» Wizards to attend Gen Con Indy 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Wizards to attend Gen Con Indy 2008
The question on everyone’s mind, and making many folks nervous lately – will Wizards of the Coast attend Gen Con 2008 – has been answered, finally, with a resounding “yes”. As gamers and industry members hoped, the details seem to have been sorted out, and Wizards will indeed attend, and be a co-sponsor of, Gen Con’s 41st year this August. The press release (below) mentions that WotC will be “celebrating the newly released D&D 4th Edition by debuting the new Living Forgotten Realms campaign”, as well as enjoying the 20th anniversary of R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt stories. Now the question becomes, once the WotC events are finally posted for prereg (they’re promised later this week), will they fill instantly, or just crash the website entirely? Either way, this is great news for the show that hasn’t had much to smile about for a while. Update: the Gen Con schedule will be updated tomorrow. See the comments below for details. – ed
Gen Con LLC press release follows:
Gen Con Indy 2008 Announces Wizards of the Coast as a Co-Sponsor
The Best Four Days in Gaming Never Looked Better
INDIANAPOLIS (May 19, 2008) – Gen Con is pleased to announce that once again Wizards of the Coast, Inc., will be a co-sponsor of Gen Con Indy. Fans of all ages come to Gen Con each year to see and experience the latest in analog and digital gaming, and Wizards’ participation is a highlight for many fans. This year, Wizards of the Coast will be showing off their latest offerings, including the release of Dungeons & Dragons® 4th Edition.
“We are so pleased to have Wizards of the Coast once again be a sponsor of Gen Con. Its long history with the show, as well as the popularity of its products makes it an integral part of the entire Gen Con experience,†said Adrian Swartout, president of Gen Con.
At Gen Con this year, Wizards of the Coast will be celebrating the newly released D&D® 4th Edition by debuting the new Living Forgotten Realms® campaign as well as 20 years of the Legend of Drizzt™. New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore will be signing sample chapters of The Pirate King, the second book in the Transitions trilogy and sample chapters of The Stowaway, co-authored with his son Geno Salvatore.
Gen Con will be held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis from August 14 through 17. Celebrating its 41st year and going strong, Gen Con is no ordinary convention. Attendees do everything from browsing the aisles of the exhibit hall packed with over 300 booths to taking part in any number of the 5,000 gaming events happening 24 hours a day over the four days. Gaming activities range from interactive game play and computer gaming to big money hobby-related tournaments.
About Events
Events will be viewable in the coming days. Specific details regarding events will sent via email this week.
To Attend Gen Con
Gen Con Indy will be open to the public Thursday, August 14, through Sunday, August 17. Thursday through Saturday the exhibit hall is open 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. 24 hour gaming takes place at the convention center and at area hotels 24 hours a day during the four day event.
Attendees must purchase badges to gain entrance to the show. Badge pre-registration is open and runs through June 28, 2008, noon PST. A four-day badge is $65 with pre-registration, or $75 on site. A one-day badge is $35 with pre-registration, or $45 on site. All pre-registration prices include tax. Children 8 and under are free with an accompanying adult. For more information and to register, call (800) 529-EXPO or visit www.gencon.com.
About Gen Con
Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer fantasy, sci-fi and adventure game convention in North America. Its operations include Gen Con Indy and licensees for European and Asia Pacific Gen Con shows. It was acquired in 2002 by former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast Peter Adkison, who solely owns the company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Gen Con is a consumer and trade experience dedicated to gaming culture and community. For more information visit the website at www.gencon.com
About Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, MAGIC: THE GATHERING®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as Dungeons & Dragons®, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.Wizards.com .
2 Responses to “Wizards to attend Gen Con Indy 2008”
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Troy_Costisick Says: May 21st, 2008 at 5:44 am
Well, this is good news for GenCon and WotC. They wouldn’t have gotten off to a good start with the launch of 4e without GenCon.
Peace,
-Troy
Allan Sugarbaker Says: May 21st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
WotC events will be added to the schedule tomorrow. Be ready, people!
Gen Con press release follows:
Wizards of the Coast’s Events
Wizards of the Coast has submitted over 400 events this year. To give everyone plenty of opportunity to plan your schedule, the full event listing will be online and available to review on Thursday, May 22nd. Registration for these events will open up at Sunday, June 1st at noon (PST). *
It’s a big year for Dungeons & Dragons with the launch of the new 4th edition. At Gen Con, the RPGA will be launching Living Forgotten Realms, a brand-new organized play program in conjunction with the new edition. You can get a taste of the new game by running through a quick Dungeon Delve or you can dive head-first into the new campaign, getting in on the ground floor!
With almost 200 different tournaments and events for Magic the Gathering, you can get your card game fix on as well. Wizards of the Coast is also offering a slew of events for the Star Wars Role Playing Game, D&D Minis, Star Wars Minis, Heroscape, Three Dragon Ante, Dreamblade, Axis & Allies, Inn Fighting and MapleStory.
* Dropping Events to Register for Something New
Remember, you cannot register for a new event if it conflicts with something you have already signed up for. You must drop existing events BEFORE you register for new ones.
To drop an event, send an email to customerservice@gencon.com. Please be very specific in your email request in order to ensure a timely refund. Here is what you need to include: