Just take a look at their release schedule, it's a manic one.. sure they shouldn't be missing targets BUT would you prefer it if they stopped declaring targets at all?

Perhaps they should say nothing until within a month of release..

It works for others, so why not?

Hearing things announced so long before release is tedious, lost interest in or forgotten about so many X Wing ships due to it, 1 month before store date is plenty of time, more is simply too much time.

Just take a look at their release schedule, it's a manic one.. sure they shouldn't be missing targets BUT would you prefer it if they stopped declaring targets at all?

Perhaps they should say nothing until within a month of release..

It works for others, so why not?

Hearing things announced so long before release is tedious, lost interest in or forgotten about so many X Wing ships due to it, 1 month before store date is plenty of time, more is simply too much time.

That won't happen in the hobby market.

True enough, but I smell damage control when Wave 2 is delayed at least half a year from its initially declared release date.

That being said, I am often wrong, so i will be pleasantly surprised if Wave 2 comes out in time for X-mas. I wont be expecting it though. Fool me once, twice, three times and i ahve only my self to blame for my disappointment.

Of course it's damage control. FFG is saying pretty much that in the event article. Wave 2 has been overly delayed so they created a pre-release event (as they have done with X-wing) in order to smooth some feathers at the cost of some expedited shipping. I'm confused as to why you seem to believe that this is some vieled damage control attempt, when FFG is admitting to it in other words.

Reading between the lines, the Sullust event announcement is as close to an apology / 'admittance they screwed up' as you are going to get.

At the end of the day it's just a game, but they want you to feel good about buying it, not annoyed they made you wait so long

Im looking at all those wonky bases. Literally everyone i know with a Decimator or Outrider has to slide it around or the base falls off.

I just put in a small piece of paper, unfolded. makes everything fit perfectly. Simple solution.

My FLGS (Game Headquarters) in Oklahoma City has applied to be a venue for the event. I will, as always, be the local organizer. Just have to wonder what the fifth, unpicked, prize will be.

A knowledgeable little birdie told me that Wave 2 ships should be available very soon after Massing at Sullust (think days, not weeks)

A knowledgeable little birdie told me that Wave 2 ships should be available very soon after Massing at Sullust (think days, not weeks)

Not much of a pre-release, haha. If that is the case, product would have to go on the boat this weekend most likely. Could maybe push it to the weekend after Force Friday.

Salt, as always, is necessary. And last minute unforeseen stuff can happen, so I don't want my word to be taken as a 100% accurate prediction

Not much of a pre-release, haha.

Even if it's as soon as the next weekend. You still had an excuse to go play Armada, and possibly win a free ship, which when you consider the cost of a ISD is not a small prize.

Apparently, the cost of the kit is quite high. Smaller area/stores will have a hard time to host this tournament. Our FLGS here will not run one because Armada sales are not high enough and tournament do not have a high enough attendance to have it at a decent price.

A knowledgeable little birdie told me that Wave 2 ships should be available very soon after Massing at Sullust (think days, not weeks)

So they're air freighting ($$$) a portion of Wave 2 in for a pre-release, just so they can release it fully within a week? Why did they airfreight it then? That's a lot of expense for literally no gain if they're releasing it a week or less later. Not enough time for Hype to build form others seeing the new ships. Just wait for the boat to get here then send out an inital wave, then full release.

I call BS on your birdie.

Well, my birdie works for a game editor that translates the game into native languages for the country and sells it to distributors than then ship it to retailers. So you can choose to believe him or not, but he's a reliable source.

Besides, there has been enough hype building since Here They Come and GenCon. It's not a handful of ships accessible to tournament winners that will make or break the release hype

Yeah, but this is a hype event. Get limited product out early, get the current consumers hungry for the new stuff, draw in new customers who see the new shinies on shelves and on tables in the LGS's.

One week between release and event? No way they air freighted product for such a limited return. That's a bad investment. Look at Imdaar Alpha. There were 3 weeks between the event and Wave 4 release.

Your guy may be correct and that's fine. But that timetable doesn't make any kind of financial or marketing sense whatsoever.


Separate issue:
Does your guy work for the Spanish company that had those ISD and Vader card leaks back in May or whenever?

