Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Wizards Sells Off GenCon!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Mixmaster" data-source="post: 120102" data-attributes="member: 472"><p>This is the first of a multi-part reply:</p><p></p><p>I have had discussions over the years with many of the "big-wigs" in the convention industry, The company I work for is a market research organization that has done work for Andon and, before I worked for them, myself concerning bringing a CON to the NYC area.</p><p></p><p>First a quick rundown of events:</p><p></p><p>GenCon was run by TSR. It was IMO horrible. The lines to get pre-reg and events used to line up around the block. It would take HOURS. The ideas of computers and databases (at the site) were non-existant. The support staff was unkowing (and I'm not blaming them). Housing was run be the Greater Milwaukee Convention Bureau. Don't get me started on them.</p><p></p><p>The pre-reg books were late in arriving, the process for people getting their events was this: The pre-reg applications were put in a pile and the new ones were ADDED on top. If you were first, you might not get an event that somone who pre-reged after DID.</p><p></p><p>To fix that, they added the "early bird" pre-registration. Then finally they used a database (not just a mailing list). But at least three times, from talking to TSR/GenCon people, the database was erased or corrupted and it had to be re-entered.</p><p></p><p>Also, there was a GenCon East (Cherry Hill, NJ), a GenCon South (Florida) etc. Origins was run by GAMA and it would be in a different city each year (Dallas, Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Diego, Milwaukee etc.) I went to nearly all of them - my con books are in storage; I'm not sure which one I missed.</p><p></p><p>Then WOTC bought TSR. We all know about that. It was then they started their surveys on Milwaukee and what the city can give them. The talk for awhile was for GenCon was going to Seattle. </p><p></p><p>Then WOTC bought Andon because they were a company who ran conventions and gave them the ability to run GenCon. I'm not sure on when GAMA allowed Andon to take over Origins, but I remember the "announcement" about Origins staying in Philadelphia for a least 3 years. It only lasted one year. The reasons I will specify later. Andon used computers at the CON. They had a database. You had a VIP#. You got in early, you got your events. It was all good.</p><p></p><p>Then Hasbro bought WOTC. We know about that too.</p><p></p><p>And now, Hasbro has sold GenCon to Peter Adkisson.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mixmaster, post: 120102, member: 472"] This is the first of a multi-part reply: I have had discussions over the years with many of the "big-wigs" in the convention industry, The company I work for is a market research organization that has done work for Andon and, before I worked for them, myself concerning bringing a CON to the NYC area. First a quick rundown of events: GenCon was run by TSR. It was IMO horrible. The lines to get pre-reg and events used to line up around the block. It would take HOURS. The ideas of computers and databases (at the site) were non-existant. The support staff was unkowing (and I'm not blaming them). Housing was run be the Greater Milwaukee Convention Bureau. Don't get me started on them. The pre-reg books were late in arriving, the process for people getting their events was this: The pre-reg applications were put in a pile and the new ones were ADDED on top. If you were first, you might not get an event that somone who pre-reged after DID. To fix that, they added the "early bird" pre-registration. Then finally they used a database (not just a mailing list). But at least three times, from talking to TSR/GenCon people, the database was erased or corrupted and it had to be re-entered. Also, there was a GenCon East (Cherry Hill, NJ), a GenCon South (Florida) etc. Origins was run by GAMA and it would be in a different city each year (Dallas, Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Diego, Milwaukee etc.) I went to nearly all of them - my con books are in storage; I'm not sure which one I missed. Then WOTC bought TSR. We all know about that. It was then they started their surveys on Milwaukee and what the city can give them. The talk for awhile was for GenCon was going to Seattle. Then WOTC bought Andon because they were a company who ran conventions and gave them the ability to run GenCon. I'm not sure on when GAMA allowed Andon to take over Origins, but I remember the "announcement" about Origins staying in Philadelphia for a least 3 years. It only lasted one year. The reasons I will specify later. Andon used computers at the CON. They had a database. You had a VIP#. You got in early, you got your events. It was all good. Then Hasbro bought WOTC. We know about that too. And now, Hasbro has sold GenCon to Peter Adkisson. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Wizards Sells Off GenCon!
Top