Greedy... or perfectly logical business sense?

They never seemed too interested in just sponsoring let alone funding Lanageddon (I was an organizer), Lanified (I am good friends with organizer) or Lanannihilation (Staff of MemX started this and it lasted 2 maybe 3 events). Why do you figure suddenly they are interested in ProjectX funding wise? Seems like you have a soiled past with this company, and a skewed perspective which is making you sound like a conspiracy theorist. Making claims based on your past experience as an employee doesn't make a lot of sense to me. During these discussions that were privy to all internal employees was there talk about funding gaming events/groups? or are we just going off the fact they tried to extend their market reach into other segments?

I am not trying to make you look bad, or anything like that.. I am just baffled at your claims and your reasons behind them.

I don't know, I used to work for memx to and I would have to agree with Takkyu on this one.

Ngo would probabley love to see the company get involved again with Frag. However Minh never really liked it as he didn't really see it as a return on investment like Ngo did. He came up through the Future Shop ranks as a salesman and so he really looks at Memx as trying to hit the same demographic which is why he had Jason redesign the stores to have a larger and more broad focus on general consumer electronics instead of just computer sales(grow or die). I know that the rigs that Memx used to donate to frag as part of their sponsership were all parts that were donated to the company through the purchasers contacts/contracts with various companies(Intell, Corsair and so on). I used to work with Jeffary back in calgary to design some of the gamming rigs the company donated so I got a really intresting view of how the companies scratch each others backs. In the end I think to much ego comes into account with computer gammers (just look at this thread to see that) which makes them at times hard customers to deal with. Considering how small a percentage across the board gammer culture acctually contirbute to the profitablity of the company I can't fault memx for not spending their advertising budget to support an event like Frag.

In the end though it really comes down to who is in controll of which purse strings between the 4 brothers at the time. Minh might run the company but if he is off working on a project and Ngo decides he wants to do something he will rally the purchasers with him and funnel the money that all of the suppliers/vendors pay to memx to advertise their products with memx to help support an event. That is how I have seen the company work back when I used to be a part of it. Things can alwyas have changed however.

Since you two worked there, can you tell me what the fuck they used to mount the rad and pump in the rig I won in 2006?

No I don't expect you to be able to answer that. The question was more in jest. However the shit is like double-sided automotive tape or something. I can't remove the parts, at least not without damaging the sweet TJ07 case.

Ask the Calgary techs as they were the ones who built that rig.

Well this thread was a delightful read! Just spent the last 2 and a half hours reading it in between working. Thanks you all for helping my day go by faster! I have been coming to fraga for 4 years now and Im going to say my two cents cause I want to. Last years Fraga was awesome! The year before that (DARK FRIDAY) was awesome. And the two I went to before it was in Leduc was.... you guessed it, awesome. I have an awesome time meeting people and playing in tournaments. I even managed to bump into somone I have not seen since elementary school which which was really cool.

Hawk, in my opinion you are way to agressive and rude at people stating their opinions! Its one thing to disagree with someone its another entirely to openly insult them cause they view something differently than you.

Apple, as much as you are not the first to throw a stone you picked it up and threw it back. There is no need to insult someone just becuase he insulted you without cause. An eye for an eye mentality leaves everyone blind. I got a chance to meet you 2 years ago after you crushed my dreams of winning the SC2 tournament and you were very nice when i walked over and shook your hand. I dont see that person on this thread. Be the better person and dont respond in kind.

Last year there were words said behind players back about one another and threats made because people didnt appreciate that "so and so said this" or "who said what" first. This blows my mind. We are all adults, someone said something or did something you dont like tell them straight up "i didnt appreciate that comment" thats all it takes. Dont walk around the event trash talking them cause you were hurt by what was said and need an outlet. Grow a pair and go talk to the person.

Now to the meat and potatoes! Can Fraga benefit from an increase in sponsor ship? Of course. Does anyone that is posting in this thread not only have the time but is willing to try and contact these companies and get them to participate in Fraga without expecting to be paid? I dont believe so. To my knowledge the Fraga "staff" are volunteers, (as in not paid) so expecting Fraga to find sponsors is wrong. If they do, AWESOME and you better be thanking them for finding the time and a way to do it. I would love to see more sponsors, a bigger turn out, and a more competitive scene, but I dont have a magic wand to make it happen. And my attendance does not rely on it. I have always had a great time.

