Formerly known as our "E3 & You!" info dump, this is now the Giant Bomb vs The Electronic Three Official Player's Guide. For a quarter of a century now, E3 has been the biggest trade show for the video game industry. We're gonna see a slew of new trailers, demos, announcements, interviews, and live streams over the next week.
So, here's all the information you need to survive a week-long marathon of live chat, the tidal wave of new forum threads, and an onslaught of wiki submissions for new games!
Press Conferences
The Electronic Three is once again starting early this year. While E3 2019 is officially Tuesday through Thursday, the press conferences media briefings showcases start with Xbox on Sunday. But, Electronic Arts is still doing...stuff...on Saturday.
**Not all of these will be "talked over" by Giant Bomb.**
From Saturday afternoon through Tuesday morning, you are going to see threads dedicated to each of the major publisher's presentations (EA, Microsoft, Bethesda, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Nintendo). These threads will be posted and stickied shortly before each press conference. They are the go-to place for any and all discussion for their respective press conferences before, during, and after the show is over. Let's try to keep it all in one place.
The Chat
Here are the details on when the Giant Bomb crew will be streaming live throughout the week. For either the conference commentary or the night shows, you'll want to be hanging out in GB Chat. If you click, the "Local Time" link should translate the time automatically to your local time.
Keep in mind that GB will typically go live about 30 minutes ahead of each conference.
We know you want to talk about all these glorious new games that are about to get announced. But, there's no sense in fifty duders creating a new thread to talk about that thing that Phil Spencer just announced 18 seconds ago. And, in case you didn't know, every game in the Giant Bomb database has a forum attached to it. Tidy organization is built right in! All you have to do is utilize it.
E3 is fast and furious, so we know there are going to be duplicates sometimes, but help us out by taking a few seconds to check first. The dupes that get through will soon be locked anyway.
The Wiki
Get in there and edit some stuff!
But, what if there's no page for the game I want to talk about?!
Well, the answer is pretty simple. Go ahead and make a page for it. Before you do, though, make sure there's not already one created. We have a some hardcore wiki users that are going to be lightning quick on new stuff. Sometimes, when a new page is created, it takes a bit of time to show up in search. Here's a tip for you:
Even if someone submitted it three seconds ago, it's going to be there. So, use that instead of just checking the search bar. The mods will be monitoring the wiki queue like hawks trying to get the new stuff through as quickly as possible.
And That...
The 25th E3 is Giant Bomb's 12th!
E3 is one of the most fun times of the year for anyone who loves games. It's fast. It's chaotic. It's sometimes ridiculous and/or hilarious. All of us here in the Giant Bomb community want to have a good time with all the news, announcements, trailers, and late-night podcasts. So, let's all do our part to keep things as organized as possible so everyone can find anything they're looking for during E3 2019.
Got questions? Feel free to post them here so that anyone else with the same/similar question can get helped at the same time.
This is the promo image I'll be using for the E3 Banner Contest next week, but I figured y'all might enjoy it now. Hopefully, out of the 65 images, I picked most of the major moments anyone can remember from the last ten years. If you need help reminding yourself what some of these moments are, I created a numbered legend below.
It's time to get hype.
Legend
1. Drew on the way to Kentia Hall. (2009)
2. Phil Spencer visits for WEED3. (2016)
3. Vinny on green screen for the E3 pre-roll intro. (2012)
4. Patrick and Austin in their Waypoint uniforms. (2018)
5. Shuhei Yoshida shows off his incredible gift from Johnny V. (2014)
6. Michael Pachter and Jeff Green visit the new E3 house. (2012)
7. Tetsuya Miziguchi makes his first appearance. (2018)
8. Mary Kish chugs a beer to celebrate E3 being over. (2017)
9. Simultaneous sunglasses with Johnny V and Dave Lang. (2014)
10. Jens Matthies enters the vapor chamber. (2017)
11. Tim Schaefer and Greg Rice have an epic Jenga battle in the green room. (2016)
12. Danny O'Dwyer and Samantha Kalman stop by. (2015)
13. A shirtless Greg Miller smashes some empty beer cans as Garnett Lee looks on. (2014)
14. Jeff runs into Greg Kasavin on the floor. (2009)
15. Xavier Woods and Eric Pope play "air guitar". (2015)
16. Johnny V gets a gift from Ryan. (2011)
17. The millennials take over E3. (2017)
18. Brad gets secrets from Nintendo's Denise Kaigler. (2009)
19. Patrick checks out the fridge cam. (2011)
20. Paul Barnett and Jeff put an end E3. (2014)
21. Brad enjoys some catered lunch. (2018)
22. "Raw" footage of John Drake massaging Johnny V. (2013)
23. After press conferences. (2009)
24. <3 (2016)
25. Ben and Abby flossin' in the green room. (2018)
26. We win and lose together! (2017)
27. Abby scares Vinny on the street. (2018)
28. <> (2010)
29. Dave Lang throws his phone away. (2015)
30. Brad and Alex check out the PS4 that Adam Boyes brought. (2013)
31. Jeff at Xbox's conference. (2011)
32. Janina Gavankar shares a special message. (2017)
33. Vinny and Dan try to figure out what E3 Live is. (2016)
34. Jeff checks out the studio they'll be using for the week. (2013)
35. Abby and Ben get pumped for their first E3. (2017)
36. Justin McElroy (with Griffin McElroy and Queen Elizabeth II) shares another Sherlock Holmes story. (2014)
