Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is a three-day celebration of games and gamer culture. The festival includes an exhibition floor filled with playable builds of upcoming tabletop, console, and computer games; a conference program of game industry speakers; music concerts; freeplay areas; industry parties; an independent games showcase, an independent games showcase; game tournaments and more.
Beginning immediately, independent developers seeking to participate can submit their one-of-a-kind game creations for consideration at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/27819 until May 7, 2008. A panel of 50 industry experts, including Penny Arcade's own Gabe and Tycho, will select the ten best submissions in terms of gameplay and "fun factor" for inclusion in The PAX 10; those selected will be shown in the PAX Exhibit Hall, allowing attendees, media and publishers alike to view their home-grown potential. Attendees will have the chance to vote on the exhibited games, granting one of The PAX 10 the "Audience Choice Award," to be announced on www.penny-arcade.com following this year's expo.
Although The PAX 10 display booth is guaranteed, all other PAX exhibit space is filling up quickly as Sony Online, Microsoft, THQ, Blizzard, Namco, NCSoft, Foundation 9 and more than two dozen additional developers and publishers have already signed up for Exhibit Hall booths. Other interested game industry professionals should contact Mike Fehlauer at mikef@penny-arcade.com to reserve space.
On a related note, attendee ticket sales have continued to grow year over year. Last year's official count was more than 37,000 attendees, making it the largest gaming festival in North America, and 2008 already looks to break that record. "We're selling tickets over twice as fast as we did in 2007, which of course is terrifying," said Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo. "At this point, attendees expect a great show. That's something we know how to do."