News

Pacific Media Expo Officially Announced

Following recent news of the upcoming new convention, along with advertisements in the Anime Expo program, the newly formed Pacific Media Association has sent out a press release officially announcing the coming of PMX next spring.

Pacific Media Association (PMA) has unveiled Pacific Media Expo (PMX), America's first major media show dedicated to Asian-Pacific Media and Popular Culture. Pacific Media Expo is a three-day-long media show sponsored by the Pacific Media Association. Pacific Media Expo will be hosted at the Anaheim Convention Center, May 29th-31st, 2004. This show will feature panel discussions, autograph sessions, live action and animation video rooms, art exhibitions and a charity auction. The centerpieces however, will be a concert facility designed to house 7,000 participants and one of the country's largest exhibit halls dedicated to Asian media and pop culture.

Pacific Media Expo was created by Mike Tatsugawa, the founder of Anime Expo. When asked about the creation of PMX and its sudden interest within the anime community, Tatsugawa responded, "Now that anime is mainstream, it's time to focus on the next generation of media and the next generation of challenges. Once we felt that we largely completed our goal of pushing anime into the mainstream, the question loomed, 'What next?' That's where the concept of PMX was born. Many of us have spent the last two years conducting market research, contacting industry members and trying to create a plan for where we believe Asian media will go for the next ten years. This is why our slogan is, "New media for a new generation."

Volunteers from conventions from throughout the country are working on this new project. Said Tatsugawa about the new staff, "Collectively, our executive committee has about one hundred years of convention experience under our belts. Our staff probably has a combined total of several hundred years of seniority. The greatest benefit of all this collective experience is the level of trust and goodwill we have in the entertainment community. Currently, we are collaborating with one of the United States' largest electronics retailers, one of Japan's largest music labels and most of the world's largest anime companies to put this event together. There will probably be more industry collaboration on this project than anything else anyone in the industry has ever done in the past. We think that we have created a winning formula of veteran staffers, strong industry support and a vision that everyone believes in. The only thing that has surprised us is that nobody in California has tried to do it before."

More information on Pacific Media Expo can be found at their website as well as in our interview with Mike Tatsugawa.