Gamer Con March 2017

Dyr

Bambi wrote: »

Just do a Paddy Cosgrave and blame the venue, the vendors, the support companies and everyone bar yourself then demand Enda Kenny gets involved next time.

lo and behold..

http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/gamercon-founder-defends-convention-after-12766230

"There were also issues with queues within the building. This was not under GamerCon’s direct control – the Convention Centre Dublin are responsible for people management and public safety within their building. The Convention Centre Dublin were fully aware of the ticket sales and expected numbers of attendees."

Andrew76

Vinyslpinners wrote: »

For your lite reading pleasure: http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/gamercon-founder-defends-convention-after-12766230

He's laying a lot of the blame on the Convention Centre reading that article. They were aware of the number of tickets sold and it was their responsibility to look after people once inside the door.

The only good thing to come out of it was the number of folks that turned up showed there's great appetite for this kind of thing. GamerCon indeed.

MvsC3

me_irl wrote: »

For such a big convention having an emulator + ROM(s) setup is a legal faux pas (I think).

I'm curious though, how did you know it was an emulator? Was it running RetroPie or anything that you could see?

I don't know exactly if they were emulators as I didn't get to play them, but the controllers that the players were using to play golden axe (1989) were 2x six button arcade joysticks joined together that the manufacturer was advertising could be made for sale, no Sega mega drive visible. there was a megadrive there with sonic 2 on it and I think another one with altered beast.

Glebee

MvsC3 wrote: »

I don't know exactly if they were emulators as I didn't get to play them, but the controllers that the players were using to play golden axe (1989) were 2x six button arcade joysticks joined together that the manufacturer was advertising could be made for sale, no Sega mega drive visible. there was a megadrive there with sonic 2 on it and I think another one with altered beast.

Fcuking hell, Sonic 2 and Altered Beast. I know it was Retro but thank Christ I did not get in..:)

MvsC3

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Flat out illegal actually and if it was Nintendo stuff running on it you'd be running the risk of legal action.

MARIO KART was on an actual N64, most games were ran on the appropriate hardware, it just looked to me like some of the games could have been as I didn't see the consoles and the joysticks were arcade style and could be ordered for sale, they probably weren't emulators at all, just what I thought from looking briefly at them.

MvsC3

Glebee wrote: »

Fcuking hell, Sonic 2 and Altered Beast. I know it was Retro but thank Christ I did not get in..:)

Altered beast was VIP ticket holders only


Only jokin😊

hungry hypno toad

Any Amigas in the retro section?

MvsC3

Glebee wrote: »

Fcuking hell, Sonic 2 and Altered Beast. I know it was Retro but thank Christ I did not get in..:)

Altered beast was VIP tickets only


Only joking!

MvsC3

hungry hypno toad wrote: »

Any Amigas in the retro section?

It wasn't E3 Las vegas

Gonzo

I was meant to go to this but in the end we all backed out of going a week before the event, so glad i dodged that bullet now.

The numbers that showed up for the event goes to show that such an event is very much in demand in this country. Unfortunately the events of this weekend will not be forgotten and any similar event in the future has probably been damaged, even if it was run properly by another organisation. There would be many parents who would never bring their kids to something like this again.

MvsC3

hungry hypno toad wrote: »

Any Amigas in the retro section?

Not that I seen, few N64s, few Snes, nes, megadrive, a GameCube, dreamcast, PlayStation one, an upright arcade cabinet running Marvel Vs Capcom 1, and a cocktail table cabinet that wasmy running whilst I was there

moonlighting

I kinda miss going to lan events. I remember the scene died down a few years ago. Is anybody organizing lan events anymore or is it just a case of game company's not supporting lan play.

drawnacrol

The worst thing about this is its caused massive damage to any future cons. 24,000 people were hoping to attend which shows there is a huge demand for events like this. You could easily have separate kids and adult events.

