PAX Prime 2014 Thread: zenprime's Fried Rice is the New Pwnmeal

blueshinra

blueshinra

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Hi everyone!
We're doing this again this year! Well, those of us who were lucky/stalkery/fast enough to nab passes, anyway :razz: So, without further ado, welcome to the 2014 edition of CAG's PAX Prime thread!

Important Notices and Updates:
- See the second post for all basic PAX and Seattle info, from schedule links to sightseeing suggestions.
- Some important show notes! Added 08/27/14. Thanks to creid for pretty much all of this.
  • The Main Theater is now at Benaroya Hall. The Paramount is now being used for autograph sessions, pin trading, etc.
  • The Queue Room is now the location for the League of Legends NA regional tournaments.
  • :hot: Hironobu Sakaguchi's panel is now in the Main Theater at 5 PM (same day, though). Likewise, the autograph session has been moved to 6:30 at the Paramount. :hot:
  • Tabletop gaming is now at the Motif Hotel, formerly the Red Lion Hotel.
  • Pinny Arcade logo pins are now available from staff, not the line entertainment Enforcers. These Enforcers will have special lanyards instead.
  • There's now a Diversity Lounge on the 6th floor of the WSCC, as well as the Take This AFK room on the 3rd floor.
  • Dance Central is replacing Rock Band outside the Juicy Cafe :cold:
Old stuff (pass info):
- If you're currently trying to get passes, through eBay, Craigslist, Reddit, or whereever, be mindful of bootlegs. Also, according to some posters on NeoGAF (here, here, and here), there's a good chance that the longer you wait, the cheaper your options will get. In general: common sense.
- If you have extra passes and want to offer them to your fellow CAGs, please follow CAG rules and proper decorum for sales/trades. Keep in mind that this is not a trading thread. You are free to post that you have and/or are looking for passes, but please do not spam this thread with such notices; conduct as much of your business as possible via trade lists and/or PMs. If this thread gets too large/busy with requests/offers, I will list them here for convenience's sake.

Post-PAX CAG Meetup
Unless there are any objections, this will be at Rock Bottom Brewery for the third year in a row. It's pretty much tradition by now, I figure :razz: As usual, post in this thread to RSVP. The RSVP list is CLOSED.
- DATE/TIME: Monday, September 1st; arrive by 7PM
- RSVP: R. Kasahara, bitprophet, Richard Kain, creid, metaly, zenprime, ThreeRandomWords, bwoodin, shamu_is_dead

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Update Archive: (note that any super-important stuff has been preserved above; this is mainly just for personal reference/amusement)
PAX PRIME 2014!

YES, it's too early to start this thread, but I have a good reason for it: we should plan our pass-buying in advance of the actual sale date so we don't run into problems. Last year, four-day passes sold out in less than an hour and all passes before the end of the day. Let's form a plan of attack so that we can all meet up in Seattle again this year!

Pretty much the most important thing to remember about passes going on sale is that it will be announced via Twitter first. Therefore, keep an eagle eye on @Official_PAX these next few weeks.

PAX EAST 2014!

Amazingly enough, I've started this thread before this has even happened. I'm not going, but if any CAGs who will be are planning a meetup or meetups, please let me know and I'll add the info to this here OP!

PAX AUS 2014!

This isn't until October and most of us are in the US anyway, so who cares?!

PAX ?? 2014!

Is a fourth PAX on its way?
Previous Years' PAX Prime Threads: 2011 | 2012 | 2013
 
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PAX Prime 2014
Friday, Aug. 29th - Monday, Sept. 1st :whee: Washington State Convention Center; Seattle, WA

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Useful Links

:hot: General PAX Information :hot:
- PAX Prime Official Site
- Twitter: Offical_PAX - Updates on nearly everything PAX-related (Prime, East, Dev, Aus, and South). Usually replies promptly to questions.
- Twitter: PAX_lines - Info about lines for panels, concerts, etc. The most useful PAX-related Twitter after the official account.