I can suggest that maybe we try and decide what the official tournaments are sooner that way individuals who are coming can try and get more people to come with that knowledge. I know it would make it easier for me to bring friends if I could organize a team for it sooner. Yes we pay 85 dollars and we expect something for that money. If you dont think you are getting your 85 dollars worth ask yourself what would make you feel like you were, and let someone know, then help them make that happen. Dont just expect them to do it, show them you care about it as much as they do.

@Apple, If I won a free addmission to this year I would be more greatful then to say make it better or i wont come. In fact I would be going out of my way to make it better this year. But just saying what you feel is wrong with it and giving ideas on what to change is only half the fight, offer them your help (for free) in implementing those changes!

Well I think thats all I have. Now remember "if you dont have anything nice to say, just dont say anything"

To all the Volunteers and people that make Fraga happen (including everyone that comes), you have my greatest thanks, and I hope that we will see more of each other for years to come! If Fraga was no more, I know I for one would greatly miss it!

Well said

Agreed! Having never been to fraga along with 4 others who have never been, I think it's about time that next generation pc gamers should be targeted! If I had experience at fraga before I would personally type up some letters, have the head honchos sign then and send them to every company involved with PC gaming I could think of for sponsorship, unfortunately I have no experience with the venue etc so this year seems to not be an option. Next year i plan to deffinatley help out. I think fraga has the potential to re-become the 500-800 person event it was a few years back. Just needs some pulling up front and pushing from behind and fingers crossed more people this year and more next year will check it out!

Shenker10

Im glad to hear new people are coming to Fraga. Look forward to playing games with you and your friends. How did you guys hear about Fraga? I think finding out how all the new blood is hearing about Fraga will help us see where we can improve our turnout.

Well personally, I got word of fraga quite a few years back when searching google for Alberta LAN party's and how to set up small ones at home. I kept hearing about fragapalooza on different local forums (Edmonton/Calgary based forums) and how awesome it was, so I went to the website and just looked around a little. I think that in order to get some new attendees there needs to be some hype. Not just hype for those who already know about it but for those who don't, for example (not a very good one I might add) maybe we could convince a busy store like GameStop in WEM to offer a discount on fraga admission of maybe 5 or 10 percent to first time attendees whenever a new pc game is purchased, or memx when you purchase components or games. Another thing would be to would hold events in busy places before the main event, (again a bad example) say maybe hold a competition where a few selected people have to build a computer and get it to post with pre selected parts layed out on a table, first to get a post beep gets to keep the computer they built and gets XXX% off a fraga ticket, and runners up could keep a specified individual component and get a smaller discount on a fraga ticket. obviously this would need one or more sponsor be it Memx, Newegg, or other. Again this would be somewhere like west Ed mall where crowds could come watch and learn how much fun the event is before the event is held! at least if people would come, even at half price over top of the people already there they might not only see how much fun they could have, but pay full price for years after! either way, it seems it should be all about hype and preparation as well as sponsors for the event in busy places. if it wasnt for my own curiosity i would have never... and i mean NEVER even had a clue about fragapalooza, and these days it seems more and more of the next gen gamers are just drones, if its not right in front of them they wont bother with it! But thats just my opinion from someone who has never been before but that is what I KNOW for a FACT! would attract me into the event even if i didnt know about it the day before!

P.S If sponsors are needed, especially a rather big name sponsor, GSkill has been promoting like wild lately and probably would be able to at least send some prizes up for us if they knew the circumstances. i told them i needed some stickers for my computer... they send me 150 4"X4" stickers, 50+ case badges, 10 Newegg/Gskill dogtags, and 5 aluminum GSkill bottle openers, also i got 9 8"x11" flyers of GSkill ram (3xRipjaws X, 3x Ripjaws Z, 3x Sniper) all of which will be coming to fraga to give some away! so if anyone that has the official FPStaff authority keep that in mind so if you want some swag come find me there...