37. Dan offers to share his coffee with Austin. (2016)
38. Jeff interviews Harmonix's Alex Navarro. (2009)
39. Brad collapses at the end of the night show. (2014)
40. Alex hates escalators. (2018)
41. Vinny runs into Jeff Green outside E3 Live. (2016)
42. Adam Boyes realizes Johnny V just tweeted out Dave Lang's phone number. (2015)
43. Kessler and Dave go to Outback instead of E3. (2010)
44. John Drake double fisting Diet Cokes. (2013)
45. Greg Miller gets inappropriate with Xavier Woods. (2016)
46. Vinny and Jeff put on faces to read an ad. (2015)
47. Janina Gavankar gets comfy for My First E3 Two. (2018)
48. Patrick tries to tell Jeff about Yoshi's new game. (2014)
49. Jeff forgot his cool shades. (2015)
50. Vinny films the crew after the Sony press conference. (2013)
51. Producers producin'. (2018)
52. John Drake chugs a 2-Liter Diet Coke as John "Cowboy" Bellomy looks on in horror. (2018)
53. Drew walks in on himself. (2013)
54. Abbie Heppe hides amongst the cardboard standees. (2014)
55. Ed Boon shares his Hawkman Midway story with Adam Boyes and Johnny V. (2012)
56. Matt Kessler tries a rare delicacy known as a tomato. (2017)
57. Jeff Green and Lorne Lanning share some veteran insight. (2015)
58. Dan offers Austin a snack. (2016)
59. Johnny V impersonates Adam Boyes. (2017)
60. Xavier Woods and Samoa Joe stop by. (2017)
61. #FreeKessler (2018)
62. Jeff asks Phil Spencer and Kudo Tsunoda about shipping broken games. (2015)
63. Jeff and Alex outside the house. (2011)
64. Vinny goes into business for himself by selling Coke ads on the stream. (2016)
Eight years, y'all. EIGHT YEARS! We've been doing this guide for a long damn time. Admittedly, it hasn't changed much in recent years, but that's because I think that thanks to countless duders' input, we've kinda nailed it down at this point. But, I always want to post it again with the current PAX's schedule and whatnot. I've also reluctantly removed all the EverQuest icons because they look like garbage on the mobile version.
Whether PAX East 2019 is your first PAX or your twenty-second like me, this is for you. Despite years of refinement, if you have something that needs to be added, let us know in the comments.
Boston
We probably won't have to deal with six feet of snow this year.
It's gotten better in the last few years, but the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center is still kinda in the middle of nowhere. Logan International Airport is just a few minutes from the convention center, but it's about a mile walk from there into the heart of Boston where most of the fun stuff is.
If you're landing at the airport, you should almost definitely hop on the Silver Line. It's FREE going into the city from Logan and, if you were lucky enough to get a hotel near the convention center, it'll take you right past most of them. If you weren't so lucky, the Silver Line will drop you at South Station, which is a hub that will get you to basically anywhere else in the city. If you're going to be in town all week and plan on going anywhere that's not right by the convention center, throw $10 or $20 on MBTA "Charlie Card" since each ride you take is going to cost about $3.
Check for your hotel on Google maps, locate the closest "T" station (it'll be real easy), and work backwards to South Station. Even if you're not a city kid, it's quite simple. If you need help, there's plenty of Boston natives hanging around on the site, so ask away in the comments below.
Giant Bomb (and Fam) @ PAX
You might spot a Giant Bomb staff member randomly on the show floor (just don't bother them if they're shooting something), but your best bet is one of these panels. As usual, I've also included some other panels that might be GB adjacent? Translation: "Wrestlers and/or Dave Lang are involved."
For most panels, you're going to need to line up early if want a good seat. As a general rule, I'd suggest going to most panels an hour early. For the super popular ones, there's a bit of loitering skill involved. Enforcers will not allow you to line up until the line for the previous panel goes inside, so...do what you need to do to get in the actual line as soon as that happens.
This is a perfectly normal example of your typical PAX panel.
The Enforcers
Enforcers are a legion of volunteers that make PAX run efficiently. It would be a hot mess without them. In the old days, they would don the black. But, now that there are multiple versions of PAX, East Enforcers are coated in red. If you need help with anything, just look for one of them. They’re never too far away. And if they ask you nicely to do something (like move out of an aisle/walkway), please do so.
They don't always wear armor like this guy to the right. Just most of the time.
#PAX
Welcome home.
Even if you don’t normally use Twitter, you should sign up just to follow these accounts while you’re at PAX. It’s the best and easiest way to get up-to-the-minute updates on what’s going on.
@pax_lines - Updates on theatre/panel lines and when they get capped.
@paxparties - An unofficial feed for the unofficial parties going on all weekend.
The Packing List
Here's what you need to bring with you especially if you're coming in from out of town.
Money
Most places (including vendors in the expo hall) will take credit/debit cards, but it’s probably a good idea to carry a little cash just in case. And if you need to hit an ATM, do it early in the day as they sometimes run out of money later on.
Backpack
Whatever your style of choice is, bring one. Don’t rely on getting a free bag at the show. They’re often cumbersome and there’s no guarantee you’ll find one anyway. Trust me…carrying a bunch of random stuff you pick up throughout the day is going to suck without a backpack.
