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Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
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siliconchef
10/10/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
If you want more info on Dragon*ConTV, check out http://web.dragoncontv.com/ for videos produced for the past 5 years. It's pretty unique to have con volunteers spend so much time making content to entertain the audience while waiting for the actual show to begin (or for the con to make fun of itself so readily).
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Charlie Jane Anders
10/10/09

@siliconchef: Oh cool... I love Dragon*Con TV!
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Carencey
10/10/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
Charlie Jane, do you know which method most of these use to count attendance or are the numbers already corrected for that? I know DragonCon counts by individuals, ie, someone with a four-day pass gets counted once. Some other cons would count that person four times (turnstile count, IIRC)?
Of the ones on this list, I've only attended D*C - is it the only one on the list that actually occurs in the hotels, as opposed to a convention center?
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Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment Edited by Carencey at 10/10/09 10:04 AM Carencey was starred Carencey was unstarred

Charlie Jane Anders
10/10/09

@Carencey: No clue, in most cases... but yeah Dragon*Con explicitly counts memberships. I'm guessing that's true for many of the others. But the numbers may well be dodgy.
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
10/10/09

@Carencey: Worldcon only counts memberships (always has for the past 65 years) and takes place partly in hotels.
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snaboobaly
10/10/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
What about FANexpo? Give the Canadians some love!
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Charlie Jane Anders
10/10/09

@snaboobaly: Added it. Thanks!
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DrFish
10/10/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
This is a horrible list, because it does not say where the cons take place. Isn't that a very important piece of information in deciding if you are going to go? Sure, most of the entries have the city buried somewhere under "hotel costs" or something, but for instance, I don't think it says anywhere in the Dragon Con entry where the convention takes place. Is io9 so insular now that it is assumed that everyone reading the entry will already know where all these things are held?
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Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment Edited by DrFish at 10/10/09 9:08 AM DrFish was starred DrFish was unstarred

Charlie Jane Anders
10/10/09

@DrFish: Oh good point... I'll add that info in.
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capnjack78
10/10/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
Went to NYCC last year and it sucked. Very disorganized panels and rude/unhelpful teenage staff.
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arthurborko
10/10/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
How the hell did you guys leave out GenCon, Origins and PAX, all three are huge geek conventions.
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Charlie Jane Anders
10/10/09

@arthurborko: This isn't a list of geek conventions but of science fiction conventions. Or at least conventions where SF is a major focus. We have a sister blog, Kotaku, that covers gaming. I've asked several times if PAX and GenCon have an SF focus, and it doesn't look like anyone has piped up to explain how they do.
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king_saberhawk
10/10/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
Why is Fanexpo missing???
Despite the fact that its in Canada, it still gets a massive turn out. Not to mention it definitely classifies as a mega-con cause its 5 different conventions in one and with 59,000 people that attended it this summer, I'd say in some ways its bigger than some of the other ones on this list.

[www.hobbystar.com]
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Charlie Jane Anders
10/10/09

@king_saberhawk: Added that in, thanks!
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Nimlygos
10/09/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
Id like to point out that PAX this year was 60+ thousand people
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Charlie Jane Anders
10/09/09

@Nimlygos: Yeah, that's a pretty amazing figure!
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Aidan_
10/09/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
I guess something like PAX isn't multi-media enough for the list.

Dragon*Con, NYCC and SDCC are the three on my list. Someday...someday.
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Charlie Jane Anders
10/09/09

@Aidan_: Yeah I think PAX is more of a Kotaku thing... but I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise, if it really does have a lot of science fiction guests and content... I know there's a ton of crossover.
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Aidan_
10/09/09

@Charlie Jane Anders: The only thing that really pops to my mind right now is that Wil Wheaton was the keynote speaker a few years back...but I have a head cold right now so it's hard to think.

Also, awesome Harley Quinn at the top there. Made my night. :D
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thursdaynext27
10/09/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
I loved DragonCon because I could network with like-minded fans because of the programming tracks. Want to hang out with Star Trek fans? British SciFi? Buffy? Done! You didn't have to camp out so much to get into your must-attend sessions or for the Masquerade. And it doesn't feel like the Exhibit Hall goes on forever.

So when I moved to SD, I started attending SDCC. I love it, but I wouldn't put myself through it if I didn't live here (cost: ticket and bus/trolley pass). At times it feels like all you're doing is waiting in line: for a signing, a limited edition toy, or to get into a room to reserve your spot for a panel you really want to see in 3 hours.

It's exhausting, and at times the heat and overcrowding can be overwhelming. But I've also met some of my favorite comic book writers and have been turned on to new books and authors.

Along with the typical "do you think Comic-Con's going to stay in SD" chatter, there was talk about capping Preview Night because of the crowds. So unlike previous years, I bought my 2010 pass while I was at the Con. Now that people are buying 4-day passes w/o Preview Night, I don't see how SDCC can go back and offer more Preview Night passes at a later date without pissing off a lot of people.
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noizangel
10/09/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
GenCon? The greatest 4 days in gaming? C'mon!
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Charlie Jane Anders
10/09/09

@noizangel: @musashi000: I looked at Gen Con, but I didn't see a lot of SF programming... is a lot of science fiction stuff happening there? I could always add it...
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musashi000
10/09/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
No love for Gen Con? It's game-centric, but there are always plenty of geeky things to do that don't involve pretending you're an elf.
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AbbySlug
10/09/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
Seriously? You reviewed MEGA-CONventions and didn't include MEGACON?
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Charlie Jane Anders
10/09/09

@AbbySlug: I looked at MegaCon, and it seemed like it was actually pretty small, despite the name. How many attendees does it have?
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Ydnam
10/09/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
SDCC is getting to be ridiculous. The higher price ($75 this year to $100 next year and I think it was only $50-ish two years ago) isn't getting you anything more than you got in previous years. And it's so overcrowded. And the hotel situation, and the registration for the hotels the convention has room blocks in, has only gotten worse.

And Preview Night selling out already is absurd. Comic_Con on Twitter (the official account) remembered to Tweet about it...after it happened. And then said those passes were "currently unavailable" which makes me wonder if they aren't planning on releasing more at a higher price later on. And they've yet to address any criticism about how they really should have told people those passes were near to selling out before they were gone or answer if more Preview Night passes will be available in the future.

Of course, none of this will necessarily stop me from going. It's awesome, even with the overcrowding. I've been going since 2004 (when there were a mere, what, 80,000 attendees?) and I've never regretted it. And it is possible to actually interact with the celebrities (when they aren't ripping you off for an autograph even). I spent a long time talking to Joss Whedon in the exhibit hall a few years ago. He was complaining that he had to miss the Veronica Mars panel. So I'll probably go again in 2010, assuming there are still passes available when I know whether I can manage it or not.
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Sunshineyness
10/09/09

In reply to Which Mega-Convention Gives The Most Bang For Your Buck?
Hmmm... I think you're selling NYC con a bit short. If you live within commutable distance it's really a great deal. The crowds are pretty decent and I've never been turned down to get into a panel. They get stuff but not too much where you have to choose and frankly, you will get back at least a couple hundred bucks back in swag. Plus? All the major book publishers set up a booth and you will walk away with more advance copies of stuff than you can carry. (Granted I think their booth people are a bit too snooty but, whatever they're *book people*)

And if you hunt for a hotel in one of the boroughs or Jersey than that cuts the costs quite a bit. As for food? Dude, hot dog carts and kebab trucks etc park outside each day and they're pretty reasonable.

Though I'm not a fan of the change in time. The last few had been early in the spring and I liked that time of year for it much better.
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