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All about PAX AUS

PAX AUS has come and gone, and while I’m sure there were many of you that had the chance to attend, there were likely many, many more that didn’t, and may be wondering what all the fuss was about. More importantly, there’s likely many folk out there wondering if they should try to get tickets for NEXT year.  We here at Stevivor have got you covered. Read on to find out what PAX AUS was all about, and above all, if it was any good.

What is PAX?

PAX is an expo thrown by the guys that run the website Penny Arcade (thus, Penny Arcade Expo = PAX). Penny Arcade is, for those who don’t know, a popular webcomic focused on gaming culture. The first PAX was run in 2004, and the idea for which sprang from a desire to hold an event that catered for all gamers – console, PC, tabletop, or otherwise. It was (and by extension, is) not a marketing event for future titles – it was a celebration of gaming culture.

As a result, PAX is not to be confused with similar industry events – E3, for example, is entirely a business event, and is therefore full of announcements, new titles, and market posturing. Tokyo Game Show and Europe’s Gamescom are similar industry events – they attempt to focus on both consumers AND industry executives, and so have HUGE attendee numbers, as well as a solid amount of announcements. PAX is simply a celebration of games, and thus there may well be some new announcements, and there may well be some big new titles – but that’s not what the show is about.

PAX AUS is the first PAX that has been held outside of the US, and we were lucky enough to host it in Melbourne (as we will next year). It follows the same formula as the US events, and thus has a show floor for exhibitions from various partners – with an aim to provide something for all kinds of gamer. There are multiple halls for panels, which are a popular component of the shows, as well as a separate hall for LAN gaming (with the capacity to bring your own computer) and tabletop/trading card gaming. In fact, PAX AUS was such a large event it took up about 50% of the Melbourne Showgrounds, which is quite a feat, really. So let’s have a look at the components themselves.

Nintendo

Expo Hall

There was plenty to see in the Expo Hall – this was where a number of major software and hardware developers rented booth space in order to show off their wares. The largest of which was the Wargaming booth, where attendees could play World of Tanks in a competitive environment. Another notable booth was for Nintendo’s, which showed off up-and-coming 3DS and Wii U titles, as well as holding gaming events, such as the Pokémon Championships. Aside from that, there were booths by Intel, Ubisoft, League of Legends (which was also quite sizable), Asus, and many, many others, displaying items ranging from PC cases through unreleased console titles.

Beyond this (and the food, of course), there were several sales booths scattered throughout the hall, selling wares related to games and gaming. With some of the wares that were on show, I’m sure they all did a brisk trade. In addition, right down the very back of the hall, there was a laser tag arena, whereby attendees could team up and shoot their friends, using a system that kept a score tally based on various achievements – not unlike a live-action Call of Duty, to be honest.

Most interesting, though, was the Indie Showcase (Indie Pavillion, whatever). While this was within the Expo Hall, I’ve split it out into its own section below.

Indie Showcase

Indie Showcase

The Indie Showcase took up a good quarter of the total show floor at the PAX AUS Expo Hall (Ok, I may well be exaggerating, but there was a lot there), but there were indie booths to be found strewn throughout the hall. Again, PAX isn’t necessarily a show dedicated to unreleased games, so many of the titles on show were popular games that are already available to purchase. Standouts included Fractured Soul, Black Annex, Antichamber, Influx, and Macguffin’s Curse, but there was really so much to see. Importantly, there was also a booth for Australia’s Surprise Attack, who recently announced that they were becoming Australia’s first publisher, dedicated to helping independent developers in their attempts to release titles on various platforms.

XBPanel

Theatres

There were multiple theatres holding various panels throughout the show. One of the most popular was the Xbox One panel by Microsoft. Criticised for not having a huge presence, Microsoft did clarify things a little in this event by stating that there was only a single Xbox One unit in all of Australia. Microsoft did say that come EB Games Expo later in the year, there will be 100 demo units that will be playable. Beyond this, there were panels on girls and gaming, being a gamer parent, gamer rage, and Animal Crossing, just to name a few of the 80 or so that were held over the three days.

Handheld

Big Top

In some ways, the Big Top was a kind of lounge area – a place to get away from the bustle of the show floor and get some downtime with a few older titles. In another, very real way, it was just as crazed and hectic as the Expo Hall.

Here, there was a large area set aside for PAX merchandise (but I found it easier to just head back to the entrance, where there were no lines). In addition, there was a large space for handheld gaming, whereby attendees could even borrow titles to play while they relaxed. Similarly, there was a console gaming area, with various modern consoles (quite a large number of them, in fact) available to play borrowed titles to your hearts content. Down the rear of the hall was the table top section – here, tabletop games spanning decades could be borrowed and played, which I guess opened up the show to tabletop gamers that have often wondered what a particular game was like. Following on, there was a large sales area – here, tabletop and trading card games were being sold, demonstrated and played, from Magic: The Gathering, through what appeared to be Warhammer, and many many others. For me – someone that has little to no experience with tabletop games (although I did love Hero Quest and Space Hulk in my youth) – it was an impressive sight to see so many like-minded individuals come together for something they love. However, I did try to sit down and learn how to play Magic and felt a little contempt from the trainer, as I had trouble understanding some of the concepts…

Most impressive to me, though, was the retro gaming section, which I have split out again below.

Retro

Retro Gaming

Sure, the name kind of gives it away, but it was hugely impressive to me. A collaboration between four Australian retro gaming sites (Retrospekt, Retro Gaming, Australian Retro Gamer, and Retro Domination), there was so much gold on show that I returned here on more than one occasion. Some of these machines I had never seen or played in person (and I am a collector myself), so it was a pleasure to behold. With machines ranging from Commodore’s CPC and Coleco’s Colecovision through to 3DO and Neo Geo (with staples such as Master System/Mega Drive and NES/SNES also on show for good measure), there was something to see from virtually every generation (although I must admit, I don’t think I saw any Pong machines).

Most interesting? A homebrew version of Plants vs Zombies for the Mega Drive. Sure, it was limited and flickery, but… it worked! More of this next year please.

TCG

BYOC

I didn’t bring my own PC, and the hall was quite a way away from the rest of the complex, so I neglected to look into this area. However, suffice it to say that there was a LAN set up for BYOC fanatics to game away to their hearts content on their own rig.

Overall, I’d have to say that PAX AUS was a roaring success. Nothing was perfect – I’m sure Yug and team have gone away with a list of things they need to improve for next year (not the least of which being improved pathways between sites, and potentially larger theatres for panels), but for the first event of its kind, it was very well organised. I myself had healthy expectations and came away impressed, but it’s important to set your expectations before you attend. Our own Nicholas Simonovski himself mentioned that he personally was underwhelmed by PAX AUS – I have a feeling he may have been expecting it to be something it was not, but to me, it far exceeded what I thought was even possible. Having attended Tokyo Game Show on several occasions, I can honestly say I enjoyed PAX AUS more – it felt like more of a show, while TGS was very business-oriented and difficult for the average Joe (lines at TGS were often several hours long).

I very much recommend attending PAX AUS next year.

Special thanks to @Disco_box for several of the images.


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About the author

Greg Newbegin

Proud father of two, and a lover of games. Retro collector, writer, and fan of all things Japanese. I love all gaming machines equally.