If you were watching the New York Comic Con sale unfold online yesterday, you may have come away from it with the impression that NYCC is as impossible to get into as San Diego Comic-Con, and that it's pointless to even look in the direction of the Javits Center.
That's not true, but I think the bumps and difficulties of the sale created that idea. Yes, that was a tough sale yesterday. Its overall arc went like this:
- NYCC site crashed minutes before the sale went live.
- NYCC sent out an alternate link on Twitter and other social, which meant the ticket buyers saw and accessed it in waves.
- Many of us who did get into the queue suffered an incredible number of errors and delays. I battled my way through 408s and hangups straight through to the confirmation page. My first queue page tried to convert just a few minutes in, but continually struggled for 2 hours. My 2nd and 4th queues converted at just under 2 hours.
- Tickets began appearing on StubHub minutes into the sale - providing dismal confirmation that in fact some people were indeed buying tickets.
- About two hours into the sale, the chokehold lightened and more people could get in. While VIP sold out quickly, then 3-days, 4-days were still available 1 hour and 45 minutes in, and by 2 hours, all 4 days were available as well.
Conclusion: while not everyone got the badge they wanted, anyone who wanted some kind of badge could get one. Compare that to the roaring clamor for SDCC badges - in which only 1 out of 7 Member IDs that I tracked got any badge at all - and it's clear that San Diego still has to deal with a massive wave of demand compared to NYCC.
So allow me to be tediously repetitive and hold up NYCC as an alternate Con for those of you who get shut out from SDCC. It's in New York, so you're already guaranteed an array of incredible bars, shows, museums and activities. It's not as Hollywood-heavy as SDCC but many of the major players like The Walking Dead will be there. Hotel rooms are easier to get and reasonably priced. It's just an appetizing Con on multiple levels and it should be a top pick for anyone who got shut out of SDCC. Or, for that matter, anyone who just doesn't want to deal with SDCC's madness.
Obviously it's too late to go this year - but I'd still point out that Salt Lake and DragonCon are available, and that it's not too early to make your 2016 plans. Which in general should include alternatives to San Diego. Think about Emerald City if you're a cosplayer or comic book fan. Think very seriously about the new Silicon Valley Comic Con in March. Think about Denver. Just don't take an "SDCC or nothing" attitude, because you will probably in fact wind up with nothing.
To end on a more positive note - additional NYCC tickets will be sold at Special Edition and Midtown Comics.
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