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PAX East vs Prime
grkpektis
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have never been to prime but I just came back from east and I thought it was awesome. I am curious how it complares to last years prime. Is it smaller are there less developers, do developers bring more games, e.t.c
grkpektis on
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It seems though PAXP is the one to go to if you're there for the games. Since most games are released in the fall PAXP will probably be the one with the newest releases and PAXE will have mostly the games from PAXP that haven't been released yet. Few exceptions obviously but that seems to be mostly the case. So if you're there ONLY to play the games (and if that's the case you're missing out on the best part of PAX) you might not get much out of going to both.
One PAX isn't really meant to be better than the other. The community still rocks no matter where it's at, the panels still kick ass, the games still kick ass. The difference really is one is in Boston and one is in Seattle.
There's honestly not a whole lot of differences between the two anymore. The Omegathon is done a bit differently, but otherwise everything else is ran the same, and it's always the same experience. You will always be interacting with the same types of people, seeing the same kinds of panels, etc.
Specifically between this East and last years Prime, I'd say this convention center in Boston is very much larger than the one in Seattle, but they're both still really nice. Prime last year had a much larger expo hall, they've had to expand it pretty much every year they've been there. They also moved the main theater to Benaroya Hall, which is an upscale "opera house" a few blocks from the convention center. It was a different experience and couldn't hold as many people because it was fully seated and the seats couldn't be removed, but it was still awesome.
There's other minor differences but otherwise that's about it. The convention center in Seattle is also in a very good location right in downtown Seattle, with plenty of nearby restaurants, malls, etc. Unfortunately this place in Boston doesn't have much very nearby.
That's about all I got to add to this right now, hope it's what you were looking for.
What is this weather you speak of? If I hadn't had an irc meetup on Saturday morning I would never have stepped outside from thursday night to sunday night.
Yeah that's the other bonus about this convention center in Boston, the hotel that's connected via skybridge. I never went outside at all from the time I first got there until the time I left a couple hours ago. It's good to know weather wont be an issue in Boston. It usually isn't in Seattle either, but I know how people love to complain about rain, especially people in Seattle, so yeah.
Ha, well... we can't all stay in the Westin unfortunately.
Massive Crystal Cavern!
I'm a Florida boy and was terrified the cold would kill me. Hardly spent time outside.
Except for waiting for Gamers Gone Wild. Wish I had that hour and a half back.
To those who have been to both... I'm considering going to Prime now, is it going to be worth it, or just plan for East again? It will probably be to pricey to do both each year.
Ex-Agent to the Stars, ex a lot of other things too.
Pax East 2011, 2012 Veteran. 2014 now loading.
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Because you didn't get in, or because you did and hated it?
From my past experience Prime is bigger and had more expo room, playable demos, swag in general, and more going on.
I would suggest going to Prime and seeing for yourself.
EDIT: I would like to give some defense to East also in that it had most tabletop area than Prime did or at least from what I remember. My goal this East was to actually get into some tabletop also. Which I did a bunch!
I have a sort of PAX Zen thing going on after the first couple. I know I'll never see everything, so I just don't worry about it. Each PAX I just try to focus on one part of PAX. PAX keeps gaining new aspects, so I'll probably never run out of new things to do, but anyway, it's hard to really compare PAX to PAX since each PAX is so different for me specifically.
I think in the long-term, East will become more awesome than Prime, simply because it's got more room to grow. BCEC is amazing. Hynes kind of sucked. Seattle will probably end up as the smaller and more intimate PAX with great atmosphere right outside the doors, Boston will be the more big and exciting PAX with less to do outside, which is both good and bad for both. Doesn't really matter though, I will go to every PAX there is for the rest of my life, as long as I am able, because PAX is good. Ultimately it's the people who show up that makes PAX PAX, not the exhibitors or vendors or venue. That fact also makes PAX so unique among cons too.
(You just say the letters)
I hope so. One of the things that floored me is the general lack of *EVERYTHING* in that area... restaurants, shopping, you name it... with huge conventions going on all the time you would think people would want to cash in and open up shop in the area.
My understanding was that that whole district is very new construction, all in the last 3-4 years or so. And as it happens, the last 2 years or so have been, shall we say, on the recessional side.
Hopefully a strong continued PAX presence might change that tide...
Transitive
Speaking of which, the murmerings of a PAX in the UK continue unabated, and that makes me wonder how different it would be, if at all. My suggested alterations to PAX Europe would be:
1) Many enforcers will have to speak 2-3 of the main European languages (English, French & German)
2) Do not hold the event over the weekend of a major soccer/football match. Many game fans in Europe are huge soccer fans oddly enough, so avoid the end of season rush of matches in May.
3) Classic Console freeplay area will not be popular if it's filled with PAL NES machines as they ran 15% slower than their NTSC counter parts. Go for Spectrums, Amstrads and C64's instead.
4) Engagement with Europeans by Enforcers will have to be altered a little as our reserved nature can be a tough nut to crack. Yes there are exceptions to this, but these people are usually sectioned :P
5) Provide tea. PG tips will do the trick.
I would enjoy this at all PAXes.
I actually bring a small box of PG Tips tea bags and a packet of custard creme biscuits and have a very British moment in the midst of PAX with some friends. Tis most civilised
Gaming blog
@lamournumerique
Is there any way I could get in on your awesome Britishness next PAXEast?