digitalpress Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 Why waste any time? We loved the area - a few small adjustments and we'll have addressed any and all of the 2004 areas for improvements. We really wanted to show our commitment to the area, our attendees, and our sponsors. By setting things in motion early we won't run into the last minute (and sometimes TOO late) issues we had during the move in 2004. I've got some pictures of the new digs online and will share them here in a future post. Out-of-towners will LOVE this place - it's an excellent hotel and area to take a spouse or significant other, a shuttle to both the airport and the BART mean you can get just about anywhere quickly and without a car (which was an issue at the San Jose Convention Center this year). Further, the hotel itself is gorgeous and has outstanding convention facilities. We'll actually have as much floorspace in total as we did in San Jose! Inside the Hyatt from the door of a room up high: http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_15.jpg Dark photos of the exhibitor hall (a doll show was running when we were there): http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_05.jpg http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_04.jpg http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_06.jpg The room we had pegged for the keynotes: http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_10.jpg Concourse and registration area outside of main hall: http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_02.jpg http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_16.jpg Dark photo of what will likely be the museum: http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_11.jpg Probable swap meet room. Another adjustment to the feedback we received to "make this room bigger!": http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_12.jpg An addition to the show, the Hyatt has a very large and very cool OUTDOOR pavillion. We may host the after-show parties here. http://digitalpress.5u.com/cge_bay/hyatt_09.jpg Stay tuned for more details... http://www.cgexpo.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip_Cannon Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 So much for returning to Las Vegas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 It's pretty much assured that unless something severe happens, CGE will not be returning to Vegas ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 More importantly, why would you want it in Vegas? It's not that much more expensive to get to, and you get so many more guests in Cali. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 More importantly, why would you want it in Vegas? It's not that much more expensive to get to, and you get so many more guests in Cali. Cheap booze, food and gambling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phosphor Dot Fossils Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Gambling is cheap? You must be better at it than I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 More importantly, why would you want it in Vegas? It's not that much more expensive to get to, and you get so many more guests in Cali. Cheap booze, food and gambling? Don't know about you, but I value the actual CONVENTION moreso then spirits, gorging, and losing money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phosphor Dot Fossils Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Aha! So someone else is losing money. I knew it couldn't just be me. Maybe this speaks more to me being a total square than anything (hey, that much I admit!), but at CGE 2003 I strayed very little from the show itself, and only spent about 45 minutes at any of the after-show parties. As ubersaurus says, the show's the reason we're there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Gambling is cheap? You must be better at it than I am. I said "Cheap booze", "Food" and "Gambling" and yes, I never ever lose money in Vegas. I know which things to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flack Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 You must know where to eat too. I just got back from Vegas and the Rio buffet was $50 for two people. That's a lot of god damn international food you gotta eat to make your money back. I did have a couple of one dollar hotdogs off of Freemont that tasted like one dollar hotdogs. Vegas Pictures and Story: http://68.12.156.214:533/index.php?file=vegas/index Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip_Cannon Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 More importantly, why would you want it in Vegas? It's not that much more expensive to get to, and you get so many more guests in Cali. Well, I've got family in vegas. So yes, it's a lot more expensive for me. I usually like to make a small vacation out of this so I usually will stay for at least 4 days. I've already looked at the Hyatt in San Fran - it averages about $99 a night. So already I've spent about $400 + $150ish for a plane ticket. I could however look for a different cheaper hotel but now I'm away from the action. And for all you people who think Vegas is expensive! Wait until you get to San Francisco!! Who can blame me for wanting CGE to be in Vegas? Hey, I'm not complaining, do what has to be done! But I'm just a little dissapointed that it's no longer in Vegas... And I'll miss the cheap booze, food, and gambling of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 More importantly, why would you want it in Vegas? It's not that much more expensive to get to, and you get so many more guests in Cali. Well, I've got family in vegas. So yes, it's a lot more expensive for me. I usually like to make a small vacation out of this so I usually will stay for at least 4 days. I've already looked at the Hyatt in San Fran - it averages about $99 a night. So already I've spent about $400 + $150ish for a plane ticket. I could however look for a different cheaper hotel but now I'm away from the action. And for all you people who think Vegas is expensive! Wait until you get to San Francisco!! Who can blame me for wanting CGE to be in Vegas? Hey, I'm not complaining, do what has to be done! But I'm just a little dissapointed that it's no longer in Vegas... And I'll miss the cheap booze, food, and gambling of course... That's why you get a group of people to stay in the one hotel room-cuts costs considerably. My 85 a night last CGE came down to something around 27 a night with 2 other people(I don't remember the exact number). Plus, if you wait til the special CGE rate comes in, you can get it cheaper. I have family in San Jose, so you can imagine how mad I was when I found out they were coming here the same weekend I was going there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Hmm... Burlingame is a bit far from here, but hopefully I'll be there next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarian1 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 digitpress, Why does that picture of the keynotes room look so small? Is it the picture or does it look about the size of the Plaza Hotel keynotes room? That Steve Wozniak keynote filled up the San Jose Convention Center room (about twice the size of the Plaza keynote room) pretty well. Shouldn't there be a BIG keynotes room since that is what this show emphasizes? Oh, one other thing. What happened to the arcade games this year? Last year had 2-3 times as many arcade games. No laser games this year either. What happened? With over 400 games at CA Extreme just 2 week prior, I would have thought it would be a no-brainer for the owners to bring the games to this show too. Apolloboy, Burlingame is only 30-40 minutes by car from San Jose. I drove 1 hour both days to this year's CGE. It's not that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalpress Posted September 2, 2004 Author Share Posted September 2, 2004 digitpress, Why does that picture of the keynotes room look so small? Is it the picture or does it look about the size of the Plaza Hotel keynotes room? That Steve Wozniak keynote filled up the San Jose Convention Center room (about twice the size of the Plaza keynote room) pretty well. Shouldn't there be a BIG keynotes room since that is what this show emphasizes? It holds 250, the Plaza held 130. San Jose held 300. Except for Wozniak we didn't see anything near a full house in the keynote area. Trust that we'll be sure there are enough seats. The way the Hyatt is laid out we even have an option of running two keynotes at once, though I'm not personally "for" that option. Oh, one other thing. What happened to the arcade games this year? Last year had 2-3 times as many arcade games. No laser games this year either. What happened? With over 400 games at CA Extreme just 2 week prior, I would have thought it would be a no-brainer for the owners to bring the games to this show too. You'd think so, right? Truth is, we had a table at CA Extreme and still couldn't solicit any help. Unfortunately we were counting on that and it just didn't work. Our local Vegas arcade collectors couldn't make it all the way out to San Jose either, expectedly. Again, trust that we're fully aware that this was a weakness in the 2004 event and plans are already being made to correct it. For the record, I would LOVE to work with CA Extreme and jointly host the show. I'm not sure if our move makes that even less possible than before but we're certainly willing to work something out. Hope this helps answer a few Q's. Game ON. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrizzLee Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Joe, I am excited about keeping it in the bay area. The local moderate temperature and the facilities look to make this a much more professional event. And what better place to hold an event such as this than to have it in the backyard of the birthplace of videogames. I am excited about you folks keeping it in the Bay Area. I look forward to more folks like Woz attending. I thought the facility size at this years CGE was great. There were no "standing-room-only" keynotes this year. BTW: The only better place I could see you holding the event is in Seattle Of course that is more for selfish reasons and I won't go there. Although, I could save alot on hotel costs, travel, etc..., etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solarnaomi Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 i had a great time and i cant wait to go again next year!!! thank you digitalpress and all else involved!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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