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Early bird special on PAX East tickets
Although registration has been open since April, it appears that PAX East tickets are now discounted until the end of the year. The day pass currently costs $25, while the three-day pass is $45, which is a $5 savings off the previous pre-purchase price -- and a $10 cut off the door prices.It appears that hotel information is also up on the PAX East site. Although several of those hotels are definitely within tolerable "Boston in late-March walking distance," the Holiday Inn in Brookline, which appears to be the best value on the list, is a straight shot on the C line to the convention center.[Via Kotaku]
SWTOR's Coruscant artwork and PAX video
So maybe you missed out on seeing the glorious video reveal of Coruscant at PAX this year. No worries, because BioWare's been kind enough to release a high quality copy of the video into the wilds of the internet. We've posted it after the break in case you'd like to simple jump right into it.There's more news beyond the video being available on the game's official website, though, such as a bevy of very cool concept art that should entice any Star Wars: The Old Republic fan for several minutes bare minimum -- some of us may spend longer amounts of time staring.None of this is a big reveal, but that's perfectly understandable given the team's presence at PAX last weekend. So what about next weekend? Well, next weekend they'd better deliver or else we'll have to uh- well we'll just be sad if they don't, but it'll be a really vicious sadness that sends chills down spines!
PAX attendance rises by 2k, 60,750 people geek out
After the recent announcement by the folks at Penny Arcade that PAX 2009 sold out the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, today they officially released attendance numbers for this year's Penny Arcade Expo. Speaking with Big Download, PA's Robert Khoo said 60,750 people packed into the convention center -- though he had earlier predicted "roughly 75,000" -- and that the show's organizers are looking into expansion plans for next year to accommodate more showgoers. We'd say with the unveiling of PAX East, some people may very well have stayed home in anticipation of a shorter travel distance early next year over this year's Washington-based soiree. This might help explain the relatively small attendance growth from 2008's 58,500 people to this 2009's numbers. However, Khoo said he's surprised how many people plan on attending both PAX East and next year's PAX, umm, West. We'll see you a year from now, Khoo -- with facts!
PAX attendees can grab free Avatar shirt, angelic glow sold separately
If you're in attendance at PAX 2009, make sure to head over to Microsoft's special Xbox table on the 4th floor of the North lobby and grab a redemption code for a free Xbox Avatar PAX shirt. Supplies are limited, but Microsoft will be handing out codes from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Pacific) on Saturday, in case you missed today's giveaway rounds. Sure, it isn't as awesome as proclaiming your D&D skills ... but it's a great way to make your online friends jealous that you made it to the sold-out Seattle event.
Blizzard at PAX this weekend
As we reported a little while back, Blizzard will be in attendance at the sold out Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, Washington this weekend, and Crygil has posted on the forums that they'll have everything playable that they had at BlizzCon: the new Diablo III Monk class, the Cataclysm expansion, and the Starcraft II singleplayer campaign. Somewhat strangely, they don't actually say that the Cataclysm expansion will be the same starter zones that we played at BlizzCon -- they may actually have some of old world Azeroth open and playable. But on the other hand, they'd probably announce something like that if it was happening, and given that they'll have a smaller setup than BlizzCon, we don't imagine there'll be anything really new there.In other WoW news at PAX, our friends at The Guild will be screening the entire season 2 on Friday evening -- Jeff Lewis and Sandeep Parikh will be there, along with producer Kim Evey and Wil Wheaton (Felicia is headed off to Dragon*Con this weekend). Unfortunately, the screening is during the Friday evening concert, and so you might have to miss Anamanaguchi, Metroid Metal, and MC Frontalot. My favorites Jonathan Coulton and Freezepop are playing on Saturday night, though, so you can fit in both of those if you like.
NCsoft and DC Comics announce Aion comic book
NCsoft and DC Comics have teamed up to create a limited edition comic based on Aion which focuses on the Asmodian Daeva Aiva. She might look familiar as her image is used to advertise the game and a statue of her will also be found in the Collector's Edition when Aion is released later this month. "Aiva's Story" is the work of artist Neil Googe and writers David Noonan and Ricardo Sanchez. Aiva's life is torn apart when her family is killed by an Elyos raiding party. Embittered, she endures a harsh life as a mercenary, fighting Karnifs and the Mau. She brings with her a festering hatred for the white-winged Elyos, eventually ascending to Daevahood and is posted to the Abyss. The comic book will be available (albeit in limited quantities) at the Aion booth at this weekend's Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle but fans will also be able to get their hands on a copy by purchasing the game at GameStop in the US and Electronic Boutique stores in Canada..You can check out our gallery below to see the cover art in it's full glory, as well as some internal artwork.%Gallery-71519% Want to know more about Aion? NCsoft invites you into the world of Atreia where the Elyos and the Asmodians fight each other and the evil Balaur for control of the shattered planet. Check out out all our coverage of this must-play MMO!
