PAX Australia 2015 has come and gone for another year, and what an event it was. From the impressively vast selection of indie titles on display to the multitudes of panels to check out, it’s an understatement to call this year a success.
We got to check out the show floor one hour early before general admission were allowed in, and we were overwhelmed at both how large the show floor was and how many people were in the queue room. Our one hour gap was spent working out where everything was located as well as checking out the indie showcase. From all the things that we could briefly see we knew that everyone who was waiting outside was in for a blast.
As mentioned above, the indie showcase was vast and impressive with a variety of different genres to explore and check out. Kochie was keeping a sharp eye on the indie section for most of the event and will have an article detailing more about what titles caught our attention soon.
We also obtained interviews with both Wargaming and Alienware while we were at PAX. Kochie got to interview the devs for World of Tanks and Master of Orion as well as the General Manager for Wargaming Sydney, while I interviewed Alienware’s Director for Product Planning, Joe Olmsted. Both of our interviews will be up on the site later on.
While the show floor was full of big name publishers, PC component resellers and indie devs, there’s still a lot more to PAX. In the next hall over is the Freeplay Section, where gamers of all types (card games, tabletop, figurines, handheld, retro) can all meet up and have a game with each other. Although there are people there who are experienced in their respective gaming types, it’s great to see others having a go at something they may not be familiar with. There is a very friendly vibe throughout the section and people are more than willing to invite you into a game when passing by or even if you just want to spectate.
So if you’re wondering why you should go to PAX Australia over any other games expo, it’s that PAX is for the gaming community. It’s not solely for marketing the next best game for the year, but a place where you can go with your mates to look at what makes gaming great. The environment is relaxed, friendly and homely, and this is even seen with the large banner at the front of the Exhibition Centre with the words, “Welcome Home”.
If you’re thinking of making a trip to Melbourne next year for PAX, we highly recommend getting a 3 Day Badge. While the show floor alone can be covered in a day, there’s still the Freeplay Section and panels to check out which make it all worth while to spread your time over the three days.
Be sure to check out our photos on our Facebook page!