a90skid.com
  • Shop
  • Reviews
  • Shop
  • Reviews
0
A 90s Kid
  • Shop
  • Reviews

Gen Con, one of the largest and longest running gaming conventions in the world, turned 50 last week. This was the first year that the show completely sold out so it’s unsurprising that it was the biggest turnout since they began in 1968 at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with a record turn-out of 207,979 attendees.

“Our team is thrilled to continue setting new records,” said Adrian Swartout, Gen Con CEO. “We made a decision early in planning GenCon 50 to optimize the attendee experience while still continuing to grow the convention to new attendance levels,” “By adding the field level of Lucas Oil Stadium, improving space planning, and carefully restructuring attendance thresholds by badge type, we realized record gains, while maintaining a world-class experience for attendees.”

The convention used Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, featuring a concert from Grammy award winning rock band, They Might Be Giants, which set another record as Gen Con’s largest ever single event with more than 5,500 tickets sold. The expansion into this new, additional venue allowed them to increase the size of their 24-hour games library, additional event space, and a special museum exhibition that highlighted 50 years of gaming history and artifacts.

“Gen Con 50 was an epic experience for its attendees and for the city of Indianapolis,” said Leonard Hoops, president and CEO of Visit Indy, “It’s been wonderful to be part of Gen Con’s growth over the past 15 years here into a $73 million event for Central Indiana. We look forward to hosting it for many years to come. Congratulations to Adrian Swartout, David Hoppe, Peter Adkison, and everyone on the Gen Con team for a fantastic golden anniversary celebration.”

https://twitter.com/JediManda/status/899053373563043841

The highlight of the costume concert was easily convention goer Kendalyn Johnson as Han Solo riding a tauntaun. Kendalyn and her mother, Lisa Hutchinson, spent almost a year creating the very impressive constume in which Johnson, as Solo, appears to ride the tauntaun by walking on stilts and having fake legs connected to the outside of the animal.

Costume contest at Gencon 50. #brokenadventurer #gencon50 #gencon #cosplayer #cosplay #bestfourdaysingaming

A post shared by James Forest (@broken_adventurer) on Aug 21, 2017 at 8:23am PDT

Weddings were a surprising but adorable theme this year. Not only did one couple get engaged at the event but gaming fans Tim and Frieden Johnson actually got married on site at Lucas Field Oil Stadium on Thursday, the first day of Gen Con. The pair have actually been married for two years but never had a ceremony because in Frieden’s own words, she was “super knocked up” at the time of the actual wedding.

This year’s convention featured approximately 500 exhibitors, over 19,000 ticketed events, and more than $26,000 raised for local charity partner Child Advocates.

“Child Advocates was so excited to be the official charity partner of Gen Con 50,” said Cynthia K. Booth, Executive Director of Child Advocates, Inc. “Our excitement gave way to true appreciation as we realized how Gen Con attendees took our mission to heart: a safe and permanent home for our children. Many children’s lives will be forever changed by Gen Con’s generosity.”

Were you lucky enough to attend Gen Con 50? Let us know your favorite moments from the event!

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • convention
  • cosplay
  • gaming expo
  • Gen Con
Naomi

Naomi has been a gamer since high school, when she discovered (and fell in love with) X-Wing on her best friend's Nintendo 64. Her favorite games at the moment are Undertale and the original Five Nights at Freddy's, even if the second one is arguably better.

You May Also Like
gaming esports
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Industry
  • Opinion

How competitiveness drives gamers to be better

  • A9K Staff
  • January 27, 2023
gaming setup streaming
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Industry

Gaming gadgets make a difference for some

  • A9K Staff
  • January 27, 2023
video games VR
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Industry
  • Opinion

How gamers benefit in various ways from playing video games

  • A9K Staff
  • January 27, 2023
Video Games Esports
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Industry

Nothing Screams Interactive Distraction Like Video Games

  • A9K Staff
  • January 27, 2023
Video Games
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Industry
  • Opinion

Why Finding the Right Video Games To Play Is Not Difficult

  • A9K Staff
  • January 27, 2023
Video games
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Industry

Is the way video games are played changing?

  • A9K Staff
  • January 27, 2023
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Hardware
  • Industry

5 Ways to Fix Video Game Glitches

  • Lachlan Cosgrove
  • January 26, 2023
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Gamedev
  • Hardware
  • Industry

How does RNG work? 

  • A9K Staff
  • January 20, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

A90KID.COM

VIDEO GAMES COMMUNITY & ENTERTAINMENT

A 90s Kid is an active website and media channel, dedicated to providing you information and entertainment related to the video games industry

Navigation
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund and Returns Policy
Recent Articles
  • SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake Review – Back to Bikini Bottom January 31, 2023
  • How competitiveness drives gamers to be better January 27, 2023
  • Gaming gadgets make a difference for some January 27, 2023
  • How gamers benefit in various ways from playing video games January 27, 2023
  • Nothing Screams Interactive Distraction Like Video Games January 27, 2023
A 90s Kid
© 2022

Input your search keywords and press Enter.