Last year drew 58,500; this year at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, the show had a fixed amount of tickets to sell due to overcrowding and safety concerns.

The figure is also south of back-of-the-envelope estimates that the con would draw 75,000. However, Khoo told Big Download he hopes more will be able to attend next year's expo, in light of expansion plans for the convention center. In late March, there also is PAX East in Boston. Khoo provided no early estimates of its attendance.

Exclusive: PAX 2009 Brings in 60,750 Attendees [Big Download via Joystiq]

While many of us would attend the Penny Arcade Expo 2009 even if it were one guy in an auditorium playing Metroid music on a harmonica, it's nice to know that so far they've got much more than that planned. More than 60 exhibitors are already signed up to show their wares, including big names such as Microsoft, Ubisoft, Blizzard, Valve, and Nintendo, none of which will be bringing Fatal1ty with them.

In terms of musical entertainment, this year sees the return of Freezepop, Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot, Anamanaguchi and new additions in the form of, Paul and Storm and Metroid Metal, the latter of which will be offering their new album exclusively at the show.

"Every show, we try to offer gamers new content, old favorites and the best overall experience possible," said Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo. "If you really think about it, we're easily the biggest show west of the Mississippi within the continental United States that focuses on games that isn't E3 or affiliated in some way with NBC. If you've never been to PAX, 2009 is your year to come."

And if you miss that year, then definitely come in 2010. Failing that, you'll probably want to wait until 2012. We can't say why - just trust us.

The Penny Arcade boys are giving the East Coast a little loving in 2010, with PAX East taking place at the
Hynes Convention Center in Boston from March 26th through to the 28th. So far there's no information on who is attending, which hotels are participating, or what you'll be doing should you choose to attend, but judging by the insane amount of fun the West Coast folks and migratory East Coasters have been having over the past few years, it shall be an event to remember, or not remember, depending on which parties you attend.

Those of you who are 100% certain you'll be free next March can go ahead and pre-register now, with one day tickets setting you back $30 and the three-day pass a bargain at $50. Pre-register early and secure your chance to tell everyone you've pre-registered early!

PAX East [Official Website - Thanks eye-shuh!]

Blizzard can't seem to decide on a month, with the first and third BlizzCon fan conventions taking place in October, and the second and now fourth taking place in August. They do love the Anaheim Convention Center, however, returning for a fourth time and expanding to include four convention halls instead of last year's three in order to handle an ever-growing number of attendee hopefuls.

"We've been amazed by the incredible response to each of our previous BlizzCon events," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're pleased to be bringing the convention back to Anaheim this year, and we look forward to this new opportunity to meet Blizzard gamers from around the world."

BlizzCon is a relatively annual (they skipped 2006) event that allows players from around the world to come and bask in everything that is Blizzard Entertainment. It features hands-on time with upcoming games, tournaments, contests, developer panels, and more exclusive merchandise than you can shake a stick at. Plus, when Blizzard has a big announcement to make, this is one of the places they're apt to do it.

Blizzard will announce further details about the event as it draws closer, so stay tuned for news on when you can desperately attempt to get tickets.

The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo will hit McCormick Place's Lakeside Center on April 16, 2010, a three-day geek-out that will feature "artists, creators and celebrities from Hollywood, TV , comics, books, video games, toys, anime, manga and all other applicable aspects of the popular arts," according to Reed Exhibitions' Lance Fensterman. Yay! Video games!

The New York Comic Con hits the Big Apple this weekend, with the corporately unrelated San Diego Comic-Con dorking it up in July. The CCEE will reflect "the essence of Chicago," which I won't attempt to determine, as the whole of my knowledge of the city has been learned from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Chicago's Comic & Entertainment Expo will have to compete with another new convention, as Penny Arcade's PAX starts a Boston chapter next year as well.

We'd expect to see a decent amount of video game related content at all of these cons, with the new Chicago event seeing some love from developers and publishers, such as Midway, Volition, Day 1 and High Voltage Software, who call the city home.

Chicago lands 2010 comic book show [Chicago Tribune - thanks, Justin!]

Despite bringing in more than 200,000 visitors to its Leipzig conference center last summer, game publishers decided to break away from the city to move things to the larger venues of Cologne.

Earlier this week Leipzig seemingly gave up, saying that they would focus on mobile and online gaming only, leaving Cologne’s similarly named GamesCom to soak in a broader spectrum of gamers.

The break highlights an issue that the U.S. has been struggling with for the past few years: Is there such a thing as too many game conventions? And are they even necessary anymore?

I spoke with Rich Taylor, senior vice president of communications and research for the Entertainment Software Association, today about the big show they put on every year in the U.S.

E3 has gone through some ups and downs over the past few years, moving out of and back into the Los Angeles Convention Center, but Taylor says this year’s upcoming show will be both successful and necessary.

“I think E3 will always have a place, because it’s a moment where all of the inspirations and investments are unveiled,” he told me. “I think there will always be an appetite to see that.”

