That is funny, Father Bloodlust, as I have been thinking the same thing lately, that this is going to feel a lot more like Origins than like a typical Gen-Con (I mean perhaps more accurately like a 1990s Gen-Con but we will figure out the nuances in September). I make no secret of vastly preferring this convention to Origins precisely because I do not really go to conventions to actually game, but to do all of the other intangible stuff you cannot get anywhere else (having city blocks exclusively full of people who share your interests really cannot be duplicated).
So you might think I would not be excited for this year, but, well, what can I say, I believe even under these circumstances Gen-Con will do a great job making the area feel like Gamer City as always, and even if I end up actually doing some gaming this year for a change I will be overjoyed just to be doing large-groups-of-people-in-public stuff again. The only time I have been around more than a small handful of people at once since March 2020 was when working at the Oregon Convention Center for the COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic, and (though there were some amusing similarities to be found, like a few times I saw graying long-haired nerdy dudes and smiled to myself) that was quite a different convention center experience than the one I am seeking.
That makes me wonder, how big origins will be this year!
No it's gonna feel like GC '97 the last year it was at "The MECCA"
First i have heard of that... Even WITH me getting messages from origins itself..
Haha! Yeah, you get it. I generally get to Sunday having engaged in zero events and still feeling like I did not get the chance to check out all the extracurricular side things going on that interested me.
Though with the Auction not happening I DO think I will probably play a game or two this year, which is also an astounding change of pace!
Related to your other point, Gen-Con really is the only time of year I might join someone quoting Monty Python; the rest of the year I would likely think "O.K., please do not draw any further attention to our shared ability to accurately quote 50-year-old British comedy," but I would probably join an impromptu Viking Spam chorus at Gen-Con.
To be honest, I don't see any point to the Gencon auction anymore. The last auction was terrible. They preset all the prices too high, both at the auction and in the auction store, there was no real reason to attend. If you make everything start at near-retail price point why call it an auction. Most of the stuff either didn't sell and ended up in the store, or sold at the "opening bid" price, there was very little back and forth between competing buyers. Worst Gencon auction ever.
Oh Gothmog, never change
If nothing else, "they" are the individual sellers so it is not like it is the Auction's fault if you do not like the prices people wanted for things. Also there is a spreadsheet available on LiveGameAuctions.com to check your claims; 4,196 out of 4,694 items up for active auction sold (89.4%), and 6,549 out of 9,412 store items sold (70%). Now, picking one, say, five years before that: in 2014, 3,163 out of 3,797 items actively auctioned sold (83.3%), and 5,001 out of 8,224 store items sold (60.1%). 2019 actually had noticeably better sale percentages than 2014.
If I am being polite, perhaps you came to a particularly slow section at a bad time of day? Not sure. I mean I do not remember there being any slow sections, but I am not always there, just usually there.