ehhh... that kind of worries me. do you think they would add more participants in the beginning, like maybe 256 to get more people in this?
i dont think so. last year it was more like an experement to see how well it would be recieved, and it was a success.
if you went to worlds ANY year, the main hall is reserved for the TCG players/fans.
in 2008, they reserved one of the conferance rooms for VGS, and that held a small stage, and the compettitors, with little room for the judges/fans.
this year they can very well up the attandance, but not to 256 after just 1 year. you have to remember that they are still new to this and want to make it a regular event. but they have to take small steps up. seeing how last year only 16 people from the USA got to play in the finals, if they have 4 qualifyers with top 8 invites, that would be doubling the compettitors from last years finals.
you really have to see this from PUI's standpoint.
The first year of showdown is going to be a drop in cash, to generate word and buzz for the next year seeing that Diamond and Pearl have been out for quite a while.
The next year of showdown (2009) will generate sales for Platinum-the NEW game. Here is what PUI should say for their opening announcement:
PUI said:
Pokemon Videogame Showdown is going to be BIGGER and BETTER in 2009! We are going to DOUBLE the Qualifyers and DOUBLE the Invites than 2008!
By doing this, they will get the MAXIMUM ammount of peoples intrest in this tournament, without blowing ton of cash.
so to sum it up:
256 invites is not cost efficient compaired to 32 invites.
EDIT: if you where talking about having 256 people in the tournament qualifyers, that would mean 9 rounds of single elimination.
with registeration, 1 hour rounds, 1 hour lunch break, 10-15 minutes inbetween rounds, that would easily mean 12-14 hours of play. PLUS you have to consider that the stage has to be set-up the night before and taken down as soon as possible. this would mean long days for the compettitors, but even longer days for the staff.