Over on the WotC site forum, there was some dismal reporting on 4e at Origins.
Apparently, there are only 4 'slots' for 4e at the Con. There's actually more openings for AD&D and 2nd ed. And of course, Pathfinder rules the roost with over 100 slots for PF play.
Now, I'm not a frequent convention attendee, and have never involved myself in the actual 'organization' of a convention... so I don't really understand how events get booked and promoted, etc.
However, I have to assume that corporate sponsorship plays a significant role in determining the 'presence' of a game system at a convention. It's hard to accept that the actual interest in 4e is represented by '4' slots in a con where even 2nd ed has 16.
There has been some suggestion that WotC is actually discouraging Origins from promoting 4e.
What's the consensus? Is that the actual level of market participation in the system? Is it for all intents and purposes a lost cause?
Here are the Original event totals grouped by system. It supports my theory that 3e is very strong and not just Pathfinder. I also combined like items like Pathfinder and Pathfinder Society.
Game / Rules / System Count
Pathfinder Society 204
Shadowrun 76
Call of Cthulhu 65
D&D 3.5e 47
Savage Worlds 32
Star Wars d6 30
7th Sea 23
Arcanis Roleplaying Game 23
Various 20
HackMaster 17
D&D 2e 16
Mutants & Masterminds 16
Universal Horizons (Beta) 16
WitchHunter 16
Cold Steel Wardens: Roleplaying in the Iron Age of Comics 15
Reality A 12
Ubiquity 12
Golden Hour 11
Fate 10
Kobolds Ate My Baby! In Colour!!! 9
Twilight:2000 V.1 Mod 9
Baker Street First Edition 8
Doctor Who AITAS 8
Cortex Plus 7
QAGS 7
Dread 6
Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game 6
Homebrew 6
World of Darkness 6
Dresden Files RPG 5
Icons 5
Ironclaw 5
AD&D 1e 5
Arcanorum 4
Clockwork: Dominion 4
D&D 4e 4
d100 4
Dungeonslayers 4
Fiasco 4
Hero 4
Hero System 4
Hollow Earth Expedition 4
Mongoose Traveller 4
Rotted Capes 4
Serenity 4
Star Wars d20 4
Ubiquity -Holllow Earth Expedition 4
Wushu Open Reloaded 4