:mrgreen: Other PAX-Related :mrgreen:
- PAX Prime-related threads on the Penny Arcade forums
- Twitter: PAXParties - Party and meetup information.
- Twitter: PAX_Tourney - Tournament information.
- PAX Pokemon League - In case you want to be the very best, like no one ever was.

:!: General Seattle Information :!:
- Washington State Convention Center official website
- Yelp listings/reviews for Downtown Seattle businesses

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Helpful Tips

- Wear comfy shoes! Comfy clothing, too, but comfy shoes are more important.
- Bring the following stuff with you every day: PAX badge, schedule book/Guidebook app and lanyard (available at the show), bottled water, cash, hand sanitizer, camera of some kind, poster tube, handheld gaming device(s) of your choice.
- Be especially courteous to the Enforcers! They are volunteers who are there to help you, and they are awesome.
- Take showers (and practice proper hygiene in general) every day! A shower only takes 10 minutes each day and guarantees you won't be "that guy/gal with the confunk".
- If you're cosplaying, use common sense! Here's PAX's policy on prop weapons.

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Schedule and Events

Official Schedule:
Web link: Yup.
iOS/Android: There is a Guidebook app, available at the official PAX site. See the sidebar in the link above to get it.
Other formats: Printer-friendly version.

CAG's Favorite Panels: Game Show Night, Retrogame Roadshow, Awesome Video Game Data, Omegathon Final Round

Parties:
There's a handful of parties just about every night. In addition to the PAXParties Twitter account, some great sources of party information are...
- PA Forum PAX Prime Parties thread
- Facebook: PAX Parties
- More to come?

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Hotels

- Hotel registration. Note that all of the best/closest rooms at convention rates are already booked. You can still book many (if not all) of these hotels at Orbitz, Travelocity, etc., but the rates will be higher.

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Food

Eating Out
- Downtown Seattle restaurant map (from last year):
VEunhhU.jpg
- The Juicy Cafe - one of the most popular eating spots in the Convention Center itself; inexpensive and tasty food. Vegetarian friendly and runs extended hours during PAX.
- Specialty's Bakery and Cafe - a good breakfast spot; breakfast sandwiches, pastries, coffee, etc.
- MOD Pizza - awesome pizza; decent selections of toppings and beverages.
- Gordon Biersch and Rock Bottom Brewery - our previous meetups were here! Both are brew pubs and good for sit-down dinners.

Groceries
- Kress IGA Supermarket - a little on the upscale side, but good in general.
- Target

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Transportation

Within Seattle
- King County Metro Transit
- If you're driving into downtown, the Convention Center itself offers good parking.

For Out-of-Towners
- Planes: Hipmunk is a handy tool for airplane ticket price comparisons. I couldn't find any convention-specific rates for flights this year.
- Trains: Amtrak; can't find any info on this year's PAX Train yet.
- Car Rental: Note that if you're coming in from out of town by plane or train, you should not need a rental car. Downtown Seattle is very walkable, especially if you're in a hotel close to the convention center.
- Light rail public transit is available to downtown Seattle from the airport (SeaTac/Airport station) and Amtrak (Int'l District/Chinatown station).

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Miscellaneous

Sightseeing
If you're visiting from out of town and have time to kill before or after PAX, why not check out Seattle?

Seattle Center:
There's a lot of stuff to see and do at Seattle Center, including the Space Needle. A quick and popular way to get there is the Monorail. Combo tickets are available for the museums and other attractions there if you plan on seeing more than one thing and want to save a little cash.
- Pacific Science Center: current exhibits and IMAX theater schedule. There's also LaserDome, for those inclined to Laser Floyd.
- Chihuly Garden and Glass - on the smaller side for a museum, but worth visiting at least once if you're into art.
- The EMP Museum - formerly known as the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, or EMP|SFM. Features pop music and sci-fi/fantasy exhibits.

