[Rant]ish Should Gencon Break up?

I realize it is a Monday and that you are all excited but this has been on my mind all weekend.

I have been thinking about Gencon recently as a number of people have mentioned to me that they did not plan to attend because it became too big. Now being a first timer in 2013, Gencon was always "that big" to me.

Probing deeper into their motivations a few trends quickly became apparent.

First it had become so big that to merely go from one site to the other required some quick travel (I'm not talking about people located in the same room like 5e or PFS. Having tried to go from NeoExodus to Legends of the Five Rings on a last minute decision sucked. So I can see their point.

Next people don't have time to talk or meet as they fill their schedule with a large number of events. Well, dear attendee, *You* filled *your* schedule. No one forced you.

Another one was the hotel situation. It has gotten so bad with everything disappearing in under an hour. This year was even worse. With rooms going for the price of presidential suites. That is a big big minus. If the con is to grow it needs to have a way for people to attend.

But perhaps what made me think about this the most. "I can go to Gencon and play the same adventures OR I can attend four to five regional cons. Why would I go?"

Dear readers I could not find a flaw in that logic. It was flawless. True. I spent more for Gencon then I would've at five smaller local cons.

So I had to ask myself: Is Gencon too big? Should it break off into a few smaller pieces? Years ago they had a GenCon SoCal which folded after a few years. I'm not privy to the internal workings or the exact numbers as it folded the year I planned to attend. I wonder if it might be worth looking into a "second Gencon"? A eastern/central/western might be options. I may be partial but having something in Denver or Las Vegas or Salt Lake City might work too.

Then comes the 'when' question. Early November? March? I don't know. But I think either might work.

Perhaps making Gencon smaller by moving traffic to other venues might keep it fresh. Plus it would allow for more play opportunities overall. I started this post seriously trying to come up with a proposed solution, but I find myself in a situation where I'm not really sure about the choices one way or the other.

I don't think it can maintain the level of growth it has seen these past few years and I'd rather see it break up as it grows rather than as it shrinks.

I remain unconvinced on both sides of the equation...

JP