James Marsters, who plays 'Spike' on the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series (which just moved from the WB network to UPN, see 'Buffy Flees the Frog'), drew huge crowds of teenage girls for his signing session and Q & A at Gen Con on Sunday.  Longtime Gen Con observers agreed that Spike drew the biggest, most enthusiastic turnout in years.  Spike's appearance, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer in general, had added relevance at GenCon this year in view of the impending release of Score's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Collectible Card Game (see 'Score Gets Buffy CCG Deal').  Score, which introduced the successful Dragonball Z CCG over a year ago, has followed the same pattern for its Buffy CCG -- base the game on a hugely popular property and have the game designed by gaming professionals with lots of experience in creating CCGs and RPGs.

One of the elements that is often overlooked when discussing an event like Gen Con is the demo-ing of new games.  Score was able to demo its new Buffy CCG to over 350 gamers during Gen Con.  The folks who come to Gen Con to game are among the most dedicated and knowledgeable of all gamers.  Their suggestions and comments can be a world of help for game designers eager to fine tune their creations for the best chance at success in a crowded market.  Getting good word of mouth based on Gen Con demos is also a great way to generate some heat behind an impending release -- and Score appears to have accomplished this for its Buffy CCG.

The commotion that Spike created with his appearance at Gen Con indicates that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is still a very hot property.  This is very good news for specialty retailers since with cards from Inkworks, comics from Dark Horse, toys from Moore Action Collectibles, and now a CCG from Score, Buffy is a very important part of the product mix for a large number of pop culture stores.  While some may have worried that the switch from the WB network to UPN might have cost the series some momentum, if anything the switch appears to have energized the fans and creator Joss Whedon, who is reportedly very upset at some parting shots the show received from WB execs, and eager to prove that Buffy will succeed on UPN.