Gen Con 2011 brought in 36,733 attendees, which makes the convention similar in size to Dragon Con and FanExpo's Game Expo, larger than Origins (14,000+), and smaller than E3 (40,000+).
Gen Con became the property of TSR, Inc., the gaming company co-founded by Gygax in 1976. In 1997 TSR (and its owned property Gen Con) were acquired by Wizards of the Coast, which was subsequently acquired by Hasbro. Hasbro then sold Gen Con to the founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, in 2002. One year later, the convention relocated to its current home in Indianapolis, Indiana (although that had been planned prior to Adkison's purchase).
Gen Con experienced a short time under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, due to a lawsuit brought against them by Lucasfilm on February 15, 2008, but finally emerged from bankruptcy protection approximately one year later, without missing any of its annual occurrences.
Gen Con began in 1967 as an informal gathering of wargaming enthusiasts at the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, home of Gary Gygax, later termed "Gen Con 0". In 1968, Gygax rented Lake Geneva's vine-covered Horticultural Hall for $50 to hold the first formal Lake Geneva Convention, also known as the Gen Con gaming convention for short, with roughly 100 attendees. The International Federation of Wargamers, which Gygax had also co-founded, sponsored the first Gen Con. Gygax met Rob Kuntz and Dave Arneson in August 1969 at the second Gen Con. The main events at this time were board games, and miniature wargames.
Gen Con's name is a derivation of "Geneva Convention," given the convention's origins in Lake Geneva. The name is also 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. For the first nine years, Gen Con was sponsored by the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association.
Beginning in 1976, Gen Con was managed and hosted by TSR, Inc., original publisher of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Gen Con West was held in California for two years only, in 1976 and 1977.
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. An annual Gen Con South was held from 1978 to 1984, in Jacksonville, Florida. Gen Con East I was held in 1981 at Cherry Hill Inn, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Gen Con East II was held in 1982 at Widener College, in Chester, Pennsylvania. Gen Con moved again to the Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center & Arena (commonly known as the MECCA) in Milwaukee in 1985, due to the need for more space. Attendance steadily rose from 5,000 paid admissions in 1985 to a peak of 30,000 in 1995, making Gen Con the premier event in the role-playing game industry. In 1992, Gen Con broke all previous attendance records for any U.S. gaming convention, with more than 18,000 people in attendance. Gen Con briefly joined forces with its major competitor, Origins, and the two were run as a single convention for 1988. Wizards of the Coast debuted Magic: The Gathering at Gen Con in August 1993; the game proved extremely popular selling out of its supply of 2.5 million cards, which had been scheduled to last until the end of the year. The ensuing collectible card game craze has been credited with generating the extra attendance that produced the 1995 record.
Gen Con became the property of TSR, Inc., the gaming company co-founded by Gygax in 1976. In 1997 TSR (and its owned property Gen Con) were acquired by Wizards of the Coast, which was subsequently acquired by Hasbro. Hasbro then sold Gen Con to the founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, in 2002. One year later, the convention relocated to its current home in Indianapolis, Indiana (although that had been planned prior to Adkison's purchase).
Gen Con experienced a short time under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, due to a lawsuit brought against them by Lucasfilm on February 15, 2008, but finally emerged from bankruptcy protection approximately one year later, without missing any of its annual occurrences.
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Beginning in 1976, Gen Con was managed and hosted by TSR, Inc., original publisher of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Gen Con West was held in California for two years only, in 1976 and 1977.
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