RE: GZG catalog item pics needed

On Fri, 29 June 2001, Rick Rutherford wrote:

> Really? I would've thought that this would be the height of the game
> convention season...

Britain differs quite a bit from North America in this regard. They seem
to have more shows, but they tend to be smaller. Population density
means that a show can run on just a Saturday or just a weekend and be
profitable.

Weather has a lot to do with it. In North America, the weather goes in
extremes. Much of the US and Canada is just a major pain to navigate for
a good chunk of the year. Even when you can get around, you can't rely
on it. One bad snowstorm could ruin a convention. 

Population density is less, so people attend from further away. That
means longer travel times, which usually means using up vacation time.
In Britain, the shows are easier to get to. I think there's also an
issue with vacation time. Europeans get a lot more vacation as standard
than North Americans.

This all runs into conventions being big events in North America, with
gamers scheduling their vacation time around them. In Europe,
particularly Britain, conventions are smaller and more frequent, and
tend to be entertainment for the non-summer months.

Allan Goodall - agoodall@canada.com
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