Angry Nerds I

By Tony B Kim


Apple introduces a new App for the iPhone…. Angry Nerds

Today was the third attempt for Comic Con to sell tickets to the hordes of anxiously awaiting nerds (like myself). Because of the massive online traffic, the first two dates in November blew up the system faster than a torpedo down the exhaust port of the Death Star. The online frustration has been mounting. The legion of fans have been skulking outside the virtual doors of Comic Con like a Walking Dead zombie. Today was a test run of 1000 tickets to see if the new two-part system could handle the onslaught of fans. At 8:05 this morning, the early reports of ticket sales were not good. Twitter was a buzz with #fail hashtags claiming that tickets sold out in the first minute. A few had claimed success in attaining the coveted 2011 passes. A lucky few celebrated like they won the Willy Wonka Golden ticket. It appeared that by 8:30 few more successful transactions occurred. As the morning progresses, more confirmations are trickling in on Twitter. By 9:00 the Comic Con website posted:

“Thank you for your participation. The test is now completed and we are analyzing results“

Does anyone else here feel like a lab rat? I feel like Pavlov’s Dog salivating when the bell rings. I suppose if the test was ‘successful’ then more tickets will go on sale soon. Regardless if it worked, a MAJORITY fans online were not happy with the results. Many had to once again make special arrangements for a third time sacrificing work, school, or other commitments. Many felt they were being ‘strung along’ in this whole process. Comic Con, the test may have been successful but it also fanned the flames of ‘Angry Nerds’ all over the world. I’m not sure what can be done at this point to rectify the situation besides lowering the cost of tickets by 10-20% to make up for lost time and energy. Money speaks louder than words. My guess is that by the end of the day, all 1000 tickets will have sucessfully been sold. A win for Comic Con but a loss for the bulk of fans.

To my fellow nerds,
When we finally get to Comic Con 2011, there will be one huge 130,000 massive hug of relief saying ‘we made it!’. I know this year has been a hard and all of our patience have been pushed to the limit. But the 4 days in July in San Diego will make it all worth it. Stand strong my brother and sisters.

Let me know what your thoughts are to make this a better experience. Thanks!

11 thoughts on “Angry Nerds I”

  1. again your posting has made the failure of the day a little lighter to bear. they said third time’s the charm — i am afraid in this it wasn’t true. oh well, next time! … or the time after that 😀

    i will keep the faith and i am sure, come july, we will all be standing in the mecca of nerd-ism, laughing… unless i don’t get tickets, then i will be sulking in a hotel room thousands of miles from my home, drowning my sorrows in the mini bar. :/

  2. I’m so over the back and forth with comic-con this year. I am planning to purchase 2012 tix at the con (if i ever get there!) but i find it shitty that once i’m at the con and forced to stand on line for Hall H, ballroom 20, etc. i’ll have to waits my con time on yet another line to buy tix for the following year. How about offer on the spot re-registration when you check-in so as to stream line the process?

    • I think that is a great idea. Maybe it makes too much sense. They could also have mobile kiosks with iPads walking the lines of Hall H while people are waiting in line. However, the downside is that they would probably sell out of the majority of tickets at Comic Con. Hopefully with the new expansions of the convention center, they will be able to sell more tickets. Its crazy.

      Thanks for visiting and commenting! Hope to meet you there!

  3. When you only release 1,000 tickets, of course the majority are going to be upset/pissed/annoyed. There are 100,000 people trying to go to this thing (probably more) and double that probably trying to get onto the server.

    I think if you took off work or put anything else to the side for today, a test run, you’re the one who made the error. They said only 1,000 would be going up during the test, many of us shouldn’t be THAT surprised that we didn’t make it through.

    I’m just hoping that this worked well enough that soon they’ll release the rest of the tickets.

    • Yes but the fans are getting pretty desperate. Asking any fan base to now try a fourth time is pretty lame. Ultimately, your happiness and frustration is in your own hands but SDCC is not making it any easier. The worst part is that they are not really communicating except saying ‘we are working on the problem’. Fans just want to know that they are being cared for and not getting yanked around by the system. It will just be nice when we are all there (if that ever happens). Thanks for revisiting and always commenting!

  4. I forgot about it this morning. I tried the past two times and got nothing done. I hope they can get their act together soon. This is horse crap! I should have purchased tickets at the con this year.

    • Oh man, that is a bummer. The last SDCC was the first time i bought mine there and I am now glad I did. Yea to ask for people to try and buy four times is pretty ridiculous. I think the process worked this time, although still confusing, so more tickets will go on sale soon. Hang in there and hope to meet you in SD next year.

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