Getting a product to market can be problematic in any industry, but the game industry gets more than its share of complications. Today AEG revealed that its shipper, currently in the throes of cutbacks, has misplaced Thunderstone and Infinite City, which were due to arrive last month. Todd Rowland, AEG’s Senior Brand Manager, summarized the chain of events in a forum post. Here’s the relevant bit:
The shipment of Thunderstone and Infinite City has been lost. It was due to arrive in Mid November and we have been told it was “in transit” or clearing customs for 3 weeks. Yesterday the shipper admitted they could not find it and after a long night of waking people up we have located the missing shipment. For some reason it had been diverted to Charleston SC and will not arrive until next week. To make matters worse it has been flagged for customs check and that will take an additional number of days.
Rowland goes on to admit it seems unlikely either game will reach stores before Christmas, but hopes gamers will consider them a “great way to ring in the New Year.” More precise release dates will be announced once AEG has a delivery date.
I remember when Godlike arrived in the states from being printed in China, and then the container remained locked down in customs for a month. This was extra frustrating for the publisher, as the warehouse it was to be stored at and distributed from was literally right across the street from the customs office. But darn it, those games sure look suspicious – better double and triple check them for contraband.
This explains why I haven’t been seeing Thunderstone around despite all the buzz.
I managed to grab a copy of Thunderstone at BGGCon; good game. There are a few minor issues that make it more difficult to grasp than Dominion, but overall it’s a nice step forward along the Dominion path.
I’ve been wondering how similar to Dominion it will turn out to be. I’m certainly interested to check it out, once the shipping/customs issues clear up.