Today is the first day of Penny Arcade Expo '09 (better known as PAX), what has become the largest gaming convention in the nation, where 60,000+ people will be packing into the Washington State Convention Center to talk about games, play games, and see upcoming games. Since everyone else at The Stranger is having Bumbershoot overload, I'm going to take it upon myself to post a bit about it and at least provide some semblance of coverage. I've been going to PAX the past few years, and it really is a great experience. PAX is the gamer mecca of the country.

Since its inception in 2004, PAX has been growing exponentially. It outgrew Bellevue's Meydenbauer Center, where it was hosted for three years, and now, in its third year at the WSCTC, it's outgrown it too; as Jonah mentioned, PAX completely sold out of all passes a week before it began, so if you haven't gotten a pass yet, you're not going to be able to get in*.

I'll be there tomorrow and Sunday (perhaps briefly today if I can manage). How many Sloggers are going? Are you there right now? What is your favorite part about PAX? Anything you're dying to see?

*UPDATE: They have released a limited number of Saturday and Sunday badges, so if you're bummed that you didn't get a badge in time, you still have a chance. Grab one quickly and spend the weekend geeking out!