PAX Prime will be held on Labor Day weekend of this year as always. More than likely this means that Blythe88 and I will once again be attending. I am posting this so that others, if they wish to meet up, can start to plan for this. Let me know by posting here. For more information, go here: PAX Prime

BUMP
Also, it is confirmed, Blythe and I will once again be attending this fun-filled weekend. We should hookup, meet up and spend the day playing some games. What say you all?

I've been going to Prime for years, I think I'm going to sign up to Enforce this year as I already know a bunch of them but I'd love to bump into you and say 'Hi' if it's in the cards.

Heck YES! We can make it in the cards.

That sounds totally radical.

Well, PAX Prime can go one without me. The disorganized way that Penny Arcade has run their pass system, which I have hated, completely fell apart this year and they can do without my monies this year. I will NOT be going. I wanted to get a 3-day pass, but, for whatever reason, they started selling passes on 25 April and they started the sale at ~1400 hours...then the system broke after about 1/2 of the 3-days being sold. This all happened while I was at work. So, by the time I logged in to check if passes were being sold yet, they system was broke and no sales were happening. They stated they would be going back to their old vendor they used last year to get the rest sold soon.

Well, Yesterday, again without any advanced notice, they started the sale of passes at ~1415 and sold out by 1720...I didn't get home until 1740. I work in a Govt Location where I cannot carry a Smartphone nor do I have access to game related websites. SO, I only found out about the sale when I found out that they were all sold out of 3 days. Needless to say I got a little bit irritated. Let's say had I been Gamma Irradiated I would been over at the Penny Arcade Headquarters SMASHING THE ENTIRE AREA INTO DUST. What a EFFIN STUPID TIME TO START SALES OF A SHOW IN THE HOST AREA WHEN MOST OF US WORKING STIFFS DON'T HAVE A SHOT AT BEING ABLE TO PURCHASE A 3-DAY PASS! Your show is in Seattle, yet you start sales of your tickets to benefit East Coasters? Who the flying f*** thought that was a good idea?

THIS kind of disorganization and just plain head firmly jammed up the rectum stupidity just drives me nuts. Who ever was responsible for this fiasco DESERVES to be kicked, aggressively and repeatedly between their uprights for this shite decision. I cannot even fathom the thought process. I know...let's start the sales on a Tuesday, at 1400 or so, when everyone in the host area is STILL AT WORK! YEAH! That's the ticket!

As such, I refused to buy 2 single days like I did last year and due to this blatant stupidity, I have decided they do NOT need my money this year. Next year, I will offer my services on how to organize and hold a sale in a manner where the host area gets an equal shot at getting tickets...also, lastly, according to their own forums, another bit of insanity on their part. PAX has grown by double each year it has been held. Each year they have had to rent out more and more space in the Seattle area. Yet, for some dumbass reason, they decided to sell the EXACT same amount of 3 Day passes that they sold last year. Yet another Brain escaping decision made by someone with a complete lack of said organ.

I can tell you this much:

The WSTCC where PAX is held is at capacity with the event. They *cant* add anymore passes. There's nowhere else in Seattle to move it to as WSTCC has the most space (unless they went outside, which is a ridiculous notion). So, doesn't matter how many people *WANT* to go, the amount of people can't change.

Roughly 2 years ago, there was mention that they had outgrown the area they were using...and talked about moving to a larger location, Bellevue and Redmond were both mentioned. Unless they reorganize and give the host area a fair shot, and seriously, starting a sale of tickets to a VERY POPULAR show in an area at 1400 when most people in the area might be at work is the epitome of an airheaded decision.

The passes should have gone on sale at 1800 at the earliest. For Flying Spaghetti Monster's sake, this show is being held in the NW, thrown by 2 idiots from the NW, and you start sales for tickets without any forewarning at a time that benefits students, those who are out of work, kids, and people on the East Coast. I cannot fathom how ANYONE would consider this a good deal...

There's nowhere in Bellevue or Redmond that could handle that kind of volume.

