The Energon Pub

BotCon 2010

Quite often it is easy to be critical of other people’s work, especially when you have a vested interest or care deeply about the subject matter. Opportunities for praise are a bit more rare and are just as easily over looked.

Without being overly verbose and with disregard for any kind of appearance towards sucking up, I want to take some time to acknowledge how many things at BotCon 2010 were dramatically improved from years past and how several things about the convention far exceeded expectations.

*Please note that these things I mention are not to disparage events or people past. I’ve supported the Club and Convention since its outset. I only want to recognize the significant improvements we saw this year and make public my appreciation for those improvements.

The Lines
Much has been made of this in the past. For those that don’t know, BotCon lines were a shared traumatic experience in years past. Those of us who attend regularly had accepted our fate and grown to sadistically enjoy the 4-5 hour experience of gathering up your set and toys on Thursday night. So entrenched had this ritual become that some of us (read: me) had begun to pack food and beer just in case.

The BotCon organizers responded this year by being much, MUCH better prepared. Numerous pick-up lines and times were available. Souvenir sets had 8 lines total to expedite the process. Most people were in and done in under 1.5 hours. I speak for everyone at the convention when I say “Thank you”. It appears that this growing pain is over and done with.

Saturday Night
Excluding last year’s event, the Saturday night festivities have been a hodgepodge of activities that have always garnered a luke-warm response from attendees. I have to admit personally that I expected the Hall of Fame awards ceremony to be lame, like really, really lame. But the truth was that it was great. What could have been a joke was a great community event with a lot of care applied to it. This may be due to Hasbro being involved, but that’s really not the point. If this event is going to continue, I have a tremendous amount of faith that BotCon Staff and Hasbro will repeat the genuine celebration of the characters and people we saw at the first event of its kind.

The Panels
I’ve contended previously that some panels are host to an “Us vs Them” mentality, where every question must have its answer extracted with dentist like precision. There was an obvious change this year from both TFCC and Hasbro staff. We asked, they answered…and then some. I’m an information junkie. I also know enough to realize when a corporate answer is being given. Prior panels of an industry kind were always informative, but occasionally frustrating for various reasons. At times in years past, there was a lack of info and a feeling that we weren’t going to hear anything that hadn’t been previously leaked or discussed online.

This was not the case this year. The TFCC panel gave us a revealing look at the process behind creating exclusive toys and the challenges posed by that process. Hasbro was more open with us than ever before, showing us product and hinting at even more. On both sides of the coin there was a sense that we were finally having a dialog with people who not only knew, but could anticipate what the “Fans” wanted.

The Toys
Every year brings great toys. If you have any doubt that BotCon toys are highly regarded by fans, please consult eBay completed listings and proceed to eat your hat. This year the toys were not only well done, they reached out to collectors in a way that was only comparable in 2006 with the Dawn of Future’s Past set. I know it’s difficult to pull together a set from what is available and that with each year the mold choices and ideas become tougher to bring into unison. That being said, this set is exactly the kind of exclusive that collectors who attend BotCon look forward to. Keep up the good work.


I have to admit here that I’ve been critical at times of some BotCon practices and the manner at which the Club (at least in terms of PR) handles their exclusives. That fact made it all the more important for me to sit down and really acknowledge the work and dedication for the things that go right with BotCon and the Club. That being said, I know that words only go so far. So I’ll close with this as a method of thanks:

I will be in attendance for sure next year. I will convince as many of my friends to go as possible.

That’s the best vote any of us can make.

Lastly, “The Invasion Has Begun”? Oh, I know what you’re doing…and it’s very clever. Afterall, annihilation equals victory.

Very well written Counterpunch, I agree with you 100%.

Well written. I share your thoughts, this year came off much better than I had expected. Here's hoping every con is an improvement over the last.

Yes, I agree with this all as well. Botcon has alwasy been a great meeting place for fans and friends with the Con being somewhat of a bitchfest for one thing or another. This year was absolutely smooth. From the moment I walked in and registered myself to the HOF dinner, it was an actual enjoyment to not be frustrated with anything botcon related. If anything, the announcement of Club toys, and next years location and date shows that you are listening to what we need and ask for. Thank you Fun Pub. I will not let my membership lapse like I do other years. This time, I will renew probably a few months before it expires.

