PAX

CONCEPT

Since its inception in 2004, the Penny Arcade Expo has grown to be the largest gaming festival in North America. PAX West is held annually on Labor Day weekend in Seattle; PAX East in Boston in the Spring; PAX Australia in Melbourne in October; and PAX Unplugged in December in Philadelphia.

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Overview

PAX 09 - Day 1

The Penny Arcade Expo was created by Jerry "Tycho" Holkins and Mike "Gabe" Krahulik of the Penny Arcade web comic and was announced on April 12, 2004. The inaugural event was held over two days at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, WA where roughly 3000 attendees came to see offerings from Microsoft, Nintendo (Company), Ubisoft, and other developers/publishers. But it wasn't just about the miniature E3 (Concept)-like expo hall, as many panels allowed attendees access to discussions among developers and other Internet celebrities. And there were also concerts by bands such as The Minibosses and MC Frontalot. The first PAX also featured a tournament to end all tournaments known as the Omegathon.

After 2004, the show's attendance practically doubled each year. The exponential growth of the show forced the show's organizers to move to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in downtown Seattle (Location) in 2007, effectively doubling the space available for the 30,000 attendees that came to the event that year. Since moving to the larger venue, PAX has used more of the WSCTC each year until 2009, when the entirety of the venue was utilized. Attendance during PAX 2009 was 60,750, and it has been indicated that a cap on ticket sales prevented an even larger number of people attending. Every PAX since 2009, the show has completely sold out prior to the show. And, in 2013, PAX Prime sold out in less than six hours.

At PAX 2008 (Concept), Holkins and Krahulik announced the inaugural PAX East would be held on March 26-28, 2010 in Boston (Location)'s John B. Hynes Veteran's Memorial Convention Center. Much like the original PAX, the East version immediately outgrew its venue and, in 2011, moved to the newer and much larger Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

At PAX Prime 2012 (Concept), Holkins and Krahulik announced a third iteration of PAX, which would take place in Melbourne (Location), Australia (Location) in July 2013.

PAX 2004

Meydenbauer Center

The inaugural Penny Arcade Expo.

• August 28-29, 2004
• Meydenbauer Center
• Bellevue, Washington
• 3,300 Attendees
• Omegathon Finals: Pong (Game)

PAX 2005

• August 26-28, 2005
• Meydenbauer Center
• Bellevue, Washington
• 9,000 Attendees
• Omegathon Finals: Combat (Game)

PAX 2006

• August 25-27, 2006
• Meydenbauer Center
• Bellevue, Washington
• 19,323 Attendees
• Keynote Speaker: Alex St. John
• Omegathon Finals: Tetris (Game)

PAX 2007

WSCTC

The Penny Arcade Expo upgrades to Seattle.

• August 24-26, 2007
• Washington State Convention & Trade Center
• Seattle, Washington
• 39,000 Attendees
• Keynote Speaker: Wil Wheaton (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Halo 3 (Game)

PAX 2008

Jonathan Coulton

Attendance nearly doubles for the fourth year in a row.

• PAX 08
• August 29-31, 2008
• Washington State Convention & Trade Center
• Seattle, Washington
• 58,500 Attendees
• Keynote Speaker: Ken Levine (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Vs. Excitebike

PAX 2009

Giant Bomb Re-Reunion Tour

The Penny Arcade Expo sells out prior to the event for the first time.

• PAX 09
• September 4-6, 2009
• Washington State Convention & Trade Center
• Seattle, Washington
• 60,750 Attendees
• Keynote Speaker: Ron Gilbert (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Skee-Ball (Game)

PAX East 2010

Omegathon Finals

The Penny Arcade Expo expands to the east coast.

• PAX East
• March 26-28, 2010
• John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center
• Boston, Massachusetts
• 30,000 Attendees
• Keynote Speaker: Wil Wheaton (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer (Game), Tetris (Game), Contra (Game)

PAX Prime 2010

Expo Hall

The Penny Arcade Expo grows to take over more of Seattle.

• PAX 2010
• September 3-5, 2010
• Washington State Convention Center
• Seattle, Washington
• 67,600 Attendees
• Keynote Speaker: Warren Spector (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: The Omegaclaw (Claw/Crane game)

PAX East 2011

BC&EC

After just one year, PAX East expands to a larger venue.

