Given the economy, what do you expect from Gen Con in 2009? in Conventions Forum

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Given the economy, what do you expect from Gen Con in 2009?

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KublaKhan	Given the economy, what do you expect from Gen Con in 2009?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 921 Feb 19 09 12:49 PM Vampire Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None I've been going to Gen Con for many years now (since the early '90s), but I'm seriously debating not attending this year. I'm facing 4 furloughs this year (4 full weeks without pay), but I could still probably swing attending one more time. But I don't know if it would be worth it. The economy has hit everyone hard, but what do you think it might do to Gen Con? I'm curious to see what everyone else thinks. For me: * Fewer venders on the convention floor. The economy will take a big bite out of them, is my guess. * More expensive rooms as hotels look to make a little more to thrive. * No Necromancer Games. Understandable given the 4e situation, but disappointing nonetheless. * Wizards of the Coast. I've been sorely disappointed by the shrinking size of WotC's presence in the last few years. Last year they nearly didn't attend, and it showed. Will they commit this year, given the bad times? * Fewer people attending. Maybe this will be a good thing, as some years it was just too crowded to move around. Anyway, just a few off the top of my head. Anyone else expect anything different? Or will it be the same convention as years' past? Kubla Khan
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Diabolus		#1	[-]
Posts: 969 Feb 19 09 2:44 PM Vampire Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I look at it as four days of gaming with very little interruptions, as I always have. That said, I've not gone every year and especially not when money was real tight. If I hadn't gone last year I'd have never met and shaken hands with Gary Gygax. That said, I travel with a gang of friends, so it's more "built-in" fun.
Deepcut		#2	[-]
Posts: 5742 Mar 3 09 1:52 PM Pimp of the Planes Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I will tell you right now that travel and hotels are Butt Cheap right now. :-) If you go to Cheaptickets.com or some such website, orbitz, or Experion, get your travel and hotel in a package and I am sure it will be cheaper, much cheaper than if you do it individually. You should be able to fly coast to coast right now for <$250. Rooms will likewise be cheaper with lower occupancy rates. IE the less attended the Con, the cheaper the hotels. :O "...In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history, an ancient race of people... the Druids. No one knows who they were or what they were doing... "
Snoring Rock		#3	[-]
Posts: 1418 Mar 5 09 4:59 AM Eternally Unspanked Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have never been to GenCon. This year will be my first. I have every intention of having a good time and participating in the economy by spending some money. My industry is one of those hit last in a down-turn. I consider myself very lucky. I cant wait til August.
tacojohn4547		#4	[-]
Posts: 524 Mar 5 09 1:41 PM Ghast Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	KublaKhan wrote: I've been going to Gen Con for many years now (since the early '90s), but I'm seriously debating not attending this year. I'm facing 4 furloughs this year (4 full weeks without pay), but I could still probably swing attending one more time. But I don't know if it would be worth it. The economy has hit everyone hard, but what do you think it might do to Gen Con? I'm curious to see what everyone else thinks. For me: * Fewer venders on the convention floor. The economy will take a big bite out of them, is my guess. * More expensive rooms as hotels look to make a little more to thrive. * No Necromancer Games. Understandable given the 4e situation, but disappointing nonetheless. * Wizards of the Coast. I've been sorely disappointed by the shrinking size of WotC's presence in the last few years. Last year they nearly didn't attend, and it showed. Will they commit this year, given the bad times? * Fewer people attending. Maybe this will be a good thing, as some years it was just too crowded to move around. Anyway, just a few off the top of my head. Anyone else expect anything different? Or will it be the same convention as years' past? Kubla Khan This will be my fourth consecutive Gen Con and I'm looking forward to it already. Our area (the central plains) is not insulated from the effects of the poor economy. We have several aircraft manufacturers here in Wichita, and all but one have announced layoffs. My employer, a smal specialty hospital, is starting to make some operational changes due to the lower patient volumes and reduced revenues. As for predictions for Gen Con: -- there could be fewer dealers in the dealer hall, but unless there is a significant number that don't show up (upwards of 25% or more), the impact from a consumer's standpoint will be fairly minimal -- the positive or negative effects of the lousey economy have not filtered through to the Indy hotels yet. I booked my room through Gen Con housing, and am staying where I stayed in 2007. The room rate is very comparable to what it was two years ago. -- Necromancer Games has never had a dedicated booth at Gen Con - their new products were available at the White Wolf booth. So the NG absence will