Brace yourselves, the Penny Arcade Expo is coming to Melbourne!
IT’S more than eight months away, but it’s the PENNY ARCADE EXPO(!!!): you know, just the most epic game festival of all time. Grace Yew can hardly wait.
Rejoice, fellow game enthusiasts, the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is coming to Melbourne in 2013 and 2014!
PAX is the world’s largest game festival, where fans and game developers and publishers celebrate game culture. Since its inaugural outing in Seattle, attendance at PAX has exponentially increased: PAX Prime 2012 tickets were sold out within days.
The Victorian Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business, Louise Asher, and Penny Arcade President Robert Khoo made the announcement last week.
Miss Asher said PAX is the world’s premier game festival, so having it in Melbourne will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase Victoria to the world.
“This is the first time the event has been held outside the United States and attracting PAX Australia to Melbourne was a major coup for Victoria,” she said.
“It is a great opportunity to showcase games culture in Australia to the rest of the world, and the exposure around the region and the world that Melbourne’s games industry will gain from the event, and the number of international and domestic visitors that will be drawn to Melbourne, cannot be underestimated.”
Mr Khoo cited local demand and the city’s vibrant game culture as two reasons for the show coming to Australia.
“When we reached out to our international fans, the response from the Australian community for a local PAX was overwhelming,” Mr Khoo said.
“Melbourne has a long history of supporting the games scene, through showcasing cultural game exhibits to supporting world renowned game developers.”
“Holding PAX Australia in Melbourne is the perfect fit for our show.”
PAX Australia combines the thrilling features from previous PAX shows with unique local content and game-related events. International game developers, guests, musicians, and speakers will join local game industry representatives to showcase games and community events here in Australia.
Reports say 75 per cent of three-day passes to the event have already been sold out! Passes are still available but are going fast!
For more information about PAX Australia, visit the official website.