[Chaemera]

Consider people, period.  How many people put more work into their things than their lives?  It's not that hard to believe.

That said, as a writer (Sorta), I do like a nice, in-depth background to a character.  Some of mine have gotten quite insane.

I, uh, have one family figured out back to WWI, with only a few gaps.   

My players run the length and breadth of that continuum. And who does what level varies from one character to the next. I've got a writer who regularly figures out family trees to 6 or 7 generations in addition to every childhood experience that shaped her character. Except when she decides she's tired of putting in that level of effort and tosses together a character from a seventh-sanctum or chaotic shiny random generator.

Then I've got the guys who define a rough box that their character fits in, surrounded with plot hooks for me to use. Their characters then get the finer details that really bring them to life through their interactions with said plot hooks.

And I have the people who are there to have fun with friends, but aren't the most comfortable with admitting their creative streak. They'll put in a few details about their character, usually physical attributes or some character trait adopted from a novel / movie / TV show they like and focus on finding ways to support the party in-game without worrying about having their own plot-lines to develop.

Of course, regardless of the type of player / character, the STUFF they buy can tell an awful lot about both halves of that equation. Someone who stocks up on guns, the player wants combat (or thinks there's little else) and the character is likely to be a bit distrustful and gruff. So yeah, satisfy his blood lust with combat once in a while, but also put him in light, "low pressure", social situations where drawing a weapon would be a game-breaker. Get him to play his expected niche, but also draw that character out with other situations, to see what he does, how he reacts. I've found the overwhelming majority of players are receptive, as long as the entire game doesn't hinge on their character being phenomenal outside their expected roles.

[CanRay]

Mother's side of the family.  It's an old Ontarian family that made it's money in moonshine and rum running.

His Father gave him a great wedding present:  Legal documents divorcing the character from that side of the family.  He really, really, really hates his Father.

[Malex]

Have you decided on a Setting yet? That is one of the most important aspects to the game. I'd suggest picking up Seattle 2072 or Runner's Havens (if you can find a copy). Runner's Companion is great since it has the Alternative Build Systems, which make character creation easier (Priority System, I'm looking at you).
Then I'd worry about the gear books later. Your PCs are likely just as green to the game/setting as you are to GMing it and it isn't wise to over-extend yourself (or your wallet) by buying so many books for a game that you don't know if your group is going to actually like playing. Has happened to me time and again *weeps for bank account*.

[Charybdis]

Have you decided on a Setting yet? That is one of the most important aspects to the game. I'd suggest picking up Seattle 2072 or Runner's Havens (if you can find a copy). Runner's Companion is great since it has the Alternative Build Systems, which make character creation easier (Priority System, I'm looking at you).

I'd actually disagree that these two sourcebooks are worth picking up in the short term.

As a new GM, it's cool to just invent the basics from scratch, without having to read through every canon sourcebook for your players' haunts and hangouts.

Want to invent a pub called 'Bozos' where all the barmaids wear clown makeup? Sure.
And there's a black market gun shop out the back? Go for it.
And the owner is a transgender troll with a penchant for.... errr... never mind...getting off track here... 

But either way, it can be as weird, or as serious, as new GM and new Players want to make it. No reason at all to stick with any canon Seattle (or world) material...

[Malex]

Oh I agree wholeheartedly, half the fun of gming is coming up with things that get you odd stares from the players. However if you are trying to get a specific feel for a game those setting books are a great place to start.

[Walks Through Walls]

I agree with you to a point Charybdis, but even with Seattle which is the most developed local in Shadowrun there is still tons of opportunity to make up bars, haunts and other stuff. However, it is nice to have something to fall back on if you don't feel inspired at the moment or just want something that is set already for whatever reason. Also as a new GM it gives you one less thing that you have to think about and figure out either ahead of time or on the fly.

Even with the sites in the Seattle book there is room to add or modify things. When the original Seattle book came out several of my players liked the idea of Dante's Inferno, but at the time it wasn't really described just a name and small little blurb. I decided in my world at least it would be a bar that had level going down (as if descending into the abyss). Each level was made of glass that was semi opaque so the big rule was "nothing that goes boom or bang". The party went there often and side plots developed about trying to find out how deep it went. The fact is I probably would have never thought of the idea without the blurb that was in the book so it was a great jumping off point, and the new Seattle book is full of such points still.

[Charybdis]

Even with the sites in the Seattle book there is room to add or modify things.

I agree with everything you've said above

All I'm implying is that focusing on the canon location sourcebooks needn't be a priority.

I love my location sourcebooks (probably more than is healthy  ....), they're full of storylines, hints and some useful material right off the bat.

For a new GM though (as per OP), I think it's more fun to focus on what the GM and PC's want to DO, vs WHERE to do it.

Locations and such can be made up/read through and integrated into any campaign at any stage.
Cyberware or Magic mechanics (if required) need to be consistent from the start, and as such if the campaign leans that way, I recommend those books before getting Seattle 2072 etc.