• PAX East 2011 (Concept)
• March 11-13, 2011
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Keynote Speaker: Jane McGonigal
• Omegathon Finals: Ikaruga (Game)

PAX Prime 2011

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The eigth PAX Prime, and tenth overall PAX, expanded to utilize the entire WSCC with help from Halo Fest.

• PAX Prime 2011 (Concept)
• August 27-29, 2011
• Washington State Convention Center
• Seattle, Washington
• Keynote Speaker: David Jaffe (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: The Legend of Zelda (Game)

PAX East 2012

Expo Hall

PAX invades Boston on Easter weekend.

• PAX East 2012 (Concept)
• April 6-8, 2012
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
• Boston (Location), Massachusetts (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Jordan Mechner (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Crokinole

PAX Prime 2012

Omegathon Finals

PAX sells out in record time as tickets were gone within a few days of release.

• PAX Prime 2012 (Concept)
• August 30-September 1, 2012
• Washington State Convention Center
• Seattle (Location), Washington (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Ted Price (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Trials Evolution (Game)

PAX East 2013

Supergiant Games' Transistor

The fourth PAX East was the biggest PAX to date.

• PAX East 2013 (Concept)
• March 22-24, 2013
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
• Boston (Location), Massachusetts (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Cliff Bleszinski (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Spaceteam (Game)

PAX Australia

Melbourne Showgrounds

The first PAX to be held outside of the United States.

• PAX Australia
• July 19-21, 2013
• Melbourne Showgrounds
• Melbourne (Location), Victoria, Australia (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Ron Gilbert (Person)

PAX Prime 2013

Outside on Day 1

The tenth annual PAX and the first to cover four days.

• PAX Prime 2013 (Concept)
• August 30-September 2, 2012
• Washington State Convention Center
• Seattle (Location), Washington (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Peter Molyneux (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: SpyParty (Game)

PAX East 2014

Harmonix Royal Rumble

The fifth PAX East.

• PAX East 2014 (Concept)
• April 11-13, 2014
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
• Boston (Location), Massachusetts (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Alex Rigopulos (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Cornhole

PAX Prime 2014

Giant Bomb Guide to eSports Victory

The tenth anniversary of the Penny Arcade Expo.

• PAX Prime 2014 (Concept)
• August 29-September 1, 2014
• Washington State Convention Center
• Seattle (Location), Washington (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Mikey Neumann
• Omegathon Finals: Pac-Man

PAX Australia 2014

New venue.

The second annual PAX Australia moved to a larger venue as well as a later time in the year.

• PAX Australia 2014 (Concept)
• October 31-November 2, 2014
• Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
• Melbourne (Location), Victoria, Australia (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Pete Hines (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Combat (Game)

PAX South 2015

The inaugural PAX South made San Antonio the fourth city to host a Penny Arcade Expo.

• PAX South 2015 (Concept)
• January 23-25, 2015
• Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
• San Antonio (Location), Texas (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Geoff Keighley (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Pong (Game)

PAX East 2015

Win Dave Lang's Money

The sixth PAX East.

• PAX East 2015 (Concept)
• March 6-8, 2015
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
• Boston (Location), Massachusetts (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Dan Connors (Person) & Kevin Bruner (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Pac-Man Battle Royale

PAX Prime 2015

PAX Rumble 2015

The twelfth PAX in the Pacific Northwest.

• PAX Prime 2015 (Concept)
• August 28-31, 2015
• Washington State Convention Center
• Seattle (Location), Washington (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Kim Swift (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Super Mario Maker (Game)

PAX Australia 2015

The third annual PAX Australia.

• PAX Australia 2015 (Concept)
• October 30-November 1, 2015
• Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
• Melbourne (Location), Victoria, Australia (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Warren Spector (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Tetris andamp;amp;amp; Dr. Mario

PAX South 2016

The second PAX South.

• PAX South 2016
• January 29-31, 2016
• Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
• San Antonio (Location), Texas (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Cliff Bleszinski (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: GoldenEye 007 (Game)

PAX East 2016

The Mario Maker World Championships

The seventh Boston-based PAX.

• PAX East 2016 (Concept)
• April 22-24, 2016
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
• Boston (Location), Massachusetts (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Jonathan Blow (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Videoball (Game)

PAX West 2016

FFXV Chocobo Uber Cars

The thirteenth PAX in the Pacific Northwest was renamed.

