Author Topic: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT  (Read 14731 times)

Offline MAMEMAN

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QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT
« on: May 23, 2008, 05:05:07 pm »
I have several questions about the event. I went last year and it was good but could have been alot

better in my opinion.

The questions I had are...

1. Why is this evnet priced so high?

I go to computer LAN parties in the bay area and the admission  that CA ex extreme is charging for

12 hrs and change I can game all night 12pm til 6am or longer. One event held at the same building

(parkside hall) went 2 days and went 2 1/2 days. (Showdown LAN 2006) Cost was $30 for 2 days and I brought my own equipment. I know this is a different

event but come'on $60 for not even 2 full days of gaming that crazy if you ask me.

2. Why is the first and last day gaming wrapping up so early? 12am WTF?

Back in the day arcades would stay open til at least 2 am most places.Same should be there at CA

extreme at least 2 -3 am. Also why not open earlyier say 8 - 9am why 12?, thats very late if you ask me.

3. Why are there not any chill type areas with couches or something?

After standing around for a few hours there were no places to just chill out. I cocktail table area

was ok but could have been better if you had some couches in the for peple just to hang out. And

how about some stools for the gamers at the cabinets?

4. Why does it take so long to get though the reg desk?

Again for $35 for one day of gaming I'd expect things to very smoothly at the reg desk esp if your

pre-payed. Certainly there should not be a line like it was last year. I lost a full hour of gaming

because of having to wait in line, that is BS. Start getting people badges before the doors open so people

don't have to wait when they do.
When the river runs red take the dirt road instead......

jkoolpe

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Re: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2008, 11:15:35 pm »
MAMEMAN,

We are glad you could make it to the show last year.

I'll try to answer your questions on behalf of the group as best as I can :) .

Regarding cost...without going into too much detail, the cost of doing our show is very high, and also seems to increase each year.  Remember, we do not have any corporate sponsors or anything like that...it is literally just about 10 of us that work our collective tails off each year for months to make it all happen.  And that's in addition to our day jobs and taking care of our families and other relationships outside of the hobby :) .

The cost of renting the hall, the electricity, the truck rentals, other miscellaneous fees, and now even the price of diesel fuel (which is now breaking the $5/gallon range in our area), and other items really add up to some big bucks.  Again without going into specifics, the admission we have to charge doesn't reflect the cost when it comes down to true brass tacks (as the saying goes).

But we keep the show going mostly because we enjoy doing it and sharing with the masses our passion for this hobby and keeping these older games alive and in the consciousness of the younger generations that might otherwise never see and get to play these games.  Nothing warms my heart more than hearing about a young person who comes to the show with his or her father, and subsequently learns the joy of a good pinball machine or classic video game.

Regarding closing times:  This is actually set by the venue itself.  We would actually like to stay open longer, but the venue has its rules and we must close when they tell us to do so.  If it were up to me, we'd stay open all night! :)

We have discussed having "chill" areas before, but just finding couches to truck in proved problematic.  And then we weren't sure where to put them as the hall was so full of games :) .  If you have any suggestions in this area, please let us know and we'll gladly consider it.

As for the reg. desk...we try to do out best, but again, we are the mercy of how many folks we have on staff, and who can volunteer.  In addition, last year was exceptional in that we had a record crowd.  We have discussed ways to make things smoother and hope to have this area run more smoothly this year.

I hope my attempts at answering your questions were helpful.  Please let us know if you have any ideas yourself. 

I hope you decide to come to the show again.  We really do try our hardest to make it a worthwhile adventure each and every year :)

Happy gaming,

Jon (on behalf of the Extreme Team)

Offline Mark Birsching

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Re: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2008, 06:57:13 pm »
I will add to what Jonathon said.  The costs of the event are totally driven by our costs to produce the show.  The show does not make a profit and none of us (all who are volunteers) get paid to do this.  If we could find a way to cut more costs, we would do so and pass the savings on to you, but, as is everything else, costs rise every year (sometimes by a whole bunch!).

I was heavily involved at the front desk last year.  The line at times was about halfway down the hallway.  Everyone person I asked on how long the wait was and no one stated they waited more 10 minutes, even with the long line.  Our goal is to keep the line to 10 minutes or less.  We did have upwards of 8+ people all working at the front desk at once.  What time did you come to the show?  We need to know if someone waited that long because that is not the norm.

We would love to stay open longer, but the venue rules prohibit us staying open past midnight.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

Mark

Offline cooler17

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Re: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2008, 06:11:50 pm »
In the past California Extreme had a discounted rate at the Hilton, Is there going to be a discounted rate for the Hilton for this years California Extreme?

jkoolpe

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Re: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2008, 10:32:15 pm »
Cooler,

As of now, we were not able to work out a deal with the Hilton.  However, we do again have a deal with the Crowne Plaza which is certainly a decent hotel, and it's also the closest to the show site :) .

I'll be staying there myself as I did last year, and I had no complaints.

Be sure to mention California Extreme if you do book at the Crowne to get the discount.

Hope you can make it for the fun!

Jon

Offline Jules

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Re: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2008, 12:46:16 am »
Hello.  I enjoyed last year's show.  The only area that I felt could be improved some, is the tournament.  I couldn't find the rules on line, and didn't find anyone who could explain them at the tournament, including the tourney organizer. Every tournament has its own rules. Expo is different from PAPA, which is different from Colorado and so on. I also could not find a schedule online and missed some of the smaller tournaments like the play for 2 minutes one. (can't remember its real name)The person running the tournament said people were emailed the details of the schedule.  I was unable to find anyone who had been emailed the details.  There was info in the program/schedule handed out at registration, but if I had been able to find out the schedule ahead of time, on line, I wouldn't have missed the smaller ones.  The program said for the first tourney entry, it was like 2 for the price of 1.  No one knew anything about it, not even the tourney organizer.

The overall impression of the show was favorable. I am already registered for this year and am looking forward to it.  This time, I will be there right when it opens so I don't miss out on anything.

Offline Mark Birsching

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Re: QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EVENT
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2008, 11:32:20 am »
Jules:

The pinball tournament rules will be posted on the website soon.  Hopefully that will answer all your questions!

Mark