Sad to report hearing from my local store today that the release date for AvX Uncanny X-Men is pushed from Sept 3 to Oct 22. I don't know if this is new news or not, but it's bumming me out.

Thats pretty annoying. But at least we are used to it. I will change it in my evidence thread.

Hopefully the push back is to make sure there is more product to be had this time. I understand that they really had no sure way to gauge what kind of demand the initial release was going to have. I just really hope we'll have a chance to see things on the shelves and not be FORCED to pre-order sets to make sure we get them.

It's scary how long this game is existing without consistent product on the shelves. Hopefully this delay helps solve those issues going forward.

Remember Pirates of the Spanish Main? they were woefully underprepared for that release. They at least held off on tournaments though, let alone an OP.

Delays are fine as long as WK doesn't squander the extra time. As cool as the game is it really can't survive another hick-up like the launch fiasco. Get it done right this time WK.

The new Release Date is on my Birthday so I am totally ok with this, and I also find it ODD and AWESOME that Dicemasters has survived this long such a lack of product and all the other problems, I think this is speaking towards the longevity future of the game

I'm just curious how you might have handled the "fiasco" differently. At a period of time where few preorders are in, WK orders (reportedly) 10 times the amount they would normally have. Now, it's not unusual to do something like this because it's a known fact that preorders come in long after it does WK the most good. But just think about it. Your distributor is telling you that they have preorders for X and you go ahead and order ten times that amount for your first wave.

Now, once the game starts getting out there and the heat gets up, there's talk and the numbers start going up. It no longer matters what that number becomes, 10X is all that's going to be in the first wave. So the second wave gets ordered and as the number in the final weeks before release grow more, a third and fourth wave get scheduled. the end result is that WK reportedly needed FORTY times the amount of preorders in order to meet demand on the day of release.

Let's say it was your company. For simplicity of numbers, let's say that it cost $10 to make that X. WK opted to spend $100 for that first release. Are you really saying that they should have put up $400? And what if those ludicrous numbers are wrong? What if they are wrong by a factor of 1000? Given $10,000 in orders, you think WK should have generated $400,000 of product for opening day?

Personally, I think a lot of the blame for "the fiasco" rests on the retailer's shoulders. They have been given leeway to "preorder" right up until the week before a product is released. And while the distributor might want to make a good relationship with the store, I think those stores that are willing to commit to preorders WELL in advance should be rewarded. I think those stores (and, I'll be upfront, I know that the store I go to preorders early) that preorder before a certain date should get 0 allocations and those stores that order late should have to deal with the shortage. that would not only be fair (rewarding those retailers who communicate their purchases well in advance, making it easier for the publishers) but it would encourage retailers to be more in touch with their customers and start moving up their ordering. Better for everyone.

From what limited info we know assuming that the figures we have been provided are accurate I don’t know what WK could have done to bolster the actual quantity of product available. But based on past history I do call into question WK’s forecasting numbers which have been both on the low and high side. After more than a decade I’d like to think they’ve found more accurate means of gauging demand and therefore how much product to make.

Point in case: the number of available starters. While there has been a shortage of boosters in all areas we have still seen a steady restock thanks to the quick reprints. The same cannot be said for the starters which are the lifeblood of the game. Again, I have no firm numbers to confirm anything but the ratio of starters to boosters seems well off. Being short of boosters is fine but short of starters means people can’t even play the game. That would indicate a definite fault in forecasting as opposed to production.

Certainly I agree that retailers & distributors aren’t blameless when it comes to skewing the forecasting numbers but to call them out for not being able to forecast what is being marketed as an impulse buy isn’t fair. A lot of retailers (particularly B&M shops) don’t have the business sense to forecast product purchases the same way a manufacturer does, they just buy whatever sells. If a particular product is unavailable they will just move on to something that they can sell. The onus is on WK to push and back the product because they are the ones who benefit most from the potential success.

Given what has transpired I’d say that the best solution would have been to delay the launch of the game. The pre-launch release to the public was at a convention (can’t remember the name) and it quickly sold out. I know DM was already delayed but clearly they still didn’t have enough product to meet the demand. Holding off until they could release more substantial numbers would have been far more beneficial for fostering a gaming community allowing more players access to the game at the same time. That’s also why I say waiting for the UCX expansion isn’t such a big deal so long as they are using the time to correct the mistakes they’ve already made.

good news for me honestly.. wallet must recover..

-PC

I'd be much more inclined to understand the preorder argument if this wasn't a widespread problem with all of WK's product. Clix has had product supply issues, most recently with WoL, but even Deadpool and DoFP had relatively low availability for many locales. I think the bigger issue falls on WK's model of distribution.

I don't know why people always see a "pushed back" date as a bad thing.
Push back allows a person to save more money, gives the stores more time to prepare
and the business time to make enough product.

Patience is a virtue
Just sit back relax and good things come to those who wait

If the release push back will help supply at stores then I'm all for it. It's still neigh impossible to find where I live and many that I have found have been marked up to $2 a booster. I still haven't seen a starter in person, thankfully I know a guy that had bought two and traded his extra to me.

I don't want to go through the crazy "can't find it anywhere" situation anytime soon.

Could their logic be that... if they don't have enough product for most people, then no one will get any?

Is that a good or a bad policy?

I think it's a fair policy.
Let's try this as an example
I preorder 10 cases, so 60 CTDs
I spend 3000$.
I wait till everyone buys out all the shops then flip them for 200$ per CTDs
Making myself 12,000$ is it fair for others???

That's how I see it, I see how it's preventing deuch wads from making mass profit and allowing the real gamers to enjoy the game at a reasonable cost