The aim was to “convey collectively 15,000 of the UK’s gaming group.” However when To The Moon Expo opened at the Nationwide Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham on November 12, it rapidly turned clear that these hoped for attendance numbers would not materialise.
Footage quickly emerged of empty areas in the NEC corridor and sparsely attended talks. The organisers haven’t confirmed attendance figures, however attendees that GamesIndustry.biz has spoken to estimate that the number of guests on every day of the two-day occasion have been in the a whole bunch, slightly than the 1000’s.
So what went fallacious? Attendees, audio system, and others concerned with the occasion paint an image of poor organisation, detrimental advertising and marketing, and overambitious objectives – with some fearing the occasion may trigger reputational harm to the UK gaming occasions house.
“I’ve been advised by a number of individuals a few comparability to be made with the notorious Willy Wonka experience, as if this have been gaming’s very personal equal,” mentioned one attendee who works in the video games {industry}, however who requested to stay nameless. “And to be sincere, between the not-very-decorated, virtually minimalist-looking NEC once you look past the stalls, and the barren attendance, I can see the place they arrive from. At the value level that was charged to attendees, the consensus I’ve heard throughout indie, AA, and AAA sources is that folks anticipated higher.”
“We acquired inside, and the very first thing I assumed of was Dashcon“, mentioned attendee Holly Pye.
GamesIndustry.biz has contacted the organisers of the occasion for remark, and we’ll replace this text if we obtain a response.
Crimson flags
To The Moon branded itself as community-orientated and pitched – initially at steep prices – to exhibitors as one thing that would fill the hole left by the Insomnia Gaming Pageant, which was an NEC common till it ceased operations in 2024, and EGX, which was absorbed into MCM Comedian Con. The title To The Moon belied its crypto origins: early variations of the present web site on archive.org (as reported by Esports News) billed it as “The UK’s first Web3 gaming expo” though by this summer time the crypto references had been eliminated and it was merely “For the Players”.
It promised each a big client space and a smaller industry-only part, that includes a line up of talks from {industry} professionals. Niki Head, individuals and growth director at Stellar Leisure Software program, was one of the audio system lined up for the enterprise part of the present. Crimson flags have been raised for her forward of the occasion.
“Rather a lot of the lead as much as it was fairly chaotic,” she says. “There was so much of us having to chase for details about the day and what to anticipate. The data that we wanted to have the ability to plan our accommodations, plan our journey, got here very late. That facet of it was a bit disappointing and gave us slightly bit of unease.”
Head was additionally fearful about the timing of the occasion, sandwiched because it was between the more-established client exhibits of MCM Comedian Con London at the finish of October and MCM Comedian Con Birmingham at the finish of November, with the latter additionally happening at the NEC. As well as, numerous individuals we contacted questioned the knowledge of internet hosting an occasion with a client focus on a Wednesday and Thursday throughout college time period time. “The number one day in any client occasion will probably be Saturday,” mentioned David Lilley, who beforehand led the group behind the EGX and EGX Rezzed exhibits.
Late begin
A number of attendees reported a delayed begin to the occasion on Wednesday. The doorways have been attributable to open at 10am, however many individuals we spoke to reported queuing for 90 minutes or extra earlier than they have been capable of enter the present. “There was solely one man scanning tickets and giving out wristbands,” recalled Pye.
The venue employees additionally seemed to be taken off guard by individuals arriving in costume. “They weren’t ready from a safety standpoint for individuals in cosplay,” says Head. “There have been so much of guys wearing SWAT [outfits] with weapons, and so much of individuals in the NEC acquired a bit nervous about that.”
Twitch streamer LilacNightshade reviews the same expertise: “Regardless of a voice actor from Name Of Obligation being in attendance, and the probability of cosplayers in tactical gear, the employees of the venue weren’t made conscious. This led to the venue employees threatening to telephone armed police.”