Phone & Charger
Duh. You need your phone. But don’t be a dumb and forget your charger and/or wall plug. Pro Tip: Turn your brightness down as far as you can tolerate. Keeping up with your friends at night through texts/Twitter/Discord is gonna be tough if your phone dies by 2 PM.
Battery Pack
Consider buying an external USB battery pack. It’s been a life saver for me the last few years. Worth every penny.
Portable Gaming
You will undoubtedly find some downtime (like waiting in line), and you will never be in a better place for local multiplayer. So, go ahead and take your Nintendo Switch out for some commercial-esque multiplayer.
Hand Sanitizer
There will be dispensers scattered around the buildings, but do yourself a favor and toss a little bottle in your bag and use it every time you play something.
Poster Tube
If you can fit it in your luggage, this is a veteran move. You might get a cool poster at PAX. You might even get it signed by Todd Howard. Make sure you have a way to get it home without crushing it.
Trash Bag
Yep. A trash bag. Just throw it in your luggage. Use it later for dirty clothes, which will keep your stank-ass, sweaty socks off of the cool stuff you bring back on the way home.
Every Alex panel is a roller coaster of emotions.
The Daily List
Here's a few things that you should do every day. Every. Day.
Shower/Deodorant
For the love of Bristlebane, please! It’s not difficult. You're probably paying an arm and a leg for that hotel room you got, so use those amenities.
Eat/Drink
Walking around for sixteen hours a day for three days requires fuel. It may sound crazy, but you might actually forget to eat and stay hydrated. There aren't a ton of options real close to the convention center. There is a food court on the north side of the convention center, but it's super crowded and generally shitty. There's usually some carnival-type food scattered around in the expo hall as well. Recently, there's also been some food trucks outside the main entrance and on the southern lawn.
But, scope out some of the few nearby locations ahead of time and maybe hit those instead. Try to eat two actual meals a day and carry some snacks for in-between. Alternatively, you could attempt to live on Dunkin for four days.
Sleep
Time is precious at PAX, but you can’t go non-stop for 100+ hours. Try to get at least 5 or 6 hours a night.
Get Out
Don’t spend all of your time in the convention center. Get out of there once in a while, get some air, grab some real food, see some of the city, etc.
Be Yourself
There’s a special vibe that envelops PAX. If you’ve ever felt weird or strange about the nerdy things you love, know that you’ll never be in a place with more people that enjoy the same things that you do than you ever will be. So, be yourself. Talk to random people in lines. You’re going to have a blast. Welcome home.
That big red block is the convention center. It's about a mile from there to the Regina Pizzeria in the middle. As you can see, most of the food options are on the other side of the bridge.
The To-Do List
Now that you've got a checklist of what to bring and some daily advice, here's some tips on how to prepare.
Download Guidebook
Guidebook is the best, easiest way to keep up with all the official PAX info (schedule, maps, announcements, etc.)
Gameplan
The schedule is out now, so start making a list right now of the panels you may want to see and any potential games you want to play. Compare your list with your friends and get a rough idea of what you want to see and do. Inevitably, you’re going to have make some tough decisions as multiple things you’re interested in will overlap. Accept the fact now that you can’t see/do everything, but if you go in there with no plan at all, you’re going to be overwhelmed.
Plan a Backup
Shit happens. Panels get full faster than you thought. Lines get too long to be worth it. The game you wanted to play might actually just be a presentation. Try to have a backup whenever you can. If all else fails, just go spend some more time in…
Indie Megabooth
Arguably the best part of PAX is the slew of indie games available. And, over the last several years, the Indie Megaboothhas established itself as a primary feature of PAX. It houses over seventy games from nearly as many developers and you could spend hours there. It’s also great because you can play a bunch of games without waiting too long. If you see an open station, play it! I don’t care what it is.
Escape the Expo
The expo hall is an amazing spectacle. No doubt about it. But, it's also a trap. Get the hell out of there and do some other stuff once in a while. PAX has so much to offer aside from the expo hall and you shouldn’t miss it. Head upstairs to the Classic Console rooms or the Kickstarter Lounge. Head to the back with the massive Tabletop arenas. You get the point. Go do stuff.
Come to PAX. Meet your heroes.
The To-Don’t List
A couple little words of warning from a PAX veteran. You'll thank me later.
SWAG
We all love free stuff, but seriously…don’t be that guy. Don’t wait in line for 45 minutes to play a game you don’t care about just to get a shirt. And please don’t loiter around a headphone booth hoping to catch an inflatable hat. You will get free stuff without trying too hard, so don’t let SWAG ruin your PAX.
Lines
Okay, lines are unavoidable. If you want to do much of anything at PAX, you’re gonna wait in some lines. But, this is on the “don’t” list simply to help you make good decisions. Do you really need to wait in line for an hour to play something when it comes out in just a couple weeks? Think about it. Do you really want to wait in line for an hour to watch a new trailer that will be online Monday morning? Time is precious at PAX. Choose wisely.
The expo hall just keeps getting larger every year.
The Optional List
Three PAX traditions that should not be ignored. Your interest will likely depend on who is involved, so take note.
Keynote
The “Storytime” session is typically a great opening ceremony for PAX, especially for first-timers. The Penny Arcade Q&A is once again immediately after this, so if you're a fan of those guys, you should probably go to the keynote to get a good seat. It's one of the few times they don't clear out a theatre before the next event. This year’s speaker is Arin Hanson.