NCsoft announces its PAX plans
It's nearly September which means the Penny Arcade Expo is swiftly approaching. Taking place between September 4th-6th in Seattle, PAX is fast becoming the new must-attend convention for all sections of the industry, from developers to publishers and gamers. NCsoft has just announced their plans for this year's convention and this focuses on their three big IPs: Aion, Guild Wars 2 and City of Heroes.NCsoft will once again have booths at the event, one per game. On the Aion front, they will be showing the latest build of the game, which includes patch 1.5 (aka The Shadow of the Balaur). Producer Brian Knox and Associate Producer Lani Blazier will also be on hand at booth #642. At the Guild Wars 2 booth (#842), there will be Q and As with the Live Team, a talk on the upcoming novel The Fall of Ascalon and the chance to win a 128 page Art of Guild Wars 2 artbook. Finally at the City of Heroes booth (#542) you can take a peek at the new update ("Power Spectrum") and nab a special PAX Costume Power code. There will also be a player meet up on the Saturday night (September 5th) hosted by the Online Community Relations team, for more information on that click here.
Global Agenda announces North American tour
The team at Hi-Rez Studios announced they're taking Global Agenda on the road for a North American tour. It'll be a chance for fans, or anyone curious about the shooter-MMO hybrid, to get some hands-on time with Global Agenda and meet the developers from Hi-Rez Studios. The Global Agenda tour kicks off this week at QuakeCon in Dallas and will hit the major gaming events through January. The tour dates announced thus far are: August 13-15 -- Dallas, QuakeCon September 4 -- Atlanta, DragonCon September 4-6 -- Seattle, Penny Arcade Expo October 22-24 -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Games and Media Expo January 7-10 -- Las Vegas, Consumer Electronics Show %Gallery-35351%
PAX 2009 Omegathon events and contenders revealed
At last, the terror-inducing gauntlet of games that participants in this year's Omegathon must navigate has been revealed by a recent press release. Listed below are the six rounds that will serve as the unforgiving battlegrounds for twenty contestants (who are named after the break) -- we can't wait to see how tournament-style Bookworm Adventures will play out. Blood will be shed, boys will become men, girls will likewise become women -- and only one will triumph with tickets to this year's Tokyo Game Show (and $5,000 in walkin' around money) clutched in their victorious paw. Round 1: Mario Kart Wii Round 2: Bookworm Adventures Round 3: Halo 3: ODST Round 4: Unnamed rhythm game (DJ Hero or The Beatles: Rock Band, perhaps?) Round 5: Connect Four Final Round: ????? %Gallery-30939%
Blizzard headed back to PAX this year
Can't make it to BlizzCon but still want to check out Blizzard's latest offerings? Blizzard has appeared on the list of sponsors for Penny Arcade's PAX convention, which takes place later this year on September 4-6, 2009 in Seattle, Washington. PAX is a great time and a ton of fun -- I went a few years ago, and really enjoyed it. In addition to a terrific lineup of geeky musicians and demo panels from game developers, they always have a nice open floor full of the latest games to check out and play. And since PAX will be going down after BlizzCon (which takes place in two weeks), if you go, you'll likely have a chance to check out whatever Blizzard wants to put on display, be that Starcraft II or Diablo 3, or, you know... anything else they might announce.Plus, tickets to PAX are cheaper and even easier to get than BlizzCon tickets anyway, not to mention that you'll be seeing way more games and companies than just Blizzard. In fact, why am I going to BlizzCon again? I'd almost rather go to PAX this year. I'd love to see Freezepop!Oh, right, I can't miss our legendary meetup (wait until you guys see the giveaways we have planned!). But even if you're going to Penny Arcade's show because you can't make it to Blizzard's convention, stay tuned here to WoW.com -- we'll make you feel like you're there anyway.
