If first day ticket sales are any indication, the 2024 edition of Leftfield Media‘s New York City anime show, Anime NYC is anticipated to be bigger than ever. The 2023 show attracted over 60,000 attendees, but things look bright for an even bigger turnout at this year’s show. Change was already in the air with the convention moving from its usual November dates to a weekend in late summer (August 23 -25), in order to have access to more exhibit hall space in the Javits Center. But even so, no one expected the enthusiastic response to this year’s event that resulted in fans swarming to the Anime NYC website to snatch up passes for the upcoming show.
On Wednesday, January 17, at 6 PM Eastern Time, after weeks of buildup and anticipation, the ticket sales went live on the Anime NYC website. Much like for ticket sales for hot concerts or for shows like San Diego Comic-Con, fans who went to purchase tickets had to wait in a virtual “line” to get entry to the purchase and checkout pages. Once given entry to the purchase page, they were given a time limit of 10 minutes to select and purchase their tickets, along with any optional add-ons, like the vintage Anime NYC merchandise which includes Pins, Plushies, apparel, desk mat, Skate Decks, Tea Infuser, along with other gadgets and gizmos from years past.
The Anime NYC 3-day badges were offered in two pricing tiers: Anime NYC+ and regular 3-day badges.
The ANYC+ Badge cost $429 USD, and includes:
- An Anime NYC+ Only lounge that includes seating, water, a private bathroom, charging outlets, and complimentary bag check.
- An expedited entrance into the Javits Center
First access to the show floor all three days - Guaranteed access to all main stage panels
- Early access to purchase select Special Event tickets
- 10% off merchandise at our Official Show Store Booth
- An official 2024 pin and lanyard
The regular 3-Day Badge goes for $129 USD and includes:
- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday admission to Anime NYC’s Exhibit Hall, Artist Alley, panels, screenings, and special events!
Individual day badges for the show, for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday are offered at $67 USD each.
Something that surprised almost everyone, including the Leftfield Media/Anime NYC staff, was how the ANYC+ 3-day passes sold out almost immediately — less than an hour after the ticket sales went live.
I got to witness it myself in realtime as I was on the virtual line waiting to see what tickets could be purchased. Around 7:08 PM ET, all the ANYC+ tickets sold out and those who were still waiting on the line have noticed a message on the bottom of the page notifying eager attendants of the news along with the fact that the limited 3-Day Badges were still available for purchase.
About 7 minutes later, at 7:15PM Eastern Time, the Anime NYC X/Twitter account released a tweet about how quickly the ANYC+ badges have sold out.
Even after this announcement, fans who were still in the virtual queue after the Anime NYC+ badges were sold out still had the opportunity to purchase regular 3-day passes and single day passes for the event… but within an hour after the announcement about the Anime NYC+3-day passes, (at about 8:19 PM Eastern Time, about 2 hours after the sales started) the Anime NYC social media sent out another update: the regular 3-Day passes were now sold out as well.
If you want to attend Anime NYC and were hoping to get a 3-day badge, there’s still options open to you. For the time being, there are still single day passes available for sale, and there’s an option to buy individual passes for each day. However buying each individual ticket for all 3 days will cost you around $201, which is a $72 difference from the regular 3-Day badge, which cost $129 USD.
Having witnessed all this unfold in real time as I was still on the line was both hilarious and kind of shocking. The Anime NYC staff was expecting a larger number of attendees for 2024, but who would have ever expected these badges to sell out completely the day the ticket sales went live and in less than approximately two hours of opening?
This is good news for anime/manga fandom and the industry here in general, as it shows how eager many people want to attend this kind of event. But it’s also disheartening for many fans who wanted to purchase 3-day passes but find themselves looking for other options.
Hopefully the Anime NYC staff is able to restock on these badges at a later time, but that is just wishful thinking on my part.
If you wish to go to Anime NYC yourself, the ticket are now on sale for the show, which is scheduled for Friday, August 23 to the Sunday, August 25 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Manhattan, in New York City. You can purchase the tickets now at this link and I hope you will have a pleasant time in Anime NYC this summer should you go ^.^
Get a taste of what happened at Anime NYC 2023 with some of our photos from the cool exhibits and best cosplay from the show.
Don’t forget to also follow Anime NYC on X/Twitter at @animenyc to get the latest updates on ticket sales and upcoming guest and special event announcements. You can also visit their website at animenyc.com.
