Actually, I truly believe small cons are slowly getting the qualities that mid and large size cons are known for. I was extremely busy at this year's Anime Crossroads. They had tons of different events at that convention. As for crowding, mid sized cons or larger are only as good as how the staff handles the crowding. Youmacon last year had almost 20k attendees but it was so well organized that I never found crowding to be an issue.
I’m late to the party, but I agree. It really depends on what you make of the convention (or any kind of event). Within the same year, I’ve been to a large convention and then a small one. Both appeared to be well organized.
I do all three. Big, Medium and Small. I attend conventions in Texas, mostly anime and sci-fi. They have more conventions because it's a big state with multiple counties. I first started attending cons back in the early 90's, but one day only, because I want to test the waters before taking the plunge. I have attended A-kon back in 1996 and I love it. It's Texas longest running anime convention in the state. I then attended Animefest in '98 and it's medium sized, but better and Anime North Texas in 2012 and it's smaller. All three have great cosplayers, voice actors, demos, dealers, etc and I love variety. On sci-fi and comic, I do big and medium depending on location, guests, etc. Sci-Fi and comic cons sometimes have the same one every quarter or bi-quarterly where anime is once a year, mostly summer because of expense and tourist season. One big convention I attended is Star Wars Celebration in Indiana and Florida. It's Large, up scale, and out of state, but I enjoy it, however I will stay with Texas conventions.
In Arizona, Saboten Con is really great. It manages to have all the pro of a large con and small con. People are really chill, but there is a lot to do and a number of celebrities.
i agree on medium cons mainly becuase dealers room is not to big where i cant walk through it all, but not small enough where i dont even know what to buy. medium all the way
+Maria Jones I will make sure i ask you for pictures when i'm at MomoCon as well kidding kidding lol but i hope it goes well too. I think it falls within the Medium/large range? I honestly prefer medium cons as well lol
+Maria Jones I was at Momocon last year. The attendance for 2015 was around 22,600 judging by the growth of 8,000, it could easily pass 30,000 this year. I was cosplaying Freddy Fazbear from Five Nights at Freddys. it was very popular and i was stopped quite a bit, but i was never late to a panel or event. If you are really in a rush and absolutely can't stop, then just say no, there is no problem with that. If they get mad, that is their problem. but i don't think it will be a problem at Momocon.
Hey so is Colossal considered a medium size Con?, because it's got a ton of panels,Voice actors,photoshoots etc and you can meet some really cool and nice people c:.
I've only been to one con w/ voice actors, and it was Frankfurt ComicCon... And yet, it was the first edition, so that was a Medium one I think. The only large con I've been to wasn't a real anime or comic con, it was the Frankfurt Book Fair (the biggest in the world) and the German National Cosplay Championship final is there, explaining the cosplayers (they added a special cosplay/manga/anime zone for cosplayers, even though a anime figurine and goodies stand already existed...)
I enjoyed this video ^^I really like Medium Cons too, though small ones are also really nice. Large ones like Colossalcon are really fun, but the crowds can get overwhelming sometimes. I would never go to anything bigger than Colossal or Ohayo.
I'd like to clarify on convention sizes as there is perspective to the definition of a large convention. On a global scale, 12k is a pretty small number. When you reach cities with internationally recognized status (i.e. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Signapore, etc), these cons can get upwards of 500k. Also, I happen to be in a fortunate location where cons of "Massive", "Large", and "Medium" (By your definition) are within reach several times a year. SacAnime, Fanime, Anime Expo (AX), and Kraken Con are within reach. 1. My "Large" convention (around 20k people over 4 days) will get you a handful of people from industry panels since the con is an irregular one, relatively speaking. It quite frankly feels more like a medium con than a large con... with the exception of lines. (FanimeCon in San Jose) There's some time to relax, quite a few places to go, but not everyone is interested in every event. Picking your events in advance will mean not needing to rush to reach all of your main objectives, even if there is a lot of events. 2. It is true that you will be more crowded in a larger setting, but you will also get to interact with others who also have similar tastes in series. Smaller cons may have fewer people that do so. Same goes for merchandising. But larger events means it may be more difficult to find people and merchandising. This may be the best source of convention listings over the year. animecons.com/events/calendar.shtml/000
I've only been to small/medium conventions, but I feel like that's my favorite because I like how there is enough panels and events to go to but enough time to just hangout and make friends.
