PAX versus Min-E3. Round one. FIGHT!
The logic goes: the giant void left where E3 used to reside will need to be filled. On Sunday, our first response was to write, "If the ESA doesn't manage to get the big guys back on board, another organizer will step in within the next 18 months with a show that will take E3's crown as the king of gaming trade shows." Could this dark horse expo be Penny Arcade's gamer-centric PAX? Gabe writes:
"With a projected attendance of something like 13 thousand people and exhibitors like Nintendo, Ubisoft, Microsoft and ATI PAX is in position to pick up where E3 left off. Apparently we're not the only ones who noticed either."
He contributes some other thoughts on the possibility noting that they've encountered a great deal of interest in exhibition space for PAX '07. With many of E3's biggest critics (like Greg Costikyan) wondering why the ESA didn't "throw the 'trade only' restriction out the window, open it up to actual gamers, charge them enough to make big bux for the ESA, ramp up attendance from 40k to 100k plus, and make it an event where publishers market to consumers as well as the trade," PAX does seem exceptionally well placed to capitalize on the failings of E3. If PAX evolved into something much larger, it could risk losing the personal touch the pair strive for, but it could resuscitate the not-yet rotting corpse of our fair E3. We'll be there regardless, how about you?
