Seattle Culture
Why You Might See Mario and Pikachu in Seattle This Weekend
PAX West, one of the world’s biggest video game conventions, celebrates 20 years in Seattle
By Sarah Stackhouse August 27, 2024
If you see Mario, Lara Croft, Link, or even Pikachu wandering around downtown Seattle this weekend, you can thank the West Coast’s most popular gaming event, PAX West. Think of it as the Burning Man for gamers — PAX West is celebrating its 20th anniversary at the Seattle Convention Center from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. What began as a small gathering of 4,500 people in Bellevue in 2004 has since moved to Seattle and become a major event, now drawing more than 100,000 people annually. Visit Seattle is projecting an economic impact of $21.9 million for PAX West this year.
What is PAX West?
PAX West, short for Penny Arcade Expo, was founded by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, the creators of Redmond-based webcomic Penny Arcade, which now has more than 3.5 million readers. They started PAX to create a space where video and tabletop gamers could come together. Organized now by ReedPop and Penny Arcade, PAX West has since expanded to Boston (PAX East), Melbourne (PAX Aus), and Philadelphia (PAX Unplugged), which focuses solely on tabletop gaming. Besides creating PAX, Penny Arcade is also behind Child’s Play, a gaming charity that has raised more than $59 million for children across the world.
Early PAXes were largely run by volunteers known as Enforcers. Although it’s now a paid role, most Enforcers are still drawn from the PAX community, selected through an application process. They’re the die-hard gamers who keep things running smoothly and help create the fun and welcoming environment that PAX is known for.
PAX has a lot of traditions. One is Omegathon, a festival-long tournament where randomly selected attendees compete in various games for a grand prize, which has ranged from game bundles to trips around the world. The final round, which in the past has featured games such as Tetris, Pong, Halo 3, and even Skee-Ball, is a highly anticipated part of the closing ceremonies. And beyond the show floor, PAX offers panels, concerts, cosplay meetups, and freeplay areas.
What to Expect This Year
This year’s lineup is packed, especially for Nintendo fans. You can play four Switch games, including two yet-to-be-released titles: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, where Princess Zelda takes the lead in a new quest to save her kingdom, and Super Mario Party Jamboree, featuring an online mode for up to 20 players and more than 110 minigames. These highly anticipated titles release on Sept. 26 and Oct. 17, respectively.
Other industry giants such as Bandai Namco, Larian Studios, Capcom, Atari, Pokémon, and PlayStation | Astro Bot will also be there. You can get a sneak peek of Monster Hunter Wilds and Street Fighter 6. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer will kick off the event with a storytime keynote, and there will be panels featuring the developers behind FINAL FANTASY XIV and Civilization VII.
Tabletop gamers can meet the creators of Marvel Dice Throne and Gloomhaven. And the PAX Arena will host Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Street Fighter 6, and Magic: The Gathering tournaments, and, of course, the Omegathon.
Tickets for PAX West are still available, with four-day badges priced at $250 and single-day badges at $66. Prices go up at the door if any tickets remain. PAX West runs from 10 a.m.-midnight this weekend.
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