The Fall of Fan Conventions and the Rise of Their Virtual Counterparts: Are Virtual Conventions the Way of the Future?

Anime, comics, cartoons, art, a community, and a desire to meet up and connect. Bring them all together and you get a fan convention. These can include animation conventions, comic conventions, or a combination of the two. Within fandoms of animation and comics, convention or con goers practically make up their own community, coming together to create large-scale gatherings, large-scale marketplaces for artists of all sorts, panels involving overseas guests, cosplay competitions and showcases, concerts, and much more. So it goes without saying that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several aspects of conventions needed to be put on hold. Almost every anime and comic convention scheduled for 2020 has been either cancelled, rolled over to 2021, or converted into a virtual convention held online for the time being.

So how will conventions move forward from here? Let’s look into how cons are faring now.

Image of fans entering the halls of Anime Expo, the largest anime convention in the United States

One method some conventions chose was to roll over their dates to the next year. Several large US anime conventions slated for spring 2020, such as Texas’ A-Kon and Washington’s Sakuracon, were forced to cancel their events with the options for fans to have their tickets either transferred to the next year or refunded. However, some conventions like Sakuracon, a non-profit volunteer-run convention, were reluctant to offer refunds, and from personal experience there is no way on their website to request a refund. You have to email them and then fill out a form that they send back. In the case of the Kansas convention Naka-Kon, they were forced to cancel the day before opening, and may not be able to return another year as they had already paid for the venue and guests and couldn’t get any of that back. This method is definitely not the most successful and much of it was forced by the state before they could come up with a backup plan, but unless they hadn’t already paid for the venue and other event costs, it winds up equating to a year of no or negative income.

Conventions that were scheduled for the summer and winter had a little more time to plan something out, and were no doubt inspired by the small virtual cons that started popping up around early April. One of the earliest of these I could find was one called Cancellation Con, a virtual convention mainly for cosplayers set up across multiple platforms, that took place April 3rd-5th. From the schedule on their website, they had panels streaming on different Instagram accounts, Facebook pages, Twitch pages, and on the convention’s Discord server, as well as a cosplay contest on Facebook. While at least half of the panels were geared towards cosplay, there were some on general aspects of anime and cartoons, as well as art panels. Another one that garnered attention was Anime Lockdown, a virtual convention that was streamed through Discord, Twitch, and Youtube May 1st-3rd. A big hitting point about this virtual convention was that US guests that bigger US conventions would have by default reached out and volunteered their time to be guests for this small-scale virtual con. These two cons were entirely free to participate in, and thought up and run by generally small teams, Anime Lockdown by only 2 people, and hundreds of people gathered online to view the panels and participate in the chatrooms.

An enamel pin created of the San Diego Convention Center, where San Diego Comic-Con is annually held. The pin was released during Comic-Con@Home and sold out within two minutes.

As small virtual cons gained attention, larger conventions saw them as a model. Comic Market, popularly shortened to Comiket, is Japan’s largest anime and comic convention. After having to cancel for the first time in 44 years, Comiket decided to try a virtual convention they dubbed Air Comiket on May 2nd-5th. On their livestream they recorded 443,357 views over the 4 days, just under their average attendance of 500,000. San Diego Comic-Con, one of the US’s largest comic conventions and well known for their tickets selling out half a year in advance, streamed their virtual counterpart Comic-Con@Home for free. The virtual con, like others, included video panels, a virtual exhibition hall, and a cosplay showcase across multiple platforms such as Youtube and Tumblr. While critical reviews deemed it a failure in terms of numbers and the hype around it, fans considered it rather successful and a great replacement. Looking at the numbers argument, considering the capacity of the San Diego Convention Center where the con is normally held, the number of views for certain video panels tripled the views the panel would’ve received at the convention center alone. Some like a panel for The Walking Dead went well above tripling in views, receiving over 95,000 views for a panel that would normally be in a room with a capacity of 6,500 people. Fans also connected over social media to share memories, and some even took a trip out to the convention center to hold small socially distanced meet-ups with friends. Back on the anime side of conventions, LA’s Anime Expo found overwhelming success in their virtual rendition AX Lite, Canada’s Otakuthon charged a small fee for their event but created virtual graphics replicating the inside of their convention center for their virtual con as a fun way to make it feel a little more normal, and AnimeNYC has announced plans for a virtual convention this winter.

An image of Otakuthon’s graphics used to emulate the atmosphere of the convention center during con season.