Music
On Saturday night, the Main Theatre will be rocking late into the night. Whether you know anything about the performers or not, the concerts are a great time especially if you don’t have any other late night plans. Saturday night will feature the Doubleclicks, Bit Brigade, and Video Game Orchestra.
Omegathon Finals
The Omegathon is an elimination tournament that takes place throughout the entire weekend between a couple dozen attendees who were randomly selected prior to the show. The final game is always kept a secret until the very end. It’s usually a great closing ceremony, but it totally depends on the game. I’ve seen some great ones like Vs. Excitebike, Ikaruga, Trials Evolution, and (inexplicably) a stuffed animal crane game. But, I’ve also seen some pure train wrecks like Spaceteam and Cornhole. So, I can’t recommend it as much as I used to, but it still has the potential to be awesome.
The Rumble is returning home to Boston!
<>
Celebrating 7 years of British people groping Americans at PAX.
Well, that's all I've got. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or complaints, let me hear it. As always, hopefully this will help some people out and maybe I'll see some of you at PAX. Anyway, it's gonna be a blast. Have fun. And, yes, fog machines are still banned.
Hey yo! I love stats. And if you've been around here at any point over the last decade, you probably already knew that. Unfortunately, I don't have as many opportunities as I did in the past since it's been years since site data was easily accessible. You may remember the good ol' days of monthly Data Dumps, achievement tracking, and annual reviews data. Game of the Year is one of the few chances we have to put some spreadsheets together these days, so let's do this thing!
First off, some ground rules. Since not everyone decides to do a nice and tidy one through ten list, I had to get a little creative with how to tally everything. And I'm doing it slightly differently from last year.
A "regular" ranked list results in a total of 55 points available. (1 point for 10th, 10 points for 1st, etc.)
If a person gave 10 games but did not rank them, each game gets 5.5 points.
If a person gave less than 10 and did not rank them, they still only get 5.5 each.
If a person gave less than 10 and did rank them, they forfeited their points available for 10th, 9th, etc. (i.e. a list of 8 ranked is a total of 52 points)
If a person (@matt) is a weirdo and doesn't rank their list but specifically says the last game they talk about is their GOTY, then that game gets 10 points and the rest get 5.
If a person (@will) is a bigger weirdo and gives two games their #1 spot, yet doesn't rank anything else...I made it work.
If someone gave a spot a tie between two games, I split the allotted points. For example, if someone put two games in their 9th place spot (2 points), I gave each game 1 point. If you can't make up your mind, your choices take the hit. Sorry.
So, what are we actually doing here? Well, what if we good ol' mathematics to determine the site's GOTY rather than hours and hours of arguing? Sure, the deliberations are fun, but if we deployed a spreadsheet, how different would the final results be? As I've said before, I don't necessarily believe this is how it should be done, but it's just fun to compare the cold, hard stats to what went down in that hot, sweaty room.
Staff's Top 45
As you can see, nine of the top ten games from the math are also in the official list that came out of that hot, sweaty room a couple weeks ago. They're in a slightly different order, but it's still pretty cool that it was that accurate. Especially since the only outlier was the #9 spot.
Despite ending up in seventh on the real list, Marvel's Spider-Man got votes from eight out of the ten staff members; the most of any game.
East vs. West
@mnzy brought up in the comments that they thought the West vs East split would make wildly different lists, so I broke out the spreadsheet again to have a look. And here's what we got:
As you can see, eight games appear on both lists. The outliers are Moss and Astro Bot Rescue Mission in the East, and then Destiny 2 and Monster Hunter: World out West. Also, nine of the ten West games got on the official site list while eight of the ten on the East list made it. So, even though the eight games shared between the two lists are in a different order, the lists are quite similar.
Guests' Top 25
Now let's take a look at those guest lists. There's way more data to wade through with these. And since guests have no rules, I have to get a little more creative with the math sometimes.
God of War mostly ran away with it here. Not as much as Zelda did last year, but still convincingly.
205 different games were voted for by the forty-eight guests. That's four more games than last year.
God of War got the most 1st place votes with seven. The next closest were Celeste and Dead Cells with three.
God of War also had the most votes overall with eighteen.
Just twenty-eight of the guests actually gave a ranked list of ten.
Marvel's Spider-Man was the highest ranked game that got no first place votes.
@aurahack and Xeecee's lists were soundtracks, but I ranked them anyway.
Zodiac's list was games he hated, but I ranked it all the same. As far as I'm concerned, the lists might as well be called "Top 10 Games I Felt Strongly About."
That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have another opportunity to share a bunch of stats in 2019.
It's hard to believe that I'm currently preparing for my twenty-first PAX adventure. That's almost as ridiculous as the fact that we've been building this PAX guide together for over seven years now. As always, whether you're a PAX rookie or a seasoned vet, this guide is for you. As the last few versions have been, this one is mostly unchanged aside from some minor updates and of course the info specific to 2018. If you have something to add or a question, please let us know.
Seattle
Do some touristy shit.
The Washington State Convention Center is a little old and a little small, but it is in a perfect location. Anything you could possibly want to see or do in Seattle is within walking distance (or maybe a short monorail ride).
