Should the ENnies cover CCGs, CMGs and boardgames?

Once upon a time, the ENnies were simply ENWorld's website awards announced online during Gencon.

Rapidly, over the course of years, the ENnies have now become an awards gala which is PART of Gencon and which is conducted at and voted upon at a site separate from ENWorld.

The awards have become more than being about this site - and have become, for better or worse, a part of Gencon itself.

I put it to you that the categories of products reflected in the current ENnies betrays a bias of its roots as awards given by an RPG focussed site, instead of awards reflecting the products sold at, played at, and concerning, in general, the hobby games industry at Gencon - of which RPGs are only a part.

I suggest that the ENnies need expanding to cover other genres of games.

We do not have candidates for:

• CCGs,
• Non-collectible Card games
• Miniatures, painted
• Miiatures unpainted,
• CMG games,
• boardgames (war)
• boardgames (non-war)
  

In short, Gencon is a much bigger industry event than simply RPGs. And while the RPG nature of the ENnies reflects the bias of games covered by ENWorld, the awards have become bigger than this site.

These are categories that I would like to see covered by the Ennies - and I would propose electing a separate batch (or two batches, if required) of judges to deal with the new categories of nominations.

Consimworld and Boardgamegeek.com could link to the site for voting in the same manner as other RGP sites have been approached to do so and who deliver votes.

Yes, that duplicates Origins industry awarded awards. The difference is, given a choice between winning an ENnie and winning an award at Origins, I have not a doubt in my mind as to which I would prefer to receive – and I put it to you that the ENnies is of more value, commercially and as a feather in your hat.

In short, I think the ENnies have more legitimacy and have become - for better or worse - a PART of Gencon. The ENies already partly duplicates awards given at Origins. The sugestion that to expand the categories is somehow cutting somebody's elses grass does not stand up to scrutiny.

The ENnies organizers have been asked to add these categories in the past and have indicated their unwillingness to do so. I would ask that that decision be revisited.

Given the expansion in the ENnies and the great legitimacy this award has, and its now becoming a part of the fabric of Gencon, I submit that next year, the award categories should be expanded to cover these other genres and new judges elected to deal with these genres so that the current RPG judges are not taxed beyond their limits.

Originally it was part of the agreement with GenCon. Peter Adkison didn't want to be seen as "competing" with Origins (I get the impression they work together to a certain extent), so the ENnies were limited to RPG products only. Unless that changes, the award scope can't change unless we stop holding it at GenCon.

Fair enough.

The question still stands then - in terms of what people here think "should" happen. And as to whether Gencon LLC is prepared to entertain a change, we shall have to see. Maybe they will - and maybe they will not.

Given the decline in Origins and the lack of many large manufacturers from Origins in recent times, it may be that events have overtaken that decision and that Peter Adkinson is prepared to entertain a change.

I don't think these other categories should be let into the ENnies. Can't the RPG segment of the industry have something that is unique to them?

From what I understand, Gen Con will be featuring more computer game exhibitors this year than ever before. Should we add a computer game category to the awards? How about a console game category?

And what about play-by-mail games? They've long had a category in the Origins Awards, so let's add them to the ENnies, too! After all, we're trying to be all things to all people, and we wouldn't want to shaft Flying Buffalo out of an annual award.

But wait! There are so many categories now that the award ceremony goes three hours and the audience gets antsy. Well, one obvious solution is to start trimming RPG categories, since the awards are "obviously biased" in favor of them and there are more for that category than any other.

Fast-forward a few years. Let's imagine, just for fun, that RPG sales continue to decline while sales of board games and video games continue to increase. Why, with that sort of dichotomy why should RPGs have more than a couple of categories?

Believe it or not, RPGs are a shrinking part of the marketplace. Lots of new game stores don't even bother to stock them, and the preorders from distributors on most RPG product has been slipping pretty much annually over the last five years. I spoke with some fairly major-league RPG publishers at Origins, and I think the print runs some of them are down to would be absolutely shocking to your average EN World reader. So it's only a matter of time before RPGs are seen as a tiny part of the big gaming picture and are relegated completely to the side.

As a lifelong fan of RPGs and as one of the few people in America who actually manages to work on them for a living, I say let the other categories pound sand and find their own damn awards.

--Erik

Well...

For lack of anything more to add, let me just say...

"What Erik said."

Wholeheartedly.

Erik Mona said:

I don't think these other categories should be let into the ENnies. Can't the RPG segment of the industry have something that is unique to them?

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Yes, exactly. It's like people keep thinking that the ENnies still have something to prove. Like they'll only be worthwhile if WotC is in the mix or other types of games are honored. In my mind the ENnies have nothing to prove. They are the only gaming award that actually seems prestigious to win. Let's keep them the way they are.

Erik Mona said:

I don't think these other categories should be let into the ENnies. Can't the RPG segment of the industry have something that is unique to them?

As a lifelong fan of RPGs and as one of the few people in America who actually manages to work on them for a living, I say let the other categories pound sand and find their own damn awards.

Click to expand...

I see.

Should they go find "their own damn convention" too?

Some might say they have one. Essen is to boardgames, and E3 or perhaps PAX is to computer games...

But in North America, Gencon is rather unique in how it brings the hobby games trade - and the fans of the hobby games trade - together in one big muddled splash.

That is the beauty that is Gencon, and it has changed with the times - to the con's benefit, in my opinion.

Why then must we be so hermetical about the products and the fans of these diverse games? In whose interest is that?

Really, I see these comments on ENWorld, Consimworld, and Boardgamegeek all the time. It's as if the RPG, CCG, CMG, miniatures, wargamers and boardgamers were all separate fans eyeing each other narrowly, struggling for some legitimate claim to the One True Game.

Rubbish.

I rather thought that awards given out at Gencon might reflect the games bought, sold , premiered and played there by the attendees and the exhibitors.

Perhaps you see that as a radical notion and one step from turning the ENnies into the GENnies, but nevertheless - there it is.

I believe that winning an ENnie helps to sell an RPG.

The more RPG products that win ENnies, the more sales increase.

I want the industry to sell more RPGs.

Honestly, within the context of the ENnies, I don't give a damn about the board games or (especially) the CCG companies.

Let them fend for themselves.

--Erik

Erik Mona said:

=
Honestly, within the context of the ENnies, I don't give a damn about the board games or (especially) the CCG companies.

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Given the cost of CCGs, I guess I can see that view somewhat.

But last I checked, Paizo was a board game company too...

FFG - same. A finger in many pies.

Stonehenge, where the demons dwell
Where the banshees live and they do live well

I want to be fair and open-minded. I was a wargamer before I was an RPGer. I'd like to think that you could include those things without marginalizing the RPG aspect. I just don't see how. There's already enough bitching. I can't imagine throwing the board- and CCX- gamers into that, too, with two more sets of beefs and drama. Maybe, maybe if you did a special, single annual award recognizing excellence in non-RPGs or something.

Emotionally, I'm afraid my reaction is more in tune with Erik.