While virtual conventions seem to be the way to go for the time being, there is also a dark horse among anime and comic conventions: hybrid events. One of these in particular happens to be pretty local, SacAnime held in Sacramento, California. They decided that rather than cancelling their in-person event at the end of September, they would hold a smaller-scale version of their con in the form of a swap meet. While the swap meet happened in-person, some panels were also happening virtually. They enforced the wearing of masks on site and widened the space of the walkways and booths to ensure a socially distant environment. However, it’s very surprising they weren’t shut down for violating any large crowd rules with the pandemic still in effect. They got a pretty decent crowd, so it could be deemed a success, but everyone that attended was still putting their lives at risk.

Depending how the pandemic pans out from here, it’s uncertain when we will see conventions returning in their original offline form. However, if and when they return, should anime and comic conventions keep a virtual element? Based on the overall performance of virtual conventions, I’d say it would only be beneficial for them to keep a virtual element, such as the live streaming of panels. However, it also depends on the context of the virtual element. A lot of what makes conventions special is that they include very exclusive events, which gives the often-expensive convention ticket value. These exclusive events can include early premieres of movies or an episode of a new series, or just the opportunity to meet overseas guests in person. From my personal experience attending virtual conventions, they have been enjoyable but were definitely missing a social element that makes a con feel like a con. It may sound a bit like a cash grab, but if conventions were to keep a virtual element, I think it would be best to charge a fee to view any livestreams of panels involving overseas guests or that would be deemed “exclusive” for that convention. I think that would be the best way for cons to keep that exclusive and personalized element while also reaching a larger audience.

What are your thoughts? Should conventions incorporate elements of virtual cons into their future in-person events?

Works Cited:

https://goldcountrymedia.com/news/176420/cosplay-takes-over-as-sacanime-swap-meet-excites-the-grounds/

https://animecons.com/events/info/16063/comic-market-2020

https://theconversation.com/comic-con-home-virtual-comics-event-declared-a-failure-by-industry-critics-but-fans-loved-it-143801

https://www.amexessentials.com/virtual-cosplay-events-lockdown-online-cosplay-community/

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/09/12/general/anime-conventions-coronavirus/

http://weirdisthenewnormal.com/cancellation-con-full-schedule

https://comicbook.com/anime/news/anime-nyc-online-virtual-convention-ntwrk-crunchyroll-anime-streaming/

7 Replies to “The Fall of Fan Conventions and the Rise of Their Virtual Counterparts: Are Virtual Conventions the Way of the Future?”

  1. I think keeping the virtual element of the panels would make conventions more accessible to people over seas. Personally I don’t care about the exclusivity of conventions so I would be okay if they didn’t charge, which would also make conventions more accessible to people of different financial situations.

  2. The pandemic has only continued to be bad and since we are back on some of the highest restrictions, it is probable we won’t have conventions anytime soon. I have not been to a con before despite being an avid fan of many different things, but I have always wanted to go. This made me sad! Next time they are available, I am making sure that I go — I feel like dressing up and walking around looking at tables is the most important part, something that cannot be replicated on a virtual convention. That being said, I actually really enjoy the idea of virtual panels. It makes me happy that they are accessible for a lot more people who usually would not be able to see it. (Con tickets are super expensive!!!). I would definitely be okay if they kept things free of charge, but I know it would be hard for them to stay afloat that way. Perhaps just charging for merch alone should be enough?

  3. I think anything to increase accessibility to these events is a good thing, so I support having a virtual component for sure. I have not gone to a lot of cons because of the ticket price, so maybe this would be an alternative for those who don’t want to pay huge prices for a physical entry.

  4. I don’t know much about cons, but I do think that the organizers finding ways to adapt and create a fun, virtual environment for fans is a great thing. I’m glad certain cons have been able to adapt to such an unfamiliar situation. I agree that having livestream events for those who cannot attend the con in the future is a fantastic idea. Having increased accessibility to these events will benefit both the organizers and the fans.

  5. I think a virtual version of these events with lower ticket pricing is the only way to continue an event of this scale until a vaccine comes out. Something similar to a drive-in format if possible could also be done?

  6. A virtual element to these conventions, even in a future without a pandemic, would be really great i think, it makes conventions much more accessible to people who aren’t in the area, or people who just can’t comfortably navigate a massive area with crowds, noises and an overhwhelming amount of things to take in visually. I would definitely go to more conventions if they were virtual.

  7. I haven’t personally gone to many fan conventions, but it’s sad to think that these community-building events have had to be sidelined due to the pandemic. I think virtual panels are an interesting and fun idea, and while they don’t seem like a replacement for the true convention experience, they certainly offer more community engagement than no convention at all. Perhaps, as the pandemic continues, we will see people come up with innovative strategies to increase the sense of connection and participation in virtual spaces.

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