Took a day off on Friday to attend PAX, a video gaming exhibition/conference/festival/collection-of-fun.

The last time i did such a thing was when i was in E3 in ... probably 1997/1998, and in my previous life *grin* i was the logistics guy for exhibition booth setups, hiring, assignment of duties, procurement of supplies etc for Singapore based shows like PC Show, Comex etc, so it was something that i was interested to see how things have changed since then.

Went there really early to grab my ticket, and noticed the cool setup of queuing that the organizers have made. Though there was a queue of probably 30-40 minutes before you can actually get into the meat of the show, people were good humored and did ad hoc multi-player gaming with their DSes. In fact, i only saw a handful of PSPs around, while DSes were seen everywhere i went.

Right at the start, i bought this CD from MC Frontalot. Did a quick listen to it when i went home and it's a really nice album. He was there to sign the purchases too.

There were plush bean bags all around the conference center, and people just laid back and started doing multiplayer gaming. EBA/Ouendan multiplayer gaming sessions were the bomb!

Was disappointed in the number of cosplayers, but these two groups were really funny, especially the Phoenix Wright/Apollo Justice team, and especially Godot! Since this series is my second fave series on the DS, i was exceptionally happy to see them, but where's the Ouendans!!!!

NIntendo had a big booth and showcased their Wii games and DS games. Wii games were meh for me.. except for Wario Land Shake. DS demos of Chrono Trigger (must buy), Dragon Quest IV (must buy), Rhythm Heaven (must buy..er.. wait..), Pokemon Platinum (must... not buy), Dragon Ball Origins (highly buy-able) meant that Sharon will probably be staring at my ever increasing collection ever more often!

Talked to the developers of this game (and an unique game in Drawn To Life where you draw your own characters).

Even the demos for this game looked like a joke. Duh!

Super retro gaming gadgets... i think i used to own one of the Pac-man and Donkey Kong (the two in the back row).

It's not only a video gaming event, but lots of tabletop RPG players, Magic/other themes card games as well.

Get a free haircut AND a free Xbox 360 game for Call of Duty (i think... i wasn't interested because i do not have a 360).

The original and Japanese version of Rhythm Heaven, known as Rhythm Tengoku Gold, the sequel to one of my favorite games on the gameboy advance, Rhythm Tengoku. KAAAAAAAAAAAMO NE~

At the end, i left totally exhausted, and started thinking.. "i'm too old for this! haha"