"E For All" Game Expo Withers, PAX Thrives

After the continued struggles of E3 this year, it looks like another IDG-based games conference will have its own troubles. BigDownload reports that most major game manufacturers are skipping E For All, in part due to their focus on the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) and BlizzCon (which will be televised). E for All will have major presentations by Microsoft and EA, but you'll have to go to PAX to see events and exhibits from other big publishers; for example, the playable Jumpgate Evolution demo, the Guild Wars tournament, or the Omegathon. The Seattle Times ran a story about Penny Arcade's creators and how PAX came into existence. Further competition for E For All is coming from the Tokyo Game Show, which runs in the beginning of October.

Comments

Being a Penny-Arcade fan....

[RobBebop]

I can say that it is good that a convention where the focus on gaming is valued more than the focus on the "market for gaming".

Hell... Penny Arcade was pushing the latest edition of Dungeons and Dragons table game not too long ago. I would guess that this is a fairly small market, but they don't care because they enjoy the game.

Re:Being a Penny-Arcade fan....

[Sethus]

There is so much truth to this. I went to PAX for the first time last year (and I'm going again this year, driving down to Houston from Dallas, and flying up) and the thing that struck me was how they don't sell games there. They showcase all these awesome games and you really get your consumer head going; but the total lack of stores there makes you realize; hey this is a Con for people who just love gaming.

Will Wheaton gave an excellent Keynote last year (and hopefully he's there again this year and I can have a chance to play some Smash or something with him) but really brought together my floating thoughts what it means to be a social gamer. In some ways it's simply parallel play, but PAX is about getting together with your best friends, going to have a blast and enjoy everything about gaming.

I'm no wordsmith, but this article comes as no huge surprise to me; PAX is awesome (and hopefully it continues to be).

Re:Being a Penny-Arcade fan....

[Anonymous Coward]

(of the New Hampshire Darkmagics)

Re:Being a East Coast Resident....

[ElectricTurtle]

Have you even been to PAX? Ever met Jerry and Mike (Tycho and Gabe)? There's going to be an East Coast PAX because metric ftons of people begged on their knees for it. It will have all the same features for what I would wager will be the same cost. How is that profiteering? Sources on the inside of PA Inc. have said that at their current, dirt-cheap ticket price they only about break even. I don't see how doing the same thing in another place that other people have requested is somehow magically sleazy. There's no sound ethical rationale for that.