CONQuest 2023, According to its VTuber Guests
Days after CONQuest 2023, people are still talking about it—especially the guest VTubers. Let's read their feedback.
The first part of our CONQuest Festival 2023 event report has covered VTuber-related activities during the three-day weekend—and the coverage continues with a summary of feedback starting with the guest VTubers themselves.
Jay Agonoy
Demenishki: Recap of Valorant Showmatch
Gamer Demenishki was the first to stream after the event on June 5, first giving a recap of the Valorant Showmatch she participated in (which starts at around 4:35:00 on this Facebook live stream).
- What we understand: Deme does not want to be easily seen, and she did not like that she was asked to be seated in a position where she can be seen more prominently: "[...] that was at the easiest place for you to see me, and I didn't like that," she said nonchalantly.
- Good news: As Deme's PC tried to connect to the game, the hosts noticed a fan who has gifts for the VTuber. Deme welcomed the fan with a hug, and received the gifts. "I love it! It's so-well made!"
- Deme reviews clips from Twitch, sharing that she got noticed more by the observers as soon as she pops off. At the end, she had fun playing in the showmatch.
Shoto's Meet-and-Greet Experience
Next up was Shoto, who got back from the Philippines and streamed June 7. The guild leader talked about his experience working at the convention, setting up his booth, signing posters, and meeting fans.
- He couldn't believe that the hoodies he brought were all bought out, despite the country's weather conditions: "I should've bought more hoodies! I was like, 'It's hot here, who would wear hoodies when it's this hot?' I should've bought more. Now we know for next time, though. [...]"
- Funny Moment: Shoto said that Bao the Whale went on a shopping spree using his credit card as she forgot hers. "Bao owes me money!" (For context, Bao and Shoto are close friends.)
Experience on Event Activities: "... just know, behind the scenes, there was a scuff with my equipment, there was scuff with the communication, there's scuff with the proper timing, and people responding to me... that's all I have to say," Shoto explains as he starts narrating his experience.
- As reported, there were inconsistencies with the duration of Shoto's meet-and-greet sessions: Advertised as 100 seconds of interaction, the meet-and-greet duration at the event was 60 seconds, which was adjusted to 100 after backlash from international fans. One participant reported that Shoto insisted the interaction should be 100 seconds, but it started with 80 seconds on Day 2—it was only halfway during the session that the time duration has been corrected.
- Shoto and Bao thought they'd have a stage segment together, but it did not happen, leading to their confusion. More details on this as we move to Bao's account of the event.
- The guild leader also mentioned that free MeetZone pass holders had such a short time that he wasn't able to say hi to them.
- Reports of con staff being rude to his fans have already reached him.
- He was supposed to do the meet-and-greet activity for only 3 hours, but it went on for close to 4 hours. "I was promised breaks between my meet-and-greet each hour, I was promised a 5-minute break or something, and I didn't get my 5-minute break. I just kept going and going and going for close to 4 hours." Despite being given no bathroom or water breaks, he went on until he had to go to the bathroom by the third hour.
- Even so, he was glad to meet his fans, saying that despite the scuff, he would love to do meet them again.
"Just seeing you guys, having people tell me they really like my content a lot, and a lot of people saying how they flew out here to meet me, and how I've helped them... when they just need to have someone to watch, to calm down and like study; have someone to listen to while they're working... just anything like that.
"It made me emotional during it. I was like, 'Wow, you guys are real.' I don't know, it felt so f*cking real, I got hit with a burst of reality, like damn, I have fans! I have people that watch me."
Bao's Stage Segment Experience
Bao was the last among the VTuber guests to stream on June 9, where she shared her experience working with CONQuest.
- The night before their stage segment on Day 2: She overheard handlers talking to Shoto about sound checks. She was set to sing two songs during her stage time.
- Morning of Day 2: Bao had no idea why Shoto went on stage first (we were also wondering as well, as we already saw Bao at the monitor standing by).
- Bao and Shoto were on the same Discord channel as CONQuest staff, but the staff was only responding to Shoto. She even pinged them to no avail, and had to be consoled so she could make it to the panel.
- She had to do a sound check with her mods on Discord.
- Most Importantly: When Bao tweeted "they forgot about me," that's when organizers responded and apologized—but they asked her to delete the said tweet. (We put on record that we saw the tweet when it was posted.)
Bao's stream was summarized in this tweet which she herself retweeted.
Even though her ordeal with management was bad at most, she praises her volunteer staff for taking care of her. She also gives props to her talent manager, Cha Latte, for all the help setting up the audio for her.
My Take: From the large crowds, overselling tickets, reports of rude con staff, the disorganization of the QuestMarket's layout and structure, inconsistent closing times, members of the media disallowed from entering panels, and other matters being published by mainstream media until now, it's clear that CONQuest's vision was too much to apply in reality. Its reputation as a major event has unfortunately crumbled—and it will take a while to rebuild everyone's trust.
We will conclude with a video feature on CONQuest 2023 which will be posted on YouTube sometime this month.