2xDouble said:... well, maybe not you specifically, Mr. "Press Badge", but everyone else who might have wanted to go.
But no, by all means, defend them, make them to be your goddamned heroes. Let's all praise these street-level saints, generously taking money from the unwashed masses (you've been to conventions, you know it to be true) and letting us experience something we thought wasn't available to us... until the press floods the internet with rushed, low-quality "coverage" of panels consisting of "hey look at how famous I am now! pay attention to me some more while I do a thing I always do or would have done anyway for my own profit!" and shakycam video of some game that's going to be topped instantly by the developer/producer posting direct feed on Youtube literally the day after PAX ends...
Not staff, but I'll take a stab at it. The point of press and journalists is the same in gaming as it is everywhere; if no one is available to ask questions, then we have to accept what is told to us, whether it comes from the PR teams of corporations, governments, or anyone else. I remember asking some questions during the leadup to D&D 5E when the staff started doing coverage of that, complaining that they had Mike Mearls in the room but hadn't addressed some big issues with the game as it was presented. The guy who ran the interview responded (basically Mearls danced around the issues when originally asked), and sure enough those questions were asked of Mearls again more forcefully later, by the Escapist and other press. The system is not perfect, but it's better than being spoon-fed every detail.Defective_Detective said:2xDouble said:... well, maybe not you specifically, Mr. "Press Badge", but everyone else who might have wanted to go.
But no, by all means, defend them, make them to be your goddamned heroes. Let's all praise these street-level saints, generously taking money from the unwashed masses (you've been to conventions, you know it to be true) and letting us experience something we thought wasn't available to us... until the press floods the internet with rushed, low-quality "coverage" of panels consisting of "hey look at how famous I am now! pay attention to me some more while I do a thing I always do or would have done anyway for my own profit!" and shakycam video of some game that's going to be topped instantly by the developer/producer posting direct feed on Youtube literally the day after PAX ends...
Now wouldn't that be an interesting piece to put together?
Just why are the gaming press still relevant at conventions? Any takers, Escapist staff?
The tickets tend to sell out at the speed of light because it's a hugely popular event with limited space. More importantly, I don't understand how aftermarket trading can impact the show at all. The way I understand it:2xDouble said:Did you ever wonder why the tickets sell out so quickly? or why they're getting more and more expensive every year, despite costs remaining relatively steady and companies/contributors all-but-literally throwing money at the show? It's because of this exact practice. Aftermarket trading is a thing, and it's costing YOU money... well, maybe not you specifically, Mr. "Press Badge", but everyone else who might have wanted to go.
simple they have a better relationship with the city of Seattle and as such get space at cost. in other words its cheaper to keep it were it is.Zero=Interrupt said:Why don't they move to a larger venue, say, San Diego, which can obviously handle the traffic. They become a bigger event, get more money, and attendees get to go to PAX. Everybody wins. There's simply no reason to keep doing what they're doing.
Except, that's not the end of the story. I can't help but thing you didn't even bother reading the story.DirgeNovak said:No. Just no. Fuck these people.
If you buy a ticket just to sell it back for a profit, you are a parasite. End of story.
How so?CyberAkuma said:Scalpers are always removing the profit off the venue and putting into their own pockets. There is no defense to that insentive and they will always be seen as thieves for doing that.
They're not solely responsible, though I did unintentionally imply they were. The fact is, its an entire ecosystem of idiocy and exploitation. People buy the products en-masse without fear because they believe they can recoup losses selling what they don't use; demand remains high, leading to significant markup in aftermarket trading, thus revealing higher market tolerance; higher market tolerance is used by original issuers to justify increases in pricing; higher prices (falsely) imply higher quality and therefore artificially inflate demand; inflated demand triggers purchases en-masse, and the cycle continues. More and more money gets drained from the consumers, who have no say in the matter, other than to not buy the product at all.shirkbot said:I could absolutely be wrong, and please correct me if I am (I don't want to spread misinformation) but I think it's a little unfair to say that scalpers are directly, and implied solely, responsible for the ticket prices going up.