GaymerX3 returns as GX3: Everyone Games after several companies pledged to sponsor the convention before it launched.
GaymerX organizers announced in April this year that GaymerX2 would be the final one. In a way, they were right; there is no more GaymerX convention. Instead, next year the convention will be called GX3: Everyone Games. Organizers have started a Kickstarter for the 2015 LGBT-inclusive convention open to everyone.
Organizers believed this year’s GaymerX would be the last due to financial problems. The convention was held in a venue that was extremely costly and was too large for the attendance. Organizers admitted that the first year they tried to figure out what to do on the fly, whereas this year they overestimated attendance. For GX3, they feel confident they can hold next year’s convention sustainably. The Kickstarter campaign will cover half of the projected expenses while sponsorships will cover the other half.
Thanks to Devolver Digital’s $3,000 pledge one month ago, other game developers and companies stepped up to also pledge $3,000 in sponsorships toward GaymerX after oversights and miscommunications between NIS America and GaymerX left convention organizers short on money. The two managed to clear up the miscommunications, and NIS America fulfilled its $3,000 pledge for GaymerX2.
GX3 will be held in late 2015 in San Francisco, California, if it gets enough funding. Planned guests include Darren Young, Colleen Macklin, David Gaider, Ellen McLain, Alexis Ohanian, and Zach Weiner. Event organizers addressed their move away from the “gaymer” label in a statement on the Kickstarter campaign.
“We’ve become more and more aware that not all of our attendees identify with the ‘gaymer’ label,” organizers wrote on the Kickstarter campaign page. “And while we love all our gay dude friends, we realize there are more people than that who want an awesome space to hang with their friends in a safe and diverse environment. We want to make sure we represent everyone who feels like they’ve been left out of mainstream gamer culture.”
The crowdfunding campaign ends September 18 and is asking for $80,000 to make up half of the convention’s costs.
Source: GX3 (Kickstarter)
