I'm hearing WotC is not going to Gen Con but will be attending GaryCon. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/news/where-you-can-find-dd-team-2016 Anyone know anything about this???
They have elected to attend multiple smaller conventions rather than just one big one this year. Baldman Games is going to run games for WotC at Gen Con.
While we may not like WotC, they are selecting Gary Con as one of the few cons to promote 5e. I don't think they are doing something like this at GenCon (think on that for a bit). That isn't a bad thing. They are the ones that are in control (well Hasbro is, but...pedantry) and having them take an interest in a con that has a decent old school component to it isn't a bad thing. I get the edition wars (sort of), but I'm not forced to play anything but what I like. Treating them like The Other won't make them inclined to do good things like release reprints of products we like (even though they could and should have been done better), release products in pdf format, and take an interest in things like Greyhawk, and generally promote D&D. Loathe them all you like, but they are the folks that can do a lot to promote a form of the game we love.
I suspect their reasoning is 1 or more of the following: GenCon has gotten too enormous and the interests of the attendees too diverse for even D&D to make that much of a splash. Getting significant space at GenCon has gotten more expensive than its value. They've concluded: Every time you make a new edition, some people stay behind and some people get into the new one. Your new edition is going to be selling to a steadily dwindling fraction of the overall D&D market, unless you can convince more players to get interested in participating with the newest version. (If you grill Mike Mearls properly, maybe he'll dish. )
Speak for yourselves with your dislike of WotC. I have no problem with them and will be delighted to see Mike Mearls and the team at a convention where I might actually get a chance to talk to them for more than two minutes.
Sometime during the 4e period, they chose to make all of their big announcements and have their biggest con presence at Winter Fantasy. As a result, they've had a diminished gencon presence for years, compared to the 3e days (I never attended gencon until it came to Indy, but I imagine it was a lot more back in the day, when they owned the con). Google for speculation as to why they went this route, but my guess is, like most things, it came down to an economic/bang-for-the-buck decision, and nothing more.
The decent old school component of GaryCon is the primary attraction for me to attend. If WotC were truly interested in GaryCon and its old school component, it would have participated in any of the previous seven years with reprints of, and encouragement for, Gary's version of the game. WotC having a presence at GaryCon VIII isn't about taking an interest in the con itself but rather about finding another venue to promote its newest edition rpg and there are certainly more appropriate venues for doing so.
I'm nonplussed about wotc, they stuff is not my cup or tea and there seems to be plenty at Garycon to keep me occupied.
I'm not speaking as a staff member here but as a fan... WotC is not a monolithic entity. The reasons people may have to loathe them are the results of individual people's actions that happened in the past. The current incarnation of the WotC staff and their brand team that is coming to Gary Con this year are good people and have a genuine respect for Gary's legacy, and a true desire to see it live on. I think it'd be silly not to embrace that.
Let's try to put a cap on the One-True-Way Old School Elitism. It is really off-putting. Please don't ascribe motives to Wizards of the Coast for which you have no evidence. They're gamers just like us and have every right to attend any convention they want. If you don't want to participate in their events, then don't sign up for them.
Third-ed. It's fine to like or not like certain games, companies and such, but I think we have a stronger community by being inclusive not exclusive. If someone does not care for a product, move on quietly and with grace.
Using blatantly aggressive, pejorative phrases like "One-True-Way Old School Elitism" doesn't lend a lot of credibility to your "live and let live" sentiment, with which I would not necessarily disagree. Comes across just as bad. Just an FYI.
I think what JediSoth meant to say, (I'm not speaking for him), was that if you don't care for a particular game system, that's fine, just move on to the next post.
I don't disagree with Live and Let Live advice, but it feels insincere and caustic when paired with an insult. Anyway, let's all move on and focus on the good times just ahead. Gary Con is a great thing and I think there's room enough for everyone. I'm pumped!