PAX West Recap
Mr. Shen and I went to PAX this past weekend, and we would like share our thoughts on the event.
Mr. Shen’s Take
I went to PAX Prime this weekend and have to admit that I had a wonderful time, not that I was planning otherwise. The show floor was filled mainly with games from big publishers, such as the Microsofts, Nintendos and Sonys of the world, but also included a good number of smaller publisher/developers and another handful (that’s three hands!) of traditional table top companies. I’d have to say the most fun I had on the digital front was playing with the Kinect, the motion sensing device for the 360 due to launch this fall. While I don’t foresee it replacing my controller anytime soon, it was definitely a fun experience and one I know I will enjoy with friends. I’m extremely excited for Flying Frog’s new board game based on their Last Night on Earth game, but utilizes martians and carnival folk. I also picked up some current release board games and a few retro pieces of video game hardware (Game & Watch, anyone?).
While there didn’t seem like a right fit for Flash games at this type of conference, I can’t say that this will always be the case. As these games become more sophisticated and destinations become more centralized, I can only imagine the top folks making a splash at these consumer facing conventions in the near future and I look forward to that time.
Colin’s Take
I also had a great time at PAX! This was my first time, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I was surprised with how much of the show really does revolve around playing/trying new games. The focus of the show seemed to be: the expo floor first (where all the demos are), playing table top games second, and a distant third were the sessions that they had sprinkled throughout each day.
My favorite part of the show were the nostalgic games from my youth that have been brought back to life: Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam! I used to love those games in the arcades, and now I can play some pretty nicely improved/modernized versions. The graphics for NBA Jam in particular look pretty amazing, and the 4-player version on the Wii is insane.
Other standouts for me were The Gig, Xbox Kinect, and the Disney game that’s coming soon (they even had animators there drawing sketches for Pax-goers!).
We also caught a really interesting session on community where a panel of community managers talked about the trials & tribulations of managing, moderating, and “serving” their communities, to which we could relate. There was also some insightful information as the panel focused more on audience participation by asking what community members want out of their community and how they want to be communicated with. Good stuff all around, and a great first PAX for me!
You can view a few more PAX photos on Mochi’s Flickr Account.
