But most of those 61,423 have 3-5 buddies who don't attend the con - but who are just one remove away. So, they're representing probably some 200,000 people's direct interests to some degree.
Bad experiences at GenCon have much wider repercussions. About half a million to 2 million people's worth, once you get to a conservative 2nd remove sphere. Not all of them D&D fans, tho'.
Right. Of that 61,000, some of them are there for other stuff such as boardgames, ccgs, mini games, other roleplaying games. I'd venture a guess (if it's anything like the cons I've recently attended in the last three years) that fully half of those people have no intention of touching D&D no matter how it's presented. So that leaves still a giant chunk of people, sure. 30,000 is nothing to sneeze at. But then you have to wonder just how many of that 30,000 were actually disappointed. And was their disappointment in the con itself or WotC's participation. And of those...
What I'm alluding to is that, I suspect (and I already admit that I could be wrong) is that GenCon actually has little impact on the gaming community as a whole now that the things that people would go to the con for are being moved outside of it: instant information - internet, interviews and panels - youtube, twitter, internet, Adventure League - local store (if you have one), etc. All without the hassle of travel, hotels, crowds, stink, sub-standard food, etc.
People keep telling me that GenCon has grown in size every year, but what we don't know is where that growth within GenCon has been. (or at least, I don't.) Is it growing it in the RPG area or is it everything else that is growing in leaps and bounds such as boardgames, ccgs, mini-games, etc. It's quite possible that the RPG population of GenCon has been shrinking while everything else is growing to replace that loss plus more. And if that's the case, then the impact of GenCon is growing even less and less on the RPG community.
I ask because one of the common comments from those I converse with who go to cons as been a reflection of the above paragraph. RPGs are decreasing; everything else is increasing including the size of the cons.
Edit: Let me make it clear the view point I'm coming from for these posts: Gencon has zero impact on my gaming life and the gaming life of my gaming friends, so I find it interesting just how much Gencon is affecting the RPG-lives of others. I'm NOT trying to cause arguments, hurt feelings, etc. My post are from genuine interest in the subject and nothing more.