Forum - View topicOtakon Vegas 2014
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Sentai wasn't at the con. |
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ryankopf
Posts: 5 |
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That is a lot of industry panels for a smaller convention - but I have a feeling that if Otakon Vegas returns it won't be small for long. I predict it will rather easily go from 2,000 to at least 5,000 next year.
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GTO Neko
 Posts: 94 |
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Probably be at best like Anime Weekend Atlanta where it may be a "small" convention, but it's been a big hotbed of premieres, industry announcements and more. In a way, this could be like the PAX cons for PAX Prime (West coast) and PAX East, covering not only different times of the year, but covering locales for people not able to hit the primary version of the con. |
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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Industry panels are fun, and premieres are nifty as they bring guests and events to the cons (the industry has dictated the bulk of Otakon Baltimore's guest list for eons now) but do we fans, in the internet age where news and video is at our fingertips, really need a con devoted to press announcements and premieres? Having a con devoted to disseminating industry info in the internet seems like copying an MP3 by playing it through the speakers of a computer and recording it back with the microphone on that same computer: redundant, inefficient and lossy.
Those events are great for the con itself but it all seems a little silly when we fans no longer need to go to the cons to get the news. Though now that ANN has hidden its press releases in some dark, fetid recess perhaps it does require a panel at a con to get those press releases out 
Damn does this new interface fail and fail hard. |
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Asrialys
 Posts: 1160 |
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Erm... As I was somewhat implying, can anyone confirm that Aniplex mentioned Blast of Tempest in Blu-ray, or was that a mistake on ANN's part? |
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Shiggity
 Posts: 366 Location: Boston, MA |
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While I'm happy for Otakorp that it's expanding and starting and trying new things I'm glad I didn't break my @$$ and the bank to go out to LV for this. The reason why I've enjoyed Otakon Prime (Baltimore) so much for the past 5 years (2009-2013 thus far) was due to the awesome Japanese guests they invite each year. This past year was a different story, as many of you know, but from 2009-2012 it was awesome for me.
With all that said, I'm not by any means dissing OtaVegas as this was only its first year. I'm sure with time it'll grow, and it'll need to move venues (look at Otakon Prime). Realistically, with my pay I'll only make the trip out to Vegas to OtaVegas if it gets guests that OtaPrime cannot. That's always been my personal ultimatum of sorts. Anyway, great job on the report. I'll keep an eye on this con and if it gets stuff I like, then maybe I'll attend sometime. 
Last edited by Shiggity on Wed Jan 08, 2014 1:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5825 Location: Virginia, United States |
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They have had twenty years to iron out the bugs. There will always be bugs. The move to DC also is not happening overnight, and they have been planning for it for at least a couple of years. When they open in DC, there will still be problems, no matter how much time they have to plan for it. No plan survives implementation intact. |
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Shirow Otaku
 Posts: 17 |
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I totally agree; I was so upset when I found out that Richard Epcar and Mary McGlynn (GitS) were there and I decided to opt out of Otakon Vegas. Oh well, I'll just tell myself that there simply wasn't much coverage for this new Con, and there was no why I would have known... NYCC was a suitable alternative. |
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jvowles
Otakon Representative
 Posts: 219 Location: Maryland |
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Just a clarification: industry doesn't "dictate" guests at Otakon or Otakon Vegas. They sometimes offer guests tied to the products they want to promote, and sometimes we say yes. But not always, and certainly not exclusively, and most of our guests are here on our dime. Sometimes they cover some or all of the costs of bringing a guest or two, and sometimes it is just lucky coincidence. For example, Ando was coming before Aniplex had any clue about it, because he was going to travel with his friends. But of course they took advantage of the situation, and why not? |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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It's not just to gain news and press announcements. Even if a con is centered around such things it's more than just going there to hear news and see a premiere. It's about the whole experience. Or at least it should be. If you're going to a con, regardless of the type of con or key focus of it, and that's all you're getting out it....I think you're missing out on part of why you go to a con. Be it a more industry focus or fan focus con. |
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mollyblue
Posts: 5 |
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There's a reason for having events that announce a lot of industry things all at once - it makes the slate of announcements more relevant and newsworthy. Take for example a show like E3 or CES that some people might understand a bit more. If Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo are all making huge announcements at the same time, there's more to say. Comparisons between the announcements can be written about. In-depth technical analysis' become more relevant. Readers who read one announcement are likely to be interested in the next one, so additional reporting is even more relevant to current readers. Competition tends to drive interest. I'm not sure how much of that can apply to anime, but it does increase newsworthiness and news coverage. And there's something that can be said for showing, versus telling, that can only be done at a live event. |
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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I guess you could say that I'm using "poetic license" with the word "dictate" but it certainly does seem as though there are a fair number of guests brought in for the chief (sole?) purpose of promoting a particular title, so I'm standing by the essence of my parenthetical comment. The chief "flaw" that I see with this arrangement is that it has been said to be responsible for Otakon not being able to release sizable chunks of its ultimate guest list until quite close to the con; it's always fun to see who pops up at the last minute, especially when they're then affiliated with something that Funi/AoA/whoever wants to promote at the con. I can see that it benefits me when "The Industry" foots the bill for some things, even if there are stipulations, as it frees Otakon's cash up for other things (Baltimore's high costs, more guests...) but I won't say that I don't chafe against it from time to time.
I enjoy industry panels and events. They're the majority of what I do at Otakon, but that's largely because of necessity-they're some of the only things that I can do there because of the crushing crowds, lines and general logistics of Otakon. I don't know if the fandom really needs a "CES for anime" or if I would plan to attend such an event, despite my enjoyment of industry panels. Otakon, I do wish that you would have more guest panels. I understand that you can't (shouldn't?) force them to happen (forcing a guest to do something wouldn't be right) but they do provide a way for us fans to "interact" with them, which isn't otherwise possible given the crowds and scheduling at Otakon. Side note: the "inside the industry" panels with industry veterans like Bob Napton and David Williams (et al) were most excellent and should really be brought back for Otakon 2014. Just Saiyan 
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jvowles
Otakon Representative
Posts: 219 Location: Maryland |
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Actually, it has rarely been responsible for "late" guest announcements, with the possible exception of the Oreimo guests at last year's Otakon -- which was the result of a late decision by Aniplex Japan to push the show in a big way. Late offers and opportunities are less a cause of lateness than a matter of when things become available. It certainly doesn't serve industry as well to promote last-minute. The Sword Art guests last year, also brought with some help from Aniplex, were on our slate as early as February, but getting bios and headshots took a while. Usually what delays guest announcements are the guests themselves (sometimes waiting until their bio can reflect a big title, or simply being hard to get answers from), or whatever intermediaries serve as the chief contact with the guest. We make it a policy not to announce until I have written agreement from the guest, and the result is a VERY small number of guest cancellations since 2007. (Two of them happened recently in Vegas, but otherwise our track record is excellent.)
Glad you liked those panels; the navel-gazing was overdue and I'd love to see stuff like that feature regularly, but it's not always up to me, nor is it always going to fit the mood in a particular year. Oh, the delicate balancing act between guest availability (some high-value guests are very generous with their time, others less so), industry offers/requests, and fan panels. We've spent hours wrangling over that. In the end we try to offer a huge buffet of options, and you'll note that nearly every guest at our events has two panels and two autographings on the slate, typically set so that there's some opportunity each day to see them. Sometimes that just isnt feasible. |
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