Empty house
As soon as Pye acquired inside, she wasn’t impressed. “There was black panelling in every single place, to behave as completely different sections, nevertheless it made it look actually uninteresting. We walked round to attempt to discover one thing to do, however the corridor was very empty.” Pye ended up leaving early, returning the following day in the hope that the turnout can be increased. “Nevertheless it had even much less attendees,” she says. “I probably could’ve counted the number of attendees on one hand, it was that vacant.”
“The retro zone was eight to 12 arcade machines dotted round, with round six consoles arrange,” says LilacNightshade. “The esports panel had a single particular person in the crowd, and I imagine he was filming. I really feel sorry for the panelists, as that will need to have been extremely disheartening.”
The esports zone suffered from issues all through the occasion, with individuals reporting that the organisers tried to run a League of Legends match with a £50,000 prize pool over the venue WiFi. This was ultimately switched to a wired community connection, however points continued and the Grand Closing was ultimately moved on-line after it turned not possible to finish at the venue, in response to reporting by Esports News UK.
The stage left a lot to be desired, says Pye. “The match was projected onto a reasonably small display screen in the ‘esports enviornment’ and also you couldn’t see something on it except you have been at the entrance of the stage. However the expo stored having points with their connections all through the two days, so we couldn’t even take pleasure in the match.”
Unhealthy climate on the opening day did not assist the occasion’s attendance, with trains being delayed or cancelled. Nonetheless, one nameless exhibitor is not satisfied that the climate made a lot distinction: “There may need been a bit of additional site visitors at the occasion if the climate was good, however it might nonetheless have felt outsized for what was on show.”
The enterprise space additionally got here as a disappointment to some. “It actually felt like a client occasion and never one constructed to accommodate a lot B2B,” says Adam Perry, senior recruitment advisor with Aardvark Swift.
Others praised the content material of the talks, however mentioned they went virtually unheard. “I had so much of second-hand embarrassment from seeing the empty seats,” mentioned one exhibitor. “I couldn’t have a look at them as I felt so dangerous for the individuals talking to one or two individuals, or typically to no person in any respect.”
Head provides that there was “actually no level” in the completely different colored wristbands for {industry} attendees, since there was “no actual monitoring of who was coming out and in” of the enterprise space. “Anybody may basically have are available in.”
Lilley thinks that To The Moon aimed too excessive. “If you are going to do occasions, it’s a must to perceive your viewers, and I did not see any viewers growth work,” he says. “Once we constructed EGX, we had a large current viewers in Eurogamer, and Rezzed got here out of Rock Paper Shotgun.
“You must begin small and go and construct sustainably. You will not achieve success if you happen to go massive instantly. And also you should not put an occasion collectively like that if you happen to’re not taking on the house. You must convey the partitions in, make it cosier.”
“There are basic issues that To The Moon acquired fallacious. And the most straightforward factor is: if you happen to do not fill the house, simply make the house tighter. Each occasion particular person in the world is aware of that. Do not put a small factor in a large corridor, it simply feels terrible.”
Silver lining
Not all suggestions was detrimental. The Indie Metropolis showcase acquired reward, with Alex Reid, founder and inventive director of Mancunium North describing the firm’s public debut of its title No Man’s Land as a “large success”, and the Indie Metropolis space as “by far the busiest space of the expo… throughout each days we acquired 35 gamers, all of whom offered invaluable suggestions.”
One other indie exhibitor (who requested to stay nameless) additionally mentioned that Indie Metropolis was the spotlight of To The Moon. “I used to be capable of community with many beautiful indie builders. I had numerous individuals play my recreation and say good issues about it, however truthfully that was the solely brilliant spot.”
“The Indie Metropolis was by far the better part of the day,” mentioned Lilac Nightshade, “The indie devs have been all completely unimaginable, however by the finish of the day, most of them appeared actually disheartened. They’d spent so much of cash, and time away from growing, to attend an occasion that was actually poor.”
Freelance audio designer Will Scoones judged his expertise at the present was helpful sufficient to justify his ticket price, however admitted “I do know many individuals didn’t fairly have the expertise I had when attending.”
