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PAX West 2017 Information, FAQ, and Q&A Thread (Ask Questions Here!)

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Posts

  • JobiwanKenobiJobiwanKenobi Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    jakkuh_t wrote: »
    When is BYOC info coming up? :)

    (I'm assuming August lol)
    #SOON

    At least I would imagine that its coming soon... usually isn't far behind the badges.

    zerzhul on


    PAX Prime '09 - H1N(erd)1 Survivor - Never Forget (Your Hand Sanitizer)
    PAX Prime '14 Omeganaut - Result: KO in 3rd Round (Damn you, Super Avalanche 2!)
  • IncarnadineIncarnadine Registered User regular
    Pavio wrote: »
    Shockkota wrote: »
    Regarding parking, we will be driving in each day. It feasible to be able to find somewhere to park? Is WSCC parking a reliable option, or should I be looking for other options?

    My brother and I have driven in every day of PAX since 2012 and have never failed to find parking. Since the Convention Center fills up so quickly, we always head straight for the in the block with the Grand Hyatt and Hertz. We have arrived as late as 9:30am and found a spot.

    I found this to be true with the exception of Friday. Since Friday is still a work day for normals, traffic is heavier and parking is a little harder to find. It's not impossible, but you might have to circle farther out from the convention center to find it.

  • David CoffmanDavid Coffman Registered User, PAX Staff regular
    edited June 2017
    jakkuh_t wrote: »
    When is BYOC info coming up? :)

    (I'm assuming August lol)
    #SOON

    At least I would imagine that its coming soon... usually isn't far behind the badges.
    Very soon! I don't mean "soon", I mean soon.

    zerzhul on
  • dragon keeper xdragon keeper x Registered User regular
    Just curious. Has anyone here ever used their Starwood Preferred Guest points at the Sheraton for free room nights at PAX before? I have rooms booked through onpeak but not sure if I'm able to use my points or not.

    Max sig size: 500x80px <3 Moe
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  • P.D.B. FishsticksP.D.B. Fishsticks Ohio, USARegistered User regular
    I'm not 100% certain on Starwood, as I'm a Hilton guy, but if it helps, I've been able to use Hilton points to book hotel rooms during PAX at the Homewood Suites/Hilton on more than one occasion. However, I didn't book the rooms through OnPeak - I just went with the hotel's site directly.

    I'd try booking the room on points through the Sheraton's site; my understanding is you can cancel your OnPeak reservation if that goes through.

  • skellerskeller San DiegoRegistered User regular
    Last I checked, basic/deluxe rooms were unavailable for SPG points at Sheraton. They usually block off all the rooms. I do know a friend got Club level rooms just through the website post-tickets going on sale (for cash, not SPG points) so you might want to call and see if they can do anything. But the dates are generally blacked out.

    (I do have my room at the Aloft for Unplugged booked with points but that's not a case where stuff is totally blacked out... at least not this first year.)

  • blindnoirblindnoir Registered User regular
    Hey, I rented an AirBnB for the weekend. It's about 1.5 miles (south east) away from the convention center. How is the general area for walking to the con? Safe?

  • whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    Kinda by Seattle U? Should be fine. If you're wanting to be really safe I'd say stick to Broadway and Pike as much as possible.

    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
  • RiDERiDE the WORST! Hotel CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    I thought I saw an Uber code for PAX users in the side area after completing the ticket purchase... does anyone have that? Or remember it?

    "Try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damned fool about it."
  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Speaking of, please don't post personal referral codes here. (just heading that off at the pass)

    Almost all uber codes are just "some amount off your first ride if you're a new user". Unless there's something very different, you can likely easily find one by searching the interwebs.

  • RiDERiDE the WORST! Hotel CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    Ok thanks! Never used a ride share before so I'm not sure what I'm doing, exactly.

    "Try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damned fool about it."
  • CKingCKing Registered User regular
    My airfare just dropped $80. Wait to see if it drops after the weekend, or buy them now and just live with what I paid if they do drop more?

  • IncreaseBlueIncreaseBlue Registered User regular
    CKing wrote: »
    My airfare just dropped $80. Wait to see if it drops after the weekend, or buy them now and just live with what I paid if they do drop more?

    That's a pretty significant drop. I would go ahead and buy it because I doubt it would drop a lot more, maybe 20-40 bucks but not as much as this current fare.