• PAX West 2016 (Concept)
• September 2-5, 2016
• Washington State & Convention Center
• Seattle (Location), Washington (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Amy Hennig (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Super Mario Bros. 3

PAX Australia 2016

The fourth annual PAX Australia.

• PAX Australia 2016 (Concept)
• November 4-6, 2016
• Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
• Melbourne (Location), Victoria, Australia (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Larry Hryb (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Cowbots and Aliens (Game)

PAX South 2017

The first chance to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on a Switch.

The third PAX South.

• PAX South 2017 (Concept)
• January 27-29, 2017
• Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
• San Antonio (Location), Texas (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Chris Perkins
• Omegathon Finals: Air Hockey

PAX East 2017

Custom beer for the Giant Bomb panel. Courtesy of Andy Hill.

The eighth PAX East.

• PAX East 2017 (Concept)
• March 10-12, 2017
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
• Boston (Location), Massachusetts (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Jake Solomon (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (Game)

PAX West 2017

PAX RUMBLE V

The fourteenth PAX in the Pacific Northwest.

• PAX West 2017 (Concept)
• September 1-4, 2017
• Washington State Convention Center
• Seattle (Location), Washington (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Luke Smith (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: Nidhogg II (Game)

PAX Australia 2017

The fifth annual PAX Aus.

• PAX Australia 2017
• October 27-29, 2017
• Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
• Melbourne (Location), Victoria, Australia (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Burnie Burns
• Omegathon Finals: Crossy Road (Game), played with a balance board controller made by rudeism

PAX Unplugged

The inaugural PAX Unplugged focuses on tabletop and card gaming.

• November 17-19, 2017
• Pennsylvania Convention Center
• Philadelphia (Location), Pennsylvania (Location)
• Keynote Speaker:
• Omegathon Finals:

PAX South 2018

The fourth annual PAX South.

• PAX South 2018
• January 12-14, 2017
• Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
• San Antonio (Location), Texas (Location)
• Keynote Speaker:
• Omegathon Finals:

PAX East 2018

PAXAMANIA IV

The ninth annual PAX East and the first to cover four days.

• PAX East 2018 (Concept)
• April 5-8, 2018
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
• Boston (Location), Massachusetts (Location)
• Keynote Speaker: Brendan Greene (Person)
• Omegathon Finals: DropMix

PAX West 2018

The fifteenth annual PAX in the Seattle area.

• PAX West 2018 (Concept)
• August 31-September 3, 2018
• Washington State Convention Center
• Seattle (Location), Washington (Location)
• Keynote Speaker:
• Omegathon Finals:

Games view all →]

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Concept details

Name

PAX

Aliases

PAX Prime,PAX East,Penny Arcade Expo,PAX West,PAX South,PAX Australia,PAX Aus

Games

• None
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Franchises

Characters

Locations

• Has locations: Boston (Location), Seattle (Location), Washington (Location)

Objects

People

• Has people: Mike Krahulik (Person), Jerry Holkins (Person), Robert Khoo (Person)

Related Concepts

• Has related concepts: Gamescom 2010 (Concept), Gamescom 2011 (Concept), PAX 2008 (Concept), PAX 2009 (Concept), PAX East 2010 (Concept), PAX East 2011 (Concept), PAX East 2012 (Concept), PAX Prime 2010 (Concept), PAX Prime 2011 (Concept), PAX Prime 2012 (Concept), Tokyo Game Show 2010 (Concept), Tokyo Game Show (Concept), The PAX 10 (Concept), PAX East Indie Showcase (Concept), PAX East 2013 (Concept), E3 (Concept), PAX West 2018 (Concept), PAX Australia 2013 (Concept), PAX Australia 2014 (Concept), PAX East 2014 (Concept), PAX East 2015 (Concept), PAX East 2016 (Concept), PAX East 2017 (Concept), PAX East 2018 (Concept), PAX East 2019 (Concept), PAX East 2020 (Concept), PAX East 2024 (Concept), PAX Prime 2013 (Concept), PAX Prime 2014 (Concept), PAX Prime 2015 (Concept), PAX South 2015 (Concept), PAX South 2019 (Concept), PAX West 2016 (Concept), PAX West 2017 (Concept), PAX West 2019 (Concept), PAX West 2024 (Concept)