So we had wanted to attend Gencon this year, it would have been our first, but when I checked into buying a "badge" (which is like a ticket for the con but called a badge) I found that it would cost us $103 for one-day badges.
(disclaimer: I'm sure Gencon is worth every penny, is an absolute blast and if it's your hobby/pastime/passion then the cost isn't important or isn't an issue)
To us $103 is...
...about two weeks worth of food.
...almost two months of our electric bill.
...allmost two months of our gas bill.
We decided that Gencon wasn't worth as much as any of those. Did this pain us, yes, we talk about missing it literally every other day.
I got to wondering, how much money does Gencon take in? Our badges would have been $50 each plus tax but you can "pre-register" and get the badges for $40 (for one day). There's also multi-day badges at $70 pre-registered (otherwise $80). Let's just say everyone who attended bought a pre-registered $40 badge and lets use the attendance numbers from last year, 36,733. That's 1,469,320 dollars. One million, four-hundred sixty-nine thousand, three-hundred and twenty dollars.
I wonder how much it costs to rent out the space for Gencon?
Today I received an email from Lisa Stevens, CEO of Paizo and yes a blanket email, regarding the Bones Kickstarter which some of you are probably aware of. The email had this line, "There are only three days left to back this Kickstarter, so don't hesitate. This will be the last time that I send you a friendly reminder, one gamer to another." Oh my god, the last time I get a friendly reminder from a fellow gamer! Do I qualify for the Flex-Pay option? Here's my credit card number!
Okay, the Bones Kickstarter is awesome, really, I'm not knocking it.
But, the Bones Kickstarter originally had a goal of 30k, they are currrently at 1,764,905. One-million, seven-hundred sixty-four thousand, nine-hundred and five dollars.
Look at these numbers! Gencon - $1,469,320 and the Bones Kickstarter $1,764,923! (yeah, the Bones Kickstarter just added another $18 while I was typing this).
Think of the things that this kind of money could go to; cancer research, poverty, schools, ... not over a million and a half dollars worth of plastic figures.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't think spending my or your own money on things we enjoy is badwrongfun. I was just staggered by the sheer numbers and the money generated.
Are you?
Still staggered but hoping to contribute to Gencons numbers next year.
One thing I like seeing at Kickstarter (now that I've ventured beyond the RPG Kickstarters zone): There are quite a few Kickstarters at the grass roots level for individuals suffering from cancer and other illnesses and accidents that raise a lot of money, mostly from strangers. Kickstarter really is a powerful tool on many different levels.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware that Kickstarter was being used in those ways. That's really good to hear. Thank you.
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