    Up to you though, you can always run your airfare search through Kayak which gives you a suggestion on whether or not it predicts airfare prices will go up or down in the next few days.

  • CKingCKing Registered User regular
    CKing wrote: »
    My airfare just dropped $80. Wait to see if it drops after the weekend, or buy them now and just live with what I paid if they do drop more?

    That's a pretty significant drop. I would go ahead and buy it because I doubt it would drop a lot more, maybe 20-40 bucks but not as much as this current fare.

    Up to you though, you can always run your airfare search through Kayak which gives you a suggestion on whether or not it predicts airfare prices will go up or down in the next few days.

    I had no idea kayak did that! I figured that it would only go down a little more, if at all, with where prices were before the jump. Probably will end up getting them after work tonight. Just to be done with it.

  • IncreaseBlueIncreaseBlue Registered User regular
    CKing wrote: »

    I had no idea kayak did that! I figured that it would only go down a little more, if at all, with where prices were before the jump. Probably will end up getting them after work tonight. Just to be done with it.

    Glad to be of help!

    Also, not sure if you've already bought or not but for those in similar airfare staking situations, a buddy of mine just introduced me to a mobile app called Hopper that also does projections for airline tickets going up or down in a much longer range of time. Hope this all helps for folks!

  • sediroxsedirox Registered User regular
    edited July 2017
    Just a heads up, if you're flying for PAX, today is a good day to book flights. Prices will probably go up from here on out, especially since it's a holiday weekend.

    sedirox on
  • NeutralCNeutralC Registered User regular
    Ohloo! I have quiet a few questions to ask; I will try to keep within a theme in the same post. There be more, but this will do for now.

    -Is there a place where people can leave their belongings like in a Coatroom or do we have to keep such items on us? If there is a Coatroom could we leave any items we obtain from the convention there as well?

    -What should I expect to see vendor wise? Are most things there for sale are also things I could purchase online? Note, not from Ebay, but from an online store.

    -Do Freebies ever run out or are companies pretty well stocked? I assume it varies by brand.

    -When it comes to Freebies related to a game is it always necessary to play said game; example - if I wanted to get a Mario hat do I need to play the Mario game?

    -This one isn't related, but when should we expect to see any updates such as scheduling, events, vendors/booths, and etc?

  • DreamwriterDreamwriter Registered User regular
    edited July 2017
    - There is no coat room (and in fact, PAX is spread among a number of different buildings, so a coat room wouldn’t work very well). If there’s an issue with getting to the hotel too early or checking out on your last day and then going to PAX, the hotel will usually hold baggage for you.

    - Most stuff vendored there are available online, but often they have convention-specific deals. Penny Arcade’s own merch booth has some show-specific items that cannot be gotten elsewhere, but also a lot of the normal things they normally sell

    Dreamwriter on
  • jukkakhanjukkakhan Registered User regular
    NeutralC wrote: »
    Ohloo! I have quiet a few questions to ask; I will try to keep within a theme in the same post. There be more, but this will do for now.

    -Is there a place where people can leave their belongings like in a Coatroom or do we have to keep such items on us? If there is a Coatroom could we leave any items we obtain from the convention there as well?

    -What should I expect to see vendor wise? Are most things there for sale are also things I could purchase online? Note, not from Ebay, but from an online store.

    -Do Freebies ever run out or are companies pretty well stocked? I assume it varies by brand.

    -When it comes to Freebies related to a game is it always necessary to play said game; example - if I wanted to get a Mario hat do I need to play the Mario game?

    -This one isn't related, but when should we expect to see any updates such as scheduling, events, vendors/booths, and etc?

    -No coatroom at West as far as I know.

    -You may want to look at prior year vendor lists, but there's a mix of big name vendors (Fangamer, Think Geek, Sanshee, etc), developer/publisher stores (2K, Bethesda, Capcom), and local vendors (Pink Gorilla, board game stores that I don't know the name of). Most of the stuff should be available online but I have seen a few 'PAX only' exclusives, but usually they're just variants of existing items.

    -Freebies can and will run out. Some booths are better at rationing than others. If you wear a Large or XL sized shirt, those are usually the first to go.

