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Oct. 22nd, 2022 03:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psipsyLast week I went to AUSA. It was their first one since 2019, and it was low-key even on Saturday. I think a lot of people were there for nostalgia's sake more than anything. That would include me too, I guess.
Someone asked me what's had the biggest effect on anime conventions in the time I've been going to them. It took a minute but I settled on streaming video for the answer. Back in the 90s, anime conventions would brag about how many video rooms they had. That was how people would watch new and rare anime. That was their hook. Streaming and torrents took that away by giving anime to everyone with a passing interest. Eventually, it was no longer necessary to go to cons to watch anime.
AUSA had ONE video room this year. I saw one other person in that room, which was also showing anime available on CrunchyRoll. I get it, CR is safe and easy. Then again, I was also thinking "eh I could watch this at home". It used to be, we had to go to conventions to watch the hot new titles while the older classics could be found in our usual sources. Now, it's the other way around.
And yet, attendance at anime cons has generally gone up. That's also due to streaming video. Gone are the days when the only way to watch anime was if you knew someone who had a tape of it. Streaming made anime accessible to anyone and everyone, and of those, many became fans, and then many of those new fans learned of conventions.
Ultimately, if anime cons want to keep video rooms, they should probably focus on anime that's not readily accessible. There is a lot of that to choose from. Or more likely, cons might just get rid of video rooms and be done with it.
Someone asked me what's had the biggest effect on anime conventions in the time I've been going to them. It took a minute but I settled on streaming video for the answer. Back in the 90s, anime conventions would brag about how many video rooms they had. That was how people would watch new and rare anime. That was their hook. Streaming and torrents took that away by giving anime to everyone with a passing interest. Eventually, it was no longer necessary to go to cons to watch anime.
AUSA had ONE video room this year. I saw one other person in that room, which was also showing anime available on CrunchyRoll. I get it, CR is safe and easy. Then again, I was also thinking "eh I could watch this at home". It used to be, we had to go to conventions to watch the hot new titles while the older classics could be found in our usual sources. Now, it's the other way around.
And yet, attendance at anime cons has generally gone up. That's also due to streaming video. Gone are the days when the only way to watch anime was if you knew someone who had a tape of it. Streaming made anime accessible to anyone and everyone, and of those, many became fans, and then many of those new fans learned of conventions.
Ultimately, if anime cons want to keep video rooms, they should probably focus on anime that's not readily accessible. There is a lot of that to choose from. Or more likely, cons might just get rid of video rooms and be done with it.
