Gamertell

The fine funny fellows at Penny Arcade have announced that their annual gaming extravaganza will be returning for its sixth year. The 2009 Penny Arcade Expo (aka PAX 2009) will take place September 4 through 6, 2009, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, WA (USA).

According to the press release, this year’s PAX promises a plethora of puns, er, fun, in the form of more than 60 exhibitors including Microsoft, Nintendo, Valve, Blizzard and Ubisoft, most of which offer hands-on demos of current and upcoming games.

Although the event offers many panel discussion, multi-room freeplay gaming (tabletop and video), random cosplay and meandering gaming celebs, the highlight for many is the multi-day competition called the Omegathon. The competitors are randomly selected from the pre-registered attendees. They then partake in a series of games until one is crowed the winner and adorned with prizes gaore. The prizes are usually not announced until the day or or a couple days prior to the start of the expo, but they are often really big (a car, every NES product ever, you get the idea).

Topping off each night, for those who decide to leave the late-night gaming rooms, are musical performances referred to as nerdcore. Scheduled groups include Freezepop, Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot, Anamanaguchi and, new for this year, Paul and Storm and Metroid Metal (offering a new studio-recorded album containing the best of Metroid Metal as a PAX-exclusive before regular sale). If you go, get in line early since these performances always sell out.

Tickets are available online and the costs are as follows:

Pre-Registration Pricing (Before September 3, 2009):

• Friday Only: $30 (Save $5)
• Saturday Only: $30 (Save $5)
• Sunday Only: $30 (Save $5)
• 3 Day Pass: $50 (Save $5)

At-the-Door Pricing:

• Friday Pass: $35
• Saturday Pass: $35
• Sunday Pass: $35
• 3 Day Pass: $55

If you are in the area or can afford the trip, this is definitely a family-friendly event (except for maybe some of the nerdcore which can be as vulgar as gangsta rap) worth attending. But do bring a handheld gaming device. Besides the various uber-comfty WiFi gaming zones, you’ll likely need to wait in line for many of the events.

Read [Gamertell] Site [PAX 2009]