    -Depends on the booth. Usually there are some small trinkets or bags or posters that they hand out. But yes, the trend has been 'play a game/experience a thing, get swag'. Lately there's also been a lot of 'post a thing on social media with #hashtag, get a thing' as well. My personal opinion, don't make swag a priority. My first few PAXens I was all 'gimmie gimme gimmie.' 95% of that swag/shirts are just sitting in my closet (including a lovely OnLive micro console.) Play something you want to play and get free swag, don't play something you don't want to get free swag, it'll mean more to ya (I <3 my Mass Effect Long Service Medal)

    -Probably about a month before is when you really start seeing companies put out their plans along with the official schedule. Make sure to keep lurking here as many of the community events get coordinated on the forums.

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  • LoonyEclipseLoonyEclipse WWHRD? Montreal, QCRegistered User regular
    edited July 2017
    NeutralC wrote: »
    Ohloo! I have quiet a few questions to ask; I will try to keep within a theme in the same post. There be more, but this will do for now.

    -Is there a place where people can leave their belongings like in a Coatroom or do we have to keep such items on us? If there is a Coatroom could we leave any items we obtain from the convention there as well?

    -What should I expect to see vendor wise? Are most things there for sale are also things I could purchase online? Note, not from Ebay, but from an online store.

    -Do Freebies ever run out or are companies pretty well stocked? I assume it varies by brand.

    -When it comes to Freebies related to a game is it always necessary to play said game; example - if I wanted to get a Mario hat do I need to play the Mario game?

    -This one isn't related, but when should we expect to see any updates such as scheduling, events, vendors/booths, and etc?

    1) I don't think there's a coatroom, but I've only been out west twice.

    2) A mix of both the online stables of vendors (Thinkgeek, sanshee, razer, etc.) and some local vendors. Keep in mind that there's often con=-specific items or promos on stuff, exclusive con items and also- you don''t need to pay shipping. For the US, not huge deal. For Canada? Big deal, as cross-border shipping can be quite expensive. Also, sometimes merch CAN run out/be limited (2015 Vault Boy pins, I'm look at you)

    3) They can, do and will. Varies by brand and what it is (For example, Harmonix ran out of Rock Band pins relatively early in 2015).

    4) Depends on the booth? Some dish them out like Candy, some make you play, it's case-by-case.

    5) Much closer to the con. Usually, if my memory serves right, the first breaking of the dams is the Music acts and the PAX 10. Note this is official stuff- community-run stuff and exhibitor-hosted events tend to be announced separately and can be found here in the forums, either by the organizers posting themselves, or the community making an aggregate post.

    LoonyEclipse on
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    Twitter: @Loonyeclipse

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  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    @NeutralC

    While West doesn't have a coatroom, the weather is way more temperate at West than at most Easts. If the weather is unusually harsh for West, you might have to deal with stowing a light jacket somewhere.

    Last West, the schedule was posted on 8/11.

  • NeutralCNeutralC Registered User regular
    General responses to answers

    -It kind of surprises me such places or events don't have a room for storage; sure it probably would need to be large, but they'd make a lot of money if they'd offer something like that. Its only smart to want to travel lightly and Id hate to damage something I just got.

    -The last convention I went to I noticed a lot of stuff were things I knew I could purchase online for a cheaper price so I only bought things that were unique. I wouldn't buy something just because its pax west exclusive, it has to be something I REALLY want; gotta stay with the budget.

    - The one thing that concerns me about this convention is I don't want to be spending a bunch of my time just to stand in a line for a gameI know I will be playing fairly soon or already have; thats not to say I don't want to play, but theres only so much time and I want to make the most out of two days: Friday and Saturday. (This wouldn't be bothering me so much if the schedule was made sooner!)

    Here is one question I should have asked earlier… when it comes to traveling what would smart to have in amount to spend when it comes to money/credit/debt/pre-paid? Also, do vendors take credit/debt/pre-paid or do they vary?

  • whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    The convention uses basically every square foot of the WSCC, its Annex, as well as meeting space in the Sheraton, Hyatt, Olive 8 and Westin hotels. There's really no space to put a coatcheck room.

    Oh, expect plenty of lines. If you're expecting to be able to play <insert upcoming release from a major publisher here> and expecting to wait less than an hour, prepare to be spectacularly disappointed.