be noticed, but more in an intangible way (at least for me) -- WotC presence or absence has almost no impact on whether I'll enjoy Gen Con or not since I have no interest in 4E. But, I suspect WotC will be in attendence because it's Gen Con -- I agree that there will be fewer people attending - that's all but a given with the economy in a nose dive. But, like the dealer question, it's a matter of degrees. Less than a 20% reduction in attendence and it won't even be felt by the average attendee, whereas a 40% drop off in attendence will become very noticable -- I also think there may be a very slight, almost imperceptible, uptick in the interest in older edition D&D events (OOP editions), as the old school game systems continue to rebound in popularity -- for the first time in many years (aside from 2008), there could be fewer events for the current version of D&D (4E) than there are for the most recent OOP version of D&D (3.5E and Pathfinder) tacojohn http://black-blade-publishing.com
Kaladhan		#5	[-]
Posts: 527 Jun 11 09 6:22 PM Wight Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It does have an effect on me. I'll be enjoying the cheap airfare (about 200$ less than in 2007) and I'm planning on sharing my hotel room (about 400-500$ economy). I wonder if more people will share a room because of the economy? Humm..
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Damien the Bloodfeaster		#6	[-]
Posts: 12033 Jun 14 09 10:21 AM Vampire Scion Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Paizo at least should be big, since they'll finally be releasing their new Pathfinder final version book at GenCon. They previewed it last night at PaizoCon--looks pretty nice. I'm sure they'll be doing a big promotional push, hosting games, etc. as well. Author: Mother of all Encounter Tables, Bits of Magicka 1-3 Coauthor: Rappan Athuk Reloaded Bits of Magicka: Pocket Items - 2008 ENnies Honorable Mention
Treebore		#7	[-]
Posts: 8667 Jun 14 09 12:40 PM Scribe of the Unending Word Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yeah, my family of 4 is flying, round trip, from AZ to IN for under $1200. The hotel was pricey, but I didn't go "economy", exactly. But it is close to Gen Con, to where it provides its own shuttle service to and from it, as well as the airport, so I won't need a rental car. So as long as I get to meet, and see again, lots of people, do a lot of gaming, etc... I'll be happy. I don't expect to do much buying, since I pretty much have all the "old stuff" I want, have pre ordered Pathfinder, and only look to be buying Troll Lord releases for Gen Con (the mythical CKG and Jim Wards "Of Gods and Monsters, and hopefully/maybe his new horror game for C&C), since I am also making Troll Con in Arkansas next month, and will catch up on other stuff there (new PH and M&T printings, couple of other things). The "economy" has been killing us fo rthe last 3 years and 11 months, but as my "FANTASTIC NEWS" thread pointed out we are doing much, much better now. What is killing me is the $68 per person times 4 for Gen Con badges.
varianor		#8	[-]
Posts: 2501 Jul 9 09 6:24 PM Eternally Busy Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Oh yeah, there should be a family rate. Moi? Costs are the same this year as last. Except I think my airfare will be slightly cheaper, and instead of subsidizing a roommate, he may pay full freight. It's a wash after dinner and drinks because it's all a good time. Lands of the Jade Oath. Coming soon from Rite Publishing. Beware the Bakemono.
Goblin Witchlord		#9	[-]
Posts: 516 Jul 17 09 6:57 AM Wraith Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I won't be able to go this year, but only because my wife is due around that time. But I'd be really enthusiastic to go...! There may be less swag, but the Pathfinder release is going to be exciting. Last year, they burned through the Beta softcovers in like a day. They're trying to get in enough books to make it for the first few days, but it'll be interesting to see how quickly they sell out. Our Louisville group switched to Pathfinder some months ago, and I think PF is winning the edition wars among my social circle. I have lost all interest in D&D Minis, and am pretty accustomed to many of the utilities they have there. But it'd be a great place to fill in a collection of mostly OOP 3.5e stuff to run in Pathfinder.
Snoring Rock		#10	[-]
Posts: 1418 Jul 17 09 7:24 AM Eternally Unspanked Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Goblin Witchlord wrote: I won't be able to go this year, but only because my wife is due around that time. But I'd be really enthusiastic to go...! There may be less swag, but the Pathfinder release is going to be exciting. Last year, they burned through the Beta softcovers in like a day. They're trying to get in enough books to make it for the first few days, but it'll be interesting to see how quickly they sell out. Our Louisville group switched to Pathfinder some months ago, and I think PF is winning the edition wars among my social circle. I have lost all interest in D&D Minis, and am pretty accustomed to many of the utilities they have there. But it'd be a great place to fill in a collection of mostly OOP 3.5e stuff to run in Pathfinder. Yes, Pathfinder should be hot this year. It certainly won the edition choice with my group.
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Given the economy, what do you expect from Gen Con in 2009?

Given the economy, what do you expect from Gen Con in 2009?