I'm going to say this right off. I didn't know what to expect. I had attended E3 back in 1999 when it was a different beast entirely. Frankly, its a been a while since i've been 'among my own'. PAX 2007 really opened my eyes to the new direction gaming expos are heading in, and it was a bit of a wake up call. In short, I am not anything like the gamers of today.
I want to be alone playing games. I love games, dont get me wrong, but the current focus of PAX is the idea of collaborative gaming experiences. This is due in part to the fact that on this is the end of the show, this is what the Penny Arcade Duo can deliver without dependencies on the various gaming publishers and developers. I attended today with the goal of primarily hitting up the exhibition hall and seeing some 'new stuff', not taking part in tournaments and round table discussions.
But that's still what PAX is currently all about. The exhibition hall, while a great representation of the biggest names in console AND pc gaming, was littered with kiosks that mostly existed to show the current catalog of games already released by said developer or publisher. It seemed like PC devs seemed far more open showing newer things at this expo, as Warhammer Online, and Witcher, and the Company of Heroes expansion (with GORGEOUS DX10 effects) were on display for all to see. I did see things like VF5 360 (looks identical) and Castle Crashers! OMG! but by and large, it was a 'been there, done that' experience. The level of swag was also pretty meh. Posters and booklets, demo disks and posts cards were handed out en masse.
I planned to only attend for 3 hours or so because word from Friday was that the concerts were almost something to give up entirely on cause they could only hold so many people and it was first come first serve. After I gawked at the exhibition hall I moved on to the private gaming lounges, which all seemed to be empty. Each was oriented on a theme and required that I register or else an enforcer, as they call them, would GET ME.
So I got bored quick and found a table in the cafe and joined some friends who were chowin' down on subway while I continued to subject myself to Luminous Arc. IM IN CHAPTER 22. After about an hour of kickin back, as gamers seem prone to at PAX, I hit a mexican bar with drinky and seph and gorged on mexican food and glasses of Fat Tire Ale.
Some highlights:
First off, you fuckers better thank me when Castle Crashers comes out cause I bought all four knights and thats not cheap! They said they needed paychecks and they need to sell shit. IM GULLIBLE. All spending money gone within 5 minutes of exhibition hall!
My cats newest TOY lol.
Penny Arcades game. Didnt actually stop to look at it.
Given to me as a gift after blowing money on the castle crasher knights 
EVERY fucking con, I swear!
Pissed my pants a little.
Wanted these a little.
ACTION SHOT OF TABLE TOP GAMING! These guys were everywhere!In short, wait a few years if you wanna see unreleased CONSOLE games at PAX en masse. This show is, until the corps are willing to go all in, made by the fans, for the fans.
