Availability

[jwolfe]

OK, I know that the OotS game will be rolled out at GenCon, and I know that it will be generally available some time after that. Do we know anything more specific than that yet? Is there a planned date for shipping preorders? Is there a date for opening the APE Games web site to real orders? How long will it take for the game to make its way through the distribution channel so that we can buy it from our favorite FLGS or FOGS? If our favorite store doesn't initially carry it, how do we go about requesting it? Is there anything more than just requesting "Order of the Stick Adventure Game by APE Games"?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[The Giant]

Kevin can probably get more specific than I can, but from what I understand, as soon as the stock arrives in Houston (Kevin's home base), APE Games will be taking real orders. Now, just because we have it at GenCon doesn't mean it won't be a week or two more before then, because we're paying for airmail for the GenCon stock, and the regular stock is on the slow boat. But best guess? Mid-August.

Note that some online stores may be offering presales now, but there are two reasons you'll want to preorder from APE. One, you'll get a fabulous Belkar refrigerator magnet with your order. I'll post a picture later. And two, the game will ship directly from APE when it arrives in the US, instead of taking another two months to go from APE to APE's distributor to (for example) Diamond Comics to the other website's warehouse to your door.

It should show up on retail game store shelves at the end of September.

[apegamer]

I'd say that late August is more accurate. While we'll have 300 copies of the game at GenCon (I hope), that will be the first 300 games produced. They still need to build (i.e. cut & collate) the rest of the games, and get them to the dock. At that point the shipper takes over and makes sure they get to the U.S., at which point they get tossed on a train to Houston. That whole cycle takes about a month, if things go smoothly and stuff doesn't get held up in customs.

So yeah, those folks that get the game at GenCon will have it for at least a few weeks before the rest of us get to play it (okay, I'll have my demo copy so I'LL get to play it!)

[Justin_Miller]

Are there going to be "waves" of shipments for the pre-orders?

For instance, if there were 1000 preorders and the first shipment was only 500 of the games, the last 500 preorders would have to wait even longer to have their order filled.

I preordered this on July 9th, so I'm just curious.

[apegamer]

Are there going to be "waves" of shipments for the pre-orders?

For instance, if there were 1000 preorders and the first shipment was only 500 of the games, the last 500 preorders would have to wait even longer to have their order filled.

After the first shipment of 300 that will be flew over here special for GenCon, the rest of the games will all arrive together.

The pre-orders will ship out in the order in which they were received; hopefully that will it no more than 2-3 days to get all of the orders out.