Day 2 of PAX 09 (Penny Arcade Expo 09: www.paxsite.com) was just as packed (paxed?) as the first day. It included many panels, some of which didn’t cover new video games, but were entertaining nonetheless. Our day 3 coverage will include updates on upcoming games and interviews with developers.
The 2nd morning of PAX started off (for me) with a taping of G4’s The Feed Nightcap, which included a panel with Morgan Webb, Adam Sessler and three members of G4’s web review team. They commented on their PAX experience and some of the high profile games on display there. None of them were very impressed with the new Super Mario Bros. Wii game, especially Webb, but the panel unanimously agreed on their love for the new indy game: Shank (featured in our day 3 coverage). Asked why video games haven’t been embraced by mainstream network TV, the panel responded that video games are already covered by mediums that resonate the best with its audience. Network TV and traditional media are poised to die out. Webb felt the most strongly about mainstream media’s apparent snubbing of the video game industry, but it won’t be long before G4 will be considered “mainstream” if we look at the industry’s meteoric growth.
Gabe and Tycho did a live drawing of their famous Penny Arcade webcomic (seen here: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/9/07/) in front of a huge audience, numbering almost 5,000 people, followed by an always entertaining Q&A session with their fans.
Later that day the hilarious folk from Rooster Teeth, best known for their Halo-inspired comedic episodes: Red vs Blue (redvsblue.com) showed off a preview off their latest episode: #12 “Well Hello” (found at: http://redvsblue.com/archive/?id=854), along with their new live action skits, followed by, what else, a Q&A session with the fans.