i've only been to the same small con for a few years (hopefully this year will be the fifth year if it still happens!) i love seeing familiar faces every year, and i can get to just about any panel i want (as long as there's not another panel at the same time lol). i do hope i get to go to a big con someday!
I've only been to one con and it was definitely small. My next one will probably be the same, but there should be at least one good medium sized con a few hours away some time this year.
I've only ever been to Youmacon which I guess could be considered as a large con. I've been going for 4 years and I'm so used to it that I feel like a smaller con might not be satisfying enough 😅
There's one medium in my country. You either go there or you don't go any anime convention. And it's fun af, altough I still haven't managed to make new friends. I'm just too socially awkward I think.
I prefer medium sized cons as well. Some cons are so big that you can't even carry on a conversation with a person you already know because of the noise level...and I feel like a sardine in any of the major choke points.
I've only been to Ohayocon before for three years now. I don't know if it would be counted as small or medium through since I haven't been to any others personality. If anyone who has been there and to other cons would know better, please let me know.:)
I have only ever been to two conventions one was a really small doctor who and for a first convention experience it was nice, there wasn't much to do so I did hang out with my sister at her table in Artist alley looked through the dealer room and went to a few panels, the other convention I went to in my perspective was huge this was a comic con (wizard world), I was there with my other sister and her family because she and her husband built the impala from supernatural and David Tennant was at that con so she took me with so I could meet him, but to my sister it was a smaller con but still pretty big and I wasn't able to go to any of the panels so I explored the dealer room and hung out with some of the artists I also got to cosplay and people asked me for pictures which was great so in my opinion the small to medium cons are my favorite so far
I feel like you need to go to a good balance of cons. a few small/medium cons to make friends, get costume making advice, socialize with your fellow weebs. and one or two monster cons to party it up at. (like 75,000 people or more)
Good video breaking down the different sizes of cons. Despite Momocon being a larger convention, the one group of guest i did meet i did have a 1 on 1 time with them, but i'm sure that the bigger guest were harder to achieve the 1 on 1 time. I say that I like Medium cons the best. But again great video, keep up the good work.
I have gotten a taste for small cons because if you go to a lot of local smaller ones you can meet so many people and become friends over time from seeing them repeatedly. Also the people, especially repeat attenders, tend to be super open and friendly. One time I met a couple girls in line and we traded numbers because we thought each other was cool and they introduced me to Jojo's. I like medium, and want to go to like one or two big ones but I tend to get overwhelmed by crowds easily.
Since most of the cons I go to are smaller, fandom-specific cons [Doctor Who, My Little Pony], I'd be biased towards smaller cons. Those are ALWAYS a ton of fun. :)
I feel like the cons i go to are so different. I live in a small city in Canada. So our con is about 10 000 people. But we have a really small dealers room and a really big artist alley. And our game room is really small and intimate compared to what i see in your vlogs. Its about the size of a small classroom. But we have a HUGE area. We use a school campus with two buildings and next year we will be using three. Plus we get a LOT of K and J pop and rock stars to come over seas for concerts. But a lot of the con people spend just chilling outside in the square and playing games. No one is ever in a rush. I always wanted to go to a bigger USA con but im a little scared XD my friend offered me to go to Colossal Con with her and I backed out cuz of how big it looks. Maybe next year though.
AS my all time favorite convention is Ohio's Matsuricon I'm a huge fan of medium con's for the very reason you said. Also i find that staff (MOSTLY) as the con get's small has less issues and a better attitude and with less staff needed there's less bad staff. Also medium cons often make the owner's and operators of hotels and convention center's less stressed and typically there's less issues there as well. Though that's me and mine
Phoenix Comicon 2016...monstrous. Amazing. Going every year because there are just SO many things to see. But I agree in that the really big cons can be seen as rather impersonal. And finding a seat or meeting a friend there is nearly impossible even with a predetermined rendezvous point. Nearly lost my sister in a crush of stormtroopers.
