Derek 'Dez' Maggs 
PAX Australia 2024 celebrated its 10th anniversary in the land down under and having never missed one, it is always my favourite time of year. As the festival-like atmosphere for gamers of all ages & genre. Whether you’re a video, board or mobile gamer Pax Australia has something for every one.
As the gaming community ascends on my home town of Melbourne; as it transformed into a playground of gaming delivering a diverse mix of activities, exhibits, and gaming experiences that live with you for a lifetime.
Media Hour
Every year between 9 to 10 on the Friday, Media & Content Creators are let it an hour early. Back in the day, this used to be used to set up meetings with brands and gaming developers. As we move to a more technical world, all that is handled over email.
And Media hour has now become one of my favourite bits of PAX Australia. As it is now catch up hour, where you spend an hour catching up with PR friends, other content creators & media before the craziness begins & time is of the essence.
Some of these people I only get to see on the yearly basis & it is always a highlight of PAX!
The Wedding??
That’s right. You read that right there was a wedding of PAX Australia.
At the foot of the Quokka theatre, Cult of the Lamb team had erected cathedral of sorts. Which was nothing short of insane. As the cathedral was equipped with pews and cultists with these red velvet capes embroided with the Cult of the Lamb logos.
Which was amazing but overkill to sell some merchandise, or so I thought.
As I soon found out that this cathedral was for, quite possible the most insane PAX experience, a wedding, well 2 weddings. Sunday at 11am was the first wedding & unfortunately, I missed most of it as I had a meeting. Yet, this wasn’t your normal everyday wedding as this was the wedding of two furries. This could not have been more perfect for the brand & the bit I saw was actually, beautiful.
The second wedding was your more “traditional” couple and like the first was a beautiful experience. It really did feel like a wedding, though there was this weird Cult of the Lamb vibe that you really didn’t notice as it just felt like a wedding.
My biggest fear about this was that it was going to feel a bit too marketing or a bit too gimmicky, but the way the couples handled themselves and the way everybody got behind it, it really did feel like you were just at a beautiful wedding with a slightly different church. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen or will probably see again but will live with me for years to some.
RedBull Gameball Royale
The Exhibitor Hall buzzed with energy, packed with both cutting-edge and classic gaming wonders. But it was something outside of gaming that was my highlight of this years PAX. It was the RedBull Gameball Royale—a thrilling dodgeball showdown between content creators that kept the crowd riveted.
It was the size of about a half court of basketball surrounded by the nets with a small stadium seating on one side; the stage for something incredible that was played throughout the weekend.
And the teams were the Who’s who of Australian content creator royalty, with names like the below you knew the was going to be huge:
- • The Losers: Loserfruit, Marcus, Bazza, Cray, Vin and Develique.
- PWR Ballers: Chanzes, JT, TG, Looch and Vic.
- Untouchaballs: Iamfallfromgrace, Jeff, Jenz, Middleton, Carla and Lismeal.
- Ball Busters: Muselk, Oasis, Bundun, Aussie, Irrelevant Marc and Gaby.
My highlight was seeing good friend, Jack Huddo & Twitch CEO, Dan Clancy throwing balls at each other was something special.
And though this was serious business, there were smiles all around and the crowd love it. I really want to see this more and more as I’m so hooked on RedBull Gameball Royale.
The Big Names
It was announced early on that PAX Australia had Ubisoft attending, and many gamers myself included thought that Australia may be getting our first look at Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Well until the dreaded delay was announced & broke all Aussie gamer’s hearts.
And though our little hearts may have been broken, they we put back together with some amazing titles that had people lining up for miles. Titles like Star Wars: Outlaws, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, The Crew Motorfest, and the now infamously popular, Just Dance. And though I don’t need another game to be obsessed with, I kind of obsessed with Star Wars: Outlaws.
At Sega’s booth, it was all about celebrating everyone’s favorite blue hamster, Sonic the Hedgehog. That is right, hamster! As while standing at the Sega booth, A little kid asked his dad “What animal is Sonic the Hedgehog?” and with all the confidence in the world, the father replied, “He is a Hamster, Son!”
PAX Goers could snapped photos with the movie edition Sonic and got an exclusive look at Sonic X Shadow Generations. A remastered spin on Sonic Generations. With next-gen cutting edge graphics and new levels starring Shadow the Hedgehog—voiced by my man crush, Keanu Reeves.
The booth also spotlighted the quirky Two Point Museum, a game that Kelly jumped at the opportunity to play, and the fresh take on Fantasy RPG, Atlus’s Metaphor: ReFantazio. The Sega Booth was all great vibes and fun.
