The team behind the upcoming Play Expo 2012 in Manchester has said it had learned from Eurogamer's attempts at a Northern-based UK show as an example of "how not to do our event".
Spokesperson Gordon Sinclair - who founded the Replay Events company and Play Expo with two colleagues after a string of successful community and socially-focused game shows - told SPOnG that he attended the Leeds Eurogamer Expo in 2009, and came away unimpressed.
"It was soulless. Blank walls with just machines, and you queued up to get on the games. That was it. It wasn’t a show. It was trying to sell me a game which is coming out in a couple of months," Sinclair said. "Which is brilliant, if that’s all you want. But there was no social aspect, and I came away from that knowing how not to do our event."
The team's Replay Expos in Blackpool have included stage tournaments, discussion panels, retro gaming tables and unique features such as the 'Lounge' - a large table with four TVs hooked up to consoles, where attendees can rock up, sit on a sofa and duke it out over a game of Micro Machines. All have contributed to the close-knit, 'community' feeling that Sinclair says is absent from many other gaming shows.
But, Replay Events had a presence at Eurogamer Expo in London in 2011, and Sinclair noted that the show had really picked up since his Leeds experience. "Don’t get me wrong, last year’s event was really good in terms of the way they made it look... Eurogamer has done a great job of turning its events around.
"I don’t know if its London one was better than its Leeds one that year. Maybe it was because it was the Leeds event was smaller than the London one. Maybe it suffered, but we came away learning a lot of lessons about how to stage our Blackpool show. That's why our ethos is that it’s all about coming to play games and socialising."
Play Expo will run on 13-14 October 2012 in Manchester's EventCity venue. Tickets can be bought via their website here.
Read the full interview right here.
Spokesperson Gordon Sinclair - who founded the Replay Events company and Play Expo with two colleagues after a string of successful community and socially-focused game shows - told SPOnG that he attended the Leeds Eurogamer Expo in 2009, and came away unimpressed.
"It was soulless. Blank walls with just machines, and you queued up to get on the games. That was it. It wasn’t a show. It was trying to sell me a game which is coming out in a couple of months," Sinclair said. "Which is brilliant, if that’s all you want. But there was no social aspect, and I came away from that knowing how not to do our event."
The team's Replay Expos in Blackpool have included stage tournaments, discussion panels, retro gaming tables and unique features such as the 'Lounge' - a large table with four TVs hooked up to consoles, where attendees can rock up, sit on a sofa and duke it out over a game of Micro Machines. All have contributed to the close-knit, 'community' feeling that Sinclair says is absent from many other gaming shows.
But, Replay Events had a presence at Eurogamer Expo in London in 2011, and Sinclair noted that the show had really picked up since his Leeds experience. "Don’t get me wrong, last year’s event was really good in terms of the way they made it look... Eurogamer has done a great job of turning its events around.
"I don’t know if its London one was better than its Leeds one that year. Maybe it was because it was the Leeds event was smaller than the London one. Maybe it suffered, but we came away learning a lot of lessons about how to stage our Blackpool show. That's why our ethos is that it’s all about coming to play games and socialising."
Play Expo will run on 13-14 October 2012 in Manchester's EventCity venue. Tickets can be bought via their website here.
Read the full interview right here.
Companies:
Replay
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Comments
PaulRayment 15 May 2012 09:17
1/5
The Leeds event was pants, this guy is right, but I understand the London one the same year was very different.
Leeds was a mess, there was no management. I remember waiting for an hour at least to get on to Left 4 Dead 2. People would just play for ages, there needed to be someone to usher them off after a while. Other games were just set up with no explanation - so many confused faces during Ass Creed2.
It was a shame, but I guess it also displayed what the gaming industry thinks of the North.
Leeds was a mess, there was no management. I remember waiting for an hour at least to get on to Left 4 Dead 2. People would just play for ages, there needed to be someone to usher them off after a while. Other games were just set up with no explanation - so many confused faces during Ass Creed2.
It was a shame, but I guess it also displayed what the gaming industry thinks of the North.
Serpream 15 May 2012 09:29
2/5
The first Eurogamer I attended was a total mess of fake publicity. Theres was the Gears of War 2 comp that they awarded to under 14 year olds 4 times throughout night, not to mention constant power cuts. I put a offical complaint at end of day due to I actualy won a prize for a GoW 2 Dog tag that would of allowed me to attend the middnight launch event and they gave it to a 9 year old who walked past because the guy holding on wasent informed intime by the other staff ! Under 18s couldnt even attend the event!!
Not to mention I signed up to Shopto.net who sponsered them originaly, went in 2008/9 to see there being sponsered by HMV and the prices had been boosted by over £10 ! I walked over street into local HMV and got better deals compared to instore. HMV was even charging for signings! I got mine direct from the Father of Sonic the Hedgehog himself for free on my original 1992 poster.
The press at the events are monsterous at best. Off camera there noses are so far in the air I wasent sure where there faces where.
2009 was the last I attended just due to costs, poor setup, lack of any insider information and lack of respect for the very audiance they say they cater. I would love to attend PAX and even E3 due to video footage alone you see something you wont at the Euroexpo.
As you can see above is a total rant. Everyone i know has stopped attending. Hell even Microsoft put the demos on XBL now around same time.
Not to mention I signed up to Shopto.net who sponsered them originaly, went in 2008/9 to see there being sponsered by HMV and the prices had been boosted by over £10 ! I walked over street into local HMV and got better deals compared to instore. HMV was even charging for signings! I got mine direct from the Father of Sonic the Hedgehog himself for free on my original 1992 poster.
