Gen Con Staying in Indianapolis through 2030

[dragoner]

Another solution is to make it longer.

 

[Rushbolt]

Another solution is to make it longer.

That's actually a great idea also. Origins is already a five day convention so I don't think it is really a stretch for Gen Con to consider extending to six days. Hotel rooms might also be more available because it would be far less likely for an attendee to have a room booked for the entire convention. You could just call it the best week in gaming instead of the best four days in gaming.

I'm not sure how feasible it is for the vendors but I believe Gen Con should also consider ending the convention on Monday. The fact that the exhibit hall and gaming basically end at 4 p.m. on Sunday is just really disheartening. I have been several times because I live in central Indiana and it actually hits you Saturday night that basically the convention is over. Many people don't even bother going on Sunday and that seems like a waste for a day that lands on the weekend.

 

[GamerforHire]

This is possibly a very uninformed and silly question, but can GenCon better manage the crowds by having a hard cap on attendance, and not let growth continue past a certain point? I hadn’t ever heard whether there is a fixed number of tickets available.

 

[dragoner]

That's actually a great idea also. Origins is already a five day convention so I don't think it is really a stretch for Gen Con to consider extending to six days. Hotel rooms might also be more available because it would be far less likely for an attendee to have a room booked for the entire convention. You could just call it the best week in gaming instead of the best four days in gaming.

I'm not sure how feasible it is for the vendors but I believe Gen Con should also consider ending the convention on Monday. The fact that the exhibit hall and gaming basically end at 4 p.m. on Sunday is just really disheartening. I have been several times because I live in central Indiana and it actually hits you Saturday night that basically the convention is over. Many people don't even bother going on Sunday and that seems like a waste for a day that lands on the weekend.

I live in Lafayette so it is an easy drive, I often like Sunday because like this last one it was the discount day, and mostly what I like to do is look at the exhibit hall. A week or 10 days would be good, and I am sure the city wouldn't mind, though I have a feeling the activity would tend to aggregate towards the end, though who knows?

 

[Hand of Evil]

This is possibly a very uninformed and silly question, but can GenCon better manage the crowds by having a hard cap on attendance, and not let growth continue past a certain point? I hadn’t ever heard whether there is a fixed number of tickets available.

They may have an unofficial count, but it MAY be decided by things like local codes, fire and city.

 

[MNblockhead]

Wisconsin is now the home of Gamehole Con and the people there are doing great work in Madison. I'm really considering making the 6-hour drive at some point. They should really consider moving it to September to take advantage of better weather.

The point behind having another convention would be to stop the attendance in Indy from reaching 80,000-100,000 because that would be a mess. A second Gen Con might only draw 20,000-30,000 when it first begins but may take some pressure off Indy if people closer to that location attend it instead.

Why not take the approach that PAX does? E.g., Gencon Prime (Indianapolis), Gencon West, Gencon East, and Gencon South?

 

[MNblockhead]

This was done before, Gen Con East, Gen Con West, Gen Con South and Gen Con Europe, Gen Con England, Gen Con Barcelona, Gen Con Australia, they went for a few years and then disappeared.

Didn't read through the entire thread before I made my post. Maybe they overextended themselves, but I still would think it would be profitable for them to break it up into at least 2-3 conventions in different regions.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Didn't read through the entire thread before I made my post. Maybe they overextended themselves, but I still would think it would be profitable for them to break it up into at least 2-3 conventions in different regions.

I think they lost their initiative Too much competition now.

 

[schneeland]

They could do GenCon Europe, that would make it a lot easier for me to attend

 

[bedir than]

Why not take the approach that PAX does? E.g., Gencon Prime (Indianapolis), Gencon West, Gencon East, and Gencon South?

Pax closed one of those and has no intention of reopening it.
They're doing fewer major conventions.

I expect that GenCon will explore adding smaller events rather than something that competes with their main income