Is anyone planning on attending AkibaExpo? It's a first year con hosted in Anaheim, California. I wanted to go since it's about a 20 minute drive from my house but I'm double thinking it because there's been some shady business practices and drama surrounding the event and it's CEO. Anyone heard anything about it? The facebook event page is trying to do damage control as we speak
>shady business practices
>drama
Are the guys from AM2 -STILL- at it?
deets?
few days old and still on the board but here's the argument against the con
>All professional photography and video equipment banned.
Dare I say that this is the most creep free convention ever?
>>8697709
Yes
>>8697923
huh. I just saw that NipahDubs (cosplay guest) says he wont be going anymore. Came to /cgl/ to find out what was going on. That's really shitty for the guests and attendees though.
Wonder if any refunds will be given...?
>>8698410
apparently some people are saying you can claim fraud against the convention and it's legitimacy so there will be a few getting refunds. desu i still wanna go just so i can watch it go down in flames or watch it be a success. either one is a win-win
>>8698410
Nope. Dashcon 2
Pretty disappointed desu. I wanted to see Teddyloid and BRADIO :(
Can anyone give a tl;dr version of what has been happening about staff leaving and someone getting hacked and all?
So I know teddyloid isn't coming anymore. What about BRADIO and Chelsy?
>>8698571
>Staff addressed attempted to address allegations of shady business
>misuse of funds, promoting artists they haven't even contracted, poorly organized legal work [the LLC or whatever got cancelled], not even showing up on the list of events for the Anaheim Convention center, former COO resigned, and more I can't remember off the top of my head
>they end up contradicting themselves in their own statement
>"CEO didn't use any funds"
>"CEO will be resigning for misuse of funds"
>literally in the same post
>awaiting his resignation letter as well a letter from staff organizers for an explanation of everything happening
>apparently some staff are jumping ship because they're saying they're fucked from the lack of funds now
>leaked messages between staff members and whistleblowers
>account(s) got hacked
>everything is an ambiguous hot mess and we're awaiting collateral damage report
>>8698346
>>8697709
it's someone different.
>>8698200
that's for the concerts only ("akibaland")
yeah they should have been more clear
also you can use a compact camera to still creep even if it was for the whole convention. they make pretty good compacts/mirrorless cameras now (shit even ebk uses one and he's called a creeper)
>>8698410
probably til they run out of funds which is going to be fast if all the cash got blown on japan
cue trainwreck because everyone wants refund, no more money because refunds, no con because no money
>>8698581
supposedly still coming according to something I saw on facebook but who knows at this point
i'm disappointed because it was looking good but then again if you're not actually spending money and just paying lip service you can make anything look good. feels bad for the would-be guests who spent money on preparation for the convention. almost spent money myself but didn't because i knew i'd be busy at that time
seriously it's like they were trying and then the CEO decided to say "fuck it yolo" and burn it all down, embezzlement be damned. not even sure who would be the one tagging him for embezzlement since there isn't even a business on the books as of now
>>8698593
Anime dashcon, I love this.
>>8699339
I'm not sure if this is better or worse because it's happening before the date as opposed to during the event. Probably better because at leat no one has to go to it anymore.
>>8698556
They have a ballpit at the least correct?
I bought my ticket a few months ago and also got my hotel room. I will still go to the con just to see how fucking bad this will get if it still happens.
What a damn shame, only heard about this con last week and Teddyloid, big fan. Hope this doesnt fuck up Con and JP relations.
>>8699659
No con at all. no pit needed
Now that the con is dead, how do I cancel my room at the hotel I was going to stay at? Do most places charge a cancelling fee?
>>8700451
Anahiem Marriott shouldn't charge you anything for cancelling your room as you haven't paid anything yet.
It may take them a short bit though since they might be busy with BlizzCon attendees filing in for this weekend.
HOLY CRAP, the con died.
I haven't seen a convention implode this badly since DashCon, and the con didn't even happen yet.
I heard the CEO deactivated his Facebook, is that true?
>>8698200
Go figure the first creep free convention dies.
>>8700516
those rules were only for the musical performances and no DSLRs is common for concerts.
From their FB Page:
To our guests and fans,
Due to the recent rumors and allegations, we are forced to bring Akihabara Expo to a halt. Most of our staff have left the organization due to threats as well as a distrust of the exposition due to recent events. Without people to run the show, and without the people who helped us build this, we cannot execute a show that we would be proud of. In addition, most of our guests have left due to the constant drama and harassment our exposition has faced. We wished the show could go on, but without proper staffing and a solid lineup, we cannot bring the same quality and experience that we had promised you. If you wish to receive a refund, please fill form down below.
