Seattle is About to Get Pwned by PAX
Gaming is at the tipping point, if it hasn't already tipped. With more and more people playing video games, the question is no longer if you play games, but which games you play. With people spending six hours a day playing Farmville or Online Poker or Bejeweled, gaming has moved beyond the realm of nerds and is really something that everyone participates in, whether they realize it or not. It is a multi-billion dollar industry, and it has changed the way we spend our time, the way things are marketed and even how we socialize. Pretty soon, even the most resistant will feel the impact of games in their everyday life.
The Penny Arcade Game Expo (PAX) starts Friday at the Convention Center and continues through Sunday. The sold-out event is the biggest gaming expo in the Northwest and is called a weekend-long celebration of gamer culture. PAX was created in 2004 by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to create something that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop gamers. Until this year PAX was unique to Seattle, but it has grown so much over the last six years that they were forced to expand, giving birth to PAX East in Boston.
Tens of thousands of gamers will soon descend upon downtown Seattle along with game industry types showing of their wares. There is an exhibitor hall with booths from indie and major game developers, with demos from yet-to-be-released games. (And likely some awesome swag too). Attendees can also expect concerts and after hours parties each night, tournaments, a freeplay area and a wide variety of panel discussions.
Sony's and Microsoft's foray into the world of motion controlled gaming (currently dominated by the Wii) will be this year's hottest topic of discussion. PlayStation Move is Sony's beefed up version of the Wiimote, promising more precise motion tracking and even the potential for augmented reality. But the new bit of technology that everyone is really dying to play with is Microsoft's Kinect for the Xbox 360, which will provide users with the first controller-free gaming/ entertainment experience. This weekend, the general public will finally get a chance to see if it stands up to all the hype.
While Seattle Center will be overrun with Bumbershoot attendees, downtown is going to be a madhouse full of cosplayers, game fans, and uber-nerds. Check back Monday for the Seattlest's take on how the expo went down.