You might spot a Giant Bomb staff member randomly on the show floor (just don't bother them if they're shooting something), but your best bet is one of these panels.
For popular panels, you're going to need to line up early if want a good seat. As a general rule, I'd suggest going to most panels an hour early. For the super popular ones, there's a bit of loitering skill involved. Enforcers will not allow you to line up until the line for the previous panel goes inside, so...do what you need to do to get in the actual line as soon as that happens.
When/Where
What
Who
Stream
Friday
5:00 - 6:00 PM
Cat
Hidden Gems: Discovering the Undiscovered of PAX West
No Really, Does the Author's Intent Matter in Video Games?
Alex Zandra
Lena Raine
Jeff Gerstmann
Aura Triolo
Undrea
No
Sunday
8:00 - 9:00 PM
Sasquatch
Giant Bomb: This Panel Is Not About Anime
Jeff Gerstmann
Dan Ryckert
Ben Pack
Jan Jerome Ochoa
Abby Russell
No
The Enforcers
The Parlor Live (the comedy club CBSi rented out) shut down a couple weeks after this happened in 2015. Coincidence?
Enforcers are a legion of volunteers that make PAX run efficiently. It would be a hot mess without them. In the old days, they would don the black. But, now that there are multiple versions of PAX, Prime Enforcers are coated in blue. If you need help with anything, just look for one of them. They’re never too far away. And if they ask you nicely to do something (like move out of an aisle/walkway), please do so.
#PAX
The Improvised Post-Mortem is the newest must-see panel.
Even if you don’t normally use Twitter, you should sign up just to follow these accounts while you’re at PAX. It’s the best and easiest way to get up-to-the-minute updates on what’s going on.
@pax_lines - Updates on theatre/panel lines and when they get capped.
@paxparties - An unofficial feed for the unofficial parties going on all weekend.
The Packing List
Here's what you need to bring with you especially if you're coming in from out of town.
Money
Most places (including vendors in the expo hall) will take credit/debit cards, but it’s probably a good idea to carry a little cash just in case. And if you need to hit an ATM, do it early in the day as they sometimes run out of money later on.
Backpack
Whatever your style of choice is, bring one. Don’t rely on getting a free bag at the show. They’re often cumbersome and there’s no guarantee you’ll find one anyway. Trust me…carrying a bunch of random stuff you pick up throughout the day is going to suck without a backpack. If it has weight reduction effects, all the better.
Phone & Charger
Duh. You need your phone. But don’t make a rookie mistake and forget your charger and/or wall plug. Pro Tip: Turn your brightness down as far as you can tolerate. Keeping up with your friends at night through texts and/or Twitter is gonna be tough if your phone dies by 2 PM.
Battery Pack
Strongly consider buying an external USB battery pack. It’s been a life saver for me the last few years. Worth every penny.
Portable Gaming
You will undoubtedly find some downtime (like waiting in line), and you will never be in a better place for local multiplayer.
Hand Sanitizer
There will be dispensers scattered around the buildings, but do yourself a favor and toss a little bottle in your bag and use it every time you play something.
Poster Tube
If you can fit it in your luggage, this is a veteran move. You might get a cool poster at PAX. You might even get it signed by Todd Howard. Make sure you have a way to get it home without crushing it.
Trash Bag
Yep. A trash bag. Just throw it in your luggage. Using it for dirty clothes will keep your stank-ass, sweaty socks off of the cool stuff you bring back on the way home.
Quite possibly the best photograph I've taken in 10 years of PAX.
The Daily List
Here's a few things that you should do every day. Every. Day.
Shower/Deodorant
For the love of Bristlebane, please! It’s not difficult. You're probably paying an arm and a leg for that hotel room you got, so use those amenities.
Eat/Drink
Walking around for eighteen hours a day for four days requires fuel. It may sound crazy now, but you might actually forget to eat and stay hydrated. There’s a ton of awesome places to grab food in downtown Seattle. Try to eat two actual meals a day and carry some snacks for in-between. Alternatively, you could attempt to live on doughnuts for four days. Just don’t get trapped by that Subway on the 4th floor. You’re better than that.
Sleep
Time is precious at PAX, but you can’t go non-stop for 100+ hours. Try to get at least 5 or 6 hours a night.
Get Out
Don’t spend all of your time in the convention center. Get out of there once in a while, get some air, grab some real food, see some of the city, etc.
Be Yourself
There’s a special vibe that envelops PAX. If you’ve ever felt weird or strange about the nerdy things you love, know that you’ll never be in a place with more people that enjoy the same things that you do than you ever will be. So, be yourself. Talk to random people in lines. You’re going to have a blast. Welcome home.
Seattle has many great places to eat.
The To-Do List
Now that you've got a checklist of what to bring and some daily advice, here's some tips on how to prepare.
Download the App
The official app is the best, easiest way to keep up with all the official PAX info (schedule, maps, announcements, etc.). You can even build your own personal panel schedule in there and set reminders. Get it for iOS or Android.
Gameplan
The schedule is out now, so start making a list right now of the panels you may want to see and any potential games you want to play. Compare your list with your friends and get a rough idea of what you want to see and do. Inevitably, you’re going to have make some tough decisions as multiple things you’re interested in will overlap. Accept the fact now that you can’t see/do everything, but if you go in there with no plan at all, you’re going to be overwhelmed.
