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[Hakaider]

Are people really desperate and aleady booking that Miku is coming back next year that Premier Badges have been sold out?

Wait...Has it been confirmed that Miku Hatsune will return in 2013, or is it just a rumour?

Anybody know the exact Attendance, or if AX will officially announce it any time soon? Would like to know if we gained or loss attendees.

So far, AX haven't released that information yet. Sometimes, it takes them several months or almost a year before they release that information. (The 2010 unique attendance numbers were still never released to this day.)

The San Diego Comic Con, which occurred a few weeks after AX has already released their attendance info. (130,000+)

[Freight]

Originally Posted by Hakaider

Wait...Has it been confirmed that Miku Hatsune will return in 2013, or is it just a rumour?

That's still a rumor as far as I know. Toyota were the ones who brought Vocaloid last time, weren't they?

Originally Posted by Hakaider

So far, AX haven't released that information yet. Sometimes, it takes them several months or almost a year before they release that information. (The 2010 unique attendance numbers were still never released to this day.)

The San Diego Comic Con, which occurred a few weeks after AX has already released their attendance info. (130,000+)

On a related note, with registration raised for 2012, is it a good idea to continue the free Dealer's Hall afternoon badges? I'm not speaking as a cheap person, but to produce these badges takes personnel time and materials, which I would think would be at a premium with the operating deficit they have and the issues they had getting the personnel/volunteers they needed.

[Access]

Originally Posted by Hakaider

Wait...Has it been confirmed that Miku Hatsune will return in 2013, or is it just a rumour?

I can tell you right now, very low likelihood.

Toyota and the others lost money on the concert. They don't have much of an appetite to return to these things (a partnership with Crypton). Plus the advertising campaign was largely a miss and didn't attract much attention. Crypton themselves is not a huge company and can't do much on their own. Really the next big event for them (in the west) is the long awaited english miku release, hopefully happening in the next year.

There are several technical problems that still have to be ironed out and the technology does not scale very well. For instance, the 3D effect works best over a roughly 20 degree arc and this is not conducive to most venues or large audiences in general.

In 2011 this basically 'fell into their lap', AX was asked to host versus AX seeking them out. It's not that it couldn't happen again, but it would have to be different players or AX doing a significant amount of legwork and investment on their own.

There are other groups doing similar things like VV which performs at some of the other California cons (ALA, PMX, AOD, Fanime, etc.) The system that they use is different (more homemade) but it has come a long way in the last year and their AOD performance was in front of a crowd of roughly 500.

http://www.youtube.com/vlpproject01
https://www.youtube.com/user/39diyMMDConcert
http://www.vocalektvisions.com/
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...me+on+dem and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUE2eAgQc74

If you go here they are performing at PMX this year no charge:
http://pacificmediaexpo.info/2012/
http://pacificmediaexpo.info/2012/in...227&Item id=1
so that's probably the next opportunity to see them. Hopefully on the big stage this time.

[Freight]

Originally Posted by Access

I can tell you right now, very low likelihood.

Toyota and the others lost money on the concert. They don't have much of an appetite to return to these things (a partnership with Crypton). Plus the advertising campaign was largely a miss and didn't attract much attention. Crypton themselves is not a huge company and can't do much on their own. Really the next big event for them (in the west) is the long awaited english miku release, hopefully happening in the next year.

There are several technical problems that still have to be ironed out and the technology does not scale very well. For instance, the 3D effect works best over a roughly 20 degree arc and this is not conducive to most venues or large audiences in general.

In 2011 this basically 'fell into their lap', AX was asked to host versus AX seeking them out. It's not that it couldn't happen again, but it would have to be different players or AX doing a significant amount of legwork and investment on their own.

There are other groups doing similar things like VV which performs at some of the other California cons (ALA, PMX, AOD, Fanime, etc.) The system that they use is different (more homemade) but it has come a long way in the last year and their AOD performance was in front of a crowd of roughly 500.

http://www.youtube.com/vlpproject01
https://www.youtube.com/user/39diyMMDConcert
http://www.vocalektvisions.com/
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...me+on+dem and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUE2eAgQc74

If you go here they are performing at PMX this year no charge:
http://pacificmediaexpo.info/2012/
http://pacificmediaexpo.info/2012/in...227&Item id=1
so that's probably the next opportunity to see them. Hopefully on the big stage this time.

