Gen Con

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Gen Con logo as of September 2006

Gen Con is the one of the largest and most prominent gaming conventions in North America. It was founded in 1968. Gen Con 2002 brought in about 26,000 attendees; which makes the convention similar in size to E3, Dragon Con and Origins. Gen Con is now held in two US locations, Gen Con Indy in Indianapolis, Indiana and Gen Con SoCal in Anaheim, California. Gen Con UK conventions have also been held in the UK in a variety of cities. Gen Con Paris was held in France in April 2006.

1 History
2 Timeline
3 Noteworthy events
4 Logos
- 4.1 Recent Logos
- 4.2 Past Logos
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Official Sites
- 6.2 Related Sites

[edit] History

Gen Con began in 1967 as an informal gathering of war game enthusiasts at the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin home of Gary Gygax, later termed "Gen Con 0". A year later, Gygax organized the first formal convention at the Lake Geneva Horticultural Hall with roughly 100 attendees.

Gen Con's name is a derivation of "Geneva Convention," given the conventions origins in Lake Geneva. The name also is a play-on-words, as the "Geneva Conventions" are the name of a set of important international treaties regarding war and the earliest Gen Cons had a focus on wargames.

During the following decade the event grew and was hosted at a variety of southern Wisconsin locations, including an American Legion Hall, George Williams College, and the former Lake Geneva Playboy Resort. In 1978 the convention moved to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus in Kenosha, and in 1985 it moved to the Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center & Arena (commonly known as the MECCA) in Milwaukee. Attendance steadily rose from 5,000 paid admissions in 1985 to a peak of 30,000 in 1994, making Gen Con the premier event in the role-playing game industry. Gen Con moved to the Midwest Express Center (MEC, now the Midwest Airlines Center) in 1998 when the MEC replaced the MECCA.

For the first nine years, Gen Con was sponsored by the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association^[1]. Beginning in 1976, Gen Con was managed by TSR, Inc., original publisher of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. In 1997, TSR was bought by Wizards of the Coast, which in turn was purchased by Hasbro in 1999. In May 2002, Gen Con was purchased from Hasbro by Peter Adkison, the founder of Wizards of the Coast. The Midwest U.S. convention moved to Indianapolis in 2003.

Gen Con Indy logo as it appears on the 2006 program book

In 2003 Gen Con in the United States was split into two different conventions: Gen Con Indy (in Indianapolis, Indiana) and Gen Con SoCal (in Anaheim, California). Gen Con Indy is the larger of the two, pulling in approximately 25,000 attendees per year^[2]^[3], on par with the Gen Con conventions in Milwaukee during the 1990s and early 2000s. It takes place in the Indiana Convention Center.

Gen Con SoCal is smaller, with approximately 6,300 attendees in 2005^[4]. Gen Con SoCal is the 3rd largest consumer hobby game convention in North America. It is held in the Anaheim Convention Center. One day badges prices are $30 to $35, while 4 day badges are $55 to $65.

After two unsuccessful years of running Gen Con Europe in the UK, Adkison decided to scale back and focus his efforts on the US shows. In 2004 licenses were issued to groups who would go about creating the franchises Gen Con Barcelona and Gen Con UK.

In early 2006, Gen Con LLC announced that it was going to run a new official Gen Con Europe, to be held in Paris, France. The convention was held on the weekend of April 21-23, and reportedly received 4,000 attendees.

In mid 2006, Gen Con LLC announced plans to provide more show space for video games to allow video game businesses a place to show their products after the downsizing of E3^[5]. Gen Con LLC also runs Star Wars Celebration, the Official Star Wars convention held in banner years of the franchise.