Win a trip to PAX courtesy of Cryptic Studios
Cryptic Studios is running a contest wherein the winner gets a super-cool trip to Seattle, so they can attend the Penny Arcade Expo. We thought was well worth sharing, so here's the lowdown: One random community member will receive a trip to PAX that includes airfare, hotel, and a dinner with the Cryptic crew. There's no doubt in our minds that whoever wins this is going to be one happy fan.The best part is that entering is as simple as registering an account at the official Champions Online website. If you're already a member, then you've already been entered. However, the contest is only running until August 17th, so make sure to register by then if you never have and want a chance to win. Best of luck to everyone, and we'll see you at PAX!
PAX 10 announced, features an all-stars of indie gaming selection
With PAX 2009 just under two months away, the folks organizing the Penny Arcade Expo have begun gearing up for the show. How do we know, you ask? Simple: The PAX 10 was announced today, featuring a list of games we'd sorta/kinda heard of before. Since we're so cool and totally knew about all these games before anyone else did (yeah right), we're a bit nonplussed by this year's PAX 10 winners. Hell, we even have Fieldrunners running on our giant, collective iPhone right now. Seriously! Okay, fine, we only knew that one ... CarneyVale: Showtime by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Games Lab (Xbox 360) Closure by Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe (PC) Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios (iPhone/iPod touch) Liight by Studio Walljump (Wii) Machinarium by Amanita Design (PC) Osmos by Hemisphere Games (PC) Puzzle Bloom by Team Shotgun (PC) Tag: The Power of Paint by Tag Team (PC) Trino by Trinoteam (Xbox 360) What is Bothering Carl? by Story Fort (PC)
The Queue: I can't help it if it's true
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.Just gonna let this one speak for itself. Oh, and if you want to know what today's obligatory Reading-The-Queue-Music is, it's of Montreal.lgnorman420 asked... "So I've been wondering as my guild has been running through Ulduar about the various machine names one might encounter throughout the game. Mimiron's creation, the V0-L7R-0N combat system or the XT-002 Deconstructor are two examples. Also the mechanical chicken quests back from mid-40s to 50s leveling also come to mind. Do these number/letter codes have any significance or are they just random sequences to give them a machine sounding kind of name?" I don't think there's any naming scheme across the board for robotic things in WoW. How they got their names differs from one to the next. For example, V0-L7R-0N is just a Voltron joke. I don't think XT-002 has any significance except that maybe (maybe) the 2 signifies that he's the second creation of Mimiron that you fight in Ulduar. The second line of defense or what have you. Someone smarter than I am should figure out what XT stands for. The robochickens are named after the zone you find them in.
First PAX '09 details revealed
PAX is set to begin September 4 in Seattle, and today the organizers revealed some of the first details of what revelers can expect at the geek-a-palooza. The event is expecting over 60 exhibitors, including Microsoft, Nintendo, Valve, Blizzard and many others. Sony isn't currently listed and we've contacted the publisher to ask if it plans on attending.The nerd herding event will also feature performances by Freezepop, Jonathan Coulton (sing "Brookline!"), MC Frontalot, Anamanaguchi, Metroid Metal and Paul & Storm. Registration is already open, with a three-day pass costing $50. Remember, this is one the few events where having the best-looking velvet dice bag makes you cool ... don't be the guy that shows up with dice in a Ziploc bag.
