GenCon SoCal after-action report

[JSDiamond]

Meeting Clinton Nixon, John Wick, Jared S. and Alex made the trip worth it.  Talking with, and more importantly listening to, the sincere enthusiasm and genius of these guys was totally enjoyable.  

As for sales, feh.  Clinton nailed it.  But I'll add that sharing a cramped, tiny booth situated across from the audio/video vomit of the Star Wars pavilion would be a challenge for anyone.    

Overall GenCon SoCal 2004 was a pretty good convention.  There weren't tens of thousands of attendees, but the few thousand people who did attend were friendly and open minded.  And attending as an exhibitor reminded me that getting our games out there to more people is less about clever new marketing and waaaayy more about the fun of playing the games.  

I'll be there next year for sure.

[Lxndr]

Being in a cramped booth wasn't really that big an issue, I don't think, although we were kind of spoiled that first day when it looked like Luke Ski might not be showing up and we temporarily co-opted his booth.  Overall, it actually felt less cramped than Indy's booth this year, since while Indy was twice as large in space, it was probably four times as large in people...

On the other hand, being right across from the audio/video vomit of the Star Wars pavilion, yeah, that was quite a challenge.  I swear, my hearing just got worse over the weekend, at least partially a result of that goddamned monitor.  It got to the point where the words coming from the monBy the end of the weekend, even after John Wick turned the volume way down, I still could barely hear what people were saying to me, even if they were also standing IN THE BOOTH.  

That said, we probably could have taken more advantage of being RIGHT NEXT TO an open gaming area (close enough to steal the chairs) on Fri - Sun.  Probably should have put up sign-up sheets and whatnot to run demonstrations of our games after Thursday.  I really think Orbit demos might have helped sell Jeff's game, though by the end of the weekend I was convinced to pick one up m'self.

Again, Fastlane did sell 10 copies altogether, compared to 18 at Indy isn't too bad, all told (especially without a single game, demo or otherwise, run all weekend).  I'd have liked more sales, but Sunday felt even deader than Thursday (conversely, I was exhausted after what Peter called 'manic Saturday').  Unlike Wicked-Dead, I haven't seen any change in online sales either during or after the convention, but then I have less books out overall, and they have a really good synergy going cross-selling within their game set.

I do have to say though, that I was sure that Behemoth 3 would have sold more copies than I did, what with their own space and their D&D-based products having a de facto larger audience than Fastlane.  So seeing Tav's post saying that they sold 10 copies of M&M (is that apiece, Tav, or together?) did kind of take me aback.

Nonetheless, the numbers on SoCal do seem to be placing themselves at least 20% larger than last year's, and that's likely to only grow from there.  Even if things are slow there now, they are getting better, and now the whole "Forge" concept has a foot in on the ground floor of that convention.  I consider my investment well-spent on a personal and pro-indie note, even if it may not have been completely profitable from a pure business standpoint.  And that doesn't even count meeting Jeff, Clinton, John etc., and re-meeting others (which I would have done as a visitor to the convention anyway).

(Oddly, the weirdest personal note for me at the convention, was my telling the publishers of Tunnels and Trolls, "hey, if the guy you think is gonna finance the next printing falls through, call me - I might be able to throw a few grand your way."  At least, I think it's weird.)

[razorwise]

Greets.

Hello there.  

I enjoyed meeting you fellows.  Remember me?  The new company without a booth or product?  (But I did get interviewed by OgreCave whereas I read you guys got overlooked?)

I nabbed a copy of TSOY, but didn't get to grab Run Robot Red or InSpectre.  Finite space and the "crushability factor".  My brother grabbed Necromonopoly, but we haven't had a chance to try it yet (though I do think Cthulhu in a top hat makes for a great T-Shirt!)

I read through as much of TSOY as possible on the plane flight home while smashed up against a window.  Overall impression?  Good stuff.

I was hoping for more people and all that, but getting to discuss biz stuff and all that sort of thing was worthwhile.

Clinton, I think I spoke with the "big-eyed" panel member you're referencing about distribution models at some point.  

Regards,

Sean

Reality Blurs:  A Game Design Studio

[Tav_Behemoth]

Hi Sean,

It was a pleasure meeting you! I checked out the Reality Blurs site - very nice graphic design.

I did get some press at OgreCave, which I've been craving forever. In my case, I believe it was indirectly due to Aldo of Impressions, who represents Behemoth3 to distributors -- one of the main things Aldo does is a magazine called GameBuyer, of which Allan Sugarbaker is the editor; Allan is also one of the guys who does OgreCave.

Note that editorial coverage in GameBuyer is available to anyone who submits stuff to them (I'll post guidelines & deadlines if folks are interested), not just Impressions clients; that I made the decision to go into distribution forewarned with a lot of Forgite advice, and that it's too soon to say whether or not our approach to retail & distribution was worth it; and that I have no reason to believe Aldo is, within the bounds & limitations of his role as a fulfillment house & rep to the three-tier system & its prejudices, anything other than a competent professional.

Further discussion both public & private is welcome, but this might not be the thread for it (we are in Actual Play, aren't we??)

- Tavis