In fact, nearly 5,500 people have already checked in with the organization to see about coming to this year’s show, despite the fact that registration hasn't opened yet.

But why do a show at all? E3 was born out of the necessity to highlight a new and niche pastime, with video game sales exceeding $22 billion last year, it’s fair to say it’s not really niche anymore.

You don’t see all an encompassing movie convention each year or one dedicated to television watching.

Taylor argues that the gaming experience is different from the television and movie watching one. Video game players are more engaged with the experience, he said. And that deeper engagement leads to a stronger thirst for meeting with the people behind the games people play.

Robert Khoo, director of business development of Penny Arcade, helps put on the annual Penny Arcade Expo each year. The show, which drew nearly 60,000 people to Seattle last year, is all about quenching that thirst.
Khoo agrees that the industry could one day see market saturation with an abundance of game conferences, but he doesn’t think that will be happening anytime soon.

He points out the U.S.’s many gaming-themed conventions are designed to appeal to a number of different interests, each with its own top show.

“There’s the Game Developers Conference for developers, there is E3 for the industry and PAX for consumers,” he said.

And while this year’s Penny Arcade Expo, set for Labor Day Weekend, will have to endure a tougher economy, he thinks that will just make PAX stronger, separate the wheat from the chaff.

Well Played is a weekly column about the big news of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

“Microsoft’s presence at the 2008 event will help us build on the great success of last year’s inaugural E for All event, and will further our goal of building an exciting and cutting-edge event that brings the best and newest games to gamers of all types. We look forward to a terrific 2008 event, and to having the opportunity to bring even more great game products to the great gamers who attend E for All.”

Last year Microsoft passed on the first E For All, so this early sign of support casts a very encouraging light of hope on the event's second year. Dolaher promises more participants will be announced in the coming weeks.

Microsoft Corporation to Show Its Newest Games at the Second Annual E for All Expo
E for All 2008

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Entertainment for All Expo (E for All ) is kicking off its 2008 show with a bang, announcing today that Microsoft Corporation has signed on to exhibit at the 2nd annual E for All™ video game event, scheduled to take place October 3-5, 2008, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“We are thrilled that Microsoft Corporation has decided to exhibit at this year’s E for All. The addition of Microsoft’s leading line of products at the event will be a huge benefit for attendees, from hardcore gamers to families, and everyone in between,” said Mary Dolaher, Chief Executive Officer at IDG World Expo, the leading producer of world-class tradeshows and events around the globe and owner of E for All. “Microsoft’s presence at the 2008 event will help us build on the great success of last year’s inaugural E for All event, and will further our goal of building an exciting and cutting-edge event that brings the best and newest games to gamers of all types. We look forward to a terrific 2008 event, and to having the opportunity to bring even more great game products to the great gamers who attend E for All.”

Dolaher said additional E for All participants and features will be announced in the coming weeks. For more about E for All, please visit www.EforAllExpo.com.

ADVENTURE GAMING EXPO CONVENTION TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Adventure Game Fans - It's Time to Get Your Game On This Summer

MATAWAN, New Jersey - May 1, 2008 - Adventure Gaming Expo, the largest convention dedicated to adventure game fans, today announced that tickets are now available for the inaugural event. Adventure Gaming Expo will take place August 29 - 31, 2008 in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the brand new luxury resort ,The Water Club which is connected to the world-famous Borgata hotel, casino, and resort. From old-school text adventure games to the classic Sierra and LucasArts hits, to Myst and modern day adventure games, the Expo has something for every fan of the genre.

"This will be an exciting weekend for every adventure game fan," said Howard Sherman, Chairman, CEO, and Implementor at Malinche Entertainment, the organizer of Adventure Gaming Expo. "Meeting the legends who created these classic, timeless adventure games would be reason enough to go, but throw in a charity auction loaded with dozens of rare adventure gaming collectibles, workshops, discussions, and a live-action adventure game, and you end up with a life-changing experience."

All Adventure Gaming Expo guest will have the opportunity to personally meet all of our VIP Celebrity guests, as well as attend a series of workshops and panel discussions focused entirely on adventure games — from playing them, to beating them, to designing them.

VIP Celebrities include:
Scott Adams - Pioneer of the first personal computer adventure games
Lori & Corey Cole - Creators of the Quest for Glory series & the Shannara adventure game
Chris Jones - Creator of the Tex Murphy series
Al Lowe - Creator of the Leisure Suit Larry series
Scott Murphy - Co-creator of the Space Quest series
Tony Van - Exec producer of Myst V: End of Ages and creator of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation game series

Charity Auction to Benefit Pencils for Kids
The charity auction will feature rare adventure game artifacts, including the original Zork game (zip-locked TRS-80 version), background art used in producing Space Quest, autographed games from legendary designer Steve Meretzky, a CSI game signed by all eight cast members, and a myriad of other antiquities from the treasure vault. All proceeds will be donated to Pencils for Kids, a foundation dedicated to giving impoverished children the tools to learn.