That falls in line with a couple of theories I've been floating based on different discussions.

What would be the higest level of guest they could obtain musically? There's word that Orange Range was going to appear in 2010, but they were extremely mistreated by the management at the time and declined the invitation. It does feel like since that time (2009 to 2010), top tier guests aren't as frequent as they used to be.

[Access]

Well if they could get someone like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu I know that would draw a lot of people.
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...ry+pamyu+pamyu
I know Perfume and some others that aren't coming to mind right now are pretty popular also. You get any of those and it will be a big thing.

In Japan business often hinges on relationships and sometimes all westerners are lumped together in the psyche of a group. So if someone has been mistreated in the past, it may be impossible for them (or anyone else in the west) to get them today.

I know when it comes to Vocaloid, groups or individuals making the music or putting on the concerts today tend to be more independent-minded and less willing to agree to any kind of exclusivity / exclusion clause than bands in general. So I really don't know how much of them we'll see at AX relative to the other conventions in the area.

[El_Duque]

Originally Posted by Access

Toyota and the others lost money on the concert.

Source on this. I know that the Miku-Corolla marketing campaign was a bust, but I didn't know that Toyota lost money on the concert.

[Access]

Originally Posted by El_Duque

Source on this. I know that the Miku-Corolla marketing campaign was a bust, but I didn't know that Toyota lost money on the concert.

All the corporate sponsors spent (lost) money, in exchange for advertising and publicity.

There is not just one source, but this was well known among fans around the time of the final 39's giving day concert in Sapporo. Often quoted as the "last" or "final" concert, though the context and meaning of the term is still debated even today.

A quick case study that discusses the 'big picture' of Toyota's involvement.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.asp...19 43c21c5ed4

Largely focussed on advertising and increasing traffic to their site. Nothing to do with making money or making a profit from the concert. Note that most people don't even know of the rest of Toyota's advertising efforts, they lost interest after the concert. And how much, if any, did the advertising translate to actual sales? Especially from a demographic that isn't focused on cars or driving as prior generations. ie. http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelin...ind-the-wheel/

Really if the concert itself was profitable, and they desired to make money off it, they would have held a lot more of them.

http://www.vocaloidotaku.net/index.p... &#entry740460

for instance, is a reasonably accurate assessment.

The Miku software product has been making money, some of the early numbers are cited in this article:
http://scopeweb.mit.edu/?p=1817
"Amazon.co.jp reported on September 12, 2007, that Hatsune Miku sales totaled $57 million (4.3 billion yen), making her the number-one selling software in those two weeks."

but concerts like the 39's giving day concerts cannot make money unless they charge a very high price for tickets. 5000 tickets selling for $20. apiece is only $100,000. As far as costs, you have the venue, the band, the technical staff, travel, equipment, and so on. It costs a lot more than $100,000. It can't be achieved without corporate sponsors willing to throw a lot of money at it.

This article describes crypton's general philosophy or mindset pretty well.
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-fea...f-hatsune-miku

Also Sega has more receptive and I believe it's been mentioned that part of their role was to provide the 3D models for the concerts made from the Project Diva series of games. Most of the rumors of a 2013 Vocaloid concert began in March 2012 when it became known that there wouldn't be a concert from 2012. As expected or happy that vocaloid fans would be if there was a vocaloid concert at every AX from 2013 onward, there isn't a whole lot of actual evidence to back it up.

[Freight]

Would a change in SPJA leadership change the odds of some guest bands desire to return to AX?

[Hakaider]

Would a change in SPJA leadership change the odds of some guest bands desire to return to AX?

You mean if the current CEO Marc Perez would be willing to voluntarily step down from the CEO position?

You know he's going to cling on to that position for dear life, and for as long as he can. It's not for nothing that he likes to address himself as, "El Presidente". (He even wore a white sash with that "El Presidente" title in BIG & BOLD tacky letters at the Nokia Theatre stage back in 2011.)

But hey, if Britney Spears can shave her head, even stranger things can happen.

[Freight]

Originally Posted by Hakaider

You mean if the current CEO Marc Perez would be willing to voluntarily step down from the CEO position?