PAX East registration is open ... only 356 days to go until show
With a little under a year to go, PAX East registration is now open. Taking place March 26-28 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, a three-day pass will cost $50, while individual day passes are $30 -- add $5 if you're planning on picking up your tickets the day of the show. So far, no exhibitors, participating hotels or schedule of events are posted. Take it from a Bostonian, you can stay in any hotel near a T stop (we should probably do a post detailing this) and make it to the convention center in under an hour. If you're planning on going to GDC, don't worry, that show takes place March 9-13 in San Francisco. It'll certainly be interesting to see how game marketing and PR treat this new high-profile East Coast gaming convention. Team Joystiq will be there in full force ... considering a third of our staff is within driving range.[Via Kotaku]
Penny Arcade creators honored by Washington State senate
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, founders of Penny Arcade, are legendary folk heroes to much of the gaming community. For ten years, they've served as unparalleled industry commentators, strong vocabulary enthusiasts, and proponents of citrus-assaulting robots. However, these virtues recently took a backseat to their more charitable contributions to society when Penny Arcade was discussed on the floor of the Washington State senate, where legislators adopted a resolution honoring the two men for their philanthropic exploits.Senate Resoultion 8640 ennumerates the achievements of Holkins and Krahulik, such as their successful webcomic reaching its 10th anniversary, the launching of the Penny Arcade Expo, and the $4.5 million raised for improving the lives of hospitalized kids with Child's Play. While we're sure they would have preferred a law being passed in their name which mandates the death penalty for people who drop out of online games when they start losing, it's still a pretty cool gesture.[Via NeoGAF]
PSA: PAX 2009 now accepting your registration
Where can you discover the wonders of puppetry, rap with game developers, ogle cosplayers, and hang with the Luddites in a three-story annex of board games -- all while getting quality time with upcoming games? If you answered, "PAX," we salute you. If you said: Poughkeepsie, New York, we'll give you a second guess.The Penny Arcade Expo is one of our favorite gaming events, hands down. The East Coast version of PAX won't launch until 2010, so you've got one more opportunity to make the pilgrimage to the original Seattle location. Lucky for you, registration opened today! You can pick up a three-day badge for just $50, and pre-registrants are also eligible to participate in the Omegathon gaming competition. The grand prize: all-expenses-paid trip to the Tokyo Game Show and, uh, other prizes. Plus, we'll be there!
Guild Wars PAX Panel video released
If you missed this year's Penny Arcade Expo, or you simply didn't get a chance to attend the packed ArenaNet panel entitled "Three Years of Guild Wars", now you can watch the video of the entire discussion from the comfort of your own computer chair.You can download the full high quality, 51-minute video from the Guild Wars website, or watch it in six parts on the official ArenaNet Youtube channel. Either way, you'll get to see a fantastic Q&A session with ArenaNet's James Phinney (Lead Game Designer), Ree Soesbee (Game Designer), Jeff Grubb (Game Designer), Chris Lye (Director of Marketing), Katy Hargrove (Artist), and Katy Perry (Artist). This discussion panel includes the information on the series of Guild Wars books to be released before Guild Wars 2, as first reported by Massively during PAX08. Check out the entire video for some incredible information on the history of the game from the developers themselves.
PAX08: Interview with Dane Caruthers of Tabula Rasa
At PAX08, we were able to catch up with NCsoft's Dane Caruthers, the Associate Producer for Tabula Rasa, for a quick interview. While the TR booth was busy and Caruthers was swamped with showing attendees all about the sci-fi MMO, he was kind enough to answer a few questions.With Deployment 12 now on the Public Test Server, Caruthers talks a bit about what to expect with Deployment 13 and how it should make many Tabula Rasa players very happy. He also goes on to explain a bit about the recent contests they've been holding, including an explanation of Operation Immortality. Plus, Caruthers talks candidly about Tabula Rasa's beta through to its launch, and despite the fact that he says it was "quite possibly the smoothest MMO launch in history", they realize the mistakes that were made and are confident that the product they have to offer currently will win back those who tried the game and have since left.Check out a transcript of the entire interview after the cut.
PAX 2008: Penny Arcade Adventures producer gushes about Episode 2
Last week during PAX 2008, we sat down with Hothead COO and Penny Arcade Adventures Producer Joel DeYoung as he guided us through Episode 2 and improvements to the engine. The gist of it is: if you liked Episode 1, you'll like Episode 2 that much more. Here's the rundown from our talks: Highlighting points of interest has been made easier! "If you have your proximity putting you close enough to 2 or 3 things, you can slide through that with bumpers," said DeYoung. There are now difficulty levels, including an Insane Mode (unlockable only after beating the game). Special collectibles and pickups are only available if you play Insane Mode. Comparatively, Episode 1's difficulty is "a little easier" than medium. All the weapons have been replaced. Tycho gets a shotgun, Gabe has new fist upgrades and your player now possesses -- wait for it -- a hoe! Also changed are the special attack minigames. You now have, among other new items, a revive potion. Healing won't be enough to bring your troops back to life. "Just adds a little bit of depth to it," said DeYoung. The real-time reaction for defense has been made more obvious (e.g. "Block!" now appears when you need to push block), but nothing analogous for attacking has been added. More after the break.%Gallery-30963%