In a country where many delusional people almost see gaming in a similar light as drug use this will only further damage it. I wouldn't expect another gamer con for a long time regardless of who runs in it. Not to mention every parent in the country who reads up about this sham will even want to risk something like this in the future.

pilly

drawnacrol wrote: »

The worst thing about this is its caused massive damage to any future cons. 24,000 people were hoping to attend which shows there is a huge demand for events like this. You could easily have separate kids and adult events.

In a country where many delusional people almost see gaming in a similar light as drug use this will only further damage it. I wouldn't expect another gamer con for a long time regardless of who runs in it. Not to mention every parent in the country who reads up about this sham will even want to risk something like this in the future.

I was going to suggest separate child and adult events but thought I'd be torn to shreds, glad you brought it up. Surely for the adult gamers they'd prefer a separate event?

Potential-Monke

From my experience at Insomnia last year, which was a new event in Ireland (albeit with years of experience from other events), the best part was the evening/night with the quiz, a few drinks and banter. I would be all for an adult only portion, set in the evening/night, keep the day time for the kids. I'm even tempted to look into organising one myself at this stage.

Glebee

Potential-Monke wrote: »

From my experience at Insomnia last year, which was a new event in Ireland (albeit with years of experience from other events), the best part was the evening/night with the quiz, a few drinks and banter. I would be all for an adult only portion, set in the evening/night, keep the day time for the kids. I'm even tempted to look into organising one myself at this stage.

i know somebody whos looking for a job.....:)

Potential-Monke

Glebee wrote: »

i know somebody whos looking for a job.....:)

He can keep looking!

Generic Dreadhead

Vinyslpinners wrote: »

She was talking about her cosplay to be fair. Good listen though, let the hiding commence whatever way you wanna take that! I can't wait to hear the good experience callers!

Yeah heard this too. She did say it was for Cosplay

FAILSAFE 00

Is there any replay we can access of this interview.

Retr0gamer

Bambi wrote: »

lo and behold..

http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/gamercon-founder-defends-convention-after-12766230

"There were also issues with queues within the building. This was not under GamerCon’s direct control – the Convention Centre Dublin are responsible for people management and public safety within their building. The Convention Centre Dublin were fully aware of the ticket sales and expected numbers of attendees."

That's not how the law works. The organisers are responsible for health and safety with regards to crowd control and security and as for ticket sales they would have been recommended that number of tickets by the venue based on the information provided by the organiser. If they provided the wrong info then it's their fault especially after turning down offers from the likes of DCC for help.

Mr E

FAILSAFE 00 wrote: »

Is there any replay we can access of this interview.

Keep checking here: http://www.classichits.ie/category/podcasts/the-niall-boylan-show-podcasts/
Should be up later today or tomorrow...

dunworth1

anyone know how to refund from gamestop?

Mr E

Mr E wrote: »

Keep checking here: http://www.classichits.ie/category/podcasts/the-niall-boylan-show-podcasts/
Should be up later today or tomorrow...

The podcast is up there now.

Potential-Monke

Latest update from Ferdi:

Ferdi wrote:

To everyone who attended GamerCon Dublin this past weekend I would like to personally apologise for those of you who had a bad experience queuing for, or at the event. I am the event organizer, and I accept full responsibility and am deeply, deeply sorry to the Kids and families whose day was ruined by long queues both outside and inside the venue.

I accept completely that I got it wrong, and that the social response is largely justified in light of the experience that many people had. While I witnessed people enjoying the event on both days, that was completely overshadowed by the fact that many of you queued for hours and ultimately could not gain entry, or decided, understandably, to leave the queue. Reading people’s comments on social media I can see just how angered and frustrated people are. I accept that I and the decisions I made created that situation for you, your family or loved ones. This was never my intent, and for this I am incredibly sorry.

I want to apologise in particular to the kids who were affected by this. The Santa gifts and birthday gifts that included a GamerCon ticket did not deserve this and I am profoundly saddened and ashamed that this outcome is a result of decisions that I made as I planned this event. My intent was to deliver a Gaming event that Ireland could be proud of and that everyone could enjoy, not to create the very challenging circumstances that many people found themselves in on Saturday and Sunday.