[edit] Timeline

[edit] 1967 - 1977: Lake Geneva

1967

"Gen Con 0" - Informal get-together - approximately 12 people

1968

Gen Con I - First official year of Gen Con - Horticultural Hall, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin - Approximately 100 attendees^[1]

1969-1974

Gen Con II - VII, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

1975

Gen Con VIII, August 23 - 25, 1975, Horticultural Hall, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin^[6]

1976

Gen Con IX, August 20 - 22, 1976, Horticultural Hall, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin^[6] - Approximately 300 attendees^[1]
Gen Con West, September 4 - 6, 1976, McCabe Hall, San Jose, California^[6]

1977

Gen Con X, August 18 - 21, 1977^[6], Playboy Resort, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

[edit] 1978 - 1984: Parkside

1978

Gen Con South, February 9 - 11, 1978, Robert Meyer Hotel, Jacksonville, Florida^[6]^[7]
Gen Con XI, August, 1978, University of Wisconsin-Parkside

1979

Gen Con XII, August 16 - 19, 1979, University of Wisconsin-Parkside^[6]

1980

Gen Con South, February 15 - 17, 1980^[6]
Gen Con XIII, August 21 - 24, 1980^[8], University of Wisconsin-Parkside

1981

Gen Con South, 1981^[6]
Gen Con East I, July 23 - 26, 1981, Cherry Hill Inn, Cherry Hill, New Jersey^[6]
Gen Con XIV, August 13 - 16, 1981, University of Wisconsin-Parkside

1982

Gen Con East II, June 17 - 20, 1982, Widener College, Chester, Pennsylvania^[6]
Gen Con XV, August 19 - 22, 1982^[6], University of Wisconsin-Parkside

1983

Gen Con XVI, University of Wisconsin-Parkside

1984

Gen Con South VIII, March 16 - 18, 1984, Royal d'Iberville Hotel, Biloxi, Mississippi^[6]
Gen Con 17, Aug. 16 - 19, 1984^[9], University of Wisconsin-Parkside - Approximately 3,600 attendees^[1]

[edit] 1985 - 1997: MECCA

1985

Gen Con 18, August 22 - 25, 1985, MECCA (Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center & Arena), Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1986

Gen Con 19, MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Approximately 5,000 attendees^[1]

1987

Gen Con 20, August 20 - 23, 1987, MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1988

Gen Con 21 and Origins join as a single convention this year - MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1989

Gen Con '89, MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1990

Gen Con '90, August 9 - 12, 1990^[10], MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1991

Gen Con '91, August 8 - 11, 1991^[11], MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1992

Gen Con/Origins '92, August 20 - 23, 1992^[12], MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Gen Con's 25th year - Gen Con and Origins again join as a single convention this year
Gen Con UK 1992 - Locations between 1992 and 2002 included Camber Sands, Loughborough, Manchester, and London, England

1993

Gen Con '93, August 19 - 22, 1993^[13], MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gen Con UK 1993

1994

Gen Con '94, August 18 - 21, 1994^[14], MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gen Con UK 1994

1995

Gen Con '95, August 10 - 13, 1995^[15], MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gen Con UK 1995

1996

Gen Con '96, August 8 - 11, 1996^[16], MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gen Con UK 1996, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England

1997

1997 Gen Con Game Fair, August 7 - 10, 1997^[17], MECCA, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
European Gen Con 1997, August 28 - 31, 1997, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, England^[18]

[edit] 1998 - 2002: MEC

1998

1998 Gen Con Game Fair, August 6 - 9, 1998^[19], MEC (Midwest Express Center), Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gen Con UK 1998

1999

1999 Gen Con Game Fair, August 5 - 8, 1999^[20], MEC, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gen Con UK 1999

2000

2000 Gen Con Game Fair, August 10 - 13, 2000^[21], MEC, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Gen Con UK 2000, August 31 - September 3, 2002, Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester, England^[22]

2001

2001 Gen Con Game Fair, August 2 - 5, 2001^[23], MEC, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - More than 25,000 attendees^[1]
Gen Con UK 2001, August 30 - September 2, 2001, Olympia 2, London, England

2002

2002 Gen Con Game Fair, August 8 - 11, 2002^[24], MEC, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Gen Con's last year in Wisconsin - also the 35th year of the convention. Approximately 23,000 attendees.
Gen Con UK 2002, August 29 - September 1, 2002, Olympia 2, London, England^[25]

[edit] 2003 - now: Indianapolis

2003

Gen Con Europe 2003, April 18 - 21, 2003, Olympia 2, London, England
Gen Con Indy 2003, July 24 - 27, 2003, ICC (Indiana Convention Center), Indianapolis, Indiana - Approximately 25,000 attendees^[2]
Gen Con SoCal 2003, December 11 - 14, 2003, ACC (Anaheim Convention Center), Anaheim, California