Panels
One thing about PAX that I wish I did more of, was attend the panels. As these are Australia’s best a brightest Journalists, Content creators, Streamers & industry professionals that share their love & knowledge of the industry.
This year, I was able to catch only one panel, How to be a Content Creator without Streaming. That gave us all an insight & advice on how to use other avenues than streaming. It was a topic that I was frustrated by, as being in the industry 10 years & not a stream, I was excited to pick the minds of some great YouTubers & industry leaders outside of streaming.
Dantics, NorZZa, EllyTheGeek, L1zbang & Friend of the site, Dudi, offered us a look into YouTubing, Shorts, Podcasting & Socials. And some of the benefits it has over clicking that go live button.
The insights they were able to share had the audience of hundred on the end of there seats & though I’ve been doing this a long time, I learnt so much from there experience.
Panel like these are what makes PAX special. Sharing advice & making the industry a more exciting place to work
Tech Giants & DIY Keyboards
PAX Australia is a mecca for the best a latest tech & other than boardgames the main reason I go.
The usual suspects were there, with Aftershock showing of the next best things in custom builds. From the insanely talented mind of Barry & his insanely talented team that continue to; not just being the best & most insane custom PC builders around. Yet continue to build everyday PC for gamers of all ages.
MSI gaming was their & causing riots like only they could. From having some of the best tech, to having the some of the best talent in Australia playing matches & giveaways, 1000s of giveaway. The MSI Booth is always a must visit at PAX, as it is an event in it’s own right. It never stops from beginning to end it’s a booth of electric energy & I’m not just saying that because I got myself a new MSI cap!
Xbox went back to their roots, showing something that I probably haven’t seen in 20 years. They had all their old Xboxes in what looked like a replica of blockbuster video store that just made us so happy. They were promote Xbox game pass on PC and had some of the coolest key caps celebrating some of the best games from original Bbox…. Which I spend way too much money on. As it would be rude if I didn’t buy all of them.
LG & Samsung were their for the first time And it’s great to see such big brands finally realising what the gaming industry has to offer. As they make some of the best panels in the industry & it was so nice to not just see monitors from them, but some of the highest resolution monitors I’ve ever seen.
As Samsung OLED G6 4k with 360Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms or LG OLED WQHD 240Hz 0.03ms G-Sync Compatible 800R Curved Gaming Monitor are taking gaming monitors to the next level. I’ve never seen monitors like this & can’t wait to get my hands on them!
I tried to stay clear of another first timer, Keychron Australia. A mainstay in everything custom keyboards. My main reason for staying clear of them is, about a year ago I got into building custom keyboards. It is an amazing hobby & something I love dearly. And I’ve spent thousands at Keychron Australia & they had the an amazing offering on show.
Custom Keyboards are becoming a huge business & through it my not necessary be as big as it in in other places in the world. It was great seeing Keychron Australia at PAX, showing the new generation of Custom Keyboard makers what makes it such an amazing hobby to get into & what high quality parts look like
Boardgame Hall
The fervour for Disney Lorcana was palpable in the tabletop area, as teachers guided attendees through my favourite TCG. This was a lot of people’s first time of getting to play Disney Lorcana & to say it was popular is the understatement of the year.
And I must say, there was a lot of excited people leaving the booth. As I think, like me, a lot of people thought that Disney Lorcana would just be some kind of gimmick at Disney to sell some cards and after finished that lesson, I could count on one hand the number of people that didn’t head over to the store to get more.
Old Favourite the paint and take was absolutely mayhem, I tried my hardest to do this for the first year. It fills up so quick. Being able to sit down and paint some amazing miniatures thanks to Let’s Play, before picking up all your supplies from them.
So whether you were learning to paint, a veteran or saw a cool mini that you through would look great on your RPG table. It is a must visit if you are one of the lucky ones to make the cut.
Speaking of RPG, the oldest one of them all, Dungeons & Dragons was also showing why after 50 years, It is still the best. Throughout PAX, players could get their first taste or revisit their old friends. The Team at Wizards of the Coast put on quite the show, as gifted Dungeon Masters walked players through exciting one shots. Seeing the smiles from all players, you can see why after 50 years, D&D is still the Gold Standard of RPGs.
Conclusion
PAX Australia 2024 was a phenomenal celebration of gaming culture, uniting fans, developers, and exhibitors in a memorable event. Whether attendees were there to explore the latest games, connect with fellow gamers, or simply soak in the vibrant atmosphere, PAX Australia 2024 captured the spirit of the gaming community in an unparalleled way.
Did you get a chance to check out the event, or are you thinking about making the trip next year? If you love gaming, you need to check it out!
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