This outcome should never have happened and the responsibility lies with me to ensure that it didn’t. To ensure that the venue was capable of handling the demand was my responsibility and this clearly caused the overwhelming majority of problems experienced on the day. How or why I made the choice to work with the Convention Centre is now immaterial and any previous comments I’ve made about the venue were not designed to pass blame on any party. I made the decision to use the venue, I sold the tickets and for attendees, that’s all that matters – I am the one responsible, irrespective of discussions or planning with any other party involved in the event. You deserved better and I accept that and want to reiterate how incredibly sorry I am for what happened.

I am working to ensure that refund requests are processed as quickly as possible and will continue to do so until everyone affected has had their questions responded to, or their ticket fee refunded as appropriate. Please bear with us while we work through that this week. Again, my deepest apologies.
Ferdi Roberts.
Founder. GamerCon

I still believe that he only wrote that to appease some people. I still think it was a blatant cash grab, and a terribly organised one at that. I can only hope he never has anything to do with gaming in Ireland again.

vrt12

It's a pity the queuing problem has gotten so much attention. The overwhelming gripe people I've spoken to about it and myself included was the **** poor show that was put on. His apology is empty. He claims to have listened to peoples feedback on social media but makes it out to be all about the queues. It was a bloody awful event and every single person should be refunded.

The man will still go on to make a profit. He'll never have anything to do with gaming again, the community will ensure that. That's he only consolation we can all take.

Retr0gamer

What a lying prick saying the queues and crowd control are the DCC's responsibility.

Kimbot

Retr0gamer wrote: »

What a lying prick saying the queues and crowd control are the DCC's responsibility.

That was a low blow alright but he has since backpeddled on that and taken the blame on himself.

Potential-Monke

jonnycivic wrote: »

That was a low blow alright but he has since backpeddled on that and taken the blame on himself.

Amazing what a bit of social media pressure will do. If he was genuinely sorry, he would have said so from the start. He's a chancer and it didn't go handy the way he wanted, he got met with the full force of annoyed gamers and parents, and he has no where to run or hide. As vrt12 said, the only consolation we can hope for is that he will never have anything to do with gaming in Ireland again.

Kimbot

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Amazing what a bit of social media pressure will do. If he was genuinely sorry, he would have said so from the start. He's a chancer and it didn't go handy the way he wanted, he got met with the full force of annoyed gamers and parents, and he has no where to run or hide. As vrt12 said, the only consolation we can hope for is that he will never have anything to do with gaming in Ireland again.

Oh i agree completely but when he was taking heat he passed it off everywhere and now due to Social Media he has backed off. I think the mods in the gaming forums could come up with something better for next year :P

Sunny Dayz

Wow that was a very different apology to the one he put up early yesterday evening:

GamerCon had 21,600 attendees through its doors over the course of this weekend. 11,000 on Saturday 18th and 10,600 on Sunday 19th. We clearly had challenges with queuing on Saturday When I was informed of this I made the decision to offer a refund to attendees who were outside and did not wish to queue further. We communicated this offer in person at the event, via social media and via our phone app.
Having debriefed from Saturday, a number of important changes were instituted based on the day’s experience with the result that there were minimal delays in queues outside on Sunday, with most attendees experiencing between 30 and 45 minutes queuing into the venue which we feel is to be expected with an event of this scale.
There were also issues with queues within the building. This was not under GamerCon’s direct control – the Convention Centre Dublin are responsible for people management and public safety within their building. The Convention Centre Dublin were fully aware of the ticket sales and expected numbers of attendees as this was discussed in the months leading up to the event.
As previously stated we will be proactively dealing with all refund requests in the coming week and will be in contact with these ticket holders individually over the next 5 working days.
Ferdi Roberts. Founder