For instance, the presence of video game companies at the Expo is hit-and-miss. The local Hand Eye Society of Toronto gamers seemed to be listed in the program erroneously last year, and the XBox booth consisted of just a few demos staffed by suspiciously-leggy young ladies who knew less about the games than I did (and I'd never heard of them before). The Nintendo 3DS exhibit was run like a midway ride. So good luck getting any real industry news.
However, this year, some developers seem to be taking a bit more interest in proper promotion. Here's something that THQ sent out leading up to the show:
"It’s that time again where we geeks come together as one at Fan Expo Canada! THQ will have plenty for fans to do at the show – hands-on time with Darksiders II and WWE’13, hands-off demos for Metro: Last Light and South Park: The Stick of Truth! We’ll also have an exclusive opportunity with Bryan Williams, Senior Designer of WWE’13 for interviews and guided gameplay. He will be on hand only on Thursday and Friday, so please let us know what time you’d like to drop by if you want."
Then again, the design team of Autodesk SketchBook will be exhibiting at Fan Expo 2012, ahead of SketchBook's latest version release later this month. While it's definitely closer to the comics end (even physically -- their booth will be next to "artist alley"), at least it's into the digital tech realm, and allows the punters to get a more direct line to the producers than usual.