Sounds like what's been happening, as are the previously mentioned delays in Sprawl Gangers and their miniatures.
Kind of similar, yes. The work's done on the
Shadowrun side of things (I can vouch for that with these boxed sets in particular for...almost a year now, I'd say, as I was wrapping up most of the dossiers around GenCon time, last summer), but it's putting it all together -- all the different bits (including the box itself, mind!) from all the different printers and assorted other companies.
Boxed sets are friggin' nightmares, man. Look at all the stuff that can go into one (I'm not saying all this is in
one right now), but...like...The boxes are made by different people than the dry-erase sheets are made by different people than the glossy handouts are made by different people than the regular books inside are made by the different people than the maps are made by different people than the thick cardboard GM screen is made by different people than the dice are made by different people than the weapon/spell/gear cards are made by different people than...or, at any rate, depending on how much you shop around for price, quality, turnaround time, shipping cost, shipping rate, it all
can be.
I'm -- personally -- done shopping around for one softcover book and sets of d6's, and it was enough to feel like a hassle (and the very opposite of "let's make a cool game, whee, fun!"). I can't imagine the headaches being involved in putting together a big, fancy, multi-piece boxed set (and then
also dealing with a company for putting the finished products together, along with facility rental for storage, then another round of shipping), and just on and on and on.