Hey! I know its a llooooong way from where you are, but will you be going to Anime Oasis in Idaho around May? its a medium con and I think you'll like it
Sooo.....Is ACEN is considered a large convention right? I can't remember what the numbers were last year. I know Anime Milwaukee is close to the 9K range so it's mid size. The cons of having a bigger or a smaller con lol pun intended. xD Good points though. :)
The success for a great convention? Invite the original creator and study the audience. Size isn't everything. It's all about the content. A small looked rushed and not well though, like praise is priority while bigger is more worked but can be a huge waste if failed. Convention is a tricky business. However, my pessimism says that in both way, they failed.
I prefer small cons. I hate lines and can get somewhat claustrophobic when it's super crowded.
Actually, I truly believe small cons are slowly getting the qualities that mid and large size cons are known for. I was extremely busy at this year's Anime Crossroads. They had tons of different events at that convention. As for crowding, mid sized cons or larger are only as good as how the staff handles the crowding. Youmacon last year had almost 20k attendees but it was so well organized that I never found crowding to be an issue.
I’m late to the party, but I agree. It really depends on what you make of the convention (or any kind of event). Within the same year, I’ve been to a large convention and then a small one. Both appeared to be well organized.
I do all three. Big, Medium and Small. I attend conventions in Texas, mostly anime and sci-fi. They have more conventions because it's a big state with multiple counties. I first started attending cons back in the early 90's, but one day only, because I want to test the waters before taking the plunge. I have attended A-kon back in 1996 and I love it. It's Texas longest running anime convention in the state. I then attended Animefest in '98 and it's medium sized, but better and Anime North Texas in 2012 and it's smaller. All three have great cosplayers, voice actors, demos, dealers, etc and I love variety. On sci-fi and comic, I do big and medium depending on location, guests, etc. Sci-Fi and comic cons sometimes have the same one every quarter or bi-quarterly where anime is once a year, mostly summer because of expense and tourist season. One big convention I attended is Star Wars Celebration in Indiana and Florida. It's Large, up scale, and out of state, but I enjoy it, however I will stay with Texas conventions.
*me who has never gone to a con and it’s covid*: ah yes, ima research cons!
1 person is considered small... LOGIC!
Obviously there are no cons with only 1 person, but the scale has to start somewhere
great video Cody!
+NekoPaws 123 Thank you!
I find that FanimeCon is a pretty good mix between Large & Small Convention
Jessica Trautman | I was thinking about going to that one. I was wondering how big it was and you answered my question xD thanks :3
In Arizona, Saboten Con is really great. It manages to have all the pro of a large con and small con. People are really chill, but there is a lot to do and a number of celebrities.
i agree on medium cons mainly becuase dealers room is not to big where i cant walk through it all, but not small enough where i dont even know what to buy. medium all the way
I like your points in this video. It worries me that, during MomoCon, people may ask for photos, but I might be trying to get somewhere.
+Maria Jones I will make sure i ask you for pictures when i'm at MomoCon as well kidding kidding lol but i hope it goes well too. I think it falls within the Medium/large range? I honestly prefer medium cons as well lol
+Maria Jones I was at Momocon last year. The attendance for 2015 was around 22,600 judging by the growth of 8,000, it could easily pass 30,000 this year. I was cosplaying Freddy Fazbear from Five Nights at Freddys. it was very popular and i was stopped quite a bit, but i was never late to a panel or event. If you are really in a rush and absolutely can't stop, then just say no, there is no problem with that. If they get mad, that is their problem. but i don't think it will be a problem at Momocon.
Hey guys hope you like the new video! Trying to remake more of the older videos like I did with this one! Expect more stuff like this!