Apparently, the cost of the kit is quite high. Smaller area/stores will have a hard time to host this tournament. Our FLGS here will not run one because Armada sales are not high enough and tournament do not have a high enough attendance to have it at a decent price.

I've been wondering about cost as well. Does anyone know from their FLGS what the price is? There is $160.00 MSRP worth of ships in it.

$90 for the retailer to get the kit.

So at $10 per entry you need at least 8 players (and that leaves $10 that can be attributed to advertising). Hopefully the participants will also spend other cash while in the store.

I'm going to get a rough headcount, then suggest $15 for entry fees for my events. Steep? Yes. But I'd pay $15 for a chance at 20-50 bucks worth of ships.

I wouldn't even see 15 dollars as steep for a non-pre-release event. 10 dollars seems absurdly low for any Armada event given that one table takes up 6 feet worth of space, minimum.

Well in my area $5 is the general price for Xwing events. I personally pushed for $10 for Armada events, seeing as how many stores do %15 off if you buy product as your entry fee. Considering that the cheapest ship is $20 i figured nobody would by product if they could get just spend $5 instead. I like playing the game, but making sure the stores in my area can support the game is high up on my priority list.

Yeah, but this is a hype event. Get limited product out early, get the current consumers hungry for the new stuff, draw in new customers who see the new shinies on shelves and on tables in the LGS's.

One week between release and event? No way they air freighted product for such a limited return. That's a bad investment. Look at Imdaar Alpha. There were 3 weeks between the event and Wave 4 release.

Your guy may be correct and that's fine. But that timetable doesn't make any kind of financial or marketing sense whatsoever.

Separate issue:

Does your guy work for the Spanish company that had those ISD and Vader card leaks back in May or whenever?

Hype fades over time quickly (just check the "Sad this is the state of the game" thread ), especially when only a small portion of the stores will have the tournament kits to have that hype to begin with

It's a much better investment to have such an event which will have a limited attendance (you can't expect 100% of a community to be present at a 1-3 day event, it might be isolated occurences but it's never going to be a systemic statistic) that will be truly hyped after witnessing this, and will want to get their hands on ASAP and being able to provide them early with that product. Having them wait won't make them want to buy the product more, it's competely illogical.

On the contrary, the sooner the people that spectated and didn't get the products can get their hands on them, the more hyped and happy they will still be. And when they're hyped and happy, they become positive advertisers and buzzmakers for the product through word of mouth. And the more you have these type of people, the more free advertisement you get for your product. And free advertisement is good, it's basic marketing (it's even better in the case of a social product like a minis game where the value of the game comes from having many people to play with).

I would agree with you if each store had a tournament kit but that will not be the case for that event. And only having 5 guys with the products per kit won't be good enough.

Rather, having them wait too long will embitter people who did not win a product and aren't able to get their hands on one. They won't feel cared for or amongst the select few, and that's not good to create good report between a customer and a product. It might work for exclusive high end products (and is even a sound strategy there, because the one you want to care for are actually the select few) but not for a minis game in its first year release when its goal is to get a good community as wide and as happy as possible as early as possible.

So, I'm not saying they will be released on October 5th, but I'm confident that they'll hit the shelves within two weeks. And the order of magnitude is still in days (it's 15 days, not 15 weeks), even though my contact gave me a much lower number.

Either that or FFG will wait for Christmas, which is another possibility.

I'm with MoffZen. You will definitely see these wave two ships in the wild later in October or November.

I'm going to get a rough headcount, then suggest $15 for entry fees for my events. Steep? Yes. But I'd pay $15 for a chance at 20-50 bucks worth of ships.

So when is Wave 3 going to be announced?

Our normal tournaments, the spring and summer kit, are casual tournaments so they have a $5 entry fee. Store Championship and Premium events (like The Massing at Sullust) are usually $10 entry. The spring and summer kit just costs the host $25 so as long as 5 players sign up the costs are covered. The greater expense of Premium event packages necessitate a higher entry fee unless you can be certain you are going to have a heavy turnout

One of are stores in the Portland area is $20 per person. . . Blah. . . At least it is the only Sunday event for this. We have 1 to 2 the day prior. Hmmmm wander if I can get 2 factions worth of things. . . If I get one the day prior I can use that for the tournament the next day. . . Hmmm