Edit: one thing I was going to focus on but forgot, personally! Just my opinion! Doesn't matter if you disagree, but I want to have my fraga experience very enjoyable and memorable in a good way... Therefore after reading through all of the hating, bashing, dissing, cussing, and downright childish comments (not just this thread and not naming anyone). I think that whatever Demons you guys have with each other, That shouldn't be brought to the event, nor the site. It just ends up escalating until everyone hates each other. If this event is going to become as big as it was years ago, we're all going to have to be happy and leave that stuff behind. That may mean that there will have to be consequences, maybe not, that much is up to the staff... But from me and probably many other fraga attendees, if you fit the description... Just at least make a legitimate effort to stay positive on here and at the event when it comes time! If you're going to be a pest, please go somewhere else and do it... I don't know about anyone else, but I don't need or want to see it!

Promotion is something that i touched on briefly in previous posts, but some good points were brought up. Honestly, these days, I've no idea how new blood will find fraga. There's just no exposure anywhere, beyond whoever takes posters and puts them up at work or school or whatever.

To me, using the internet makes the most sense. I dunno about anyone else but i found fraga on gotfrag.com (old counterstrike site), advertising their CS:S tournament and prizing. That one forum post made by fraga i bet pulled in atleast 10 hopeful teams who wouldn't have attended otherwise.

SC2 and LoL together are 10x as big as counterstrike was at it's height.

I remember last year, guys from OverKlocked went around handing out free memberships to their LAN center. I can absolutely see how a partnership between the two could be mutually beneficial.

The problem is that Fraga doesn't have a dedicated PR person, or anyone with a business background that knows how to play the PR game. If they could find someone with the knowledge and experience to bring in sponsors and make Fraga known, they'd probably do much better. They also have to find that person who dosen't mind working for cheap/free/for the love of the community. That's a little harder to find.

Agreed, it seems that not having enough sponsors is a common mention about fraga. honestly if i knew how to be a "proper" PR guy, i would dedicate some serious time to the event! at this point in the life of fraga its becoming a historical event (in the computer age terms) considering the Nvidia GeForce 256 was released 2 years AFTER the first fraga event was held! as well as about the same time as the Voodoo Rush (i guess i do know my old school components!) was released! it would be great to see this event run for many many years to come.

LOL nope. The local CS community in it's prime in Edmonton I'm pretty sure was ALOT more bigger then SC2 and LoL COMBINED. If anything LoL might have the upper hand on SC2 locally due to F2P.

I think this event probably does need more business/marketing experience behind it, but more than anything it needs some TLC. Don't get me wrong, the organizers have a lot on their plate and it really is a large undertaking, but I get the impression that Fragapalooza is really hurting for people willing to put in the effort.

I'd love to be more involved. I volunteered in 2009 but had a poor experience and it really tainted my view of the event in general. I noticed that the leadership and volunteer group seemed really insular; while it's fantastic that a large group of friends can come together and enjoy four days of gaming, I feel like somewhere along the way Fragapalooza turned into a social gathering for long-time attendees rather than a gaming event that welcomes any and all. Even now I feel like an outsider, and I've been here since 2005.

With regards to tournaments, it's worth pointing out that even after Fragapalooza decided to focus on the "just-for-fun core community," people continued to clamour for tournaments. It's not a good idea to shun what brought you success - indeed, the 'core' attendees were all new at some point. It's also a bit strange to write off the competitive crowd for not being 'gamer' enough; the tournament winners in all likelihood spent just as much time gaming as the purists did, they just put it all into one title instead. I don't like categorizing gamers, but there's room to provide for both types inside an event like this. It certainly used to.

I think if leadership recognizes that Fragapalooza needs to reinvent itself to succeed, then there will be people willing to help make that vision a reality. I'm hesitant to volunteer a second time if this year's plan is more of the same. If this is the case, I can't really see myself attending at all in the future, now that Fragapalooza's primary draw has been mostly accomplished by the evolution of social features in online gaming. You used to see MMO players at Fragapalooza, for better or for worse, but that was because the event offered additional value you couldn't get at home, like tournaments, prizes, and promotions from sponsors. Ironically, I've read posts on here from people who decry the idea of broadening Fragapalooza's appeal with more entertainment options, yet those same people agree that the mini-games and IRC competitions should stay. They have nothing to do with gaming, yet they're consistent fan favourites, year-in and year-out.

It's past time for the organizers to announce a direction for Fragapalooza. It's easier to gather support and solicit help if there's a clear initiative or goal to work towards. It could be something as simple as deciding the tournaments well in advance, so people who do want to compete can schedule accordingly. There are a lot of ideas and some huge challenges in making them happen, but I see a large number of gamers here who want to see some change. And we're who this event is for... right?