Hey so is Colossal considered a medium size Con?, because it's got a ton of panels,Voice actors,photoshoots etc and you can meet some really cool and nice people c:.
I've only been to one con w/ voice actors, and it was Frankfurt ComicCon... And yet, it was the first edition, so that was a Medium one I think. The only large con I've been to wasn't a real anime or comic con, it was the Frankfurt Book Fair (the biggest in the world) and the German National Cosplay Championship final is there, explaining the cosplayers (they added a special cosplay/manga/anime zone for cosplayers, even though a anime figurine and goodies stand already existed...)
I enjoyed this video ^^I really like Medium Cons too, though small ones are also really nice. Large ones like Colossalcon are really fun, but the crowds can get overwhelming sometimes. I would never go to anything bigger than Colossal or Ohayo.
I'd like to clarify on convention sizes as there is perspective to the definition of a large convention. On a global scale, 12k is a pretty small number. When you reach cities with internationally recognized status (i.e. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Signapore, etc), these cons can get upwards of 500k.
Also, I happen to be in a fortunate location where cons of "Massive", "Large", and "Medium" (By your definition) are within reach several times a year. SacAnime, Fanime, Anime Expo (AX), and Kraken Con are within reach.
1. My "Large" convention (around 20k people over 4 days) will get you a handful of people from industry panels since the con is an irregular one, relatively speaking. It quite frankly feels more like a medium con than a large con... with the exception of lines. (FanimeCon in San Jose) There's some time to relax, quite a few places to go, but not everyone is interested in every event. Picking your events in advance will mean not needing to rush to reach all of your main objectives, even if there is a lot of events.
2. It is true that you will be more crowded in a larger setting, but you will also get to interact with others who also have similar tastes in series. Smaller cons may have fewer people that do so. Same goes for merchandising. But larger events means it may be more difficult to find people and merchandising.
This may be the best source of convention listings over the year.
animecons.com/events/calendar.shtml/000
I've only been to small/medium conventions, but I feel like that's my favorite because I like how there is enough panels and events to go to but enough time to just hangout and make friends.
You should consider attending Daisho Con!
i've only been to the same small con for a few years (hopefully this year will be the fifth year if it still happens!) i love seeing familiar faces every year, and i can get to just about any panel i want (as long as there's not another panel at the same time lol). i do hope i get to go to a big con someday!
I've only been to one con and it was definitely small. My next one will probably be the same, but there should be at least one good medium sized con a few hours away some time this year.
I've only ever been to Youmacon which I guess could be considered as a large con. I've been going for 4 years and I'm so used to it that I feel like a smaller con might not be satisfying enough 😅
There's one medium in my country. You either go there or you don't go any anime convention.
And it's fun af, altough I still haven't managed to make new friends. I'm just too socially awkward I think.
Just a quick little question, are you going to megacon in orlando, or do you just go to anime cons??
I prefer medium sized cons as well. Some cons are so big that you can't even carry on a conversation with a person you already know because of the noise level...and I feel like a sardine in any of the major choke points.
I've only been to Ohayocon before for three years now. I don't know if it would be counted as small or medium through since I haven't been to any others personality. If anyone who has been there and to other cons would know better, please let me know.:)
Well I aparinately went to a HUGE con that had more that 70,000 people attending!
The three cons that I go to, they're a small/medium, medium and large. The small/medium con is split in two places and on two different streets.
Super informative video Cody! I'm looking into going to my first con in a year or two.
I have only ever been to two conventions one was a really small doctor who and for a first convention experience it was nice, there wasn't much to do so I did hang out with my sister at her table in Artist alley looked through the dealer room and went to a few panels, the other convention I went to in my perspective was huge this was a comic con (wizard world), I was there with my other sister and her family because she and her husband built the impala from supernatural and David Tennant was at that con so she took me with so I could meet him, but to my sister it was a smaller con but still pretty big and I wasn't able to go to any of the panels so I explored the dealer room and hung out with some of the artists I also got to cosplay and people asked me for pictures which was great so in my opinion the small to medium cons are my favorite so far
matsuricon is doing big things this year...they are a medium sized con...the game room is gonna be HUGE
I feel like you need to go to a good balance of cons. a few small/medium cons to make friends, get costume making advice, socialize with your fellow weebs. and one or two monster cons to party it up at. (like 75,000 people or more)
medium cons mean your more likely to reunite with people from last year, celebrities and fellow patrons.
