Gen Con returned to Indianapolis with over 35,000 attendees, recalling in scale and friendliness the years after Gen Con’s first move to Indy in 2003. Attendees were required to wear masks inside Indiana. Convention Center.
INDIANAPOLIS, September 21, 2021 / PRNewswire-PRWeb / – Gen Con, the world’s largest and oldest tabletop gaming convention in North America, returned to Indy this week for the first time since 2019, attracting a unique turnout from over 35,000 game fans to the Indiana Convention Center – around 50% of attendance in 2019 – for four days of games, shopping, cosplay, and great local food and entertainment. The agreement generated an estimate $ 37 million in economic activity for restaurants, hotels and other local businesses in Indianapolis.
The more relaxed atmosphere of the smaller-scale convention reminded many returning attendees of the Gen Con experiences of the late 2000s and early 2010s, shortly after the convention moved to Indianapolis of Milwaukee, WI in 2003.
“Mostly I felt like I was coming home,” said David Hoppe, president of Gen Con. “With all the challenges and uncertainties of the past two years, these four days of celebration and conviviality in Indianapolis reminded us why we’re doing this, and we couldn’t be more grateful to our host city and our Gen Con community for once again sharing The Best Four Days of Play ™ with us in person. “
The convention exhibition hall hosted more than 320 publishers and vendor exhibitors, including more than 90 first-time exhibitors at Gen Con. Publishers released over 200 new games during the convention. Over 6,500 paid events took place over the four days, ranging from board games, card games, role playing, comedy, music, seminars, costume contests, film festival, and more.
“This year’s Gen Con was a huge success for the City of Indianapolis, said the mayor Joe hogsett. “Drawing on valuable experience in organizing major events during the pandemic, the Indiana The convention center and event planners have demonstrated that our downtown can generate tens of millions of dollars in economic activity while protecting the health and safety of attendees and hospitality workers. We are already looking forward to hosting Gen Con next August. “
More than 90% of Gen Con attendees have been vaccinated against COVID-19 according to surveys conducted by organizers. To further increase safety, all participants were required to wear masks inside the Indiana Convention Center, table spacing has been increased and the building has been closed nightly for cleaning and disinfection.
While some of the larger companies normally in the showroom were unable to attend this year, many publishers in attendance reported sales as good or better than in previous years.
“Gen Con 2021 was fantastic! Said Glenn Drover, president of board game publisher Forbidden Games. “The lobby was easier to navigate, everyone was excited to come back and play games, and sales have increased significantly compared to 2019.”
“Having participated and organized events in previous years, being able to exhibit at the show for the first time is a wonderful opportunity for us,” said Chad Elkins, founder of 25th Century Games. “Sure, attendance is lower, but the excitement of being at Gen Con for everyone we spoke to was just as high as in previous years. We had a blast interacting with existing fans of our games and introducing new people to what we have to offer I can’t wait until next year. “
Along with the Gen Con Indy in-person convention, 2,300 additional Gen Con Online games and virtual events were held, as well as 200 Gen Con Pop-Up retail events in game stores across United States and abroad.
In total, nearly 50,000 people attended Gen Con 2021 through Gen Con Indy, Gen Con Online and the Gen Con Pop-Up.
Gen Con will return to Indianapolis August 4-7, 2022.
Photos from Gen Con Indy 2021: https://bit.ly/3lEIYat
About Gen Con
Gen Con is the largest and longest-running annual event dedicated to tabletop gaming culture in North America. The convention, which began in 1968 in Lake Geneva, WI, takes place every summer at Indianapolis, IN. During the convention, attendees buy and demonstrate games from hundreds of exhibiting companies and choose from thousands of paid events representing a wide range of board games, card games, role-playing games, seminars, events. entertainment, etc.
Gen Con logos and branding kit: gencon.com/press/brand-resources
Media contact
Stacia Kirby, Gen Con, 206-478-5841, [email protected]
SOURCE Gen Con
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