Mike Tresca asks what is a turnstyle attendance when he could find no turnstyles at GenCon.
Every field has what cultural anthropologists call a universe of discourse - the jargon and special terms used in that field and few others. One of those fields is attendance statistics - conventions, concerts, sporting events, anything the public pays to attend.
Turnstyles are not required for turnstyle attendance figures, although that is obviously the etymology of the term. Someone pays to get in; when they actually enter the event, they are counted. Come the next day and they are counted again because they clicked the imaginary turnstyle again.
Back when Origins traveled the US, going to a different city each year to give maximum exposure of RPG to the public, they did not use turnstyle figures, but rather registration figures: No matter how many days you sign up and paid for, you are counted once - even if you never showed. That is why I posted sometime in the past that one cannot compare Origins and GenCon attendance figures to determine which is "bigger". It doesn't really matter, since both are performing the same service to gaming, and growing in the process - unfortunately in the same limited geographical area.
Origins may still use this statistical system even though now they are firmly anchored in Ohio, far from where I, and most gamers, can afford to attend. And I submit gaming is suffering because of it. Even once every nine years kept the pump primed. Now only regional conventions can provide this on a reduced basis and many regions don't even have that. Mine is one of them. In the rotation, there was Dallas in 1984 and Fort Worth in l993, and RPG was vigorous around here. It might still be if they had come in 2002 and again this year. I could make it as far as Oklahoma City or even San Antonio, if they held Origins there. Instead, it is all in two adjacent states.
GenCon spun off from Wizards and it is doubtful that anything can be done there, but if GAMA still has any say in Origins, I wish they would hit the road again as soon as their existing venue contract expires. You can't sell games if there are no players, and you don't have a vigorous game market without direct encouragement at the convention level. Game manufacturers (the GaM in GAMA) should realize this.
Paul
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