A solid crowd of around 25,000 was expected by the wrap-up of Gen Con in Milwaukee today.  That represents stable or slightly larger attendance compared to last year for North America's largest consumer show for games.   But the world of games is hot right now, and the spending and enthusiasm of the attendees showed it.  Exhibitors were reporting higher sales than last year, and the crowd seemed more active than usual. 

 

The 'Indianapolis Welcomes You' display announcing the move to the attendees was a jarring reminder that Gencon is soon to be a Wisconsin institution no more.  Wizards of the Coast, the owner of the show, is moving it to a city with more hotel rooms, since Milwaukee is maxed out--convention bureau rooms for Gencon have been gone since May.

 

Mage Knight was the flavor of the month this year, and the crowds packing the Wizkids booth were enthusiastic and large.  Wizkids ended up with FASA's Andon points, and as a result had the prime location just inside the main entrance to the exhibit hall.  Although the WotC castle loomed large behind the WizKids booth, the positioning was appropriate, as the CMG category was definitely in the forefront this year.

 

Gen Con Debut

WotC was demo-ing its new Harry Potter TCG, with players that were tweens and younger crowding the tables.  WotC's MLB Showdown tables seemed sparsely populated.   Lord of the Rings was in the house this year, with Decipher, Fantasy Flight, and  Games Workshop all touting their upcoming releases tied to the movie this fall.

 

Campaign #1

Games based on the d20 gaming system were part of the landscape around the floor; the launch of D&D 3rd Edition at this show last year and the move to an open source gaming has percolated throughout the industry and re-invigorated the RPG segment.  Corsair launched its Campaign Magazine, featuring d20 fantasy and science fiction adventures at Gen Con.

 

Even here in the land of elves and orcs, anime had a larger presence than in previous years, with one anime/manga manufacturer (CPM), numerous RPGs and CCGs based on anime, and retailers selling videos and DVDs, manga, and anime licensed and bootleg merchandise.

 

The WotC rumor of the show was an interesting one.  It seems that beginning a couple of weeks ago, reports began coming out of  WotC that Steve Geppi, owner of Diamond Comic Distributors and Alliance Game Distributors, had made an offer to acquire WotC's TSR line.  If true, this would be a departure for Geppi, who has concentrated on product lines for which he had a personal affinity in his publishing ventures in the past (e.g., Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide).  Perhaps acquiring the number one roleplaying brand is the most direct way of getting an exclusive line with much more weight and staying power than the Lord of the Rings exclusives already announced by Diamond/Alliance (see 'Fantasy Flight Gets Lord of the Rings' and 'Alliance Diamond Have LotR Exclusive').  This acquisition is also an interesting possibility from the WotC end.  Roleplaying games could be seen as a poor fit with the rest of the Hasbro lines, selling in different distribution channels, in lower volumes per product, and with different sales patterns. 
 
It should be noted that rumors have been swirling around WotC all summer.  The Origins WotC rumor was that it was ready to announce that it was giving exclusive distribution rights for its products to Diamond/Alliance.  The San Diego Comic Con WotC rumor was that WotC would be laying off half its people and consolidating the rest with other Hasbro operations in New England.  Whether this latest one will end up with the first two or actually end up having some credence remains to be seen.