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This was the experience of many yesterday, trying to get tickets for San Diego Comic Con.
Which was rather different to the official version;
One Bleeding Cooler got their tickets with, as they put it;
3 computers in Rhode Island and one in San Francisco
It does seem that this is the way. People with a network of friends, all trying to get on the site and those that do buying all the tickets they can for everyone.
All the #SDCC hopefuls will look up and shout: “Save us!” … And ticket sales will whisper “no”
— Molly McIsaac (@MollyMcIsaac) February 16, 2013
I may just fly into SDCC last minute, smother a guy, then assume whatever name is on his badge. Seems easier than online registration. — Rob Guillory (@Rob_guillory) February 16, 2013
Through kindness and teamwork from our friends, all three of us now have badges for #SDCC! We’ll see you as many of you as we can there! – L — Girls Reading Comics (@girlsreadcomics) February 16, 2013
Whoever got the EPIC page to load…who did you have to sell your soul to? Crowley? Lemme know. #sdcc #comiccon @comic_con
— Devan (@vivaladevann) February 16, 2013
“@comic_con: All 4-Day badges are now sold out. #SDCC” you broke my nerdy girl heart. You heartless jerks
— Tania Navarrete (@taniaconfetti) February 16, 2013
With Fever, a huge infection, that might turn into pneumonia, but SO FUCKING HAPPY BECAUSE I GOT COMIC CON BADGES! Thanks @comic_con
— Pamela Pena (@Pamelapena) February 16, 2013
Going to San Diego comic con! One happy nerd!
— Daniel Hebert (@DanielHebert7) February 16, 2013
I wrote this letter to @comic_con regarding the debacle that was #SDCC ticket sales twitter.com/yesjrk/status/…
— Jonathan Kalbfeld (@yesjrk) February 16, 2013
Tried to buy my #SDCC tix using a gigabit connection 1ms from a huge internet exchange point & still failed @comic_con
— Jonathan Kalbfeld (@yesjrk) February 16, 2013
@comic_con I got mine !!!!
— ShellyMichele (@ShellyMichele) February 16, 2013
Tell me how it makes sense that I was number 10K and never made it past the waiting room, but a 42K person did?! @comic_con #comiccon2013
— Yoko ☆★☆ (@katanachan) February 16, 2013
@comic_con five us all clicked at 9am. only one got in. even that one got an error message and ended up with success only after a refresh!
— Michelle Ketcham (@michellisk) February 16, 2013
@comic_con each year it gets worse. Definitely need a new system. Time to partner with someone else that doesn’t use .NET technology.
— Michael Turnwall (@mturnwall) February 16, 2013
.@sdzombiewalk Thanks! First time I successfully got tix since 2010. The #SDCC reg system wasn’t broken, just s-l-o-w. cc @comic_con
— Guilty Asteroid(@guiltyx) February 16, 2013
Got 2 tickets for @comic_con, 4 day pass w/ Preview nights for both! YES YES YES!!! First con for myself, will be AMAZING to go to the US.
— Alex(@TUVAlex) February 16, 2013
I guess I’m not going to @comic_con this year. Blank loading page since 9am. Who can I punch? :(
— Jay (@AgentBacardi) February 16, 2013
Even those who managed to get into the queue found technical problems
@comixace Damn, I was there, and I have a number, but the page hasn’t moved since then.
— Ladies Making Comics (@LadiesMaknComix) February 16, 2013
Well, so much for that. Will try again for a press pass next year. Or prostrate myself in front of certain persons… #SDCC
— Ladies Making Comics (@LadiesMaknComix) February 16, 2013
And the name of the company seemed designed to be mocked on Twitter.
Epic waiting room? More like epic failure. GET IT TOGETHER #comiccon. #sdcc
— Rachel Gault (@rachelgault) February 16, 2013
For some the actual show hall is no longer the attraction. Because so much of the event has expanded outwards and many are there for… the people.
I assume we’ll drive down to see everyone at #SDCC this year. I am not attempting to get a badge.
— Janna O’Shea (@dreamyeyed) February 16, 2013
And anyway…
The Comic-Con customer service line is now closed. #SDCC
— San Diego Comic Con (@Comic_Con) February 16, 2013
The current system was set up to counter massive demand over a very short period crashing the system and, for a while, it worked. It really did. But demand has increased even more. Steve Borsch of IConnectDots writes;
ASP.NET is Microsoft’s web application framework and, out of the HUNDREDS of serious developers I know—especially those who have created web apps that can scale to MILLIONS of concurrent users—think that ASP.NET is a joke and would NEVER use it for anything but low-level, minimal use corporate web applications.
The problem that going through a system like Ticketmaster would by its nature increase the price of the tickets by a very significant amoung. That may now be the only option.
The San Diego Convention Center is to be rebuilt bigger than ever before which will help in future years. But it is unlikely to fit everyone who wants a ticket. So, some things to consider.
1) The show is more than the center and the halls now. Yes, it has the best, widest and most diverse comic book programming on the planet, but it’s starting to spread across San Diego from the likes of Tr!ckster, the big studio trucks, the galleries, the launches, the parties, the events… There is so much going on outside the centre that would fill your days wonderfully. If you want to meen the comic book professionals, the hotel bars of the Hyatt, the Omni and more are perfect opportunities, and buying someone a drink is still cheaper than buying yourself a ticket, often for the exact same result. With slightly less queuing. Basically, you can still go to Con. You won’t be able to see the X-Men Days Of Future Past footage first. But you know what? Only 6,000 people who even got tickets will get to see that.
2) There are other shows. NYCC, WonderCon, C2E2, ECCC, even next weekend’s London Super Comic Con have all been stepping up of late to deliver an experience comparable with San Diego Comic Con. Many have more of a focus on comic books. Some of them have less crowds and queues
3) The system clearly failed for many, and was unfair. But it was probably fairly unfair. No one got better access because of who or where they were. The first come, first served system seems to have fallen apart, but a perfectly fair system would have had just as many disappointed people who would probably not have found much solace in that fact that they were two seconds too late to apply.
4) There are other ways. Next year, consider working for your ticket. Bleeding Cool have about thirty people working at San Diego, reporting from the show floor and halls. Lots of other reporting organisations do the same. Vendors need workers, the show needs volunteers, and you’ll find yourself a part of a community you may never have known was there. Because, yes, when it comes down to it, despite the moans and the groans, San Diego Comic Con is the best. It remains the Mecca of the English-speaking comic book world. And, as a comic fan, you have to go at least once…
