Everyone knows the big battle of winning E3. Its always been considered huge to come out of E3 with the majority of attendees believing you won. its huge to have the online community behind you and the publicity you get is undeniably valuable. But what about Penny Arcade Expo? Its only the biggest Game Convention open to the public in North America. But is a win at PAX as valuable as a win at E3? It would seem that Microsoft is planning to pull out the biggest guns they have to ensure PAX attendees leave PAX with Microsoft on their minds.
Now other then opinion what do I have to back this up. Lets just look at the PAX keynotes. Sony and Nintendo are pretty much absent (With acception of David Jaffe) but take a look at Microsoft's keynotes.
Halo: Anniversary
Pegasus Theatre
Friday 10:00am - 11:00am
The team responsible for the 2011 reimagining of the classic Xbox title peel back the cover on the process behind bringing Halo: Anniversary to gamers on the 10th anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved.
Panelists include: Dan Ayoub [Executive Producer], Dennis Ries [Producer], Frank O'Connor [Franchise Development Director], Kevin Grace [Franchise Manager]
Halo Universe
Pegasus Theatre
Friday 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Over the past decade Halo has touched millions of people around the world. Come be a part of the 10th anniversary celebration as we welcome some of the people who helped bring the universe to life. Panelists include Franchise Development Director Frank O'Connor, Franchise Manager Kevin Grace, Pete Stacker (Captain Jacob Keyes), Tim Dadabo (343 Guilty Spark), and Steve Downes (Master Chief).
Running Xbox LIVE
Unicorn Theatre
Sunday 4:30pm - 5:30pm
@XboxSupport: Customer Support in 140 Characters or Less
Wolfman Theatre
Friday 5:00pm - 6:00pm
What is the Elite Tweet Fleet? Come meet and chat with members of Microsoft's @XboxSupport Twitter handle about the joys and challenges of providing support for Xbox and Xbox LIVE in less than 140 characters. Members of the Tweet Fleet and Forums Support team will be on hand to answer questions and discuss helping customers through social media.
Panelists include: James Degnan [Microsoft], Rob Hultkrantz [Microsoft], Jamie Clark [Microsoft], Jesse Gamble [Microsoft], Khoa Nguyen [Microsoft], McKenzie Eakin [Manager, Microsoft]
Major Nelson Radio: Live!
Unicorn Theatre
Friday 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Join Major Nelson, e, lollipop and Stepto as they record the weekly Major Nelson podcast live! You never know what special guests are going to drop by, what prizes will be handed out, or what crazy questions they will get from the audience during the Q&A. Join the entire cast for an unforgettable hour of dysfunction.
Halo 4
Main Theatre
Sunday 10:00am - 11:00am
Here is your first chance to see and hear from the 343 Industries team that is creating the exciting next chapter in Master Chief's heroic story. Be there as we kick off the next 10 years of Halo!
Panelists include: Frank O'Connor [Franchise Development Director, 343 Industries], Josh Holmes [Creative Director, 343 Industries], Kiki Wolfkill [Executive Producer, 343 Industries], Kenneth Scott [Sr. Art Director, 343 Industries], Sotaro Tojima [Audio Director, 343 Industries]
Running Xbox LIVE
Unicorn Theatre
Sunday 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Ever wonder what it takes to run a world-wide entertainment service? Join members of the Xbox LIVE operations team as we walk you through the history and present of Xbox LIVE. Learn about the early days of the service, see what it's like to prepare for a major game launch, get a look inside how teams making the hardware and software have to take into account how it all comes together on Xbox LIVE, and how we take into account safety and enforcement. Hear some great stories over the past 9 years of the service. We promise we won't get too technical on you too! (PLEASE NOTE: This presentation will not include Q&A as we encourage you to join us for our separate open Q&A session)
Thats six keynotes, while Sony and Nintendo are barely represented at all!
Not to mention Microsoft has been advertising Halo Fest since E3. Halo Fest is apparently what Microsoft is calling their show at PAX. So Will Microsoft win PAX?
So will Halo Fest and Microsoft's drive pay off? Will Microsoft make huge gains at PAX. Do you think Microsoft should be devoting this much attention and resources to PAX.Does Nintendo or Sony have a chance in hell of even coming close to the presence Microsoft will have at PAX and what does that mean for those respective companies?
