Day 1 done at PAX (recap)

Live Blog — By on March 27, 2010 8:59 am

It has been less than 7 hours since PAX East day 1 ended, and although I didn’t stay until the end, I wanted to reflect on the first day of this highly anticipated video game conference.  With the masses of over 45,000 people in attendance, it was hard to navigate the hallways, moving from session to session or even moving to the expo hall, it was packed.  But that is nothing compared to what you can actually see and demo here…

Let’s start first with quick thoughts on organization.  With a conference this big, the organization is pretty damn good.  You have a good couple hundred volunteers or “enforcers” who man every hallway, every staircase and every entrance into any room.  They are everywhere and to get so many damned volunteers is awesome!  But like always, it comes with a price.  Hynes Convention Center is really big, with the main theatre accommodating about 1000 people, the keynote with Wil Wheaton was PAX’s first test.  My brother and I decided to hit the lines 20 minutes early and to our dismay, the keynote was already full.  In fact, it was full 15 minutes before that!  So we moved forward to the next session which was about building online communities.  Again, another line for a panel that was going to start in another 30+ minutes. And then it hit us… We need to get into line at least 30+ minutes before any panel to even have a chance to make it in.  But where does that leave me?  A 1 man crew?

SoL.  Yes, with the media only expo starting in less than 10 minutes, and the FoxTrot panel starting at 10am, it leaves me with literally 30 minutes of “good” 1:1 sessions with vendors to see what new products they have.  PAX originally set up media expo at 8am but bumped it to 9am, which in my mind is pretty harsh for the single writer trying to cover a little bit of everything.

So while my coverage is going to be very spotty and not very coherent, it is probably because I am trying to find the more interesting to write about or trying to take pictures of everything going on.  Instead, I will probably just use pictures and label them appropriately.

But back to gaming, there is nothing left behind.  The freeplay PC gaming room, which probably uses up as much energy as some towns (yes, there are hundreds of high-end PCs) is just awesome, being able to play a lot of video games (generally FPS or first person shooters)).  There are plenty of Sumo bean bag chairs where people sit and play with their Nintendo DS or Sony PSP.  There are console rooms where people can play Xbox 360, PS 3 and Nintendo Wii.  There are Rock Band stations and even a Rock Band lounge with a bar…  Gamers have it all.  And not just video gamers too, there are plenty of board games here like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and Magic the Gathering.  There is always something to do here if you aren’t attending any talks or looking at any new products at the expo hall.

First opinion of the expo’s ROI (return on investment) for the gamer?  Incredibly high.  Just think of the swag that people are getting: T-shirts, pins, Flash drives and even video cards, processors and computers.  The initial cost of $45 for 3 days of gaming, etc. is well worth its price.  Excepts for the $2.75 soda vending machines… but that is for a different post…

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