Plan a Backup
Shit happens. Panels get full faster than you thought. Lines get too long to be worth it. The game you wanted to play might actually just be a presentation. Try to have a backup whenever you can. If all else fails, just go spend some more time in…
Indie Megabooth
Arguably the best part of PAX is the slew of indie games available. The Indie Megabooth has established itself as a primary feature of PAX. It houses over seventy games from nearly as many developers and you could spend hours there. It’s also great because you can play a bunch of games without waiting too long. If you see an open station, play it! I don’t care what it is.
Escape the Expo
The expo hall is an amazing spectacle. No doubt about it. But, it's also a trap. Get the hell out of there and do some other stuff once in a while. PAX has so much to offer aside from the expo hall and you shouldn’t miss it. Head upstairs to the Classic Console and Console Freeplay rooms. Hunt down the Classic Arcade. Head down the street to the Tabletop arenas. You get the point. Go do stuff.
The Indie Megabooth is always a good time!
The To-Don’t List
A couple little words of warning from a PAX veteran. You'll thank me later.
SWAG
We all love free stuff, but seriously…don’t be that guy. Don’t wait in line for 45 minutes to play a game you don’t care about just to get a shirt. And please don’t loiter around a headphone booth hoping to catch an inflatable hat. You will get free stuff without trying too hard, so don’t let SWAG ruin your PAX.
Lines
Okay, lines are unavoidable. If you want to do much of anything at PAX, you’re gonna wait in some lines. But, this is on the “don’t” list simply to help you make good decisions. Do you really need to wait in line over an hour to play Spider-Man when it comes out next Friday? Think about it. Do you really want to wait in line for an hour to watch a new Assassin's Creed Odyssey trailer that will be online Tuesday morning? Time is precious at PAX. Choose wisely.
Let's Rank It! is back again. It is inadvisable to eat things presented during this panel.
The Optional List
Three PAX traditions that should not be ignored. Your interest will likely depend on who is involved, so take note.
Keynote
The “Storytime” session is typically a great opening ceremony for PAX, especially for first-timers. But the Penny Arcade Q&A no longer immediately follows the keynote, so unless you're a fan of the speaker, it may not be worth it. This year’s speaker is the game director of World of Warcraft, Ion Hazzikostas.
Music
On Friday and Saturday night, Benaroya Hall will be rocking late into the night. Whether you know anything about the performers or not, the concerts are a great time especially if you don’t have any other late night plans.
Friday - Triforce Quartet, SAMMUS, Super Soul Bros.
Saturday - Video Game Pianist, The OneUps, Bit Brigade
Omegathon Finals
The Omegathon is an elimination tournament that takes place throughout the entire weekend between a couple dozen attendees who were randomly selected prior to the show. The final game is always kept a secret until the very end. It’s usually a great closing ceremony, but it totally depends on the game. I’ve seen some great ones like Vs. Excitebike, Ikaruga, Trials Evolution, and (inexplicably) a stuffed animal crane game. But, I’ve also seen some pure train wrecks like Spaceteamand Cornhole. So, I can’t recommend it as much as I used to, but it still has the potential to be awesome.
Maps
Gallery
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Do not accept food from this man.
Well, that's all I've got. If you have any suggestions, comments, suggestions, or complaints, let me hear it. As always, hopefully this will help some people out and maybe I'll see some of you at PAX. If you see a guy meticulously photographing everything in sight, that's probably me. Anyway, it's gonna be a blast. Have fun.
The 2018 edition of The Electronic Three has come and gone. Over the course of the last week, we learned a lot about games, account management, matching shirts, steaks, pirates, White Chicks, and death threats. This was the seventh year that I was responsible for uploading trailers to the site and we ended up with just over 200 of them, which is the most I've ever done. So, if you missed any announcements over the past week, hopefully I got it covered. It's a job that's both hectic and fun. During the press conference days, there's a balance of being quick, being informative, and sometimes being funny. They're not all bangers, but hopefully I got some good decks in there this year.
Anyway... what this blog post is here to do is to review what the most popular trailers were here on Giant Bomb. I will say that the list is not 100% fair for various factors. For one, some trailers get a promo in the rotating modules on the front page, so they're visible a lot more. I deal with that a little bit below. Secondly, due to the rate at which trailers get posted, many of them don't stay on the front page for very long while the ones that get posted late in the day end up staying on the front page overnight and into the next day.
It's always been a dumb question. But, what if we applied a little math and science to it anyway? If you were in chat during any of the press conferences media briefings showcases, then you may have seen a poll at the end asking you to rate the show from 1-10. Well, I took all that data and used it to determine who the Giant Bomb Community thinks "won E3 2018."
Check a look!
Electronic Arts
E3 2018 got off to a mostly disappointing start.
Microsoft
50 games. 18 exclusives. 15 world premieres. Microsoft brought it this year.
Bethesda
When in doubt, just announce literally everything you're even thinking about making.
Square Enix
They spent a month hyping this up and it didn't pay off.
Ubisoft
That panda definitely earned them some points.
Sony
Did the banjo guy earn them some votes or hurt them?
Nintendo
The Nintendo vote was all over the place. Unlike their show, which was basically one game.
Overall
Prior to the first GB @ Nite show on Tuesday, I asked everyone who they thought won E3. This was the result:
How does that single vote stand up to all the data collected immediately after the conference?
Aside from Ubisoft and Bethesda being flipped (very narrowly), the data and the vote actually match.
