According to whom? I feel like a lot of these criticisms boil down to a lack of critical thought wherein you have a valid observation only insofar as you are looking at the issue in an incredibly superficial manner. Let's ignore any attention on the attendees for a moment. Some conventions are about promoting new games. Some are about retro games. Some are about a specific company's games. Others are about a specific genre of gaming. This other convention might encompass all Gaming (i.e. video, card, board, etc.), while another might focus on just board games.
So, when you look at it in that fashion, clearly, not all gaming conventions are created equally. Now, when you consider that there are many different answers to the question "what should this convention be about," does it still surprise you that there can be different answers to the question "who is this convention aimed at?" Because it doesn't strike me as a difficult thing to understand why some might find such an endeavor appealing (i.e. promoting a friendly environment for homosexual gamers) even if I don't think it's an event specifically aimed at me. As per the description, I can still attend if I should desire, but even if I don't feel compelled to, I can be happy for those who are eager to attend such an event.
Mind you, I do understand that some may feel like promotion of one type of attendee may prove detrimental to another resulting in a "what about my group?" response. However, that should be fleeting. Meaning, does anybody honestly think we need a gaming event targeted at straight people? Specifically, what I'm asking is does anybody really want such an event to occur aside from wanting to make a disingenuous rhetorical point?
But back to the question of "why is sexuality a factor at all?" Well, it doesn't inherently need to be. However, there are clearly people in the community that think this kind of convention is important. And I'm not sure why I should doubt their sincerity or concerns.
