Digging at Anime Conventions
Ok, so this convention got May’n to come, and you can go for the entire con for 8 :bux:
A while ago I had the chance to go to Anime USA but I didn’t because it had no programming I liked particularly. If the typical modus operandi at an anime con is to hang out with friends win a frenzy party atmosphere, is it worth $40? And considering that I could hang out with said friends while not at the convention, it seems like I’m paying a ludicrous cover charge to see someone getting spanked by yaoi paddles. Okaaay. It’s one thing to pay up and party up if you live in Durham, NC; it’s another if you’re 5 blocks away from the Big Apple. Or in Anime USA’s case, the crowded suburb of the DC metro area.
Let’s take an example and look deeper. Otakon 2008 raised its prices by $5 compared to Otakon 2007. A full 3-day pass was $65 if you got it at the door. But to be fair I should use the early registration price, which was $55. How did I react to its price increase?
Otakon justifies its rising cost by having [JAM PROJECT] and booking a nearby concert arena (that seats up to 14,000) on top of a relatively large convention center. But that’s just how I justify Otakon to myself. If you dig on their forums you can basically see that the cost of business-class flights from Narita to Baltimore has skyrocketed during that time. JAM PROJECT is not a solo operation, and that rolls up the cost. The 1st Mariner Arena, though, is legit for them as an expense and it’s easy to appreciate the cost of a large venue for everyone. That’s on top of the other cost increases due to one thing or another, regardless of who they invite to come to the con.
At the same time, people like the guy who runs NYAF may diss the city of Baltimore, and he’s not wrong in saying that it cost a lot more to run a similar operation in Manhattan–if even pushing it into the realm of impossibility. That’s just how things roll. But what does that mean in terms of people’s justification for how much they charge? The cost for attendees of NYAF is roughly equal to the cost of Otakon: $55 for early registration. Okay, that’s great, but did I get $55 worth of things out of NYAF? Maybe; but I think equivalently Otakon was easily twice the deal for the same price. That’s the value of Otakon as justifies to me. If I can get twice (more like a lot more than twice) the venue space and thus twice the programming at the same price, I think I can live with a third-rate city hosting my anime cons as long as it’s not too far away.
The metric of costs and spending and what omo (or you) get out of a convention don’t conclude so easily; I’m well aware that Otakon’s attendance is easily 5000+ more than NYAF’s, regardless of sales on VIP badges (as Otakon had none). Also Reed Exhibition is in it to make money; Otacorp isn’t. This is on top of running the con at a cheaper city, but with much bigger facilities and a more expensive selection of guests. Or I’m guessing it’s a more expensive–how much did it cost for Baby, The Star Shines Bright to make their American debut? Otakon’s age and prestige also suggest they have better, more industry and social connections and can explore better options for their programming, get more sponsors, etc. There’s too much detail about money that will never get disclosed, so I won’t go any further than I did just now. It feels like comparing apples and oranges.
What I do know, though, is that as a con-goer, I paid a price and I expect to get some level of satisfaction in return. That is relatively easy to compare and I’m sure most of us who do cons regularly do exactly that. And bluntly put, Otakon’s value pwns most other cons on those terms.
But that is also regardless of my personal opportunity costs: on top of things like the commute, hotel fees, etc. The personal evaluation of what you get out of a con will vary from person to person, naturally. For example, I remember Big Apple Anime Fest in 2001, and I think I still get a laugh out of seeing Giuliani’s pic, holding the ugly but symbolic convention t-shirt in the first days of the post-9-11 world. BAAF 2001 meant an attendee can own his version of the same shirt. It was LOLZ in a surreal time. It is an example of how “far out” things can get with anime cons that makes it worth the big bucks, time and effort.
And that’s the rub. Different people have different visions about anime cons. And cons fill different roles and purposes in our lives. Cons are social contexts and they are like dreams and aspirations. I mean, hey, Dramacon sold, right? But whose reality is that? And who am I to yell at kids on my lawn, paying $30-40-50 to go to a crap con that’s mostly just an exhibition hall and showing fansubs? People can celebrate anime and the more they do it the better, speaking purely as a fan; but to make a business preying on kids who should be saving their money for the upcoming economic harsh times is not very kosher in my book. Perhaps there’s nothing to be done about it, and when the hard times hit fewer people will hit back at anime conventions. Things will even out by themselves.
But the more I think about it, the more it behooves me to dig deeper. When the guys running the show aspire to the visions and methods that celebrate the arts, I would like to support those people. But if all I’m doing is propping some bicycle of a business that’s going nowhere fast, just so people can preying on dealers, artists and attendees alike, then no thank you. And the only way you can find this out is by digging deeper and digging into the past.
Take Otakon for example again. It’s certainly not the only anime con out there that brings foreign guests, domestic guests and fans together. It has also changed quite a bit over the years, along with the anime scene in America. It, however, still dedicates itself to bringing big-name, first-time Japanese guests to the other side of the globe. It has a relatively local focus, considering its partnership with Baltimore and that it runs off the East coast fan base; but it is not myopic in terms of what is going on and the needs of all the fans that do end up visiting the con that most local cons don’t even really care about. And that’s just one facet of Otakon’s operation.
Does your favorite convention have a vision? Does it set goals to improve themselves? Is it flexible enough to roll with the punches and move beyond setbacks? Does it take advantages of opportunities but stay from selling out of its long-term vision? Is it staffed by awesome people? Is it transparent enough that an attendee can even answer these questions?
No? That’s okay. Because nobody’s perfect. But considering the nonsense hubbub people cry over about the anime industry and whatever, it’s time that people give anime conventions a damn, as a major aspect of the anime industry and fandom.
