PAX wasn't all fun and games this weekend. With upcoming game releases, panels, and live podcasts, PAX East was a hit with attendees; a hit that required a massive amount of patience. The Hynes Convention Center is a bulky building placed in the center of Boston that held 60,000 plus gamers and fans this year. The problem wasn't in the size of the building though, it was the size of the crowd.

Let me back up for a moment. This was my first PAX. In fact, this was technically the first gaming convention I've ever attended. Preparing for something of this magnitude seemed simple enough before my arrival. Some extra socks, T-shirts, laptop, chargers, etc., but I forgot to mention my special lady. Yes, she came too.

We made our drive from Conn. to Boston Friday afternoon donning smiles from ear to ear. She was to enjoy the city and shop throughout Newberry Street (down the street from the Hynes Center) while I gallivanted around PAX like a 10-year-old hopped up on Sour Patch Kids. In order to save you the agony of me going through the atrocity of what this turned into, I'll sum it up in one sentence. PAX gave my girlfriend the flu, turned me into a nurse for the weekend, and forced me to sit in more lines than I've ever been put through in my entire life.

To say PAX was overcrowded is an understatement. With all of the previews and interviews being strewn through news feeds, I need to touch on this issue specifically. Those printed words you've been reading are being scoffed up like my time has been waiting to get hands on with anything tangible inside PAX.

 

The expo area is where the majority of the new titles are being displayed and played throughout this weekend. The thousands of people that have made the trek out this year consumed the vast floor space. The crowds made it feel like you've been crammed into a jar full of hungry gamers poking at you from every angle. Games like Red Dead Redemption, Mafia 2, and Crackdown 2 were playable, but only if you're willing to wait out the hour long lines wrapping around the booth twice over. I expected there to be more games and more room. This led me to believe that many publishers and developers are waiting. With E3 only months away, the expo floor felt surprisingly lacking. Attendees ran rampant in a floor space that was easily navigated in about 10 minutes. I kept asking where the rest of the show was or where the other room was. There wasn't one.

Panels were also hugely popular this weekend. I had quite a nice daily schedule lined up for them prior to my arrival, but it was blown to bits the minute I walked up to the second floor. Panel lines were longer and extended to the ends of the entire floor. So much so that employees had to navigate and shape lines through the stair cases. Guests willing to wait for two hours in the hallways outside of the panel doors were assured a seat at the allocated time. There was no possible way to make a few of these in one day though. There wasn't enough time. People that had the patience had to pick one and set that slice of the day aside. Did PAX oversell passes for its first show in Boston? It sure felt that way.

I'm not trying to bum you out mind you. The time I was able to experience hands on with anything at PAX was great. Highlights include Split Second, which felt like a Burnout Paradise on steroids, and Mafia 2, one of Bitmob's own Jeff Grubb's favorites. I also found out something I had not intended on this weekend. It's not all about playing the games or even listening to the panels. It's about the thousands that have made the journey together to get here. In the same regard little people make the journey to little people conventions, we made the trek to PAX. The hours spent waiting in lines haven't gone wasted. Conversations flourished, friends were made, and ideas were exchanged. Boston became a melting pot of fanatics, journalists, and developers, co-existing on the same plane. With the hours spent tending to my flu ridden gal, I was still able to enjoy the show in my own way. I was among my people.