You know he's going to cling on to that position for dear life, and for as long as he can. It's not for nothing that he likes to address himself as, "El Presidente". (He even wore a white sash with that "El Presidente" title in BIG & BOLD tacky letters at the Nokia Theatre stage back in 2011.)

But hey, if Britney Spears can shave her head, even stranger things can happen.

I do think it's a worthwhile question. If leadership is ineffectual or obstructing how the business should be run, then they need to go.

In this case, the implication is that the leadership itself may be preventing some of AX's ability to get the guests they need. If that's the case, then a change would be necessary to keep AX going.

[Access]

In my experience of business dealings with conservative or traditional japanese, once the damage is done, it's done, and there's no going back. If you trash the relationship, it can be very difficult or impossible to go back.

But this is only among the most traditional or conservative people/groups. Others may be perfectly willing to negotiate with the right person. Yet others may negotiate with anyone, as long as the terms are right and they have faith that the terms will be adhered to (rarer among japanese than westerners).

Note that, whether it's to rebuild relationships that have gone bad, or avoid sabotaging future ones; not all things may be possible in any given case, but it always helps to have good negotiators.

[El_Duque]

Well Courtney Kraft it now gone from AX Live according to AX Live's Facebook page.

They might as well pull the plug on this show until March when things start getting for AX. All year round, they just talk about the same stuff you would see on anime and gaming news sites. The only redeeming factor of that show post-AX is the free badge giveaway at the end. Even I got bored of Frances' figure reviews.

[Hakaider]

Well Courtney Kraft it now gone from AX Live according to AX Live's Facebook page.

They might as well pull the plug on this show until March when things start getting for AX. All year round, they just talk about the same stuff you would see on anime and gaming news sites. The only redeeming factor of that show post-AX is the free badge giveaway at the end. Even I got bored of Frances' figure reviews.

What the heck? Another host pulls out of the AX Live show again? That doesn't bode well for the future of the show.




On things on a different note...

I was reading the AX forums, and I was laughing on how some of the "regulars" there, are now defending & claiming that downtown LA is cheaper, than Anaheim.

Some of them are claiming that there's less restaurants in Anaheim and they are located farther down. And they even claim that downtown LA is cheaper than Anaheim.

Really? C'mon really? Are you kidding me? Are you talking about the same planet here?

(And of course, they also neglect to mention the food court that's located inside the Anaheim Hilton. The downtown IHOP is also way, farther down from the LA Convention Center than the IHOP from the Anaheim Convention Center. Are they even looking at the map, or are they pulling figures out of thin air?! )


Even many of the local businessmen & women who work at downtown LA will tell you that downtown LA is more expensive than Anaheim.

And where in Anaheim, are you going to find $38 a night for parking like in the J.W. Marriott? (Not even the Disneyland hotels charge that much, and they are much nicer than the J.W. Marriott.)


Here's the link:

http://community.anime-expo.org/inde...#entry5 99698

[El_Duque]

I'll probably tune in this Thursday to see who they got to co-host with Frances and replace Courtney. Jason even stated on his Facebook that even the Brony-Intern guy who did a few eps with Frances is also gone.

I forgot to bring this up but I was talking to a former AX Staffer at Comic Con while we were waiting in line for the Viz panel. She told me she went this year and she regretted going. Other then that, when I brought up about AX going back to Anaheim, she told me the reason AX won't move back to Anaheim is that Disney banned them. She told me it was a rumor. Okay, so Disney doesn't own the ACC, the city does. But like how business in the world today goes, money talks.

[Hakaider]

Jason even stated on his Facebook that even the Brony-Intern guy who did a few eps with Frances is also gone.

What?! Another person left the show?

I forgot to bring this up but I was talking to a former AX Staffer at Comic Con while we were waiting in line for the Viz panel. She told me she went this year and she regretted going. Other then that, when I brought up about AX going back to Anaheim, she told me the reason AX won't move back to Anaheim is that Disney banned them. She told me it was a rumor. Okay, so Disney doesn't own the ACC, the city does. But like how business in the world today goes, money talks.

That's not what I heard. I heard that it is due to a certain person/people on the top who wants to stay in LA. Also, last I heard, Disney has no interest whatsoever in supposedly banning AX from the Anaheim Convention Center. (Wondercon, and AM2 also was held at the ACC, and Disney didn't care.)