Ultimately, it's clear that Microsoft won E3 2018 according to the Giant Bomb Community.
The Electronic Three is once again starting early this year. While E3 2018 is officially Tuesday through Thursday, the press conferences media briefings showcases start with EA on Saturday. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past twenty-three years, you know that E3 is the biggest trade show for the video game industry. We're gonna see countless new trailers, demos, announcements, interviews, and live streams over the next week. What does that mean in relation to you and Giant Bomb? It means there's going to be a tidal wave of new threads created to talk about this stuff and just as many wiki submissions for new games. But, if you follow these simple steps, you’ll survive the chaos.
A lot of what you'll see below should be utilized year-round, but especially during the non-stop nature of E3.
Press Conferences
It's always E3 somewhere.
From Saturday afternoon through Tuesday morning, you are going to see threads dedicated to each publisher's presentation (EA, Microsoft, Bethesda, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo). These threads will be posted and stickied shortly before each press conference. They are the go-to place for any and all discussion for their respective press conferences before, during, and after the show is over. So, don't go posting a brand new thread each time someone new walks out on stage and says something dumb/funny/amazing. Let's try to keep it all in one place.
Here's the details on when the shows are. For commentary by Giant Bomb staff, you'll want to be watching them streamed in chat. The "Local Time" link should translate the time automatically to your local time.
We know you want to talk about all these glorious new games that are about to get announced. But, there's no sense in fifty duders creating a new thread to talk about that thing that Shuhei Yoshida just announced 18 seconds ago. And, in case you didn't know, every game in the Giant Bomb database has a forum attached to it. Tidy organization is built right in! All you have to do is utilize it. Did Casey Hudson just announce that Anthem will never have loot boxes? Well, guess where you should start a thread to talk about it? You guessed it.
E3 is fast and furious, so we know there are going to be duplicates sometimes, but help us out by taking a few seconds to check first. The dupes that get through will soon be locked anyway.
The Wiki
The new wiki tools are great. Get in there!
But, what if there's no page for the game I want to talk about?!
Well, the answer is pretty simple. Go ahead and make a page for it. Before you do, though, make sure there's not already one created. We have a some hardcore wiki users that are going to be lightning quick on new stuff. Sometimes, when a new page is created, it takes a bit of time to show up in search. Here's a tip for you:
Even if someone submitted it three seconds ago, it's going to be there. So, use that instead of just checking the search bar. The mods will be monitoring the wiki queue like hawks trying to get the new stuff through as quickly as possible.
CitizenKane's Patented Bullet Points of Recapping
An official, pinned thread for each of the seven press conferences.
Any topics about individual games should be placed inside their respective games' forums and NOT in General Discussion.
Check for already existing threads about what you want to talk about.
Topics not in the correct place will be moved by moderators immediately.
Any user who continues to post such topics in GD will receive an official warning. So be cool.
Follow these simple steps, and have fun. It's E3 time!
And That...
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E3 is one of the most fun times of the year for anyone who loves games. It's fast. It's chaotic. It's sometimes ridiculous and/or hilarious. All of us here in the Giant Bomb community want to have a good time with all the news, announcements, trailers, and late-night podcasts. So, let's all do our part to keep things as organized as possible so everyone can find anything they're looking for during E3 2018.
Got questions? Feel free to post them here so that anyone else with the same/similar question can get helped at the same time.
For seven years now (damn), with the help of many duders around here, I've been putting together this guide for PAX attendees. Whether PAX East 2018 is your first PAX or your twentieth like me, this is for you. Most of the tips remain unchanged at this point, but I'm also including a schedule of all panels involving anyone who's part of the Giant Bomb Family™. Despite years of refinement, if you have something that needs to be added, let us know in the comments.
Boston
We probably won't have to deal with six feet of snow this year...maybe.
It's gotten better in the last couple years, but the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center is still kinda in the middle of nowhere. Logan International Airport is just a few minutes from the convention center, but it's about a mile walk from there into the heart of Boston where most of the fun stuff is.
If you're landing at the airport, you should almost definitely hop on the Silver Line. It's FREE going into the city from Logan and, if you were lucky enough to get a hotel near the convention center, it'll take you right past most of them. If you weren't so lucky, the Silver Line will drop you at South Station, which is a hub that will get you to basically anywhere else in the city. If you're going to be in town all week(end), throw $10 or $20 on MBTA "Charlie Card" since each ride you take is going to cost about $3.
Check for your hotel on Google maps, locate the closest "T" station (it'll be real easy), and work backwards to South Station. Even if you're not a city kid, it's quite simple. If you need help, there's plenty of Boston natives hanging around on the site, so ask away in the comments below.
Giant Bomb @ PAX
You might spot a Giant Bomb staff member randomly on the show floor (just don't bother them if they're shooting something), but your best bet is one of these panels.
For most panels, you're going to need to line up early if want a good seat. As a general rule, I'd suggest going to most panels an hour early. For the super popular ones, there's a bit of loitering skill involved. Enforcers will not allow you to line up until the line for the previous panel goes inside, so...do what you need to do to get in the actual line as soon as that happens.
This is a perfectly normal example of your typical PAX panel.
