This past weekend was Game On Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center, a convention that focuses on video games and anime. This year’s edition continued the tradition of a lot of guests, vendors, and things to do at a reasonable price.

One of the observations I want to talk about is the crowd and it seems so well attended. It might be the second most attended pop culture convention in Arizona if I had to guess. I haven’t seen official attendance numbers (I have seen some attendance numbers from various sites but there is no source on where those numbers came from) but this convention has grown so much since those early Mesa Convention Center days.

The crowds were engaged in everything. A lot of people meeting guests, crowds surrounding various tournaments, a lot of the arcade and pinball cabs being used, guest panels well attended, it was hard to shop at times because so many tables and booths were swamped, etc, etc. With that said, I thought the convention could benefit from a bit extra space and it’s happening! Game On Expo is moving to March 15 – 17 in 2024 and will be moving over to the North Building of the Phoenix Convention Center. No word if they will be using the whole exhibit floor similar to what Fan Fusion uses or if it will be partial use of the exhibit hall but regardless, that is exciting news for everyone. Oh yeah, the weather is way better in March as well.

I had a really good time this year, spent more time playing pinball and attending panels (and running my own panel but if you follow me on social media, you’ve already heard all about it). My one complaint, which really isn’t even a complaint but more of a suggestion: post the panel schedule outside of each room. I don’t care if it’s a hand written panel break out. Regardless, still a good time and got to chat with a few of you which is always nice. I didn’t take too many photos this year but what I did take can be seen down below. See you at Tucson Comic-Con and Saboten Con (yes, I’m doing both!).