Has anyone been to PAX before?

[Skynet]

PAX is coming to Australia in 6 months and I'm trying to get a feel for the type of stuff I can expect to see at PAX. I was wondering if anyone had been and what type of things I could expect to see.

The event page isn't really listing too much at this time. Is it mainly gaming, do they do other things besides game there, etc.

[Ex-Cyber]

I'd say it's almost entirely gaming-oriented, but "gaming" at PAX is pretty eclectic and includes things like board games, card games, and pen-and-paper RPGs. The US shows include concerts, talks by game developers, tournaments, and various other events. It's also a big tradition for attendees to organize their own unofficial events like pub crawls, after-parties, group visits to tourist attractions, and so on.

[DaMadFiddler]

I almost went in 2009, but other life events got in the way. What I've heard both from gaming media and from friends who've gone is that the event is pretty strictly focused on gaming (unlike Comic Con), but within the realm of gaming it's a wide umbrella. The primary focus is video games, but there are plenty of board games, card games (such as Magic), and tabletop RPGs as well... and a shockingly high percentage of people seem to carry their DSes around with them. There is also a tournament, which can draw from all the different types of games mentioned, and they tend to have gaming-related performances as well. The year I almost went, Jonathan Coulton (the guy who did the music for Portal) was the featured performer, and did "Still Alive" with Felicia Day. Other years, bands such as The Minibosses and The Protomen have performed.

My recommendation would be to go to a couple of gaming blogs (Joystiq and Kotaku work, if you don't have any others you prefer) and look back at their PAX reporting.

But the short answer is: yes, it's about gaming, and strictly gaming, though not strictly video games. It's not a "come all ye media" event like Comic Con has become.

[Skynet]

Cool, thanks guys. That's pretty much what I figured it was about, just wanted opinions on it from people who might know more about it than I do.

[Zealous zerotype]

BTW. Just wanna give mad props to the protomen. THey're a local band from nashville and I'm glad they've found some success. YOU FUCKING ROCK PROTOMEN.