Blizzard: FAIL!

[furtech]

I tried twice to get a ticket to Blizzcon. Twice I failed-- I was in the 3-4K range when they sold out each time. And this is with constant refreshing and clicking through-- less than a second-- to get my spot in line. I think the best I ended up with was 8,400.

Blizzard is a multi-billion dollar company. One would think that a company with those resources could figure out how to sell tickets to a VERY popular event. This is the first year I know of where at least the servers didn't crash when ticket sales opened. I can understand this happening the first year (unexpected)-- but that same thing happened for several more events!

Their solution to make it "easier" is to split the ticket sales into two batches. Their brilliant thinking, I guess, is: TWO CHANCES! Woo!

All that does is give the bots and others two chances to buy tickets. If they had sold it in one batch, I would have gotten my ticket. Instead, I was in the 8k spot in line twice. Yay.

If the Nitwits-in-charge at Blizzard just limited everyone to -one- ticket at -one- sales event, most of the people who really want a ticket would get one.

/endrant

Comments

[okojosan.livejournal.com]

I think the whole thing is a fail. $175 a ticket? REALLY? For a day-and-a-half event (or is it actually two full days)? I guess the tickets sell out because botters grab them up but with a price like that, guaranteed I could never afford to go. They ought to give me a ticket for free considering I've been paying for their game nonstop since 2004. 9_9 Not that I could afford the airfare.

I have other friends who have gone to past Blizzcons who can no longer afford it either.

How much is a membership at Comic Con these days? That's an event that lasts from Wednesday-Sunday, right?

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Yes, but here's the rub: you can sell your swag-bag for usually more than the membership costs. So much so that some people re-sell the membership and the bag separately and make a couple of hundred dollars.

The con is two full days, including a concert. Some concerts have been "eh" while others have featured The Offspring, Ozzy Osbourne and Foo Fighters...the chance that they might find another great band makes attending potentially excellent.

[okojosan.livejournal.com]

Interesting, I thought most "real" fans, if they want the pet, could just pay the $40 for the streaming content and get it that way. Is there really that much swag in the bag?

It really is too bad they can't figure out how to sell the memberships to people who want to attend, as opposed to those who want to profit. As it is, even if I had the money, I won't bother trying to get a ticket through their ridiculous system.

None of those performers interest me in the slightest. :D I'd be going for real game content.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

The two big items in the swag bag are the pet and the beta key, apparently. The rest is worth about $20 bucks.

Even their contests are run pretty sloppily. I was runner up the first and last year I entered. First place got a high-end gaming laptop; second place (me) got a copy of the game. Gee. Thanks.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Looks like Comic Con is about the same price now http://www.comic-con.org/cci/2013-badge-purchase ..though you do get the extra days.... It does sound like the swag bag is less impressive, but overall the more days for attendance may mean slightly better value.
I've been to every CCI since 1985, and not a single BlizzCon.

[bovil.livejournal.com]

They know exactly how to sell tickets. They're also willing to let scarcity ensure they sell out instantly.

They could try to run a bigger event, but you know all about hidden event scaling issues.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Since they say this is purely for the benefit of the fans (Blizzard about breaks even, so they say), you'd think they were focus on making them happy rather than whatever it is they get out of the strategy they're using. The way ticket sales go, I'd be willing to wager that they end up with more unhappy users than happy ones.

[shoka.livejournal.com]

Going to disagree with your gripes... Servers only crashed the one year, they fixed it with the queuing system and unless they melted down this year (when I try to get a ticket), they haven't melted down since. The two batches was supposed to make it easier for folks who couldn't be online for one batch and it has saved my ass when I was someone who had to work through the a batch sale. Likewise, the selling multiple tickets allowed me to go when I got queued high and a friend pulled a low queue number.

And man if it was one ticket per sale, I'd hate to be the spouse or parent with a Blizz playing spouse or kid who just got that one ticket.

On growing the size of the event, most of the con works are actually Blizzard employees. It's been a blast to talk to them and thank them for both their wonderful work over the years on their games and for their dedication to the fan base with the convention.

So what Blizzard game are you playing now? Did the worgen finally pull you into WoW?

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Maybe splitting hairs here. I admit I don't know if it was a server crash or some other gaff, but 2011 was the first year that I know of where there weren't major problem with sales. The ones I remember let you get to final checkout...then either froze or crashed and you had to start all over (by which time it was way to late to get a ticket). Maybe you just live well.

If you can't be bothered to reg on a specific date or get someone to do it for you, tough. I think one sale date, one ticket per person is the most fair. Twice I refreshed at the exact moment sales opened. Twice I clicked through in about a half-second. And twice I was #8,000+.

I can see two ticket options, but four is ridiculous.

I'm all for making it adult-only. (Technically you have to be to own an account.)

I never said it should get bigger.

YMMV but my blog, my rant.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

I was kinda shocked to read that you didn't get in this year!

Back when I hung out in animation circles, I'd get invited (or do the inviting) to go to many such conventions and events, but in furred circles I find people don't do that as much, so I don't even figure I'm going to get into events like Blizz or E3 ...
I thought you had an inside track and would never be excluded from Blizz and it's disappointing to hear you didn't make it in this year... eeeesh!... I wonder if some of these things are just getting too packed, and the powers behind them haven't figured a way to cope with that yet...
SDCC keeps talking about moving since it's outgrown the San Diego center.. and there are plenty of options that could handle it... but for the last 7 or so years they've instead opted to morph their admission policy into this strict narrowly-timed exclusive system, the likes of which has broken frequently, much as it sounds like the Blizz one is doing....

But do these organizations learn from history? Nope.,.. most just choose to make the same mistakes over again, as if there's no way to research and find out what phails and what doesn't.. ;p

In other words.. feh... I agree that it's disappointing that they haven't found a better way yet.. and sorry you didn't make it in this time.. :/ ....

[lironess.livejournal.com]

Crap and I wanted to go to be in the costume contest...

[waynekaa.livejournal.com]

Hrm, the two chances thing wasn't complete fail. I basically hit the same spot both times (glad I tried it that way) and managed to nab tix on the second day. It takes effort for bots and people to try the second day, effort that some people can't give. Queue was about 25% by the time I got in but hahaha after that I didn't look back and went straight on through. But what did slow me down was that they asked me to log into battle.net (again) and put in new information (shuffle shuffle delay delay)