For y'all saying the games need to be there an on longer, easier said than done.
The MGC is shorter, and we still have a bunch of trouble keeping games there the whole time... but I get it. We make incentives for the longer you keep your games there, but we also don't overly penalize people for removing the games earlier. This year, I was able to make it to Expo on Wednesday only. Made an offer for a machine. If I got it, I would have had to go home with it, taking it off the floor and away from play. Which would have sucked for those who were there, but if it was the only chance the seller had to sell the machine, wouldn't it have sucked more if they were told they couldn't sell it to me because I couldn't take it home?
Why would I as a buyer want to go to Expo until Sunday otherwise? If that's all that I'm going for, it's a disincentive if I can't take the game with me.
Don't get me wrong - I want machines to stay at shows as long as possible, but it really isn't just looking at it from the standpoint of wanting there to be more there. You have to look at it from all sides, and in that case... it's a tough nut to crack, and one that we *always* look at with the MGC. Having a four day show makes it even harder to keep them all there all the time.
I love Expo. I get why it is when it is, although that makes it really hard for me. If I had one wish, it would just be to change the dates so I could better attend, but realistically that's a bad option. Beyond that, I get why the hall closes Saturday night for the banquet. If you keep the free play area open, there really will probably be a considerable number of people that don't leave it otherwise, and the way the balance works out that is really important to consider.
Any show is tough to run. I can honestly say that I've greatly enjoyed *every* Expo I've been to, and that it *always* has some nifty things to offer attendees that other shows don't. While I understand the frustration that people have with some parts, I think at the end of the day it's been working for nearly 30 years now, which proves that the show has been doing something great for a long, long time.