It's Time For Fandoms To Realize The Gravy Train Is Over

Non-sports, related to two July conventions I've been reading about, including this weekend's Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  I am going to Tweet/X this link and tag the event hashtag.  I do not expect anyone who clicks to stay on this site, but I do think some things need to be urgently addressed now.

These cons can no longer be feasibly held, at least in the US.  I'm sorry I have to state this, but the fact of the matter is, when you look at the two stories I point at, you'll get a very good idea why -- from both ends of the spectrum.

First is the annual debacle of the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation -- the industry con, Anime Expo, which basically almost burst the Los Angeles Convention Center four weeks ago.

The picture in this Kotaku article on that debacle should do the trick.  An atrium slammed to the utter gills while the SPJA lauds a new record unique-person crowd of 160,000 -- a crowd THREE TIMES that of the DVD Boom, when the con could be held in Anaheim.

Basically, one misplaced fire alarm (much less an actual event), and you have The Who in Cincinnati all over again.

Now you would THINK Square-Enix in Las Vegas would have the absolute opposite situation.  Faced with a demand of over 100,000 North American Final Fantasy XIV players for their Las Vegas Fanfest, they held a lottery which cut that number to under 15% of that total.

And then they decided to put the convention in the Las Vegas Convention Center -- which, by all accounts, hosts the largest conventions they can find, at least in the United States.

Well, if the reports of the last 36 hours are any indication, their wad has been shot:

• If you want food, it's 1-2 hours.
• And don't think of trying my approach, at least two attendees have told me personally -- that of basically filling up beforehand (which would've meant a 5 AM breakfast someplace and not eating again until sometime after 9 PM (I'll get to why on that in a bit...)) to prevent the (if you can put up with the line) $20 per entree meal situation....
• The water fountains are lined up at least 50 deep.
• On two days, now, which have approached 115 on the thermometer, or a nice chilly 46 Celsius.
• And the policy on not bringing in outside food and drink has been either inconsistent, or (at least by one report) changed three times Friday!!
• And apparently the Las Vegas Police Department has been called into enforce now.
• I'm sorry.  It's 110+ outside.  So leaving the Convention Center (which is an isolated island unto itself set off from the northern part of The Strip) is nearly, if not completely, out of the question.  The line for water is a good 30-60 minutes.  You've already had a report of at least one person collapsing in the lines at the event as it is (before 10 AM Friday!!!)...
• Which isn't inconsistent with Square-Enix events.  I recall a wheelchair-bound Yuna cosplayer at an art/pre-release sale event in Los Angeles for the Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster who nearly collapsed.  And if the visual hadn't been so terrible, I'd have dumped cold water on her to help with the heat!!!
• You are dangerously close -- AND YOU KNOW IT, LVCC -- to a real health crisis out there.  And you're going to stick those attendees that badly??  
• The "Quiet Room" is a complete joke to many.
• Two hours to stand in line for the side quests, no real prize.
• The lines and the organization surrounding the battle challenge were a complete debacle (and, unlike the 4.x and 5.x in-person Fanfests), no shirt was given to the winners.
• And then there's the end of the day after the 8 PM concerts.  The main way to get through the area and back to the Strip (and most of the hotels) is the Las Vegas Monorail.
• That's if you can get on it and not get crushed by the crowd, with a wait time for even that upwards of an hour!
• The merchandise lines were destroyed and the merchandise put up by speculators who attended the event at multiple times the price on EBay...
• Tomorrow, as a non-Fanfest adjunct, the Final Symphony series is holding a show in Las Vegas.  At least one ticket for the event is now on the secondary market for SIXTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.

One Redditor said it perfectly:  They know they're the only game in town, especially of that size.

And remember again:  This is less than 15% of the actual ticket demand.

And that was only part of the LVCC, since a basketball tournament had some of the rest of it.

It is time and far past time to blow up these major events.  There is no venue which could conceivably hold them.  I'm sorry for the reality check for a lot of people, but the fact of the matter is that if you aren't there for companionship with people you've only been friends with online and the like, there is no real point.

• Both major sets of announcements were completely bare-bones.
• It is going to be a very fortunate event if someone is not killed by the deliberate incompetence at FanFest.
• The cut-throat nature of the event, on both sides (organizationals AND fans) is just escalating to a breakneck point.

The size of the FFXIV events is so out of hand, the Japan event is the next event after Wrestle Kingdom in no less than the Tokyo Dome!!!

One official forum poster has said that various major groups are scaling back major events.

It's time for everybody to do the same.  Not even screening out through a lottery is helping anymore, in many cases.