If you went to Origins like I did...

[Dorn_the_warrior]

Hi Folks. So as the title implies, I was at Origins last weekend (well, Friday and Saturday) in Columbus.

Out of curiosity, does anyone else who was there feel that it was a much smaller scale than years past? I wasn't there last year, but two years ago it seemed like there were so many more people. Heck, even on Saturday, it didn't seem like too many people were there, in relation to years past. Also, unlike 2 years ago, there was almost *no one* in costume. I think I saw a couple of people, and that was it. What gives?

 

[CalicoDave]

Yeah, it seemed quite a bit down from last year. I was there the whole time (Wed-Sun) and it was quite dead. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday it almost seemed empty. Saturday it seemed to pick up quite a bit, though (Sunday, like always, was a bunch of very tired people picking up and heading home!)

I spend almost all my time in the miniatures hall and it was very deserted this year. Not a whole lot going on.

I'd also noticed in the last years an increase in families, but that didn't seem to be the case this year. It seemed to be a serious geek convention this year.

I had a great time, though, and am looking forward to next year!

 

[Relique Hunter]

One of these years I'm gonna get myself to Origins and/or Gencon.

 

[kenobi65]

I was there the whole weekend (Wednesday through Sunday), though there's an awful lot of the con that I never see -- I spend the entire weekend (save for a trip or two through the exhibit hall) in the "Gathering" area (Living-style RPGs, such as Living Arcanis).

From what I saw, I'd concur that attendance didn't seem to be as strong. Last year, the Living Arcanis Battle Interactive was something like 40 tables; this year, I think it was around 25 or 30, at the most. I'm sure that gas prices, and the economy in general, played a big role in that, if my observation is accurate.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

I, too, felt that it seemed more deserted than usual. However, just the other day I got an email from the staff (since I am one of the senior volunteers) that said attendance was actually up. I doubt they lied but I wonder if there was some creative accounting going on or a LOT of people registered who either (a) did not come or (b) were hanging out in areas I had no idea existed. But it definitely seemed like RPGs were down.