#mikeyjustfuckmeupPham
The former CEO of Anime California called this a year ago. Good intuition.
god that was fucking funny
>>8700541
Which is ironic, considering Anime California was a shitshow this year with half their expected attendance
lmbo
>>8700541
Yeah, that tends to happen since he was seeing them do the same things he did to Anime California.
You dun good Jeff, you dun good.
>>8700560
To be fair, ALA's attendance was capped and PMX's attendance was crap because they got kicked out of their old venue and was forced on to a weekend with 4 other cons going on in the west coast.
I'd expect their numbers to shoot up next year.
>>8700552
oh my god if I learned anything from this whole situation is the run the fuck away from anyone named Eddie Xu. He is, by far, the most annoying person in the whole situation. At least the main champions of each side had a conversation; all Eddie would do is repost that same fucking screenshot over and over and over
>>8700473
It is always free to cancel, look at the damn policy in your email confirmation. It gives you the last date to cancel or get 1 night charged as a fee.
Don't wait until the last fucking minute. It will be your fault then.
>>8700541
Hilarious when that guy is just as much and more of a fuckjob
>>8700579
Dunno about that, a lot of people posting I want to smack so they would shut up for a few. Gaddamn
>>8700586
True. Lot of idiots in those facebook threads. I give the numbers guy credit for not raging at anyone. The closest he got was saying "keep your panties on" which someone got massively butthurt about.
Too bad the numbers guy is a tool and probably made the situation even worse by fighting everyone that posted. If he would have just made his initial post and let the con handle the rest there probably wouldn't have been so many additional questions asked.
>>8700596
Well, what do you expect from a tripfag?
>>8700596
When is he not a tool? Not once I ever seen him be anything but an entitled douche.
>>8700596
It was pretty much over the first time someone posted anything last week. I had heard about the contract thing a while back but figured they were just being slow about it. Once "insiders" started posting about money was when you got all that juicy bait for people to snowball onto.
Not to mention whoever had access to the facebook account is the type of person that shouldn't have access because they were horrible at it. Their grammar in general was horrible but they also posted a few things they shouldn't have (and then quickly deleted)
>>8700602
I never did get to see anything in time except for a chat log that left off any name. Who?
I'm actually surprised that some people with actual ties to the industry at all were speaking up against the event. Seeing Crunchyroll staff and the guy that manages the big Japanese DJ party at ACen posting publicly about the problems with this event are pretty damning IMHO.
>>8700615
The Crunchyroll people were just covering their ass to say they weren't involved with it. I assume you mean grimecraft as the other guy? He only said something after the con announced they were cancelling so he's basically kicking a dead horse and felt it was safe to do so.
>>8700615
It is pretty clear they might not have known about it (Ã la Crunchyroll) or were simply not paid (See attached)
No, I mean Eddie Lehecka. He's the guy that books for Hardcore Synergy at ACen every year. He's had people like Taku Takahashi and Banvox out to play his show before so it's fair to assume he's well connected. He was apparently who revealed that they didn't have a contract with Teddyloid.
>>8700633
lrn 2 quote
>>8700633
Ah. I find it hilarious he found out about their shittalking. It's normal to be shittalked about (if no one is shittalking you you're either not trying hard enough in life or you're a candidate for sainthood) but you generally don't want to do it to people who might talk to the people you are shittalking about. I wonder if they hadn't shittalked in the wrong place/to the wrong people if anything would have ever come of this at all.
From what I've seen most of the guests announced had no signed contracts. I've talked to a few people who were in discussions with the event and while they did promise a fairly good package they didn't actually have any contracts sent out.
Watching this shit crash and burn was amazing
Christmas came early this year
Idk why people are so upset with this when AX has done its fair share of shit and everyone fucking loves AX
>>8700684
AX has never posted a lineup full of guests they never had contracts or actual agreements with. That's deceptive as fuck considering many people were planning to go based on that list alone. And for all of this to come to light so close to the event itself too.
Man, and a couple of the guests were excited to come over to the US too. All they needed was a contract to finalize the deal.
>>8700940
But them nickel and diming you along with shady awards is a-ok right?
Someone made plans for "JoJo Con" for the same days... Lol literally they're descriptionstarts with "Akihabara Expo got rekt--"
>>8701093
"somewhere in LA probs"
>>8701093
Well, It makes sense because Akihabara Expo got a lot of San Diego people who were planning to to to the LA area because of Akiba Expo's marketing in Hanadoki and Anime Conji.
>>8701093
Classy.
>>8701323
Californians have this uncanny ability to kick someone when they are down.
>>8701343
I think they're just trying to salvage the hype for the season. most likely you'll just have another gathering like in little tokyo. they don't have anyone related to jojos bizarre adventure atm and probably wont. one of the heads for ninjacon (fairly small con) is trying to get it going on to atm.
