By Ivan Munoz
PAX East is one of the biggest gaming conventions worldwide and it is located in Boston Massachusetts. I was able to buy tickets back in December and you had to get them early cause or not they would sell out.
PAX East 2020 started on the 27th of February and would go on through March 1st. Many big companies such as Nintendo, Square Enix, Mixer, Corsair, Discord, & Astro would be there so you know this event was going to be wild.
When I first arrived I had to make a huge line, the security check was really packed since there were so many people at the event and they wanted to take a look at everyones bag. Right when I got inside, you see a GIGANTIC SIGN that said “PAX EAST 2020” and multiple people were trying to get a picture with it. In the center was a big area for Nintendo’s Pokemon Sword & Shield game that had released in November of 2019. Fans of Pokemon were able to play the game at the station and you can even take a picture with pikachu! As you continue making your way into the main entrance, there was a huge store for PAX East merchandise and I was able to pick up a shirt!
Walking into the entrance and going down the escalator I saw so many lights, games, and thousands of people on the main floor, THIS EVENT WAS THE REAL DEAL! I personally did not know where to start because there were so many things to do at the event that it was overwhelming. I decided to just roam around the area and see what PAX had to offer. First thing I saw was the Square Enix booth, they were promoting the remake of Final Fantasy 7 and if you were lucky enough, you’d be able to play the game earlier than most. You can also take a picture with Clouds bike from the game and you can even visit the Square Enix store where they sold merchandise from not only Final Fantasy, but some of their other big time games. There were also a lot of vendors that sold nice collectibles, pins, shirts, and games so lines for those items were packed as well.
As I continued roaming the area, there was an entire section dedicated to indie games. Indie games are games that are created by smaller companies that are not well known. In my opinion, PAX did an amazing job in letting smaller companies join in on the fun and let most of these creators show what they have created to the world. This is good for companies because some games looked very interesting and they might get a big time deal in the future cause of this opportunity!
Board games are something that I didn’t think were a huge deal but was I wrong.. PAX had an entire section on the main floor dedicated to board games, and they were even doing a Dungeons and Dragons livestream in one of the booths. Thousands of attendees were sitting down on tables playing games with friends and people they’ve never met before! Next to that entire section was hundreds of gaming pc’s with people playing any type of game they wanted, from League of Legends, to Fortnite, to Call of Duty, you name it, they had it! They also had another huge section of the floor dedicated to VR games and let people see what the virtual reality world was all about!
As I continued my journey across the rest of PAX East I noticed a huge stage in the middle of the entire floor, there were professional players playing a tournament of APEX Legends and multiple people were spectating in the stands and screaming for the awesome plays that were going on.
Discord is one of the biggest companies in the gaming community. It was a way to be able to chat with friends online with voice or simply just chatting! Now Discord is being used in many other ways such as school events and journalistic groups! Discord had their own booth at PAX and the thing everyone was trying to purchase was the wumpus plush. Unfortunately, I was not able to get my hands on one and neither were thousands of fans, it was a very rare item and they were only selling a hand full of them because it was a PAX East exclusive.
Another giant gaming company called Corsair was also in attendance along with Elgato Gaming. They had a giant booth so that fans can test out their mouses and keyboards, while also selling PAX East exclusive merchandise. All day long they were doing giveaways at the booth and hundreds of fans were in line hoping to be called up. Mixer was also in attendance showing some of their live streams on the giant screen while also promoting their brand.
Last but not least Nintendo! I circled the area and left Nintendo for last because it was the biggest company in attendance and they sure did one heck of a job. Nintendo had the biggest set on the floor and was promoting one of the biggest games in their line up called Animal Crossing. If you were lucky enough, you would be able to play the game demo that is not released to the public. You played in groups of 8 and had to venture in your own world. On the other side of their floor, you can take pictures with tents, props, and their most famous characters such as Isabelle, K. K. Slider, and Tom Nook. They had trees, water, fireplaces, and other props that made it seem like you were in the Animal Crossing world and I loved every single second of it.
My overall experience at PAX East was AMAZING! I felt like I was at home because everyone in that convention loves gaming and everyone gets along with one another. I seriously enjoyed every single second of it and would hope to do it again for years to come!
Credits: YoshiMonsta- https://www.youtube.com/user/YoshiMonsta03
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