How Relevant is Gencon (or Any Con)?

[MGibster]

Obviously Gencon is still immensly popular. Even with the threat of plague looming over the horizon, hordes of gamers are willing to descend upon it for a few days of gaming. Gencon was a place where you could go and interact with people in the industry, get a look at new products from both large and smaller publishers, buy things from vendors that aren't available in your area, do a little gaming, and of course there all panels. But it's not 1990 any more. Thanks to the internet, this very site for example, I don't have to go to Gencon for any of that. I don't need to go to Gencon to hear about the latest in gaming news, to find vendors selling stuff I can't find in my area, or even to hear about games from smaller publishers.

How relevant are large cons to do business for game companies? And will they remain relevant?

 

[Yora]

I've never been to any. I've never heard of anything important happening on one. I've never heard any people talk about interesting things they did on one.

 

[Mannahnin]

Gen-Con I never made it to. Didn't have the resources/motivation to make it happen in the 90s and early 2000s, and by the time some of my local friends were going in the mid 2000s it was already a dauntingly large thing, with huge crowds and a feeling that arranging accomodationa and schedule, and moving back and forth between hotel and the venue were going to be an exhausting PITA.

I haven't been back to one since the pandemic started, but I used to regularly enjoy local and regional gaming conventions. For several years I regularly traveled to big 40k and Warhammer Grand Tournaments, including in Baltimore when GW was still based there, Adepticon in Chicago, and the Throne of Skulls invitational in Las Vegas in 2011. The sheer number of players, the camaraderie and level of competition, the spectacle of the gorgeously painted armies and displays made for an intense and enjoyable hobby experience.

More general gaming conventions, focused more on RPGs and board games, I also went to periodically, generally here in NH or neighboring MA. For these there was usually less spectacle and intensity, but still the fun of seeing cool miniatures displays, and the opportunity to play a bunch of games in a weekend that my regular gaming group wouldn't be inclined or able to at home. And to check out/experience different play styles with GMs and players I don't see regularly. It was at one such in 2008 or 2009 that I randomly met Frank Mentzer and got to play a game of 1E AD&D, and between that and his recommendation of the Dragonsfoot forums, I got hooked into the OSR. For several years I'd make a point of attending conventions in my area with the same usual agenda- sign up for one miniatures event (usually a 40k tournament if they had one), and fill the rest of my time with old school/OSR D&D.

 

[aco175]

I never been to a giant convention and only go to the smaller local cons. I feel they are relevant for gamers to get to play with other gamers and see how others play apart from your home game. A few years ago we took my son to his first con when he was 12-13 and came home seeing him play a different style than before. We played at a table with a person who he was copying some to make the character more alive or different than we were playing when just in our home group. It allowed him to grow in the game where not going to play with others would have stifled that.

From a game company perspective, I think new companies with new rules can find a place to have other try their game or give out free starter rules or such. I tend to just play D&D when we go, but another in my group likes to try some other games and might not play if we did not go. Large companies with established players like D&D/Hasbro/Wizards might get less return. It is a good place to hear from fans and put out new products even if they are leaked online first.

 

[Parmandur]

Relevant to the game's community as a whole? No, it's only 50,000 people attending every year, a small fraction of the community. Fun for those attending, I'm sure.

 

[payn]

I think the internet point is the best one. Cons used to be a connection point for the creators and fans to meet and discuss products and news. From that point I dont see them as really relevant anymore.

That said, its still good to connect with folks in the community and hobby and enjoy ourselves. So, from that point I think they are still very relevant.

 

[Professor Murder]

So Covid has killed our locals Cons, which ran twice a year and I miss them dearly. They are smaller, local cons, so hype and marketing isnt really a part of why anyone goes to them. What I most miss are getting to play games that I don't have the chance to aty my own table, the dealer room, and just being around fellow gamers. I'm also a big fan of LARP, and enjoy the options at my local Cons.

 

[TheLibrarian]

I help run a local con that gets around 400-500 guests. We've talked about this anecdotally over beers and wonder if the local, smaller cons are becoming more relevant (depending on how you define "relevant"). The smaller, more localized cons seem to be a way of finding more niche or developing artists/artisans/publishers, making local connections w/ artists/artisans/publishers/players, etc.

From a personal/player perspective, when I go to a larger con, I'm often looking for

1. A demo of a game that I can't find/find players for locally that I want to try before I buy.
2. A special event. I'm a Pathfinder Organized Play player and their big three night specials at Gen Con for Pathfinder and Starfinder society make it relevant for me. Even if you can find them run locally, its not the same as playing with 1000 other people.

 

[HorusZA]

Stuff used to get released at some of the big Cons... nowadays that role has been taken over by Kickstarter.
Maybe Spiel in Essen is important in terms of the industry...

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I haven't been to Gen Con since 2019, but I did do Origins this year. I think that they are still relevant in that there still are panels to go to, plenty of vendors to purchase things from, game creators to talk to, plenty of new games to discover, and familiar games to play.

Yes, the internet makes it easy to do all that, but there is a difference in the experience. And sometimes, there's just so much stuff out there on the internet that you'll never find a game that calls to you like you might at a con where you can catch a cover out of the corner of your eye and then talk to one of the creators about the game.