That's all I'm sayin'

[Sacredsouless]

lol, you guys are great. but for making up my own campaign, not yet. i was gonna get the toolkit with GM screen and etc. I was gonna use the pre-written campaign so we can all get used to the system and setting. thankfully the wiki seems to say the dice rolling is similar to vampire, which only one in the group doesn't play. heck for refrence my list was to buy the Core book (so i can get a headstart on learing the rules), then the toolkit, then all (yes, all, they want to do lots of everything) of the other books like Arsenal and etc.

and our players are already setting themselves up for all sorts of plot hooks and just general bits i can mess with. like the hacker is having his backstory be along the lines of his dad was a CEO of a AA company. as a pissed and rebelious teenager, my player went and worked for a big rival, in retaliation his father disowned him. this is most definately material i plan on using in a game or two.

[LonePaladin]

Sometimes, your players will end up getting your creative gears working for you while they're doing one part of character creation. One of mine picked an odd set of qualities: Mistaken Identity, Escaped Clone, Amnesia (partial), and Flashbacks. So he looks like someone famous, his genetic tags match the guy, he has no idea why, and totally flips out when he sees a Red Samurai.

I made that last part up, 'cause he hadn't figured out what would trigger the flashbacks -- having amnesia and all. So a couple weeks ago, I mentioned a nearby simflick theater was showing the premier of Saiko vs. the Red Samurai, and he nearly fell off his bike.

[CanRay]

I once put it to my group that just having them go on a Shadowrun for a tin of Campbell's Soup would be interesting.

They were...  Um, less than pleased with the statement.

[Charybdis]

I once put it to my group that just having them go on a Shadowrun for a tin of Campbell's Soup would be interesting.

They were...  Um, less than pleased with the statement.

The most hated I have ever been as a GM was when the group realised that they (and their fixer) had been outplayed and setup on multiple levels.... and they came to this conclusion mid-run.

A) The runners officially lost their collective shit, and blew the target property to hell... C3, more C3.... and more C3.
B) It spawned an excellent series of spin-off runs, chasing down leads to find who set them up...

[Charybdis]

lol, you guys are great. but for making up my own campaign, not yet. i was gonna get the toolkit with GM screen and etc. I was gonna use the pre-written campaign so we can all get used to the system and setting. thankfully the wiki seems to say the dice rolling is similar to vampire, which only one in the group doesn't play. heck for refrence my list was to buy the Core book (so i can get a headstart on learing the rules), then the toolkit, then all (yes, all, they want to do lots of everything) of the other books like Arsenal and etc.

and our players are already setting themselves up for all sorts of plot hooks and just general bits i can mess with. like the hacker is having his backstory be along the lines of his dad was a CEO of a AA company. as a pissed and rebelious teenager, my player went and worked for a big rival, in retaliation his father disowned him. this is most definately material i plan on using in a game or two.

And right there, you require absolutely Zero information from the Seattle sourcebooks.

A) You can get random maps of cool looking buildings from all sorts of sources online (Hell, half the fun in my job is scrolling through the web finding cool images to use)
B) AA's can be anyone. You can make up the company name and background,,,doesn't need to have been mentioned anywhere
C) The NPC's your players have access to is defined by you. Just using the NPC's listed in the Core Rules gives plenty of character to the story (pun intended).

[Malex]

lol, you guys are great. but for making up my own campaign, not yet. i was gonna get the toolkit with GM screen and etc. I was gonna use the pre-written campaign so we can all get used to the system and setting. thankfully the wiki seems to say the dice rolling is similar to vampire, which only one in the group doesn't play. heck for refrence my list was to buy the Core book (so i can get a headstart on learing the rules), then the toolkit, then all (yes, all, they want to do lots of everything) of the other books like Arsenal and etc.

and our players are already setting themselves up for all sorts of plot hooks and just general bits i can mess with. like the hacker is having his backstory be along the lines of his dad was a CEO of a AA company. as a pissed and rebelious teenager, my player went and worked for a big rival, in retaliation his father disowned him. this is most definately material i plan on using in a game or two.

Sounds like you are well on your way. Of particular note about the adventure coming in the Runner's Toolkit, On The Run, it is set in Seattle but there's no reason you could not have it set anywhere you'd like. Also if you enjoy running that Pre-Fab adventure there is a point in the story where it's up to the PCs to choose if they want to continue investigating into the Objective Item or to hand it over to Mr. J. If your team seems to be enjoying themselves give them the nudge to look deeper, if not don't bother and let them end the adventure early.
I GMed this game twice for different groups and did the hands off approach on that decision and both times the PCs turned the item over to the Johnson. 

[James McMurray]

If you want to run a pregenerated campaign then Shadowrun Missions is great.

Season 1: SR3 campaign set in Seattle. 14 runs. Free.
Season 2: SR4, has 25 runs set in Denver. Free.
Season 3: SR4, has 12 runs and is set in New York, Only the first one is free.
Season 4: SR4, has 2 runs and more on the way. It's also set in Seattle but none of them are free.

[LonePaladin]

Season 2 was set in Denver.