Live Action Adventure Game
For the daring adventurer who wants to prove their mettle, text adventure game Implementor Howard Sherman is crafting a live-action adventure game that will be played across the expansive Borgata/Water Club Property. What's a live action adventure game? Think REAL locations with REAL objects (and real red herrings) as well as REAL people acting as NPCs.

Extra surprises are planned during the weekend and additional events and activities are constantly being added.

Special Early Registration is $99 until May 31st. Discount rooms are also available for registered Adventure Gaming Expo attendees.

Additional information and event registration can be found at: http://adventuregamingexpo.malinche.net/

"We are thrilled with the attendance, and we are pleased that we delivered the event we aimed for, which was a celebration that truly was for the entire game community," offered CEO Mary Dolaher.

18,000 turnout for inaugural E for All [GamesIndustry.biz]

This means that poor PAX attendees will have to be satisfied with the fifty-three exhibitors who got in under the wire. Fifty-three. That's a good bit more than the castrated E3 has this year. Of course you get the odd non-video gaming related company like ITT Tech, Upper Deck (WoW Cards don't count) and 1up.com, but for the most part it's just going to be wall to wall interactive entertainment companies, all looking to impress you. Makes you all warm and fuzzy inside. Hit up the jump for the full list. Should be one hell of a show! Michael Fahey

Penny Arcade Expo '07 Triples Amount of Game Exhibits

Headliners include Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony and Ubisoft

Seattle, Washington - June 27, 2007 Penny Arcade today announced that exhibit space is sold out for its upcoming Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) gaming culture festival, officially tripling the size of exhibit space from previous years. The 4th annual event, which moved to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in downtown Seattle this year in order to accommodate interest from both exhibitors and a rapidly growing number of attendees, is slated to take place August 24th-26th.

"We thought that by tripling the available exhibitor space, we'd have enough room for everybody. I guess we were wrong." said Penny Arcade's director of sales, Mike Fehlauer. "We do our best to throw a kickass party for the gamer community, and so we're grateful-and relieved-that the response has been so positive. Exhibitors and attendees alike have decided that PAX is the show to attend; it's the only place where you'll find tabletop, console, and PC gamers and exhibitors-plus concerts, tournaments, panels, and freeplay-under the same roof, with no BS."

On the exhibit floor, PAX '07 attendees can expect to try their hands at yet-to-be-released games and products from exhibitors including Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts/Mythic, Harmonix, Foundation 9, Sierra/Vivendi Universal, Wizards of the Coast, NCSoft, Sabertooth Games, D3 Publishing, Telltale Games, the Behemoth, Namco-Bandai, Upper Deck, Wizkids, Atari, ArenaNet, Hothead Games, America's Army and Rockstar. (See below for a complete list of exhibitors this year) In addition to showing a multitude of pre-release games on its show floor, PAX offers attendees a host of game-related conference sessions, parties, concerts, tournaments and more!
Game publishers and developers interested in attending PAX 2008 should contact Mike Fehlauer at mikef@penny-arcade.com.

Complete List of Exhibitors for PAX 2007
1up.com
America's Army
ArenaNet
Astro Gaming
Atari
The Behemoth
The Bungie Store!
CCP/Whitewolf
D3 Publishing
DeVry University
Digipen
Dolby
EA Mythic
The ECA
Fantasy Flight Games
Flying Lab Software
Foundation 9 Entertainment
Gamecock Media Group
GameTap
GameTrailers.com
Garage Games
Gas Powered Games
Green Ronin Publishing
The Guildhall
Harmonix
ITT Tech
Konami
Longbow Digital Arts
Metanet Software
Microsoft
Namco Bandai
Nintendo of America
Nvidia
Octopi
Paizo Publishing
Pink Godzilla
Privateer Press
Rockstar Games
Sabertooth Games
Sierra/Vivendi Games
Sony Computer Entertainment of America
Strategy Computers
Sumo Lounge
Tablestar Games
Technomancer Press
Telltale Games
Tenacious Games
Turbine
Ubisoft
UDON Entertainment
Upper Deck Entertainment
Wizards of the Coast
Wizkids

Blizzard has thrown the switch on the BlizzCon website. The site has details about the developer's upcoming game convention which runs in late October.

The convention will be open to all ages and the cost of entry will be a mere $120 with only 4,400 tickets being sold.

If you can scrape together the cash and make the list you'll be able to catch Q&As with the World of Warcraft and StarCraft: Ghost teams, watch the BlizzCon Invitational Tournament and roam a LAN area stocked with Blizzard-laden PCs. The convention will also have its very own merchandise, making it convenient for you to drop what little cash you have left after paying $120 to get through the doors. The whole thing will wrap up with a closing-night concert featuring a still unnamed band.

Tickets go on sale July 21.

BlizzCon [Official Site]

Penny Arcade Expo [PAX]

Gen Con So Cal [GenCon]