Cheapass sightseeing:
- Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park and Olympic Sculpture Park are two free museum-style attractions I've enjoyed on past trips.
- Int'l District/Chinatown makes for good window shopping, thanks in part to the Kinokuniya Bookstore and Pink Gorilla.
- Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square are neat places to walk around.
- For even more suggestions: Free Things to Do in Seattle.
 
Shipping
- In case you need to ship anything home, there is a FedEx inside of the convention center. They also sell poster tubes (you're definitely going to need one of those).
- There are also USPS and UPS branches downtown, but they aren't as convenient to get to.

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Special thanks to zenprime, creid, kube00, metaly, JEKKI, and anyone else I may have forgotten who has contributed info to this and/or previous PAX Prime threads.

If you have anything else useful to add, let me know!
 
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I need to decide is I go or stay away this year.

I've only missed one year since 2007, I missed it then, but whenever I go, by Sunday I'm threatening to not go again.

I had allot of fun at the panel on Family Fun night.

 
I've got my phone set up to receive a text message from the official PAX twitter account. As soon as they announce that tickets are available for sale, I'll know. I would strongly suggest that anyone else looking to attend this year do likewise. Last year I waited until I saw the announcement on the regular blogs, and I was only able to get passes for a single day. This year I want to get the all-show passes.

 
Someone on NeoGAF pointed out that the ticket prices on the Prime site just updated, so tickets are probably going up sometime this week. The site still has a lot of information from last year though, so it's not time to start F5'ing quite yet.

 
creid said:
Someone on NeoGAF pointed out that the ticket prices on the Prime site just updated, so tickets are probably going up sometime this week. The site still has a lot of information from last year though, so it's not time to start F5'ing quite yet.
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Why can't you sign-up in the PAX website to get notified when the tickets are available for purchase?

 
https://twitter.com/official_pax/status/471700451118039040
ETA: Four-day passes are already sold out (less than 14 minutes after the announcement). All individual days were still available when I checked out.

Also, direct link if you're having trouble getting the tweet to show up - http://t.co/yyN9dLjoX6

ETA #2: All passes are currently sold out except for Monday. Also, most of the downtown hotels are already booked solid at the convention rate, but rooms are still available at the regular travel booking sites if you don't mind paying a bit more.
 
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By my estimation, the 4-day passes were sold out in much less than 15 minutes. I checked in as soon as soon as the Twitter went out, and I still didn't get any.

On the plus side, I was able to snag individual tickets for all the other days. I've also already booked a room. I didn't get the hotel that's right across the street, but I managed to get one that's just a couple of blocks away. I'm actually pretty pleased with the location. The extra badges I acquired are probably all spoken for. But if one does become available I will let the community know.

So stoked that I get to go to the whole show this year! Last year I had to settle for just one day.

 
I only got Friday/Sunday/Monday. BARELY missed Saturday. So disappointing but I got a Saturday ticket for face value last year from a media guy so I'm hoping I can find another Saturday at face value this year again. To all cags who got tickets - get hyped! To all those who missed out I hope you guys end up finding a good deal on the secondary market.

 
ETA: MONDAY PASSES SOLD OUT.

Richard Kain said:
On the plus side, I was able to snag individual tickets for all the other days. I've also already booked a room. I didn't get the hotel that's right across the street, but I managed to get one that's just a couple of blocks away. I'm actually pretty pleased with the location. The extra badges I acquired are probably all spoken for. But if one does become available I will let the community know.
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Yay! :D Does this mean you'll make it to the meetup this year, too?

As for extra passes, I got some as well, but I'm not sure yet if mine are all spoken for either. I'll update everyone here on that as soon as I can.

DemonsMaster said:
I only got Friday/Sunday/Monday. BARELY missed Saturday. So disappointing but I got a Saturday ticket for face value last year from a media guy so I'm hoping I can find another Saturday at face value this year again. To all cags who got tickets - get hyped! To all those who missed out I hope you guys end up finding a good deal on the secondary market.
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Good luck getting that Saturday pass!

