GenCon 2022 Draws Over 50,000 Attendees

Gen Con reports that it attracted over 50,000 attendees this year. While that's not quite back to pre-pandemic figures (2018 saw over 60,000 attendees, and 2019 had 'nearly 70K'), it's a big step back towards it.

By comparison, UK Games Expo had just over 23K attendees, while Origins Game Fair reported just under 12K this year.

attracting a unique attendance of over 50,000 gaming fans to the Indiana Convention Center (ICC) and Lucas Oil Stadium

Not just attendees had a large turnout.

The convention’s exhibit hall featured more than 530 game publishers and vendors. Publishers released more than 500 new game titles during the convention. More than 15,000 ticketed events were held over the four days, ranging from board games, card games, roleplaying games, comedy, music, seminars, the Costume Contest, Film Festival, and more.

“This year’s Gen Con was even better for us than 2019,” said Stephanie Shossow, Event Manager for The Op. “Gamers came ready to bring fun to the table!”

Gen Con | Gen Con Draws Over 50,000 Attendees in Return to Pre-Pandemic Scale

The Best Four Days in Gaming

www.gencon.com

 

[Von Ether]

so you had a bracelet and a mask? could u not get in without being vaccinated?

No, you could not.

The crazy thing was not how long the vaccine verification line was (because it snaked around to the point it almost met itself) but how fast the line was. It would stop for maybe a few seconds and then you quickly walk down several yards and shortly stopped again.

They had at least 12 checkers who would wave a green flag if no one stepped up fast enough. They'd look at your card, then your ID, and then give you the bracelet and ask if you could put it on away from the line.

For the sheer volume of people, it was about as good as you could get. GenCon deserves major kudos for it.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

And yet there are posts all over Twitter and other sites by attendees testing positive for Covid, so I hope everyone commenting here as having gone is testing to see.

 

[Umbran]

The mask require is absurd.

You may not like it, but with 50,000 people there, it was a reasonable step, backed by decent data at this point.

 

[Umbran]

And yet there are posts all over Twitter and other sites by attendees testing positive for Covid, so I hope everyone commenting here as having gone is testing to see.

Because no precaution is 100% - with 50K people, even fractions of a percent will have impact.

Yes, everyone should test - the program to order free tests from the US Post Office is still going, if you haven't used your allotment already.

 

[Retreater]

And yet there are posts all over Twitter and other sites by attendees testing positive for Covid, so I hope everyone commenting here as having gone is testing to see.

As a precaution I'm masking up for the time being, but the potential date of exposure was still too recent to show up on a test. I'll check on Friday unless symptoms develop sooner.

 

[Von Ether]

And yet there are posts all over Twitter and other sites by attendees testing positive for Covid, so I hope everyone commenting here as having gone is testing to see.

There is no magic bullet for any disease -- or science, really. People love to be digital so to speak, yes or no. black or white. The world is very much running on analog/spectrum still. Check your can of Lysol, it says 99.9%, not a hundred.

As a hospice nurse, I have seen people with 6 months to live get 10 years. Other left in less than a day.

I'm probably test three times this week and already have my first negative.

 

[Anthro78]

I attended along with my 15 year old son (his first GenCon!). It was busy without being overwhelming. 2019 felt just a little too big, but this year was a nice balance of a lot of gamers AND some space in the dealer hall. Plus I can now say with excitement that this was the first GenCon that I came home from without having a cold, or the local concrud. I hope they keep the mask mandate from here on out.

 

[Jer]

For me, masks have also had the added benefit (so far) of preventing "Con Crud." I'd normally get sick after every GenCon. A friend of mine was hospitalized one year as a result of Con Crud.

That was my experience with origins this year as well. First year I've attended it in 20 years where I didn't have con crud the week after.

 

[Pauper]

I was there this past weekend as well as in 2021 for the 'capped' con, and weirdly, it seemed that more people were on-board with masking at this con than at 2021 -- last year, it seemed there was at least one person at each table I gamed at who would at best leave the mask over his (and it was always his) mouth, but not cover his nose. This year, I only counted two people who did that, though one was the DM at our Saturday night game.

I also came away without con crud in 2021, and though I did feel off on Sunday, it passed more quickly than traditional con crud, so I think the masking definitely helped me. Even if the con ends up not requiring masks in the future, I suspect I'll keep wearing them just for that benefit.

--
Pauper

 

[Retreater]

Well, one of the guys in our group has tested positive already. Even though he was masked nearly the whole time, we did have drinks and dinner together. Probably will spread through us regardless of the precautions.