Monsieur Khoo: Regarding the Keynote

ctishman · January 2007

If there is a keynote, please invite someone whose naivite regarding actual gamers and what they want isn't so painfully obvious onstage.

Alex St. John is a big name, and he had one or two interesting things to say, but overall his speech was mostly corporate taglines and backpatting. I think it speaks volumes that the most interesting thing to come out of that event was a bouncy blue ball.

That said, who would make a good replacement as a keynote speaker?

It's gotta be someone gamers care about, and who can speak honestly and naturally not about his own company's awesomeness, but about gaming as a whole. Furthermore, it must serve as a high point to kick off the expo and get everyone excited about what's to come.

At this point, I believe that the best fit for keynote speakers are Gabe and Tycho themselves. They are, despite protestations to the contrary, good public speakers, and attendees know and trust them.

P.S. A State of the Industry speech and any big Penny Arcade announcements from the first G&T panel should be merged into this event. They'd fit better here.

BigRed · January 2007

I vote Will Wright or Sid Meier

G&T doing both the PA panel and keynote seems kind of stupid. Plus a keynote is where corporate guys are talking on stage about stuff.

ctishman · January 2007

Yeah, okay, either of those two would work in place of my suggestion, I suppose. I guess my frustration was with a guy coming out and giving a Microsoft PR shill instead of talking about games.

Moe Fwacky · January 2007

The keynote speach is a nice thing to kickoff PAX with, but what I think we actually need to do is to flop things around a little bit. Gabe and Tycho's panel should be what kicks off the expo. They should start off with an opening "Welcome to PAX" speech, much as they did with their panel, then do a state of the industry speach, and then after that open it up much in the same way the panel has been conducted in the past. I don't think the keynote has to be necessarily first. A keynote with somebody like Will Wright or Sid Meier would be sweet, but the opening of PAX should be left to Gabe and Tycho.

Legacy · January 2007

Reggie, Peter Moore and Kaz Hirai.

IN A THREE WAY DEATHMATCH.

djdoomike · January 2007

Seanbaby would be really entertaining, or at least have him do a panel.

ctishman · January 2007

Legacy wrote:

Reggie, Peter Moore and Kaz Hirai.

IN A THREE WAY DEATHMATCH.

Only if I am assured that none survive.

Taramoor · January 2007

Your likely options for a keynote speaker are as follows:

1. Mike & Jerry: Yes, they're awesome, and they have a great dynamic on stage, but they aren't the kind of guys who go for big long speeches state of the industry speeches and oratory rants. One's agoraphobic and the other prefers the written word to the spoken one.

2. An industry and design veteran, not currently entrenched in a console war. Big names like Will Wright, Sid Meier, or even someone like Nolan Bushnell would pack in people like us, and they would doubtless have something to say about the current state of the industry.

3. A well known and respected video game journalist/reviewer. If you can find one who's not a total idiot, these are the kind of guys who would do well at a keynote. Their interest in the industry is limited to a consumer perspective, so they can talk about things from an angle we appreciate as gamers. However, finding one is a problem, I mean would you really want the guys from Gamespy or IGN giving a keynote address? Do we really want Tommy Tallarico back?

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

5. A mainstream celebrity. Unlikely at PAX, since it's not so big yet as to attract a real megastar, but it's a possibility I guess. However, the problems are too numerous to count. Not only is it likely the star will know nothing about gamers and games, but they may just sit there and insult the audience without realizing it. (See: The Spike TV Video Game awards, Samuel L Jackson and Sarah Silverman in particular)

I do like the idea of allowing multiple speakers though. It'd be a nightmare to manage but it could be done.

Legacy · January 2007

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

ctishman · January 2007

Gabe Newell would be awesome if we could get him. He's always come off as intelligent and well-spoken.

Also, the idea of getting reps from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft on stage to do a Q&A/Debate sounds really cool.

Cerrius · January 2007

Maybe John Romero?

JoahW · January 2007

Legacy wrote:

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell lives in Seattle too, doesn't he?

I remember my friend called me up once and was like "OMG I just saw Gabe Newell at the Seattle Center!"

ctishman · January 2007

Star_Colonel_Ian wrote:

Maybe John Romero?

Not unless you enjoy being made a bitch.

Legacy · January 2007

JoahW wrote:

Legacy wrote:

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell lives in Seattle too, doesn't he?

I remember my friend called me up once and was like "OMG I just saw Gabe Newell at the Seattle Center!"

With Valve being in Bellevue(two blocks away from the Meydenbauer), I'd hope he'd live somewhere nearby...

Cerrius · January 2007

ctishman wrote:

Star_Colonel_Ian wrote:

Maybe John Romero?

Not unless you enjoy being made a bitch.

