Amuk said:

I can't say anything that hasn't been said, but man, that sucks! I can't believe FFG didn't think about that. It's not like reserving copies hasn't been discussed on the FFG forums. People were talking about it on the X-Wing forums since they announced the tournaments at GenCon. It should have been very easy for them to save those copies for those who paid to play in the tournament.

"It was badly done, FFG. Badly done indeed!"
--adapted from "Emma", by Jane Austen

Assuming that individual sets are not reserved for those who registered for the tournie, if I bought a plane ticket to go to gen con, took days off work to play in the tournament, and didn't get a core set because some people bought multiple copies, and therefore wasn't able to play in the tournie,  I would be very "not happy".

I kinda doubt they wouldn't have reserved copies for tournament entries. Can someone confirm?

http://yfrog.com/oexixtaj

Bungo_Underhill said:

Well, that's something, I guess.  Still, there's a lot to be said for getting the cards ahead of time so you can actually practice the game a little before the event.  It's good to see that FFG has everyone's bases covered for participation, but the whole thing could have been handled so much better.  When they inevitably do something like this again, hopefully they'll have learned a lesson on inventory control.

Christian T. Petersen has a word on the sell-out:

Hi All,

Chris from Gen Con here. I wanted to pipe in and give you all some concrete information and facts.

- FFG expedited pallets of the game from LA to arrive at the show. The primary shipment is enroute to FFG still.
- We brought more copies of this game than any game we've ever brought to Gen Con (except for X-Wing, which we have here at the same show).
- We did not, mistakenly, place a limit on these. It should be said that FFG has never (in our recollection) placed limits on Gen Con sales.
- Rumors of hoarding are greatly overstated. A few people bought 6-8 copies (about 5 people is my information). Most of the people buying 3-4 copies were simply doing so for a friend in order for the friend to avoid the huge line. There was NOT a 25-copy sale.
- Half the copies were sold from 9am to 10am when the "VIG" gamers are let into the hall. Per Gen Con rules, we have to be open for business for this crowd (who pay for this priviledge). So, in fact, the game sold out on 70 minutes, not 10.
- We are overnighting loaner copies, so that anyone who registered for the Icebreaker tournament (and was unable to buy a game) will have game materials.
- We are looking at options to get more copies driven in from afar (but we cannot promise that we'll be successful).

We are, of course, very sorry for the gamers whom wanted a copy, and came early, and that did not get copies. Fortunately the game will be broadly available in 4 weeks or so.

This does not imply that we did not make a mistake here, but I think the facts should assist in curbing the speculation.

Best Wishes,

Christian T Petersen
CEO
FFG

Boardgamegeek.com
http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/842745/sold-out-in-10-min/page/5
Subject: Sold out in 10 mins / Android: Netrunner

Good on ya, Christian… See, prompt and classy. No worries.

Oooo, and we have a "leaked" release data! muhaha.

I see that for the Icebreaker Tournament that they will loan a set for those who missed out.. Wouldn't that mean those who did manage to buy multiple sets would have a card advantage over those with, presumably, the single loan set?

I honestly don't get FFG's intention with the no limit trading at Gen-Con. Surely the prupose of selling at a con is to maximise your exposure in preparation for the official release. If the game can be played with one set, then why not limit the sets to one per customer? Those who do want multiple sets could simply wait- they would have at least had the benefit of owning a copy of the game before release date. Only if they weren't shifting games could they relax the rule, but honestly, how could they not predict this would sell out?

Treguard said:

Maybe, but they won't have the all-important spite advantage.

We'll take those lemons and grind the juice into their eyes.

An FFG guy here at their booth did just confirm they'd have cards for tourney players, as stated above. And was *much* more customer friendly than the one we talked to yesterday. So, in fairness, I should credit them with a reasonable follow up to yesterday's not so stellar performance. 

I'll take them at their word that the 25 box purchase was a BGG exaggeration. And I am glad I won't have to return my tourney ticket at a loss. 

Will it be assumed that all tournament players know the rules and won't have issues with them when it comes time to start the tournament?  I know the rules are online, but for those who have never played the game, there could be quite a bit of hand holding, no?

I wonder if anyone who has never played this(the older game) has signed up for the tournament?

Treguard said:

There's hardly anything I'd want more copies of in my deck.

I'm very happy that I was able to snag a copy but I did take issue with the handling of selling copies right after the doors opened.

Right at 10 am, when the doors to the floor were opened people swarmed the FFG booth and grabbed copies while others were yelling at people to get in line. It was utter chaos. I was angry because I had stood at the doors for about an hour waiting to get a chance at Netrunner. When I got in I got in line while some people around me had copies. A friend of mine had scouted out the copies and noticed that at the location they were people were told to stand in line. Where I was, further back, I was told to grab a copy and get back in line. Had I left the line I would have lost my spot.

I would like to see a little more organization for launches like this in the future. They should have not allowed anyone to just run up and grab a copy as this led to and will lead to more confusion and chaos. We should have been told to forma line immediately and handed copies as we passed by to pay. Hopefully this will help keep things a little more calm in the future.

I was pleased to get a copy as well but it was a mad house in there.  With the number of people wanting a copy and the number of copies available, I don't know if there was a good way to handle it.  My only suggestion would be to have event tickets cost $X+Y at future events like this, where X is the cost of the ticket and Y is the cost of the cards/materials needed to participate.  Then you set aside what you need for the tournament and sell the rest from day one of the 'Con.