I finally have passes to a PAX show.
PAX, for those not aware, is short for Penny Arcade Expo, an extremely popular gaming convention run by the guys who do the webcomic Penny Arcade. Recently, they announced PAX South, a new PAX convention that would take place in San Antonio. As this was far closer to me than any of the other PAX locations (Seattle, Boston, and Australia), I really wanted to go. This afternoon, passes went on sale for PAX South, and I managed to snag myself two passes for Saturday (one for me, one for Jennifer). While a three-day pass might have been smarter, I’m waiting until the next year for that. Jennifer and I both tend to get bored after the first day of a convention, and besides, there’s other stuff in San Antonio and Austin we’d want to do for the weekend.
As it turned out, it was a good thing I got passes as soon as I did. Less than two hours after passes went on sale, three-day passes had already sold out.
The one thing I found interesting is that the one big glitch I’ve encountered didn’t even happen to me. Someone else with the name “Bishop” went through the registration process, and when he went to complete the order, all he got was a blank screen. His bank showed that the payment had gone through, so he contacted PAX and asked them to send him his confirmation. They sent him mine, instead.
How do I know about this? Well, he tweeted about it.
Didn't get a confirmation email for PAX South, so I emailed them. They then sent me a confirmation email for a Scott Bishop (not me).
— Bishop (@RareBishop) July 9, 2014
I found out about it because by pure coincidence, he and I are both followed by Dan Amrich, formerly of GamePro and Activision and currently with Rocksmith, and he pointed us out to one another after that tweet. It’s sounding like PAX screwed up (outside of sending him my confirmation); while the money was definitely paid they have no record of his order. That REALLY sucks, especially if they try not to give him a pass as a result. He shouldn’t have to suffer for their screwup.
In any event, I’m REALLY looking forward to PAX South. In particular, I’m hoping to say hi to the NetherRealm Studios guys, plus get to try both Mortal Kombat X and Batman: Arkham Knight. I’m also sure there will be other games announced between now and then that I’ll want to try as well. :-) I admit I’m also interested in taking a look around the tabletop gaming area and seeing what’s available. About all I know I won’t be taking part in is the LAN party; even though San Antonio is relatively close, I don’t have a gaming-quality laptop and I’m not lugging my desktop PC to a city three hours away. :-)
Still, PAX South is six months away. I’ve got plenty of time to get excited about it. For now, I’m just happy I’ll finally be able to go to a PAX. :-)