The press at the events are monsterous at best. Off camera there noses are so far in the air I wasent sure where there faces where.
2009 was the last I attended just due to costs, poor setup, lack of any insider information and lack of respect for the very audiance they say they cater. I would love to attend PAX and even E3 due to video footage alone you see something you wont at the Euroexpo.
As you can see above is a total rant. Everyone i know has stopped attending. Hell even Microsoft put the demos on XBL now around same time.
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Tom Champion 15 May 2012 10:02
3/5
Hi Matthew,
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience at the expo in 2008. We've learnt a lot since our first event and used a lot of the feedback we received to improve the expo. We're delighted with how it's developed, in particular the community aspect. We had overwhelmingly positive comments from attendees about 2011's show and we're working hard to make 2012 even better.
If you'd like to give us a second chance I'll be happy to set you up with a couple of free tickets for 2012. Drop me a line if you're interested - tomc [at] eurogamer [dot] net
Tom Champion, Eurogamer Community Manager
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience at the expo in 2008. We've learnt a lot since our first event and used a lot of the feedback we received to improve the expo. We're delighted with how it's developed, in particular the community aspect. We had overwhelmingly positive comments from attendees about 2011's show and we're working hard to make 2012 even better.
If you'd like to give us a second chance I'll be happy to set you up with a couple of free tickets for 2012. Drop me a line if you're interested - tomc [at] eurogamer [dot] net
Tom Champion, Eurogamer Community Manager
Arcadian 15 May 2012 10:44
4/5
Wooah!!
Can I just note that whilst we're obviously very grateful for Spong's coverage of Play Expo, we're surprised that this is the angle that the journalist has chosen to go with (in terms of reporting the background behind our event) and are disappointed with the rather 'sensationalist' nature of the headline.
I'd like to reiterate that Gordon's comments refer to an event *three years* ago and Eurogamer Expo definitely offers a first-rate experience to gamers. The UK can truly be proud of having Eurogamer as its flagship expo.
We now work closely with Eurogamer and were proud to bring our "Replay Retro Zone" to last year's Eurogamer Expo, which was phenominally popular amongst both visitors, and Eurogamer staff(!), alike. As per the announcement earlier this year, watch out for a bigger and better Replay Retro Zone at Eurogamer Expo 2012!
Apologies to Tom & Co for today's events - we certainly need to be more mindful when giving interviews. :-/
Dave Moore, Event Coordinator, Play Expo
Can I just note that whilst we're obviously very grateful for Spong's coverage of Play Expo, we're surprised that this is the angle that the journalist has chosen to go with (in terms of reporting the background behind our event) and are disappointed with the rather 'sensationalist' nature of the headline.
I'd like to reiterate that Gordon's comments refer to an event *three years* ago and Eurogamer Expo definitely offers a first-rate experience to gamers. The UK can truly be proud of having Eurogamer as its flagship expo.
We now work closely with Eurogamer and were proud to bring our "Replay Retro Zone" to last year's Eurogamer Expo, which was phenominally popular amongst both visitors, and Eurogamer staff(!), alike. As per the announcement earlier this year, watch out for a bigger and better Replay Retro Zone at Eurogamer Expo 2012!
Apologies to Tom & Co for today's events - we certainly need to be more mindful when giving interviews. :-/
Dave Moore, Event Coordinator, Play Expo
Dreadknux 15 May 2012 11:13
5/5
As the writer of this piece, I feel I should level things out a bit. Firstly, to Dave - and Gordon and Replay Events - I apologise if you feel the headline was rather 'sensationalist' but I don't believe that the article puts either side in a bad light, nor does it inaccurately report on anything that was said.
I have a great admiration for both Dave and Gordon after having had a really in-depth chat about Play Expo and the roots of the event. Having organised a grass-roots convention myself, I can totally relate. The full interview can be read here: http://spong.com/feature/10110689/Interview-Play-Expo-2012-The-New-Kid-on-the-Block
It was a pleasure to interview Gordon and be present at Play Expo's press event. Similarly, I have had nothing but fantastic experiences at Eurogamer Expo in London, but admittedly have not attended any of the event/s that may have been held in Leeds.
But as Gordon is quoted, perhaps the Leeds event suffered somehow, which is why his experience was what it was. Every year is a learning process for events managers, without a doubt. I think the fact that Eurogamer Expo and Replay Expo (now Play Expo) has gone from strength to strength and learned from any apparent problems is a testament to how fantastic the events - and the people behind them - are.
Thanks!
I have a great admiration for both Dave and Gordon after having had a really in-depth chat about Play Expo and the roots of the event. Having organised a grass-roots convention myself, I can totally relate. The full interview can be read here: http://spong.com/feature/10110689/Interview-Play-Expo-2012-The-New-Kid-on-the-Block
It was a pleasure to interview Gordon and be present at Play Expo's press event. Similarly, I have had nothing but fantastic experiences at Eurogamer Expo in London, but admittedly have not attended any of the event/s that may have been held in Leeds.
But as Gordon is quoted, perhaps the Leeds event suffered somehow, which is why his experience was what it was. Every year is a learning process for events managers, without a doubt. I think the fact that Eurogamer Expo and Replay Expo (now Play Expo) has gone from strength to strength and learned from any apparent problems is a testament to how fantastic the events - and the people behind them - are.
Thanks!