While I don't disagree with you on *when* tickets should have gone on sale, I truly do not think they expect to sell out within a few *hours*. Maybe I'm being naive, but I'd like to think that they were assuming there'd be an influx suddenly and that it would slowly taper off. A few days? Sure, but not within a few hours, even WITH the first day pseudo-registration that failed humongous.

I see your points, I just don't think that anybody expected this to blow up the way it did.

I sympathize, but I don't agree that ticket sales should have started at 1800. While looking at it from an angry consumer standpoint, and selling to the working folks should also be prioritzed, from a working business standpoint, it makes little sense to start something late in the day. The reason is the same for you actually: they are at work during the day. They need people on staff to handle all the issues that arise, and of course, keep the system running smoothly as ticket sales flood in.

What they should do (if they didn't) is to make an announcement days prior to the sale, when it will happen. Regardless of when, and this might be at 1400 or it might be at 0800, as long as they gave notice, I think this is fair. It gives you time to prepare, and even if you aren't around at any of those times (not just you, but others too), you can plan for someone else to buy for you, etc. I think notice is really all they needed.

Feel free to vent, but I cannot take your insults to the organizers seriously, because you come off as coherent as any kid on the internet complaining about how a situation didn't go their own, personal way. Because I don't agree with your assessment, I think it's fair that jumping to insults about their intelligence is poorly thought out, on your part.

Sorry for you though, that's for sure. DANE and I plan to go next year, so we'll see how ticket sales go.

I agree with you gel, that the insults were not needed, they are just my personal opinion and may add nothing to the arguments, they were/are how I feel about the situation. I do NOT shy away from that, regardless of how it gets taken. Any doubt that I am disgruntled? Didn't think so...

Notice would be great, however, many businesses dealing with the sales of tickets are 24 hours operations such as Ticketmaster and others. You go to their website and purchase tickets at anytime...and they give notices as to when tickets will be going on sale. Most of the time, the ticket sales start on a Saturday to serve the most customers. PAX on the other hand, no notice as to day/time and you start at a time when most people in the area you are holding your show are at work. Penny Arcade IS a fantastically successful business venture who I am sure could hire a company that can sell tickets at all hours of the day. gel, you mentioned that with advance warning alone, that you could then get someone else to purchase for you if you couldn't do it yourself...I had to think on this for a bit and though think/know it could work, you are still having to rely on someone else, which is not something I enjoy doing. I want to go, why should I burden someone else?

Selling tickets to a show, held in Seattle, a VERY popular show I don't need to add, and starting said sales at 1400 is IMO, ridiculous. They did this last year and there were comments on this as well. People on the East Coast have a better shot at getting tickets, not attending and starting ebay sales. Prior to the 2010 show, tickets were picked up at a will call window at a nearby hotel. You purchased your pass, got a confirmation number with your name and credit card number on the printout. You had to go to the will call window, show ID and the credit card and then you got your pass. I think they got rid of this system because it slowed things up. After that year, you buy your passes, get a confirmation and several weeks before the show, your passes showed up in the mail. This created posts from people complaining about never getting their passes or having their passes stolen from their mail boxes. The will call system worked better, it cut down on scalping (via ebay and other sites), and just plain worked. Don't know why they changed, but I believe it was a change for the worse.

As for not realizing how fast tickets would sell out, I had suspected that they would not last much more than a couple of days at best. This was based on forum posts and info gleaned from articles on the internet. PAX 2006 was the first PAX to sell out, they still sold tickets at the door, but it took 8 months to sell out. PAX 2007, 2008 both took 6 months. 2009 double attendance 2x over 2008 and sold out in 3 months. 2010 sold out in 2 months and 2011 sold out in 22 days. My guess, based on these times was 3 days, give or take a day. The fact that it sold out in less than a day can be attributed to the fact that demand continues to rise, but the venue cannot hold any more people. Now, I am, buy no means, what I would consider a genius, but I can track trends, and saw that this could happen. I am surprised by how fast things sold out, yes, VERY surprised? No.

...OK, enough of this rant...done...back to my natural in-born apathy...hope to get tickets for the 2013 show. Have already devised a strategy with Blythe. Maybe we will see you and Dane there gel.

If you aren't making it down to Comic-Con, then I'll see you in 2013!

2013 for SURE!!!