The application process to be an ECCC Minion - i.e., a volunteer - has been bumped to October. Does that matter? Maybe a little if you were waiting to see how your application panned out before buying your badge.
(FWIW, I'm amazed at how bitter people are over the idea that the 3-day badges are already more than half sold out. Shows you how jaded SDCC has made me. I don't even blink when something seems inconvenient now.)
The Minion launch has been delayed due to "some internal development" which for now is partially a mystery. What has been shared: every Minion needs to be 18 and up as of the Con, 27 March 2015. Sorry, minors.
You have to remember that even as of last year, tickets took months to sell out. The regular ECCC attendees are used to this being *their* con (as evidenced by many tickets being sold at local Seattle-area LCBS in the past). So for someone who has never been to a more frenetic con *cough*SDCC*cough* it feels like *their* con is being invaded and the locals are being shoved out. They don't have forever to buy badges, they can no longer buy at the LCBS and there are actual lines to get into places during the con. For SDCC vets like us, this seems so minor, but to people who aren't used to it, this is a huge change coming very fast.
ReplyDeleteI can see how it feels like their Con is being crashed by interlopers. From my point of view, badges are still available and people have had months to save up the cash - so no one who really wants to go to ECCC is missing the opportunity to go. Not unless 2015 is going to gift them with an extra 85 dollars that 2014 is withholding. But I do understand the reluctance to see the Con grow so fast - and I think the coming years are going to be far worse, which they probably sense.
DeleteI agree, badges are still available for all 3 days, and if it's important to people they can get $85 ($90-ish with fees and shipping) together by the end of the month. No one is being shut out. My point was simply that this 'outrage' is an extension of the 'they're taking over our con' shock that some attendees are feeling.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the con will only continue to grow, as have other cons around the country.