    Most vendors take plastic, but cash will always work. Cell phone reception needed by said card readers will not.

    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
  • nixternixter roughly Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    NeutralC wrote: »
    .

    - The one thing that concerns me about this convention is I don't want to be spending a bunch of my time just to stand in a line for a gameI know I will be playing fairly soon or already have; thats not to say I don't want to play, but theres only so much time and I want to make the most out of two days: Friday and Saturday. (This wouldn't be bothering me so much if the schedule was made sooner!)

    There is lots and lots to do at Pax w/o standing in lines. Most of the Pax vets I know minimize line time as much as possible.

    aka Avidguru from Twitter and elsewhere

    O1vSeKm.png
  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Yeah, while whypick1 is 100% correct about waiting a long time to see the next AAA game, it's a totally valid thing to say "I'm going to play that later anyhow, I don't want to wait in line forever to try it." Personally, I spend my expo time looking for hidden gems that I might not see otherwise.

  • jukkakhanjukkakhan Registered User regular
    nixter wrote: »
    NeutralC wrote: »
    .

    - The one thing that concerns me about this convention is I don't want to be spending a bunch of my time just to stand in a line for a gameI know I will be playing fairly soon or already have; thats not to say I don't want to play, but theres only so much time and I want to make the most out of two days: Friday and Saturday. (This wouldn't be bothering me so much if the schedule was made sooner!)

    There is lots and lots to do at Pax w/o standing in lines. Most of the Pax vets I know minimize line time as much as possible.

    This. The Expo Hall is an absolutely time sink. If you absolutely have to hit up a high profile booth, I recommend getting in the queue room (I suppose it's more of a line these days) early and going straight there when doors open. You're still technically waiting in a line, but at least it's when most of the events aren't happening.

    PimDtoK.png
  • ctiwolfctiwolf Registered User regular
    edited July 2017
    NeutralC wrote: »
    General responses to answers

    - The one thing that concerns me about this convention is I don't want to be spending a bunch of my time just to stand in a line for a gameI know I will be playing fairly soon or already have; thats not to say I don't want to play, but theres only so much time and I want to make the most out of two days: Friday and Saturday. (This wouldn't be bothering me so much if the schedule was made sooner!)
    Some of my favorite times at pax is waiting in line and meeting other gamers. Granted it is hard on your feet and time consuming

    zerzhul on
  • ctiwolfctiwolf Registered User regular
    Some ot my favorite times at pax has been meeting people waiting in lines. Granted it is hard on the feet and a time sink.

  • LoonyEclipseLoonyEclipse WWHRD? Montreal, QCRegistered User regular
    jukkakhan wrote: »
    nixter wrote: »
    NeutralC wrote: »
    .

    - The one thing that concerns me about this convention is I don't want to be spending a bunch of my time just to stand in a line for a gameI know I will be playing fairly soon or already have; thats not to say I don't want to play, but theres only so much time and I want to make the most out of two days: Friday and Saturday. (This wouldn't be bothering me so much if the schedule was made sooner!)

    There is lots and lots to do at Pax w/o standing in lines. Most of the Pax vets I know minimize line time as much as possible.

    This. The Expo Hall is an absolutely time sink. If you absolutely have to hit up a high profile booth, I recommend getting in the queue room (I suppose it's more of a line these days) early and going straight there when doors open. You're still technically waiting in a line, but at least it's when most of the events aren't happening.

    Agreed on this.
    My friend and I tend to sue Friday for showroom recon purposes- we might play a demo rot wo and do some waiting, but it's really exploratory at that phase: see what piques our interest, etc.
    The subsequent mornings, we line up early and beeline to our high-value targets. So far, it's worked pretty well, except he's better at navigating through crowds without losing pace than I am.

    My pin lanyard
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  • YoungFreyYoungFrey Registered User regular
    I love the expo hall, but for the fact it also contains smaller companies with little to no line. The Indie Mega Booth is a must-go for me every year. Short waits, games you might not see elsewhere, and you usually get to meet the creators? I love it.

  • anettie76anettie76 OregonRegistered User regular
    YoungFrey wrote: »
    I love the expo hall, but for the fact it also contains smaller companies with little to no line. The Indie Mega Booth is a must-go for me every year. Short waits, games you might not see elsewhere, and you usually get to meet the creators? I love it.

