A surprise announcement from the busy people at Key this Comiket! クドわふタ～ or Kud Wafter; maybe Kudo Wafter, as I can’t tell if that bat is a place holder for an “o”… but probably pronounced Kudo Wafu~ta anyways. Wafu~ coming from the heroine’s favorite phrase Wahoo! or わふ～ (wafu~). Kud Wafter is a spin-off from Little Busters! continuing on Kudryavka Noumi’s scenario. No real details as of yet, but I assume the game will be voiced like it’s predecessors. Planned for release in summer 2010! Hit up the link below for a bit of a trailer.

Via: Kud Wafter Homepage

Anime USA is back to the weekend before Thanksgiving. Like last year, they’re filling the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City. Now the only con retaining the Hyatt Regency, they seem to be the best fit. Both Otakon and Katsucon previously occupied this hotel. It has a great location with no shortage of restaurants and hotels. Not to mention public transportation and the nearby airports. The only downside being if you want the best parking you have to pay for it.

Once again this year Attendance seems down. A few good panels and guests went with it. The web comic Applegeeks, for example, had to withdraw on short notice. Elevator issues are still a problem with this hotel with no solution. It seems like more con-goers have learned the stairways but signage could help ease it a bit. But it isn’t an issue if you stay in one of the other local hotels. And still, as I said last year, an improvement over the Sheraton Premiere. The attendance could of solved traffic issues that many halls had last year. Although, staff were certainly more aware and quicker to clear the masses from busy areas this year.

Overall events were average. Things were subject to the same issues that many cons keep having these days. Staff seemed to be doing the best with what they had on hand. Some equipment ended up being shipped to the Hyatt Regency in Century City, LA instead of the one in Crystal City, Arlington and caused a few problems. Both the formal and two showings of AMVs had issues with lighting. In one case an attendee leaned up against a wall with lighting controls and during another the lighting director decided to run through a check of the rig before another event. Not sure of the cause during the formal.

The variety of panels was a bit mediocre this year, leaving me resorting to the likes of “It’s a Trap” only to be pummeled with enough 4chan-ese humor to leave me headed for the exit in record time. The dealers room setup was very similar to last year.

Dealers whom I speak with regularly have reported that profits this year were down. It might of been the growing niches they deal in respectively, other areas may of done better. Separately, more people seemed to report that they had less to dazzle them. In that regard, I didn’t have any issues, I spent more than I usually do and found a wide selection. To each his own perhaps.

In artists alley, several of the good artists I like returned. But I wouldn’t mind seeing a few cons kick out a few of the copy artists who resell art. I’ve seen the same image a few too many times now. Other than that, a lack of lighting caused some issues later in the evening. The staff are aware of this problem, but they couldn’t avert it this year for reasons unstated.

The formal was new to me, I’ve always missed it in the past. I didn’t come by until after the live music portion of the formal, but afterwards the music was pretty good. The crowd seemed to be happy enough that the dance floor stayed filled until it ended. There were enough people floating around too, that if you came alone you could get away with asking a few people to dance.

The addition of a maid cafe and host club was a good one. I’ve seen cons make useless additions to their schedule that only add strain to other things. If these caused any, based on how busy they were, it was worth it. Hotel restaurant facilities provided food, resulting in good food, if not a tad pricey. There were extra offerings aside from the food and drink. For example you could request a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos with your maid. While it was often a bit of a wait, reservations were taken so you could continue to enjoy the con.
Of course being new, it’s not a surprise that it wasn’t completely without issue. Aside from being a bit under-staffed, the biggest issue seemed to be a confusing ticketing system for payment. You were required to buy tickets in advance at the hotel bar, which you could use to make purchases with the cafe or club. This wasn’t exactly straight-forward and many people believed they just needed a ticket for entry. Plus, you had to decide how much to spend, buy your $2 tickets, then make your way to the cafe. Only to be presented with a menu again with more options and a few pricing errors. This menu also still had dollar amounts, which you had to translate back into number of tickets. The staff were aware of these issues, and looking for suggestions, so hopefully they’ll be addressed for next year.

While many heads of staff try their best to make sure things go well. Such as the artist alley head asking artists. I know that it’s common for there to be an issue every now and then with what seems like a power tripping volunteer. Where most convention staff seem to be nice and helpful. However, I can name multiple occasions where privilege was abused this year. A few people in a dance were yelled at for standing between a staffer and the people he wanted to talk to, as if he were in a hurry. They were not in any place that would cause normal traffic problems, this person just did not want to walk around. Another person was grabbed by the arm because they missed the badge check. I’d hate to see a con sued for something like that. Other than that, I can only speculate why other things go wrong. Perhaps too many things planned up to the wire and too late? It’s not too hard to imagine based on how many cons there are in Virginia with ties. I appreciate the con asking for feedback each year but not everyone is taking notes.

Overall this year I had a better time than last year. The ease of getting around the con made the biggest difference. Most of the issues don’t shine through to the average con goer but it’s hard to tell what direction they’re moving in.

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