I think we can all agree that we'd just want to touch his hair.

BigRed · January 2007

JoahW wrote:

Legacy wrote:

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell lives in Seattle too, doesn't he?

I remember my friend called me up once and was like "OMG I just saw Gabe Newell at the Seattle Center!"

Was he at the pastry shop?

dyaballikl · January 2007

didn't the ball come from the keynote speech? good luck topping that one!

etoychest · January 2007

dyaballikl wrote:

didn't the ball come from the keynote speech? good luck topping that one!

God, that was a fun speech, but all I recall is that Brian Crecente and I kept getting our asses pelted with shit flying around.

dyaballikl · January 2007

etoychest wrote:

dyaballikl wrote:

didn't the ball come from the keynote speech? good luck topping that one!

God, that was a fun speech, but all I recall is that Brian Crecente and I kept getting our asses pelted with shit flying around.

lol, yeah, that'll happen when you get 5,000 nerds in one room all "geared" up for a 3 day long party!

galen_myth1 · January 2007

"Do we really want Tommy Tallarico back?"
Ok you know what...90% of you people there would just as soon not have him there...but truth be told he was the biggest gaming celebrity there. Next time you pick a name, pick your own ok because maybe *you* are the one unwanted :P

futility · January 2007

I found Alex St. John quite entertaining.

Azio · January 2007

JoahW wrote:

Legacy wrote:

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell lives in Seattle too, doesn't he?

I remember my friend called me up once and was like "OMG I just saw Gabe Newell at the Seattle Center!"

BigRed · January 2007

wow, its weird seeing the old pic of the area around the mbc without the 2 gigatnic holes in the ground from the construction. Plus the empty lot where the marriott now is.

dyaballikl · January 2007

Azio wrote:

JoahW wrote:

Legacy wrote:

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell lives in Seattle too, doesn't he?

I remember my friend called me up once and was like "OMG I just saw Gabe Newell at the Seattle Center!"

http://www3.telus.net/northlight/azio/images/valvepax.jpg

is valve software really right there?
[edit] btw, that pic is pretty old, lincoln square hadn't even started construction in that shot.

Legacy · January 2007

dyaballikl wrote:

Azio wrote:

JoahW wrote:

Legacy wrote:

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell lives in Seattle too, doesn't he?

I remember my friend called me up once and was like "OMG I just saw Gabe Newell at the Seattle Center!"

http://www3.telus.net/northlight/azio/images/valvepax.jpg

is valve software really right there?
[edit] btw, that pic is pretty old, lincoln square hadn't even started construction in that shot.

Yeah, Valve is really there.

dyaballikl · January 2007

Legacy wrote:

dyaballikl wrote:

Azio wrote:

JoahW wrote:

Legacy wrote:

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell lives in Seattle too, doesn't he?

I remember my friend called me up once and was like "OMG I just saw Gabe Newell at the Seattle Center!"

http://www3.telus.net/northlight/azio/images/valvepax.jpg

is valve software really right there?
[edit] btw, that pic is pretty old, lincoln square hadn't even started construction in that shot.

Yeah, Valve is really there.

i think i'll take a piece of penny arcade's book and mail my penis to valve's office and tell them to rub it on episode 2, then, when i'm drinking margaritas on the beach, it'll suddenly kick in. it's no 107" tv, but it'll do the trick!

Polago · January 2007

I'd be happy with any real name from the industry like Newell, but only as long as they're willing to speak freely on all subjects pertaining to the industry, and are not held fast by corporate verbatim.

Overall though, nobody would be better for a PAX keynote than Mike, Jerry, and Robert themselves.

Azio · January 2007

Legacy wrote:

dyaballikl wrote:

Azio wrote:

JoahW wrote:

Legacy wrote:

Taramoor wrote:

4. A representative of the Big Three. We all want J Allard, Peter Moore, Reggie, etc. But the speech they give will generally be a product pitch because that's what they're paid and trained to do. Yes, it's interesting, but it goes against the whole notion of PAX to allow a single company access to a large open stage like that and wouldn't really be fair to the other companies.

That's why you get one from all three.

Also...how about Gabe Newell?

Gabe Newell lives in Seattle too, doesn't he?

I remember my friend called me up once and was like "OMG I just saw Gabe Newell at the Seattle Center!"

http://www3.telus.net/northlight/azio/images/valvepax.jpg

is valve software really right there?
[edit] btw, that pic is pretty old, lincoln square hadn't even started construction in that shot.

Yeah, Valve is really there.

Of course, PAX isn't there anymore. But it would've been fun to raid the place.

ctishman · January 2007

Yeah, I had this grandiose dream of leaving 50 crowbars outside their door last year, but we never got around to it

Penny Arcade

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