GAMA recently released information regarding attendance at last month’s Origins Game Fair, and the overall signs were generally positive. The 2008 show’s total attendance of 14,190 people was an 8.3% increase over 2007’s 13,107 attendees.

The increase can be largely attributed to the show's new Fair Pass wristbands, budget-rate passes into the show that allowed for browsing the exhibition hall but did not grant admittance to gaming events. According to GAMA, 2,500 such passes were sold at the show. Sales of four-day passes were nearly identical to 2007’s sales, down very slightly from 2007 (11,771 to 11,728). One-day passes saw a steep decline in sales, from 2,062 in 2007 to 1,194 in 2008, and exhibitor, volunteer, and staff badges also dropped sharply, from 1,274 to 768. At least some of the latter decline can be attributed to rising transportation costs, as many companies have been cutting back on travel expenditures recently. Given the troubled economic times, merely holding steady in attendance would have to be considered a victory, and an actual increase in foot traffic is a very positive sign. At any rate, Origins’ core consumer base – represented by the four-day passes – seems to be holding steady.

In the same statement, GAMA also announced that attendance at April’s GAMA Trade Show held nearly steady from 2007 to 2008, with only 36 fewer badges being issued at the most recent show as compared to the previous year’s edition (1,348 to 1,312). Among the notable increases were individual retailer staff (424 to 454) and individual attendees (42 to 128).