The second annual Penny Arcade Expo came and went this weekend and after reading this writeup on Slashdot I have to say that it sounded like a lot of fun. The guys at PA have always impressed me by both being really nice guys and doing a lot for the fans (not to mention sick children), really doing their part to show that gamers aren’t all the murderous loners that some seem to think, and PAX seems to be the community-orientated thing that is a great foil to the commercialism behind the bigger shows. It may not have the sheer amount of new stuff that E3 brings, but E3 doesn’t have constant LAN parties.

In fact after reading that I’m really tempted to fly over and go to the next show, especially if they hold one on the East Coast as the rumours seem to be suggesting. The first one sounded great and this one seems to be a vast improvement that will only get better next year. It’s never going to break the hold on the industry that E3 has but as more developers see its growth and popularity this could be the perfect show for consumers to see the latest games.