LilacNightshade had extra reward for panel classes run by Misplaced in Cult, however in the finish, that wasn’t sufficient. “All in all, the day was solely enjoyable as I acquired to see associates and join with new individuals. The occasion itself was a wash and an entire waste of cash.”
Reid says that occasion’s organisers have been “seen round the NEC, and so they despatched fixed communication by way of e-mail.” However others report a unique story, saying the organisers have been notable by their absence.
“I really feel like by the finish of the day there ought to have been somebody from the occasion groups or the organisers themselves coming over to us and displaying some management,” says one exhibitor. “They need to have apologised to us for the dangerous attendance or tried to spice up morale, however nothing.” Head “did not see the particular person managing the occasion in any respect.”
To The Moon Expo was organised by Animus Group Restricted, which lists Monty Stewart and Robert Myers as administrators Each males have been pitching the present to exhibitors this yr, supported by Cass Freeman, a associate with Stewart in a separate enterprise and who lead the present’s advertising and marketing. Nonetheless, Myers resigned on September 7, in response to Companies House – though the resignation was solely filed on November 14, the day after the occasion.
Detrimental advertising and marketing
“To The Moon Expo is made by a small group of players who’re drained of overpriced, corporate-first expos,” learn a press launch despatched out forward of the expo. “We’re placing a refund with the creatives.”
The combative tone did not go down properly with others in the UK occasions house. “The advertising and marketing was fairly detrimental with apparent criticism of different occasions, which is simply not how issues roll in video games, the place the sector is usually extra collaborative and supportive,” says Jamie Sefton, MD of Sport Republic, which organises round a dozen UK occasions annually.
“We really feel dissatisfied for the studios and indies that will have wasted cash on this occasion when it’s expensive for them to attend and sponsor. As we run tons of occasions a yr, we all know how necessary it’s to handle expectations and ship for attendees, sponsors and companions. I’m involved about how straightforward it was to overhype an occasion.”
“The worst factor that they did is that they attacked rivals earlier than they even had a product to speak about,” says Lilley. “The golden rule is rarely ever garbage your rivals. Particularly earlier than you have even began.”
Others felt the promised group focus did not manifest, both. “It did not really feel prefer it was one thing presupposed to be consultant of the players and the gaming group,” says Head. “It simply did not actually signify us in any respect.”
Room for a return
For all the criticisim, many of the those who GamesIndustry.biz contacted mentioned there was a necessity for the UK to have extra main video games occasions, and plenty of have been united in the hope that the To The Moon organisers would possibly study from their errors and check out once more.
“I am typically supportive of these initiatives, since I hope that the UK will one day have a video games tentpole occasion like Gamescom, Paris, or Milan Video games Week,” says Wouter Sleijffers, co-founder of ELO, who was a speaker at To The Moon. “I will probably be supportive of those that take the mammoth effort to do that, so long as the effort is real and calculated.”
Scoones expressed the same sentiment. “Whenever you’re a pupil or current graduate and looking for work in video games, like me, you actually need new initiatives like this to succeed and breathe extra life into the UK’s indie gaming scene. I hope that this expo is ready to develop, get extra traction, and purpose to be greater and higher subsequent yr… in the event that they managed to realize that it might be an excellent factor total for recreation dev in the UK.”
“I hope that they’ll develop from it, and that they’ll take suggestions and so they can do it,” says Head. “However up to now we have not been requested for that suggestions.”
“I feel their intentions have been constructive,” concludes Perry. “The organisers wished to help the group and simply convey individuals collectively, I could not knock them for that, and as an {industry}, I do not assume we should always. They tried! They’d sturdy panels, they only wanted advertising and marketing to the proper individuals.
Lilley’s suggestions is blunter. “Do not promise what you’ll be able to’t ship,” he says. “Study from the previous. And perceive the panorama of the enterprise. The reality that everybody ‘ought to’ help occasions isn’t the identical as them really doing it.”