Hyped as hell now, but dammit, I really hate this whole pass sale process. It gets worse every single year.
 
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R. Kasahara said:
Good luck getting that Saturday pass!
Hyped as hell now, but dammit, I really hate this whole pass sale process. It gets worse every single year.
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Thanks and yeah this year was ridiculous. Can't believe it sold out in less than an hour.

If you end up having an extra Saturday for whatever reason I'll gladly pay $35-$45.
 
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my favorite part of PAX is all the people outside of it slangin stacks on stacks of passes.

STACKS ON STACKS.

couldnt get passes this year? no worries; they'll be sold at the door! ain't no shortage there!

 
JEKKI said:
my favorite part of PAX is all the people outside of it slangin stacks on stacks of passes.

STACKS ON STACKS.

couldnt get passes this year? no worries; they'll be sold at the door! ain't no shortage there!
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Just watch out for counterfeits.
 
R. Kasahara said:
Yay! :D Does this mean you'll make it to the meetup this year, too?
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Absolutely! I'm looking forward to it.

The pass "issue" is something the hosts are well aware of. It's just an extension of the rabid demand that this particular event fosters. I'm honestly not sure if there is any effective solution. Scalpers and counterfeiting are just a part of the modern culture. Broad internet access makes it possible to resell limited items at a premium. It's not far different from the "flipping" controversy you see here on CAG occasionally, but in a much more concentrated form.

Sadly, both my brothers are coming with me this year, and one of my friends has already laid claim to my only other extra pass, so I'm dry.

 
B:L said:
Just watch out for counterfeits.
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does Packs even have the infrastructure to weed out counterfeits?

the place is ran by children, walking past them should not be difficult at all, even if the passes had some kinda black light sensitive ink in them

 
JEKKI said:
does Packs even have the infrastructure to weed out counterfeits?

the place is ran by children, walking past them should not be difficult at all, even if the passes had some kinda black light sensitive ink in them
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Yeah PAX has a place to check for counterfeits, so if someone is selling, take them to the info booth and have them verify the badges before you pay.
 
Is anyone planning to go to Pax south?  I'm considering it since I won't be able to attend Prime this year due to having a baby, but maybe I could sneak to South. :)

 
soulvengeance said:
Is anyone planning to go to Pax south?
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I'm probably going to be attending. I managed to snag two all-show passes before they sold out. San Antonio is an easier trip for me, I have family that lives in Dallas. It's a good excuse for me to visit them for a couple of days and then drive down to the show. And Texas in general is going to be cheaper to visit than Seattle. Looking forward to some barbecue while I'm there.

 
R. Kasahara said:
For anyone interested in PAX South in San Antonio, passes just went on sale: http://www.showclix.com/event/3854062/

Semi-unrelated: chances are very good that I'll have some of my extra Prime passes available for sale, but I don't know which dates yet. Will post them on my tradelist once I do.
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I'm most definitely interested in acquiring a Saturday pass especially now that I have a BYOC pass, if you happen to have an extra Saturday for sale.

 
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DemonsMaster said:
I'm most definitely interested in acquiring a Saturday pass especially now that I have a BYOC pass, if you happen to have an extra Saturday for sale.
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Just sold all of my extras last night to a friend of a friend, so I can't help you; sorry about that ^^;
 
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oops people been postin here

I have two weekend passes I need to get rid of. PM if you're interested and I'll mail them out right away.

I got a pass for South as well. It's been a very PAX-heavy year.

 
metaly said:
oops people been postin here

I have two weekend passes I need to get rid of. PM if you're interested and I'll mail them out right away.

I got a pass for South as well. It's been a very PAX-heavy year.
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Nice where are you staying for South?

 
lol I was about to hit some of u guys up like

"yooo Kasahara / BitPoPo / metaly I'ma be in yo hood let's get ramen!"

til I realized I'm goin up the weekend of PAX =P

hope u guys have fun!!! I wanna go to the Idle Thumbs panel :cry:

 
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