    Totally agree. The Indie Mega Booth is my favorite section. Lines are short and there's usually always something to give away. Also, for those worried about really long line waits, this is what Monday is good for. The last 2 years I went on a Monday. Lines are shorter and there aren't as many people. Towards the end of the day is the best time to get in on playing games. Of course, they may have run out of swag by then, but you don't have to waste as much time in lines.

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  • The AviatrixThe Aviatrix Registered User regular
    Don't forget that the expo hall usually exists on two floors: 4th and 6th. The 4th floor can probably considered the "main" expo hall - as this is where all the big names usually are. But the 6th floor is wonderful. It's usually a bit quieter and less crowded. And has lots of unknown games you can try out without standing in line. On a Friday two years ago I was able to play a VR game with literally zero wait, and my time was up when somebody else wandered by to play. (By Monday word got out and there was a massive line for it.)

    As for money, that's up to you. My first few years I only spent money on food - I was on a tight budget. This past South I spent probably $300. How much you bring depends upon where you're at in life and what you're comfortable with.
    Most booths likely will take cards - but I'd recommend having some cash. Sometimes their readers don't work, sometimes the connection is shoddy and it takes 10 minutes to go through and sometimes the booth only takes cash.

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  • SinoSambaSinoSamba CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    If you are looking forward to a few high profile demos, get into the main queue line early (like 8am early) and make a beeline for the specific booth as soon as they let people into the expo hall (don't run and don't trample people pls). Otherwise it's a 2h wait or they might run out of spots if it's a "line to book you time slot for the day" kind of setup. That's what I did for the Star Trek bridge VR demo last year. Folks I know trying to get into FF15 were even more out of luck, I swear people were somehow teleporting into that booking line the way it got full for the day so fast. At least West is 4 days so you get 4 chances to get into 4 major lines :P

    Sony has implemented a Playstation app for a couple of years at Pax to pre-book your demos via the app. If I recall correctly it opens up slots for the day ~9am, so that's a way to get into demos as well if Sony decides to do it again this year. And something to look at while you are on queue to get into the expo hall.

    Also, take a look at the expo hall map ahead of time. The faster way to the booth you want might be through the Annex entrance, not the main building one. Like Bethesda has been by the staircases from the Annex for several years, I usually always make a run for it if they have exclusive pins for Pax. Yep, I line up like an idiot to spend money XD

    By the way, some games might have more than one vendor doing demos for it - walk around the expo hall to check on the 1st day, the non-obvious vendor will have smaller lines. Like Intel had some VR demos before the Rift released with smaller than usual lines a few years ago.

    3DS FC: 3239-2323-6239
  • blindnoirblindnoir Registered User regular
    Have they announced what bands will be playing this year? I never went to the concerts during PAX South. Might try and hit up the concerts this year.

  • whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    They have not. There will definitely be an announcement on Twitter when they do.

    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
  • blindnoirblindnoir Registered User regular
    Ugh. Waiting sucks.

  • kangaroobanditkangaroobandit Registered User regular
    First time going to PAX this year. How early do people usually get there? I don't want to miss out on anything.

  • sediroxsedirox Registered User regular
    First time going to PAX this year. How early do people usually get there? I don't want to miss out on anything.

    The show starts at 10am each day but most folks start queuing up to enter between 7 or 8am so they can get to the expo hall as soon as it opens.

    Panels tend to vary depending on who's on it. For popular ones, you're gonna wanna line up 1-2 hours before it starts.

  • BekerBeker Child's Play Program Director SeattleRegistered User, Penny Arcade Staff regular
    First time going to PAX this year. How early do people usually get there? I don't want to miss out on anything.

    You will miss out on things, we design it specifically so that people can't do everything and have to make choices because we are mean can't fit everyone in one space and need to spread you all out.

    -Beker/Erick
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  • NeutralCNeutralC Registered User regular
    Sooo.... this is going to be my most left field question; does anyone have an uncle who works at Nintendo? See, Im not a big streamer or have the funds to make a Reggie Fils-A-Mech 2.0, but I would really, really, really, really, really, like to go IN that building while Im in town.

    (Dont be too harsh as this would be a check on the bucket list, but I know my chances are slim; then again that is saying there IS a chance.) ;-)

This discussion has been closed.