The first major details about this year’s celebration of all things nerd have been revealed, including info about panels, exhibitors, performers, and of course, registering to attend.
I’ve yet to go to the Penny Arcade Expo, and I don’t know if I ever will. I mean, I’m as big of a nerd as the next dude practicing Street Fighter combos while sitting on the bus listening to the FFVII soundtrack, but I’m not sure if I’ve got enough geek cred to hang with the crowd up there. This year’s show might finally be the one, though, as, judging from the details just released about the expo, it sounds like it’ll be an affair no respectable nerd should miss.
The festival will take place on September 4-6 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in rainy Seattle, Washington. On display there will be “some of this year’s hottest titles” from more than 60 exhibitors, including big names like Microsoft, Nintendo, Valve, Blizzard and Ubisoft. I’m guessing if you’re not into the Starcraft 2 beta by then, this’ll be your chance to play a build before it comes out.
“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.”
As always, the show will feature a variety of game-related musical acts to enjoy, including chiptunes-inflected rock outfit Anamanaguchi, synth-pop and music game regulars Freezepop, “Still Alive” songsmith Jonathan Coulton, nerdcore legend MC Frontalot, power duo Paul & Storm, and Metroid Metal, a musical project that takes the Metroid soundtrack and reimagines it in that most unholy and grim of musical genres, metal.
Pre-registration has begun and the organizers warn that most pre-sale badges will be gone before the scheduled closing date of August 15, so if you want to completely sure that you’ll be able to get a chance to get into the show, head over to www.paxsite.com.