How about that time they announced Steve Aoki & Mitomi Tokoto as guests?
>>8701522
>Steve Aoki
This so hilariously pathetic.
I'd really love to see the explanation from the CEO on how he managed to snag that one lol.
>>8701593
Besides the whole deleting himself from the Internet thing
I was looking forward to Christmas turn up with cosplay friends. Kind of sad now. :(
>>8699702
Well it seems JP guests will avoid all Southern California cons now. That includes AX.
>>8701789
I doubt it. it really just seems like this 1 incident
>>8701789
I hope so, spread the love outside of California.
>>8701870
They'll spread the love once your local con starts spitting out money. Guests come because either a con or industry attending the con invites them and foots the bill.
>>8701789
Most guests don't go anywhere without a contract if they have management that knows even an inkling abiut how things work. I mean, it's a pretty basic thing in life. No contract and it's effectively unsaid.
>>8701870
I think the fuck up that was Anisong has already done enough to scare away JP musical guests.
Looking forward to that JoJo/Little Tokyo Meetup... see artists sell their jojo hentai in back alleys
>>8701949
I'll be Ghiaccio again and a friend will borrow my Ungalo.
>>8701104
cya there lmao
>>8701419
Ew gross. They're why I don't go there on Saturdays anymore because of how embarrassingly fucking retarded they all are.
#NotAllWeebs
>>8701789
>That includes AX
and nothing of value was lost
>>8702125
something tells me the largest US anime convention would not be affected by this at all
>>8702131
no one ever gave a damn
Soon as May'n goes back to LA is when I give a fuck.
>>8702122
were you there for the cringe fest during Nisei week?
>>8702192
How packed was her concert in 2014 in LA?
They used a smaller venue in SF so it was wall to wall people and that probably gave a good impression
Mfw $65 tour shirts... Again
They went full newcon uhoh
>>8703739
Nice fail
>>8702372
Not that anon but Little tokyo is so horrible during those cosplay events. None of the stores likes how loud and stupid they get at all. And they are having three cosplay/jfashion gatherings on Dec.19 which was suppose to be the day of the con to salvage the winter hype.
I heard that Akihabara Expo stopped giving the money back.
Please tell me it isn't true.
>>8705083
it's very possible because the money has to come from somewhere. it doesn't just appear out of a magical refund vacuum. if someone used some of the money that came from ticket sales for other activities to the point that there is less available than tickets sold/people asking for refunds it's going to be a bit hard to then pay back people.
>>8705088
also see kickstarter. projects happen and the creator spends the money on r&d/prototyping/general cost of doing business etc. if it doesn't come to fruition for whatever reason such as not having enough money to get to the development finish line or not having enough funds to create all the rewards then you're kind of stuck. people can ask for refunds but if there's no money because it's been spent there's not much you can do.
this is where things like having a LLC comes in handy, namely the "limited liabilities" part.
>>8705083
Initially, what everyone was paying for was the badge for the expo. regardless of rumors or guests (which are always subject to change), the product/good you were receiving was the badge for entry. akibaexpo could've salvaged itself and still delivered something in someway, but due to the allegations and shit, had to shut down immediately. conventions often do state in their purchase that all sales are final. and honestly, I have yet to see any documents that Mikey Pham had to begin his allegations rather than just posting on Facebook.
>>8705221
Basically this in a nutshell
>>8705083
Honestly I wouldn't be surprised. I didn't consider asking for a refund because the money has to come from somewhere, and I'd rather not take back from somewhere I don't know. Who knows if he's fucked over others with projects and ventures we don't know about.
It's kind of disappointing because with PMX not being in November (like last year it was literally going on this weekend), I feel like there's a lack of an end of the year con. I look forward to ALA as the start of the new year, and I had been planning to go to Aki to get hyped.
>>8705969
considering that ALA is the more popular one for partying, I think you'd be better off waiting for it. even with its attendance cap last, the convention went by steady and the parties were legit. akibaexpo mainly had that filler con angle to it for it's drive.
>>8705221
Considering that several guests and industry people have spoken up against the con I'm pretty sure that there's enough proof to know that some shady shit was going down with this con. There's plenty of evidence out there besides the documents Mikey claims to have, such as the initial confession the convention posted that was taken down within hours that not only contradicted itself, but stated that Michael was going to step down as CEO as if they were still an LLC and not a Sole Proprietorship as is the actual case.
>>8706055
at that point it was more of a "buyer beware" scenario. personally, I didn't buy a badge. I've dealt with OC based anime fans before and have 0 trust in them when it comes to anything remotely business related. from the beginning, this con seemed too much to be true. now I do say what pham did falls on more of an ethical issue than a legal one. I personally did apply for a terraformars panel an was accepted, told I'd have to purchase my own badge (this was around july-August) so it clicked something was up
>>8706055
Like what else because those are the only things out? Prove up
>>8706079
What cons like you do 1 panel for free? Sign me up, son.
