free shirt, free Nuka quantum, free elder scrolls coin, free blades pop sockets, free promo vault 76 stuff, demo'd games, hung out on the roof of the Hard Rock

    - Went to the Fortnite event daily and got free burgers, fries, drinks, sprays

    - Went to the Messenger party - Free drinks and a show by Rainbow DragonEyes

    - Some random party at Gameworks - free food, free play card etc.





    Now. Someone. Anyone. Please describe that best thing that you experienced in a single day and REQUIRED a badge? Remembering you paid about $60 after tax, fees and shipping (all built in costs prior to ReedPop)


    Not sure what the value proposition is anymore?

  • DracilDracil Registered User regular
    I mean I suppose you could've resold your Artifact keys at the time for about $200 combined or so for each day you got in.

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  • mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited May 2019
    I have a fun 3-4 day lan party with friends. Sure, we could throw that on our own at somebody’s house. But we won’t. The con is an excuse.

    All the criticisms of the available content is valid though.

    mcdermott on
  • SkeleVaderSkeleVader Your Friendly Dark Lord of Destruction Registered User regular

    Now. Someone. Anyone. Please describe that best thing that you experienced in a single day and REQUIRED a badge? Remembering you paid about $60 after tax, fees and shipping (all built in costs prior to ReedPop)


    Not sure what the value proposition is anymore?

    Pin hunting keeps everyone in my group very busy each Pax & takes us to games we wouldn't have otherwise played, the Annapurna games have been a big surprise how much I like them. Omegathon panels are always a blast, Acquisitions Incorporated & other D&D shows are must a must watch, playing table top games with random people is really fun. I don't have a VR system so the VR games and free play is a must. Simply walking the show floor each day and seeing all the amazing displays is exciting.
    There are definitely some areas that have fallen off, but for me and my group it is as fun as it has ever been.

    IhtGIyi.png
  • DracilDracil Registered User regular
    Yeah pins are definitely a thing. I also enjoy the board game rooms in general.

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  • havok978havok978 Baltimore, MdRegistered User regular
    mcdermott wrote: »
    I have a fun 3-4 day lan party with friends. Sure, we could throw that on our own at somebody’s house. But we won’t. The con is an excuse.

    All the criticisms of the available content is valid though.

    Honestly, I think I spent more time at BYOC last year than I had in a number of years. I definitely get all the criticisms though. PAX is also a good excuse for me to get Seattle.

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  • Bladed CicadaBladed Cicada Registered User regular
    Dracil wrote: »
    I mean I suppose you could've resold your Artifact keys at the time for about $200 combined or so for each day you got in.

    I mean, yeah? I guess you could have spent $60 and 8 hours of your day to make $140. I guess I'd just rather go to work at that point though lol In all seriousness though, it was pretty sad for me that the first time Valve was back in god knows how long that they came back with...Artifact...

  • SinoSambaSinoSamba CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    Oh man, the friend I have that is going to Pax 1st time decided to buy his own ticket. He ended up on a scalper site (ticket center or some such) and paid $200 for a single day. I'm telling him to cancel ASAP or open a dispute on his CC if necessary and only follow the ShowClix link for tickets. This after I kept telling him to follow the Pax Badge account and only go through there. It's really scummy how the scalper sites are more prominent than the legit site on a Google search. It really throws off people who are less used to buying event tickets.

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  • Bladed CicadaBladed Cicada Registered User regular
    SkeleVader wrote: »

    Now. Someone. Anyone. Please describe that best thing that you experienced in a single day and REQUIRED a badge? Remembering you paid about $60 after tax, fees and shipping (all built in costs prior to ReedPop)


    Not sure what the value proposition is anymore?

    Pin hunting keeps everyone in my group very busy each Pax & takes us to games we wouldn't have otherwise played, the Annapurna games have been a big surprise how much I like them. Omegathon panels are always a blast, Acquisitions Incorporated & other D&D shows are must a must watch, playing table top games with random people is really fun. I don't have a VR system so the VR games and free play is a must. Simply walking the show floor each day and seeing all the amazing displays is exciting.
    There are definitely some areas that have fallen off, but for me and my group it is as fun as it has ever been.

    I by no means intend to knock the enjoyment any others might get from the con. Clearly I still go and I'm here on the boards...sometimes. I guess I just go to other much smaller cons that let you play games and do VR and all that. Renton Retro just held their con with table top, arcade, VR, Free Play, Tourney (albeit much smaller) for $20 for the whole weekend. Without the hours long lines consuming the day. Compare that with $250. And while I also enjoy pin hunting and the panels, Pins can be bought or traded outside of con and they stream all the panels... Again, just not the value it used to have for me. And that's just me! I still look forward to seeing everyone every year. And I don't think I could have bought a Devolver Digital Loot Box Coin for $10 anywhere else, which, awesome. And I still meet the developers and have fun with friends. All I'm saying is I'm going to start my own con LMAO. I just remember buying a scalped four day for $120 one year and thought THAT was ridiculous. Now it's more than twice that at face and inflation was not at 100% during that time. Aaaanyway!

  • Dr.RocktipusDr.Rocktipus Registered User regular
    It seems even after all these years my group finds a new way to enjoy the show. The first year we went it was all expo hall all the time. It was basically what I dreamed attending E3 was like as a kid but real. Eventually, especially with mondays being added, I branched out into panels and tabletop/boardgames/mtg. One of my fondest PAX memories is just browsing Uncle's Games and they had a sign advertising an soon-to-be released game called Codenames. Someone more informed than me about boardgames more or less busted in and rushed to the counter asking if they still had any copies of it left, which fortunately for him(and me) they still had a couple. On a whim I decided to pick it up and when I met up with my friends after the expo hall closed we decided to try it out in a freeplay room. Turns out aside from being a fantastic game, it also benefits from a design perfect for a convention in that anyone can join anytime, the rules are easy to explain, and any number of people can be playing at once. Over the course of the next few hours at least a dozen random people inquired about the game and dropped in and out. It was phenomenal.

    The last couple of years has seen myself and my group in general spending less time in long lines for big games(albeit it happens a few times a year) and a lot more time with smaller indie games I've never heard of and checking out tabletop occasionally. These days PAX for us is a chance to hang out(some of us live thousands of miles away from one another) in an environment full of our shared hobbies. Even with a lot of the larger expo hall booths being dedicated to things I have no interest in, there's yet to be a year where I didn't have something I could be doing.

  • every day's greatevery day's great Registered User regular
    edited May 2019
    [Now. Someone. Anyone. Please describe that best thing that you experienced in a single day and REQUIRED a badge? Remembering you paid about $60 after tax, fees and shipping (all built in costs prior to ReedPop)
    A few highlights:
    - Acquisitions Inc. Internships (2017)
    - Talking with many game developers in person
    - Game panels
    - Playing prerelease games
    - Concerts
    - D&D panels and live games
    - Omegathon
    Also: 2000 Streetpasses, most of them in the handheld lounge, but probably could have gotten nearly as many positioning myself outside the WSCC entrance.
    I definitely haven't taken advantage of offsite game developer events much - it would be nice if it were easier to find out about them.
    Large-scale tabletop is a cool convention thing but it could happen at smaller conventions.

    every day's great on
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