Actually, I think I should probably step in here, as I am the one being quoted...
The actual quote was based not on GAMERS, but on the GAMING INDUSTRY.
First a little history, Avalon Hill, Chessex, The Armory (and a host of others), were started in the Baltimore Area, mostly due to the Historical Miniature Gaming groups that have been around for a long, long time. (Something about this area having some sort of historical significance or something.
) Nearly all of these fine business have left for greener pastures, with Chessex buying out The Armory.
As for the metro area and the lack of conventions, that mostly has to do with the demographic of the area
WARNING THE FOLLOWING CONTENT MAY BE OFFENSIVE IF TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT - PLEASE DON'T. Over the past forty years or so the demographic make-up of the city has changed drastically, where there were once ethnically diverse neighborhoods, the area in and around Baltimore has become polarized; a self styled Apartheid in many ways. While this is a gross generalization, like all generalizations there is a kernel of truth to be found within. The mostly white, upper and middle-class gaming geeks have moved into the suburban areas and 'planned' communities on the edges of Baltimore, This is the reason the gaming stores have moved to the fringes of the city, that's where the market is. Glen Burnie, White Marsh, Towson, Fort Meade, Columbia, Essex, Catonsville and other 'pocket' communities all boast large numbers of gamers, its just that most of them are in established groups and are not looking for other players at the moment. (By way of example, Mr The Universe and Queen D have recently moved into my area, and while I would love to hang out at some point, my current group already boasts 2 DMs and 13 players, not exactly the best group to introduce more people to.)
The convention scene in Baltimore is rapidly growing away from the 'geek' fests of old and into more 'specialized' genres, Otakon is probably the largest Anime conventionin the US, its held in Baltimore, and while there may be a large cross-over crowd, there are no gaming specific events hosted at the convention nor are there any plans to include them. (Just as the Anime part of GenCon is a small minority). As someone that absolutely detests anime, Otakon would not be my first choice of an inclusive event anyway. Balticon is another 'geek' convention, however, it focuses more on SciFi and its peripheral activities. Again, gaming is not on the menu even though I am sure there is a large cross-over crowd, although I am sure there is a large 'shadow con' of SciFi games and LARPS going on during that time. The closest thing that we have is the Games Workshop 'Game Day' held at the Baltimore Convention Center, it however is not a true gaming convention, but a marketing ploy in order to sell more Games Workshop merch.
So, we have shrinking industry support, a target market that is moving away from the city center and a convention scene that no longer supports RP gamers directly. The scene is not dead in Baltimore, it is anemic. Can it be ressurrected, I an unsure if it wants to be. While a Baltimore Game Day would be something I would be interested in and would support, the question is, could we get one to fly?
In order to have a great convention/game day we need:
1) Support of the gaming community - This is the largest wild card, while I would love to support this activity, the large knotted groups of gamers in the area may be unwilling to pull themselves from their own tables.
2) Support of the local industry - As stated previously, there are scant few good gaming shops in the area to really support this. While Games Workshop will trot out its demo team for literally ANY event in the area (I have seen them at sports rallies, the Boy Scout Expo, and large family preunions (no really)), if the only other supprt is GaCaS, then it will quickly devolve into another GW market fest.
3) Location, Location, Location - I would love to see a game day/convention grow to something awesome like days of old, however, with the core groups no longer in the city proper, a true Baltimore Game Day may best be held in a non-central location. The problem there is travel time. We have all driven the beltway, or rather parked on the beltway while the Earth revolved us to our location. Nowhere is there an accessible area that is accessible from the ENTIRE area. White Marsh is agreat idea, the hour drive it would take me to go 25 miles is not my idea of weekend fun, likewise any of the places are roughly the same problem from the opposite end of the city. This is the reason that the Baltimore gamer community is so divided, IMO. It isn't that we don't want to see each other and game together, its just that we don't want to have to try and GET to where we can game together.
I would gladly suppport any effort with whatever resources I may have available, my issue is I don't currently have the resources.
