Compared to the shitshow that went down last year, TwitchCon Las Vegas was largely a success. The problem? Nobody liked Las Vegas. This year’s TwitchCon Though attendees said Twitch itself had improved, they complained that the Las Vegas Strip, an area that’s expensive, not walkable and lacks ...
The San Diego Convention Center’s tight hallways couldn’t accommodate so many people, which was worsened by fans flocking around popular streamers and blocking the flow of traffic.
Whatever traffic and accessibility issues last year’s TwitchCon attendees faced in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter paled in comparison to the complaints about the Las Vegas Strip.
The Las Vegas Convention Center, where TwitchCon’s programming and exposition hall were based, is located at the end of the Strip and the majority of nearby dining options are either fast food chains or extravagant restaurants.
“A smaller walkable city promotes organic interaction as we are not all taking cabs … It felt like the priority was just being in a fun place instead of facilitating vendor, creator and community meetups and deepening those ties.”
Third places provide more than just a break from the glare of fluorescent convention center lighting — they’re vital for building community, a sentiment that Twitch insists is unique to its platform as other livestreaming competitors gain users.
There was plenty of opportunity to mingle within the walls of the convention center, which even had a designated room to decompress and make friendship bracelets, but organic interactions seemed constrained to Twitch-sponsored events.
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