Counterpunch wrote:Lastly, “The Invasion Has Begun”? Oh, I know what you’re doing…and it’s very clever. Afterall, annihilation equals victory.

Care to enlighten us what you know?

Fender Bender wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:Lastly, “The Invasion Has Begun”? Oh, I know what you’re doing…and it’s very clever. Afterall, annihilation equals victory.

Care to enlighten us what you know?

What? You don't know? My Little Pony and GI Joe are invading!!!

Fender Bender wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:Lastly, “The Invasion Has Begun”? Oh, I know what you’re doing…and it’s very clever. Afterall, annihilation equals victory.

Care to enlighten us what you know?

No.

I'm betting it's a reference to the so-called "anime invasion."

Maybe we'll see a bunch of previously Japanese-only characters.

Or there's always "All Hail Megatron" and "Transformers: Animorphs." Both used "The invasion has begun" as a tagline.

Ditto!

Especially about the lines. Oh my god I was prepared for DREAD for Thursday night. I think I oversold a bunch of friends of mine (whose first botcon it was) about the horrors of line waiting--they kept looking at me like I was crazy, because in under an hour I was through the main line and working my way up the club store line (for my sharkticons!!!).

I don't know why there didn't seem to be too many of the facepalmeriffic / downright offensive questions from fans that got asked in the past, but this year was just solid fun! The dealer room was a bit sparse, but I'm not complaining: I got everything on my MUST FIND list.

And I've already booked my hotel in Pasadena!

HK, <--NERD

I agree with you 100%, CP!

Being my first BotCon, I was regaled for some time of tales of lines that could last between 4 and 8 hrs on Thurs (depending on who you talked with) and that most of one's time at the convention was standing in lines for this or that....I had mentally prepared myself for this beforehand, and was as pleasantly surprised as everyone else that most lines lasted, at the most, 1.5 hrs. Things seemed to run smoothly and cleanly most of the time for the entire convention.

The Awards Dinner was another shocker for myself (and for others, from the reactions I saw). The presentations were heartfelt and emotionally charged, so much so I believe many were moved to tears on occasion (myself included!)...I think this had more to do with Hasbro than FP, but it was a fine event nonetheless.

I sincerely hope that this smoothness and efficiency in planning and execution is a new BotCon tradition that continues year after year!

I have to admit that much like alot of other botcon 1st timers this year I was prepared for the worst when it came to thursday night but it turned out awesome.

This year sold me on future botcons for sure..

How the hell did you guys already book your room for next year! Where the hell was I at!?!?!?!?

Yeah CP, I kinda just wanted to hug Brian Savage when he was listening in on us lol. I had my best time yet this year. Everything seemed to run very smoothly. Painless package pick-up? Unfathomable! Awesome nontheless. As cheesy as it sounds, I believe I have made some very good friends with some of you over the years and with all sincerity, I am always anxious to see you all again. I still get so ridiculously giddy, year after year. It is these friendships and feelings that keep me coming back. I also attend for the brand of course but in recent years, it's become the cameraderie that has taken point. Having more time in the evenings gave me time to just bask in all of that while meeting new people as well. I can't wait to see everyone in Pasadena again since I booked our room once we got home from this year's con.

Flux Convoy wrote:As cheesy as it sounds, I believe I have made some very good friends with some of you over the years and with all sincerity, I am always anxious to see you all again. I still get so ridiculously giddy, year after year. It is these friendships and feelings that keep me coming back. I also attend for the brand of course but in recent years, it's become the cameraderie that has taken point.

I feel the same way.

joevill wrote:

Flux Convoy wrote:As cheesy as it sounds, I believe I have made some very good friends with some of you over the years and with all sincerity, I am always anxious to see you all again. I still get so ridiculously giddy, year after year. It is these friendships and feelings that keep me coming back. I also attend for the brand of course but in recent years, it's become the cameraderie that has taken point.

I feel the same way.

2nd that statement!!

From what everyone had told me, I was expecting a hell of 3-4 hour lines for everything, over filled panel rooms, and missed souvenirs.

Instead, everything went extremely smoothly (except the one Club Store employee who gave me one poster sleeve for four lithos and the Clench poster )

Flux Convoy wrote:
I can't wait to see everyone in Pasadena again since I booked our room once we got home from this year's con.

So the next one is in California?