This will be my first time attending any PAX, and I was wondering what to expect in the way ofor vendors. Will there be a lot of big name and independent vendors selling merchant? What are some of the must see vendors?
There aren't nearly as many vendors compared to a standard Anime con. Typical lineup would be:
Udon, Sanshee, FanGamer, ThinkGeek, Capcom, and then some local vendors from Seattle area that are usually there. The local vendors usually sell "retro" games and merchandise for them. If you want art prints and the like, it's unlikely you'll find any within PAX itself.
If you are looking for vendors there are two main places I've noticed they tend to be:
The sky bridge on the 4th floor and the 6th floor expo hall near one of the entrances.
There are likely to be some scattered throughout though.
And the PAX merch booths can be found outside of the expo hall (they will be on the map... In blue iirc.)
As for who... In addition to what was already stated....
LootCrate has been having booths recently. They may have a PAX "exclusive" crate or past crates. Not a typical vendor, but one I plan to have money set aside for xD
Geek Chic is often there with gaming tables I believe.
And whoever has the pink unicorn. I can never remember the name...
Also many booths will have stuff to buy, though they may not be there specifically as vendors. Such as Bethesda selling merch, tabletop booths may have games to buy (even if its not what is being demo'd) or some places have pre-orders available.
Cards Against Humanity, Chessex, Wyrmwood Gaming, Privateer Press, Reaper Miniatures, Steve Jackson Games, and Razer. There are probably some I'm missing, but those are usually there.
I've seen Indie Box on a couple of Paxes recently, which is nice if you want a collector's edition of some indie games. Their Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time and Nuclear Throne boxes have good swag for the price.
Pokemon Co. brings their swag just for show, just to make you sad you cannot buy it there.
As far a some Publisher/Developer booths, Bethesda has had some kind of con exclusive the past couple years (i.e. PAX Quantum Cola shirt, Nuka Cola oversized cap bottle opener) and Capcom does grab bags that sell out right away each day which are hit or miss. 2k and other usually have merch as well. *Pro tip - If there's anything you really want, you might want to line up for it first thing as a lot of stuff sells out first day.
Also adding onto this, Corsair, HyperX, and Astro were there last year running some decent sales so it's a good opportunity for PC peripherals if you need them.
There are also some side spots like DarkHorse selling comics, Supergiant selling Bastion and Transistor swag, and one vendor (Oni Press maybe?) was selling a variety of books. These aren't guaranteed to be there this year, but something to look out for.
Don't forget Pink Gorilla, which is one of the few places outside of dev/publisher booths where you can actually buy a video game at PAX.
And don't make the mistake I made of visiting the actual Pink Gorilla store right before PAX. Most of their inventory is packed up in preparation for PAX.
There are often a bunch of board game sales going on by other vendors, so you can try out board games and buy right there. They've also had the dice rings I'm addicted to. I usually walk away with a card game, some dice, some shirts, a board game, and a bunch of swag.
As a BattleTech fan, I always check out Catalyst Game Labs: I think they're usually in a side room on the 2nd or floor floor of the convention centre and open late.
Don't forget Pink Gorilla, which is one of the few places outside of dev/publisher booths where you can actually buy a video game at PAX.
And don't make the mistake I made of visiting the actual Pink Gorilla store right before PAX. Most of their inventory is packed up in preparation for PAX.
We do this every year, despite being local and knowing better. Seattle also has a bunch of other good retro game stores worth checking out before PAX starts.
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Udon, Sanshee, FanGamer, ThinkGeek, Capcom, and then some local vendors from Seattle area that are usually there. The local vendors usually sell "retro" games and merchandise for them. If you want art prints and the like, it's unlikely you'll find any within PAX itself.
The sky bridge on the 4th floor and the 6th floor expo hall near one of the entrances.
There are likely to be some scattered throughout though.
And the PAX merch booths can be found outside of the expo hall (they will be on the map... In blue iirc.)
As for who... In addition to what was already stated....
LootCrate has been having booths recently. They may have a PAX "exclusive" crate or past crates. Not a typical vendor, but one I plan to have money set aside for xD
Geek Chic is often there with gaming tables I believe.
And whoever has the pink unicorn. I can never remember the name...
Also many booths will have stuff to buy, though they may not be there specifically as vendors. Such as Bethesda selling merch, tabletop booths may have games to buy (even if its not what is being demo'd) or some places have pre-orders available.
That would be steam, the pink unicorn is from TF2.
I don't think Steam has a sales booth though. WeLoveFine sells Balloonicorns and many other things. They have comically oversized totebags.
THAT'S IT!
WeLoveFine!
Thanks
They always got it hanging over their booth.
That and the Pikachu are the two giant balloons I expect to see at PAX. xD
Pokemon Co. brings their swag just for show, just to make you sad you cannot buy it there.
There are also some side spots like DarkHorse selling comics, Supergiant selling Bastion and Transistor swag, and one vendor (Oni Press maybe?) was selling a variety of books. These aren't guaranteed to be there this year, but something to look out for.
And don't make the mistake I made of visiting the actual Pink Gorilla store right before PAX. Most of their inventory is packed up in preparation for PAX.
We do this every year, despite being local and knowing better. Seattle also has a bunch of other good retro game stores worth checking out before PAX starts.
They go super fast, buy one on Friday if you want one!