Funny – I was only last night discussing this topic with a mate on the phone.
I said ‘our hobby’ should have jumped into bed with Comic Con – a show currently touring Oz and  show that has a MASSIVE following overseas.
Apparently this is Australia’s first year  of Comicon ( or a down sized version of it )

These guys get 10,000++ heads through the door to look at comics, characters and quirky stuff FFS.
SURELY an area of that show could be allocated to also display pinball machines – it kinda fits with the theming and you get 10,000 instant spectators/ attendees.

I doubt that games themselves would sell at ANY Expo/ venue to be honest, but it shouldn’t be about that – it should be about highlighting ( reminding ) the general public of this great game and would be a PERFECT marketing opportunity for sellers to ‘prospect’ for potential future sales and new customers from the massive crowds that attend a show like Comic Con ( or similar if any shows out there ).
Apart from small $ items I don’t think that ANY business goes into a ‘show’ expecting to close a stack of sales – they use the shows to attract new customers and promote thier business/ product.

I think some of the Commercial guys and also guys on the ‘fringe’ of being commercial in our hobby should take some time and contact the Comic Con organisers and see if they are running it again in 2013 and GET IN ON IT.

Shared advertising, shared costs all mean it is a cheaper option than running a SOLO pinball show AND the crowds are already WAY bigger and that’s WITHOUT having pinball for Comic Con to promote as part of the attraction. What a GREAT way to get pinball into the eyes of THOUSANDS. Even if there was only around 30-50 games there to start with IT WILL GET PEOPLE TALKING and see if it can grow from there in the years ahead.

Time has proven that this hobby in Australia is truly incapable of organising its own professional event properly  -  I think that 2009 was a GREAT effort but has proven impossible to replicate on a better/ larger scale - the talk is ALWAYS there in this hobby – the real action just isn’t , and its dragging on WAY too long.

Here is an avenue  WELL worth investigating I reckon.
If nothing changes – then nothing changes.

DISCUSS.