The purpose of this report is to address and analyze the implementation of the new packing technology and the consequential issues that occurred during the Top Shot 50 and Premium Pack Drops last month. We apologize for any negative impact experienced by collectors as a result of these incidents and assure our community that all issues discovered have been addressed, with additional safeguards being put in place on a continuous basis to prevent similar issues in the future. The report will provide an overview of a new tool we used, the causes of the issues, the corrective measures taken, and future preventive measures to ensure the avoidance of such problems in the future.
Traditionally, the creation of Packs involved a laborious and time-consuming manual process utilizing multiple databases and tools. In order to streamline this process, a custom tool was developed to automate the tasks. This tool, which was completed in late April, facilitated the combination of various calculations to determine the composition of Packs. It allowed for proportional inclusion of specific Editions based on remaining inventory or initial mint count, as well as exceptions and specific percentages for certain Editions. The tool aimed to optimize the utilization of inventory while still maintaining a randomized process. This new tool significantly reduced the time required for composing Packs, offering increased efficiency for our team.
During the Top Shot 50 and Premium Pack Drops last month, the newly implemented packing tool was utilized for the first time to create intricate Packs. Unfortunately, two major issues were encountered that resulted in an unsatisfactory experience for some collectors who had purchased Packs. Firstly, it was discovered that approximately 1,000 Common Moments intended for insertion into the Top Shot 50 and Premium Packs had been inadvertently destroyed weeks prior. This occurred during the burning process of previously unsold Dropping Dimes Playoffs Packs at the beginning of May. While the burning process itself utilized a separate custom-built tool for efficiency gains, it caused the new Pack construction tool to inaccurately assess the available Moments for insertion into new Packs. Prompt action was taken during the Top Shot 50 Pack Drop to deconstruct and reconstruct every Premium Pack to minimize further delays.
The new Pack construction tool also encountered a separate issue, resulting in several Packs containing an incorrect mix and quantity of Moments. This issue arose due to the tool's increased ease of incorporating leftover inventory into new Packs. Previously, the manual process of adding Editions to a Pack required a significant time commitment to determine each Edition to be included. The aim was to explore new and innovative ways of combining inventory to create exciting Packs for the community. These changes inadvertently revealed a dormant bug in the Pack Stuffing logic. This bug led to the incorrect selection and assignment of unavailable inventory, resulting in Packs missing Moments. The bug surfaced during the recreation of the Premium Pack due to the use of a larger number of unique Editions, many of which had limited remaining inventory. It should be noted that this issue had not been observed in any previous Pack constructions and has since been addressed to ensure it won’t happen again.
Additionally, during the reconstruction process, there was an occurrence of human error, where Base Set Moments were mistakenly used instead of the intended Parallels. Engineering improvements are underway to ensure safe and accurate recreation of Packs, should the need arise due to original construction issues.
A total of 1,845 collectors, owning a combined total of 3,516 Series 4 Packs (including the Top Shot 50, Premium Packs, and Celebration of Stars Wave 4 Packs), were affected by the missing Moments issue. Our engineering team diligently worked to identify the impacted collectors and Packs, and replacement Packs with the missing Moments were sent to all affected collectors. The resolution process maintained the original odds of obtaining specific serial and collectors were made whole with the Moments they should have received. In some instances, collectors actually received more Moments than they originally were meant to receive.
We have thoroughly evaluated, diagnosed, and repaired all processes, both human and technical, used during the Drop. In order to ensure that these errors will not occur again, we have performed extensive testing of our systems to verify we have successfully patched all the issues. Additionally, we have implemented both technical and process improvements to reduce the likelihood of human error as much as possible. Process changes include a thorough audit and subsequent documentation from the relevant owners of each part of the pack creation process, and a commitment to ensuring that the correct stakeholders are consulted at each step. This will ensure the individuals with the most context are involved in each part of the process, which will minimize the likelihood of mistakes such as using the Base Set Moments instead of Parallels.
In addition to minimizing human error, we have implemented preventative methods into our systems and tools. There are additional ways to filter for and check for inventory in our tools. We have built in additional testing and validation into our backend systems. Following these changes, extensive testing and auditing was performed to ensure that everything worked as expected. We are confident that these issues will not recur.
We deeply regret the poor experience we caused last month and remain committed to transparent communication with our community in both success and failure. We appreciate your patience as we continue to build NBA Top Shot into a world-class product, matching its already world-class community. We are taking every step necessary to ensure that the excitement and joy associated with our pack drops are never overshadowed by technical glitches or oversights. We remain committed to providing you with a seamless, thrilling, and rewarding experience in the world of digital collectibles.