Good video breaking down the different sizes of cons. Despite Momocon being a larger convention, the one group of guest i did meet i did have a 1 on 1 time with them, but i'm sure that the bigger guest were harder to achieve the 1 on 1 time. I say that I like Medium cons the best. But again great video, keep up the good work.
I have gotten a taste for small cons because if you go to a lot of local smaller ones you can meet so many people and become friends over time from seeing them repeatedly. Also the people, especially repeat attenders, tend to be super open and friendly. One time I met a couple girls in line and we traded numbers because we thought each other was cool and they introduced me to Jojo's. I like medium, and want to go to like one or two big ones but I tend to get overwhelmed by crowds easily.
Are you going to Steel City Con?
+EnderDorks Gaming and Drawing I am not
I like to mix big and small =P and of course, medium! I like ALL cons haha :D
Since most of the cons I go to are smaller, fandom-specific cons [Doctor Who, My Little Pony], I'd be biased towards smaller cons. Those are ALWAYS a ton of fun. :)
I love medium cons, the ones I been to are pretty chill and have so much and meeting such awesome people they're the best of both worlds
I feel like the cons i go to are so different. I live in a small city in Canada. So our con is about 10 000 people. But we have a really small dealers room and a really big artist alley. And our game room is really small and intimate compared to what i see in your vlogs. Its about the size of a small classroom. But we have a HUGE area. We use a school campus with two buildings and next year we will be using three. Plus we get a LOT of K and J pop and rock stars to come over seas for concerts. But a lot of the con people spend just chilling outside in the square and playing games. No one is ever in a rush. I always wanted to go to a bigger USA con but im a little scared XD my friend offered me to go to Colossal Con with her and I backed out cuz of how big it looks. Maybe next year though.
Will you be at indy pop con?
+Broadwaykid Idk yet
I will!
+Convention Reviews doitdoitdoit
Is Anime north in toronto large?
I once went to a really awful small con and the only game they had in the game room was minecraft they also only had 3 computers to play it on DX
LOL
AS my all time favorite convention is Ohio's Matsuricon I'm a huge fan of medium con's for the very reason you said. Also i find that staff (MOSTLY) as the con get's small has less issues and a better attitude and with less staff needed there's less bad staff. Also medium cons often make the owner's and operators of hotels and convention center's less stressed and typically there's less issues there as well.
Though that's me and mine
jesus the cons in america are insane. 5000 is what you call small?!?! In Ireland the biggest cons attendance is just over 1000!!!
OMG I MY BF AND I ARE THE THUMBNAIL WHAT
You made it!
Phoenix Comicon 2016...monstrous. Amazing. Going every year because there are just SO many things to see. But I agree in that the really big cons can be seen as rather impersonal. And finding a seat or meeting a friend there is nearly impossible even with a predetermined rendezvous point. Nearly lost my sister in a crush of stormtroopers.
Hey! I know its a llooooong way from where you are, but will you be going to Anime Oasis in Idaho around May? its a medium con and I think you'll like it
Aren't small cons better?
Sooo.....Is ACEN is considered a large convention right? I can't remember what the numbers were last year. I know Anime Milwaukee is close to the 9K range so it's mid size. The cons of having a bigger or a smaller con lol pun intended. xD Good points though. :)
I have gone to a big con and medium con I also bed to a small con on Sunday at matsumicon
The success for a great convention? Invite the original creator and study the audience. Size isn't everything. It's all about the content.
A small looked rushed and not well though, like praise is priority while bigger is more worked but can be a huge waste if failed.
Convention is a tricky business. However, my pessimism says that in both way, they failed.