Are house shows working the way they should?

[Eidenhoek]

I'm annoyed with the frequency, really. I'd be okay (not in love) with the scattershot effect if they were much more frequent.

[Remianen]

Here's the developer journal's note on house shows:

 

http://greydogsoftware.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1839096&postcount=68

 

 

 

I don't believe it actually IS doing it smartly, or at least not factoring in "good revenue."

 

So, you would rather run house shows purely as a profit making venture, rather than as the 'prevent the out of sight, out of mind phenomenon'? Valid, but I don't think that's the primary reason house shows are run. The AI is running house shows in a manner that prevents you losing popularity in areas you don't visit. Look at Adam's post you quoted. Which one is specifically noted as 'priority'?

 

I'm annoyed with the frequency, really. I'd be okay (not in love) with the scattershot effect if they were much more frequent.

 

I concur. I'm not saying I agree with the way things are (it feels like a bit of a nerf to Cult level promotions, who could offset the costs of that level by running house shows in the regions adjacent to their home region in addition to the home region) but my main problem lies with the lack of frequency. in 2010, I could balance things out by running, say, 4 shows in strong regions and one show in a region I'm slowly developing. That allows me to turn a profit while still developing or maintaining areas I care about. Any place I have spillover (outside of the home country) can maintain that spillover. I'm not running shows there unless it becomes an area I want to develop. So "automatically" running house shows there is counterintuitive to the way I develop my promotions.

[justtxyank]

So, you would rather run house shows purely as a profit making venture, rather than as the 'prevent the out of sight, out of mind phenomenon'? Valid, but I don't think that's the primary reason house shows are run.

 

You believe that companies run house shows exclusively over seas for months at a time?

 

Go through the history of wwe website where they chart a lot of house shows for WCW and WWF from inception. They are almost exclusively held in the United States. For the bulk of wrestling history it was the gate receipts at these shows that kept companies alive.

 

It's the travel schedule in modern day WWE doing these house shows throughout the United States that wear guys out.

[Wallbanger]

I think it's the running shows in areas that you're not even considering expanding into that's the real puzzler. Why should I, as a North American National+ company care about preserving the spillover popularity in Europe/Asia/Australia? My path to International doesn't go through there.

 

I'm pretty willing to bet that most pre-13 players systematically sent house shows through their area and bordering areas.

 

My standard house show circuit in '10 was: SEMX, WCMX, NMX, HI, SW, NW, BC, Prairies, MW, MS, SE, PR, MA, GL, ON, QC, NE, Maritimes, rinse, repeat. 3 house shows a week, all regions are touched in a six week cycle, set it and forget it. If someone is fatigued, pull them off the house show roster until they've rested up.

 

The idea behind the feature is good. But it's gone a bit too far, honestly.

[Blake Trask]

I think it's the running shows in areas that you're not even considering expanding into that's the real puzzler. Why should I, as a North American National+ company care about preserving the spillover popularity in Europe/Asia/Australia? My path to International doesn't go through there.

 

 

Banger said it better than I could, really. Yes, exactly, exactly. That is not where revenue lies and it definitely isn't a matter of maintaining popularity either. Heck..., if you're visible on TV it shouldn't even matter in my opinion how long it's been since you were physically touring there. You still have a presence.

[Remianen]

You believe that companies run house shows exclusively over seas for months at a time?

 

Go through the history of wwe website where they chart a lot of house shows for WCW and WWF from inception. They are almost exclusively held in the United States. For the bulk of wrestling history it was the gate receipts at these shows that kept companies alive.

 

It's the travel schedule in modern day WWE doing these house shows throughout the United States that wear guys out.

 

We're talking TEW here, aren't we? Since when does TEW adhere rigidly to how WWE runs their 'too big to have competition' business? Heck, in reality, TNA shouldn't be running house shows AT ALL.

 

The primary purpose for house shows in TEW (and why this part is given priority) is to maintain popularity in areas the promotion doesn't visit very often. It's keeping your product in front of fans that don't get to see you every week or every month. In reality, pay per views are offered for free in areas outside a promotion's strongest areas (ask TNA) and that largely replaces the need for house shows.

 

What you mention as 'the bulk of wrestling history' wasn't the house show as it's defined today. Those were considered regular shows, just not the 'big event' that those shows fed into. In modern parlance, nothing at a house show means anything. If it didn't happen on TV or on a PPV/big event, it didn't happen. That's why you have so many matches with "unknowns" where they test characters and concepts. "Back in the day", what you're calling house shows were actively booked as if they were regular shows. They just didn't feature the biggest names except in segments meant to build to the big event. That would be TV nowadays, no?

 

The house show in TEW is designed to be a throwaway used primarily to maintain popularity in areas not frequented. The fact that they turn a profit is considered a secondary concern (tertiary if you considered the whole 'fishing for chemistry' booking thing more useful). The way I've always played, I never run house shows in my home area, mainly because that's where I'm running my main shows. I only use house shows to keep my promotion in the minds of fans outside of my home area. I've never seen house shows have any impact on worker wear & tear either, something that does occur in reality. I've been running house shows 6-7 days a week since, what, 07? If I don't have a show to book, a house show is going on. That's why my beef is with the cut in frequency. An increase in frequency would largely solve the problem you have since it would increase the number of shows being run (thus passing through your strongest areas more often, generating more revenue than it's doing now).