Penny Arcade Expo Takes Over Convention Center, Downtown Seattle

Seattle, Washington -- The main event in downtown Seattle on Labor Day weekend was the fifth annual Penny Arcade Expo, the nation's largest gaming festival. Gamers from all over the U.S. and Canada came to this unique event to party, listen to speakers, and of course, play games.

The Penny Arcade Expo's claim to fame is that it addresses all gaming platforms: console, computer, handheld, and tabletop. It also maintains a good balance of information and entertainment - while there were many panels and workshops to choose from, there were also multiple rooms constantly open for game play, as well as concerts on Friday and Saturday night.

PAX got started with a bang, with 2,400 gamers lined up and waiting to enter the Convention Center when the doors opened on Friday afternoon. Though the day was short, it was packed with panels and keynote speakers. The afternoon included a Q&A session with the creators of the Penny Arcade webcomic and founders the Expo itself, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik.

As amazing as the afternoon was, the main event was the Friday night concert, which headlined the synth-pop band Freezepop. Freezepop opened with "Brain Power", best known from its inclusion in the popular Harmonix game Rock Band. Lead singer Liz Enthusiasm wooed the crowd into a shining display of waving cell phones and handhelds with "Plastic Stars", and the Duke of Pannekoeken gave a rendition of the national anthem on a handheld synthesizer that would have made Jimi Hendrix proud. Freezepop finished the set with a cover of "Final Countdown", much to the delight of the crowd.

Saturday was action as well as people-packed - Bethseda's preview of Fallout 3 filled the main theater to capacity. Bethseda's newest offering had been creating buzz simply by being the third game in a popular series. Fallout 3 is also getting attention because of the changeover from the third person omniscient perspective of the rest of the series to the perspective of a first person shooter. Judging by its reception at PAX, breaking the mold won't break the appeal of the Fallout series.

Another highlight was the panel on female gamer communities. The panel consisted of women who are leaders, and in some cases pioneers, in the gaming world. The speakers highlighted the fact that women have been a part of gaming since its inception and that female players as wells as gaming writers are only growing in numbers. They also spoke about the continued need for communities of women gamers; though their numbers of growing, woman gamers are still in the minority and need a safe environment where they can discuss and learn more about gaming.

Saturday night's headliner was the nerd-core rapper MC Frontalot, who took the stage with tight lyrics and frenetic energy. Sometimes lewd, sometimes educational, but always entertaining, Frontalot kept the crowd hopping with classics like "Floating Bridge" and "Yellow Lasers" as well as selections from his soon-to-be released album, Final Boss. MC Frontalot proved to be nerdcore to the bone - witnesses claim that they saw his mother at the merch table.

Sunday saw the end of PAX 2008, and with it the final round of the Omegathon. The Omegathon is a gaming competition that incorporates games of all types from all genres - for examples, the penultimate contest was a very tense round of Jenga. The contestants consisted of the runner-up from last year's Omegathon, an attendee from the previous year who had attended every round of the 2007 Omegathon, and eighteen random pre-registrants to PAX 2008. The prize the Omeganauts were competing for: $5,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to the Tokyo Game Expo.

The final game, which was announced minutes before the last round began, was VS. Excitebike. While Excitebike was released in the United States, the two player racing version was not, so neither contestant had previous experience with the game. Though the playing field was level, the competition wasn't - Joey Geko (aka Joseph Paul Urbansky) cleared the field with a 4 to 0 win.

PAX 2008 proved not only to be bigger than ever, but also better than ever. The nation's biggest gaming festival may also be its best.