2004

Gen Con Barcelona, July 1 – 4, 2004, Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain (licensed event)
Gen Con Indy 2004, August 19 - 22, 2004, ICC, Indianapolis, Indiana - Approximately 21,700 attendees^[26]
Gen Con UK 2004, October 14 - 17, 2004, Minehead Butlins, Somerset, England (licensed event)
Gen Con SoCal 2004, December 2 - 5, 2004, ACC, Anaheim, California

2005

Gen Con Indy 2005, August 11 - 14, 2005, ICC, Indianapolis, Indiana - Approximately 25,000 attendees^[3]
Gen Con UK 2005, November 3 - 6, 2005, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England (licensed event)
Gen Con SoCal 2005, November 18 -20, 2005, ACC, Anaheim, California - Approximately 6,300 attendees^[4]

2006

Gen Con Paris, April 21 - 23, 2006, Paris, France - Approximately 4000 visitors^[27]
Gen Con Indy 2006, August 10 - 13, 2006, ICC, Indianapolis, Indiana - At least 21,250 attendees^[28]
Gen Con SoCal 2006, November 16 -19, 2006, ACC, Anaheim, California

2007

Gen Con France 2007, May 25 - 27, 2007, Paris, France
Gen Con Indy 2007, August 16 - 19, 2007, ICC, Indianapolis, Indiana
Gen Con UK 2007, August 30 - September 2, 2007, Reading, Berkshire, England (licensed event) (2006 was cancelled due to siting issues)

2008

Gen Con Australia, July 3 - 6, 2008, BCEC (Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

[edit] Noteworthy events

The only game to be on the event schedule every year since Gen Con I is Fight in the Skies^[29] - run by Mike Carr, the designer of the game.

The D&D Open is a long running series of Dungeons & Dragons games at Gen Con. Game sessions are scored based on the team's progress; those groups scoring the most advance to later rounds. This leads to an emphasis on quickly solving challenges and moving through the modules. The D&D Open is currently run by the RPGA. The open began in 1977^[1].

The gaming group NASCRAG has run Dungeons & Dragons events at Gen Con since 1980. NASCRAG events sometimes donate their ticket fees to charity. The games run tend to be humorous.

The RPGA or Role-Playing Game Association runs large numbers of events at Gen Con. They run so many events that they are given their own category (RPGA) instead of sharing the general RPG category. These days RPGA events are primarily "Living" games where players create characters who persist between events. The RPGA first ran events in 1981^[1].

In 1987 a games library was added from which attendees could borrow games^[1].

MIDI Maze, an early networked first-person shooter video game run by the Milatari Atari computer user group, was a draw to the early video game room of Gen Con. It no longer runs at Gen Con, however it now appears at the Midwest Gaming Classic and Con of the North.

The Klingon Jail and Bail are a group of people who dress as Klingons from Star Trek. For a donation to charity they will "arrest" another convention attendee for a short period of time. The Jail and Bail originally appeared at Gen Con in 1994^[1].

Gen Con has also featured a number of events that raise money for a variety of charities. These include Cardhalla, in which donated cards are used to build a large city. Attendees are then invited to throw coins at the city to destroy it. The coins are collected for charity. Cardhalla was first run in 1999.

The Gen Con EN World RPG Awards (the ENnies) are an annual awards ceremony devoted to roleplaying games. Established in 2001, hosted at Gen Con Indy (since 2002) and are organised and owned by EN World, a D&D/d20 System news website.

True Dungeon is an immersive life-sized dungeon crawl live action role-playing game, run at Gen Con since 2003. It features a challenging series of puzzles and scenarios designed to recreate a D&D environment and session. It emphasizes team work, creative thinking and problem solving, as well as employing a fighting and magic system, and unlike traditional LARPs, it does not require staying in-character throughout the experience.

The Gen Con Costume Contest runs Saturday evening at Gen Con Indy, and features a range of categories such as SciFi, Historical and Fantasy, Talent, and Children's divisions. This event is preceded by a costume parade, in which all costumed attendees are invited to show off their costumes around the convention center. The contest itself generally fills quickly, both for participants and attendees, and features pre-show and intermission entertainment.

Magic: The Gathering made its debut here in 1993, where the entire supply was exhausted within hours.