>>8706084
not sure what you are asking lol
>>8706091
what cons
let do you
a panel
one panel
a fan panel
for free
>>8706099
I think ac gave panelists free badges, idk I was told that shit so I was like just fuck me up senpai lol
>>8706103
That's it? Basing on AC on that makes you think akiba's was a red flag is pretty sketch yourself.
>>8706161
How so
the only real signs were internal and had access to upper echelon data or if you were a potential guest (the no contract thing). no guests/potential guests discussed the lack of contracts in public ahead of time since it's not very professional to air things like that. if you were external it just looked like a first year con that had big funds to work with in the form of an angel investor, self-funded by someone rich trying to get into the convention game, they took out a huge loan, who knows.. if you were internal as a grunt you don't really know what's going on to begin with.
>>8706180
he's saying you based your "gut reaction" on very flimsy circumstances.
>>8706223
wouldn't say that necessarily. I majored in business and economics so I learned that th ese types of events are driven through social media. I noticed akibaexpo was very overly hyped and the promises of getting those types of guest and such seemed empty. what gave me the straight red was it being at anaheim convention center. no 1 year con, anime especially, can afford that one.
>>8706180
thinking a con owes you a free badge for 1 hour panel of your mouthbreathing over 1 series? what delusion! you need to have at least 3-4 panels to even get a full reimbursed badge anywhere. the hell kind of cons you going to? weed shit? ya fucking junky
>>8706327
There was only ever confirmation of Marriott. Not ACC, it's under construction.
>>8706327
if they happen to have a lot of money it is entirely possible. again, you have no idea who the backer is. maybe he won the lottery and has a few million that he wants to blow on getting a convention going.
even that mikey pham guy doesn't know what the fuck is going on. he got the idea of an "asian investor' from his sources or he just made it the fuck up.
>>8706330
shit then I read it wrong all this time lmfao hey that's like a legit happy mistake ya know when you think about it it's like the universe didn't want me to go or fall for that shit sorry I'm high as fuck right now senpai o
>>8706331
The money itself wasn't an indicator of anything. you can be incredibly financed and still be a fuck up, ya know. cons overall fall under the same structure as a music festival. you get the word out via social media and hype it up. now the difference was the delivery of akibaexpo (like it was gonna be massive and better and hype as fuck for a first year). no matter how high you think, you can't say shit like that as a new venue
>>8706340
yet you were arguing that your gut reaction was because they wouldn't give you a badge for doing one panel? and you said that no first year con can afford the ACC? i mean, pick a point for what you're going to argue about. if you're going to talk incompetence then talk incompetence. you can hype things up if you back it up. if they had had all the money to ramrod all the guests they said they were having what would you be saying? oh man amazing first year con?
>>8706346
hold up nigga let me ride my high and I'll come back to this capeesh
>>8706352
That's probably for the better. I think it's been fucking up your posts for a while and I should just attribute their scatterbrained nature to that.
Enjoy your high and try not to get high and post.
>>8706329
jesus christ chill lmaoooo
>>8706331
I know a lot of IT guys have a lot of cash to blow on figures and limited edition box sets. Could have been a friend or more he convinced to invest.
>>8706427
By Asian investor Mikey Pham meant "some mysterious guy from Asia" and not "some Asian guy who works at Facebook, Google, or other tech company"
>>8706436
where's the proof they were from asia? i doubt it, got to be a local guy
and #NotAllITGuys work for 'big tech' places
>>8706470
That was part of Mikey Pham's whole expose. There was no public proof presented about how he/whoever his sources were reached that conclusion.
"His investor for this convention is from Asia. Why he gave this kid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do a convention? We don't fucking know."
According to someone who was contracted to the convention but was not actually staff there was no mysterious investor footing the bill
>>8706479
mikeys fallacy was saying there was 1 investor. it's more believable to say there were dozens of investors that 1, because no one in their right mind would finance an anime convention solely (it's not that profitable of a field). now entertaining the idea that Asia man was real, he'd be in contact and access to how Michael was spending money and could've instantly checked him and taken over, depending on contract details. hence the investor never existed.
Of course Mikey Pham would know all the details about what happened. He is really Michael Pham's alternate account.
>>8707744
Mikey Pham was the one who pursued things against the convention so it doesn't make much sense to blow down your own house of cards.
Jojocon set at $20 for entry but jo venue announced yet
>>8714339
Don't give a fuck.
>>8714519
lol ok
>>8714339
Oh California, create a meme/joke convention, and charge for it.
>>8714758
It's what fuckbois in a fuckboi state do
>>8714758
They already did, it's called Comikaze.
