The San Diego Comic Con 2008 Thread

[dockingbay97]

It is time for a San Diego Comic Con 2008 thread.

At Toy Fair it was announced there would be two GI Joe exclusives there but no other specifics. I think there will be an announcement VERY SOON.

In a recent Q&A it was announced the Cobra CLAW would debut there but was not mentioned as an exclusive.

What are your thoughts on what the exclusives might be?

I am guessing one might be a figure/vehicle combo.

I have also been told the HTS booth will be much better organized this year - I hope so.

[Bermuda Mohawk]

What are your thoughts on what the exclusives might be?

I am guessing one might be a figure/vehicle combo.

They also said in one Q&A only 1 of the 2 Joe exclusives is in the 3&3/4's figure format. So one could be a vehicle, Sigma 6 or maybe one of the new 12" style. Also mentioned was that the small scale mold hadn't been used "yet."

[dockingbay97]

Since Hasbro is doing Mighty Mugz for SW, Marvel and Indy and they already have several Mighty Mugz SDCC exclusives planned for this year's SDCC, I have to wonder if they would go down that path with GI Joe. I won't have much interest if they do.

[Syna3sthesia]

Do you think it would be the same fiasco from last year? An exclusive that later becomes available at their online store?

[irishcop21]

Is it possible to get an exclusive without going?

[dockingbay97]

Do you think it would be the same fiasco from last year? An exclusive that later becomes available at their online store?

It isn't something that just happened last year with the PDD.

HTS always puts whatever leftover con exclusives they may have left on their website for sale after the show.

If you choose to get yours this way, you are basically playing a game of chicken. You don't know if the item will sell out or not for sure at the show.

Last year they did hold back a few exclusives for the site but there have been times where they don't. It is the luck of the draw basically.

[Syna3sthesia]

I'm fairly new to the Cons. I did not know it was a practice that was done from time to time; for the exclusives (left overs) to be sold on X sites.

[polyphenus]

I was very disappointed with the way Hasbro handled the PDD exclusive last year. I really hope that this year the system for selling them is more even and allows for everyone to get in on at least one purchase. It was by blind, sheer luck that my "lottery ticket" to purchase was in an early hour on Thursday or else I would have been S.O.L. It was mass pandemonium Thursday morning when they were giving those tickets out. Wednesday's preview night was even worse with the line around the booth getting so out of control that they stopped selling and told people to come back later and that there was plenty for everyone... Yeah, right.

Now that I have vented about last year's experience, I can say that I am really looking forward to whatever SDCC exclusive that Hasbro has in store this Summer. I think that the odds of both exclusives being of the smaller Joe variety are slim and that the small Joe will end up being either a cobbled-together figure, a figure that will be forthcoming in another not-yet-released wave, or a slightly repainted figure. I admit that I don't believe/trust Hasbro with this line of figures and since they're a business they will make a figure that they either have already used or will be able to be reused in the future. Maybe it will be a new vehicle/figure set or something.

I guess we'll be finding out soon enough... Sorry that I sound so pessimistic here but I have been at odds with some of the decisions that Hasbro has made regarding this latest incarnation of the Joes...

[cmderinchief]

Yup, I am with the masses here. I hope the exclusives are handled better. That's all.....

[dockingbay97]

I had an exhibitor badge and stalked that HTS booth prior to opening on Preview Night. SDCC security kept trying to chase us away for being there. I don't know why. We were all being civilized and had a small line formed. There weren't that many of us. So they forced us to walk around the area only making things worse because we were then in the ailses getting into the way of people with last minute setup issues. The minute the doors opened, it was straight up chaos.

I plan on doing the same thing this year. I am sure I will get yelled at again but I don't care. I don't know what else to do at this point. You almost need two badges - a dealer or exhibitor badge to get in early and a regular attendee badge so you can get in line without being yelled at.

I can't remember if SDCC has different badges for exhibitors and dealers but they probably do. I can see why they might want to keep dealers from buying up all the figures and moving them to their booths. I don't see why exhibitors get the same treatment. They either aren't selling anything at their booths or if they are, it is their own company's products. I see a clear difference between the two.

I have been to nearly 10 Chicago Comic Cons/Wizard World Chicagos. I was being bugged for several years to make the change to SDCC. I finally gave in last year because WWC was slowly becoming less and less of the show it used to be. Most of the problem is that it is too close to SDCC and a lot of companies don't want to do both in such a close time period.

Another factor was most of my friends had given up on WWC as well. They kept telling me how much bigger SDCC was and how many more people were there. I knew it was true but didn't expect it to be that much bigger because WWC is already a huge show. SDCC is gigantic - almost too much so.

SDCC is a beast that has outgrown San Diego. You can hardly get a hotel. The con rates for the hotels sell out in a couple of hours.

You will get trampled in the main section if you want exclusives. You will see humanity become fully uncivilized for a free bag, pen or some other chochky that someone is giving away. It can be disgusting.

There are a lot of great things about SDCC and if you can ever go, you should try to. Just be wary of the exclusives lines.