Interesting point. I personally don’t have very much con experience yet - the only one I’ve gone to is Anime North, which is local for me, and so I’ve been going since my later years in elementary school. However, I’m aware that the convention scene is quite big in different places in America, and that they play a fairly big roll in our fandom, quite aside from giving us the opportunity to meet up with different people. While I never bothered to study the history of AN, I’ll definitely be looking into this stuff in the future, before I travel to Otakon or NYAF or one of the big ones - conventions are important, and like you said, they mean something different to each person.
Although, I haven’t yet decided precisely what it is that I look for in a convention >_>
Pre-expense account, conventions were really great for me to get together with friends I wouldn’t necessarily get to see normally (i.e. friends from out of town). Granted, I went to a lot fewer cons then…Expo and Fanime mostly, with occasional sprinklings of Sakura and SDCC. But I went mostly to spend money in the dealer room and hang out with friends; I never went to any of the anime showings and rarely went to panels or other events ^^
These days, of course, I’m hitting up all the panels, and I decide to go to a convention mostly based on how likely there is to be something news-worthy and on how easy it is to get to. ;)
While I think on the surface Otakon is a “better value” there’s so many negatives in it in addition that it almost evens out to me with NYAF. On one hand, my friend in the artist alley got a cheaper table & sold a hell lot more art at Otakon than at NYAF. On the other hand, everytime I’ve gone to Otakon, their schedule gets fucked up the day of the con, events are moved around, and all my “plans” for the con basically get thrown out the window because at that point I just have to run around and hope I can find the panel I had intended to attend.
In addition, I don’t give a shat about Jam Project, but nor do I give a shat about baby the stars shine bright so that was not a weighing factor in either situation.
Going to Otakon requires me to pay $400+ in hotel fees & train rides while going to NYAF costs me $2 on the subway (if I didn’t have an unlimited metro card.) IN addition, getting a panel approved at NYAF is 20 times easier than Otakon, therefore we did a panel and ended up paying nothing to get into the entire convention.
Otakon has more people therefore more nice cosplayers, but also more annoying yaoi fangirls, 4chan fags and sweaty nerds who don’t know how to shower.
It’s like you said, everyone’s values are different and to me at this point it all evens out.
Then again, I think I’m done with cons for a long time. After 7 years I think it’s time to take an overdue break.
If the convention were to charge even 20 dollars (read: Singapore dollars) here, nobody would go except the hardcore ones. End of story. There just aren’t that many anime fans here in terms of numbers, though we have a better percentage than the US.
Me, the main factor is what I can observe, which is why I like Otakon. It’s this big mass of people and I can be occupied no problem sitting down watching a river of people in costumes drift by for an hour or two. It definitely feels like an event with everything it has going on. Driving down there, booking a hotel, I can dig it. Something that feels less like this, like NYAF, a something to do, rather than a being something, I can let work get in the way and I’ll change plans and let work get in the way. Something like Otakon, which has its own gravity, sorry man, I booked my rooms ten months ago, I’ll get back to work on Monday. The money itself for me isn’t the issue at all as far as the con goes. The mass of activity is, even if I don’t plan to do anything but soak it in at points while it all goes on, it’s what gets me to make the effort of stepping outside my weekly routine.
While NYAF is a business at heart, Peter Tatara over there really tries to make it for the fans. He’s always asking what guests people want, what events would be better, etc. He’s got an honest love of the con and the fandom, from what I know of him.
But, as for what makes a con enjoyable, it’s most certainly the people that I know there. Having a bunch of people from Japanator at Otakon is the sole reason I look forward to going there.
Even though I’ve only been to two cons, those being this years Otakon and AnimeUSA, I find that I only got that “je ne sais quoi”, a flow with fellow anime fans, with Otakon. And I think Otakon prides itself on promoting that kind of atmosphere, and a large part of that comes from the fact that they at least seem like they care about our benefit. But I’m still probably on that Otakon high myself right now, so I’m not sure how accurate that will be a couple of months from now. :P
But I think super rats has the idea down better than me. Those that make you want to get something out of it are the ones that should be are great.
tj: I know Singaporeans have less disposable income, and cost of living is generally lower compared to the Northeastern US and most of US west coast. So it makes sense to charge $8.
It also makes sense to charge $55 for NYAX and whatever.
gia: do you enjoy doing cons now versus before? it sounds so different :o
Hinano’s gripe for Otakon is well taken and it’s true that no matter which con there will be some dissatisfied customers, not just because they’re all imperfect in some way but they are not there for everyone.
And I guess super rats knows how to do Otakon right ;)
DickMcVengeance: I know the organizers at least care about the fans, but it will be something else when the organization truly cares about the fans and put them first. I’m not quite getting that from not just NYAF, but many other cons too. It is all good if they cater to what the fans want (and profit alongside it), but it helps to have a longer term vision about this IMO.
N: I’m just glad you enjoy cons. The thing with cons is that they have relatively big numbers but they don’t have far reach. Most fans have been to cons nowadays but few have been to many of them, or for a long time.
Otakon is an experience, NYAF is a convention. That’s how I’d put it.
I justify the $400 I spend on Otakon every year as a social event to meet countless numbers of people I see once a year. If you’re looking at it as a con, sure, you’ll be disappointed, since it’s very expensive as an out-of-towner. A comparatively smaller/cheaper con is a different story.
I didn’t want to say that Otakon was an “experience” because it was already said, but it is pretty much that. And I hope that I can get that con high again. :3