This year’s, Penny Arcade Expo, aka PAX, has attracted over 50,000 gamers from all over the world. Many top tier developers are using the show to present their games, forgoing more traditional conventions like E3. This mainstream popularity and new found legitimacy has caused many of the attendees to declare that ‘PAX sucks now’. Many gamers, used to sitting alone in the dark in their bedrooms, were taken aback when they realized that PAX was a huge success.

One visitor, MegaDog187 told us ‘It was cooler when only like 50 people showed up. But now, there’s like all these people and girls and stuff. It’s very unnerving.’ The sentiment was echoed by many of the visitors to the show. SepirothBoy explained ‘I’ve been keeping count, and there’s almost 15% of people here that aren’t in cosplay outfits. That’s not the PAX I’ve grown to love. And plus, there’s girls here now. I wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t bring my inhaler or anything.”

When we asked PAX officials about the dissent among attendees, PR spokesperson Trevor McDade told us that they were taking steps to remedy it.  ‘It’s true that PAX is very popular now and with that, there’s a chance that our core audience will feel alienated. For example, out of 50,000 registrants, almost 75 of them were female. That sort of ratio is unheard of in video game conventions. To remedy this, we’ve decided to hold a second PAX in Boston next year. That version of PAX will be more geared to the core gamer. Some of the steps we’re taking include, attendance will be limited to people with current WoW characters at level 50 or above and there will be a minimum weight requirement of 190 pounds. Also, we will place a large sign on the front door that reads ‘No Girls Allowed’.”

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