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No WotC At Gen Con This Year?
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<blockquote data-quote="Pauper" data-source="post: 7692554" data-attributes="member: 17607"><p>Yeah, it's weird -- I don't really buy the official explanation, simply because other companies are doing well pitching their games at GenCon. Everybody mentions Paizo, because their taking over of the Sagamore Ballroom was to some degree symbolic of Pathfinder overtaking 4th Edition D&D. But Pelgrane Press just <a href="https://pelgranepress.com/index.php/pelgrane-needs-you/" target="_blank">put out a call for GenCon GMs</a> -- they ran over 100 sessions of Gumshoe and other games and are looking to run even more this year.</p><p></p><p>I think the real reason is that WotC figures that their money goes farther at smaller conventions. Back when they used to be a 'big wheel' at GenCon, they were paying somewhere around <a href="http://files.gencon.com/2016.SponsorMarketingOppBook.pdf" target="_blank">$75K to be a show co-sponsor</a>, plus a significant additional amount to rent space in the main dealer hall, and, over the last two years of Next playtesting, the Next playtest space. (I'm guessing Baldman made his own arrangement for the LFR space, and I'm kind of hoping he'll find himself back in the Marriott where LFR ran its last GenCon sessions back in 2013.) Add in signage, the cost of shipping product and people all the way to Indy and back to Seattle and housing both while they were in Indy, and they were easily in the mid-to-high six figures just on this one long weekend. Costs <a href="http://originsgamefair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016-Origins-Booth-Advertising-Form.pdf" target="_blank">appear to be a lot lower for Origins</a> (and since WotC is a big wheel in GAMA, the Game Manufacturers Association, there's probably a discount there), and WotC isn't sponsoring Origins, either. And PAX? I have issues with PAX as a convention and organization, but PAX Prime is probably the easiest convention for WotC to do, given that they don't have to get their people hotel rooms or even pay them travel expenses. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if a sizable portion of the material at PAX was brought over by WotC employees in their cars rather than shipped.</p><p></p><p>It's not as though there isn't a lot of WotC product being sold at GenCon even without their presence -- I remember one year where WotC had a booth in the dealer room but didn't actually sell anything there because other vendors complained that, with WotC selling the product, they couldn't move it as quickly themselves. I don't know that vendors make the same complaints about Paizo or Fantasy Flight, but then again, I don't see nearly as many Paizo or Fantasy Flight products being sold by third-party vendors like Troll & Toad. So unless those third-party vendors suddenly decide to drop WotCs products from their booths, I doubt WotC will feel any negative repercussions worth mentioning from their decision to focus their energies on places where their bucks are worth more bang.</p><p></p><p>--</p><p>Pauper</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pauper, post: 7692554, member: 17607"] Yeah, it's weird -- I don't really buy the official explanation, simply because other companies are doing well pitching their games at GenCon. Everybody mentions Paizo, because their taking over of the Sagamore Ballroom was to some degree symbolic of Pathfinder overtaking 4th Edition D&D. But Pelgrane Press just [URL="https://pelgranepress.com/index.php/pelgrane-needs-you/"]put out a call for GenCon GMs[/URL] -- they ran over 100 sessions of Gumshoe and other games and are looking to run even more this year. I think the real reason is that WotC figures that their money goes farther at smaller conventions. Back when they used to be a 'big wheel' at GenCon, they were paying somewhere around [URL="http://files.gencon.com/2016.SponsorMarketingOppBook.pdf"]$75K to be a show co-sponsor[/URL], plus a significant additional amount to rent space in the main dealer hall, and, over the last two years of Next playtesting, the Next playtest space. (I'm guessing Baldman made his own arrangement for the LFR space, and I'm kind of hoping he'll find himself back in the Marriott where LFR ran its last GenCon sessions back in 2013.) Add in signage, the cost of shipping product and people all the way to Indy and back to Seattle and housing both while they were in Indy, and they were easily in the mid-to-high six figures just on this one long weekend. Costs [URL="http://originsgamefair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016-Origins-Booth-Advertising-Form.pdf"]appear to be a lot lower for Origins[/URL] (and since WotC is a big wheel in GAMA, the Game Manufacturers Association, there's probably a discount there), and WotC isn't sponsoring Origins, either. And PAX? I have issues with PAX as a convention and organization, but PAX Prime is probably the easiest convention for WotC to do, given that they don't have to get their people hotel rooms or even pay them travel expenses. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if a sizable portion of the material at PAX was brought over by WotC employees in their cars rather than shipped. It's not as though there isn't a lot of WotC product being sold at GenCon even without their presence -- I remember one year where WotC had a booth in the dealer room but didn't actually sell anything there because other vendors complained that, with WotC selling the product, they couldn't move it as quickly themselves. I don't know that vendors make the same complaints about Paizo or Fantasy Flight, but then again, I don't see nearly as many Paizo or Fantasy Flight products being sold by third-party vendors like Troll & Toad. So unless those third-party vendors suddenly decide to drop WotCs products from their booths, I doubt WotC will feel any negative repercussions worth mentioning from their decision to focus their energies on places where their bucks are worth more bang. -- Pauper [/QUOTE]
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