The Enforcers
Enforcers are a legion of volunteers that make PAX run efficiently. It would be a hot mess without them. In the old days, they would don the black. But, now that there are multiple versions of PAX, East Enforcers are coated in red. If you need help with anything, just look for one of them. They’re never too far away. And if they ask you nicely to do something (like move out of an aisle/walkway), please do so.
They don't always wear armor like this guy to the right. Just most of the time.
#PAX
Welcome home.
Even if you don’t normally use Twitter, you should sign up just to follow these accounts while you’re at PAX. It’s the best and easiest way to get up-to-the-minute updates on what’s going on.
@pax_lines - Updates on theatre/panel lines and when they get capped.
@paxparties - An unofficial feed for the unofficial parties going on all weekend.
The Packing List
Here's what you need to bring with you especially if you're coming in from out of town.
Money
Most places (including vendors in the expo hall) will take credit/debit cards, but it’s probably a good idea to carry a little cash just in case. And if you need to hit an ATM, do it early in the day as they sometimes run out of money later on.
Backpack
Whatever your style of choice is, bring one. Don’t rely on getting a free bag at the show. They’re often cumbersome and there’s no guarantee you’ll find one anyway. Trust me…carrying a bunch of random stuff you pick up throughout the day is going to suck without a backpack.
Phone & Charger
Duh. You need your phone. But don’t be a dumb and forget your charger and/or wall plug. Pro Tip: Turn your brightness down as far as you can tolerate. Keeping up with your friends at night through texts and/or Twitter is gonna be tough if your phone dies by 2 PM.
Battery Pack
Consider buying an external USB battery pack. It’s been a life saver for me the last few years. Worth every penny.
Portable Gaming
You will undoubtedly find some downtime (like waiting in line), and you will never be in a better place for local multiplayer. So, whether you're taking your Nintendo Switch out for some commercial-esque multiplayer or getting one last run at StreetPassing, bring it with you.
Hand Sanitizer
There will be dispensers scattered around the buildings, but do yourself a favor and toss a little bottle in your bag and use it every time you play something.
Poster Tube
If you can fit it in your luggage, this is a veteran move. You might get a cool poster at PAX. You might even get it signed by Todd Howard. Make sure you have a way to get it home without crushing it.
Trash Bag
Yep. A trash bag. Just throw it in your luggage. Use it later for dirty clothes, which will keep your stank-ass, sweaty socks off of the cool stuff you bring back on the way home.
Rich Gallup. Always there to support a friend in need.
The Daily List
Here's a few things that you should do every day. Every. Day.
Shower/Deodorant
For the love of Bristlebane, please! It’s not difficult. You're probably paying an arm and a leg for that hotel room you got, so use those amenities.
Eat/Drink
Walking around for eighteen hours a day for three days requires fuel. It may sound crazy, but you might actually forget to eat and stay hydrated. There aren't a ton of options real close to the convention center. There is a food court on the north side of the convention center, but it's super crowded and generally shitty. There's usually some carnival-type food scattered around in the expo hall as well. But, scope out some of the few nearby locations ahead of time and maybe hit those instead. Try to eat two actual meals a day and carry some snacks for in-between. Alternatively, you could attempt to live on Dunkin for three days.
Sleep
Time is precious at PAX, but you can’t go non-stop for 100+ hours. Try to get at least 5 or 6 hours a night.
Get Out
Don’t spend all of your time in the convention center. Get out of there once in a while, get some air, grab some real food, see some of the city, etc.
Be Yourself
There’s a special vibe that envelops PAX. If you’ve ever felt weird or strange about the nerdy things you love, know that you’ll never be in a place with more people that enjoy the same things that you do than you ever will be. So, be yourself. Talk to random people in lines. You’re going to have a blast. Welcome home.
That big red block is the convention center. It's about a mile from there to the Regina Pizzeria in the middle. As you can see, most of the food options are on the other side of the bridge.
The To-Do List
Now that you've got a checklist of what to bring and some daily advice, here's some tips on how to prepare.
Download Guidebook
Guidebook is the best, easiest way to keep up with all the official PAX info (schedule, maps, announcements, etc.) Plus, Coonce work there now, so you know it’s gotta be awesome.
Gameplan
The schedule is out now, so start making a list right now of the panels you may want to see and any potential games you want to play. Compare your list with your friends and get a rough idea of what you want to see and do. Inevitably, you’re going to have make some tough decisions as multiple things you’re interested in will overlap. Accept the fact now that you can’t see/do everything, but if you go in there with no plan at all, you’re going to be overwhelmed.
Plan a Backup
Shit happens. Panels get full faster than you thought. Lines get too long to be worth it. The game you wanted to play might actually just be a presentation. Try to have a backup whenever you can. If all else fails, just go spend some more time in…
Indie Megabooth
Arguably the best part of PAX is the slew of indie games available. And, over the last several years, the Indie Megabooth has established itself as a primary feature of PAX. It houses over seventy games from nearly as many developers and you could spend hours there. It’s also great because you can play a bunch of games without waiting too long. If you see an open station, play it! I don’t care what it is.
Escape the Expo
The expo hall is an amazing spectacle. No doubt about it. But, it's also a trap. Get the hell out of there and do some other stuff once in a while. PAX has so much to offer aside from the expo hall and you shouldn’t miss it. Head upstairs to the Classic Console rooms or the Kickstarter Lounge. Head to the back with the massive Tabletop arenas. You get the point. Go do stuff.
Come to PAX. Meet your heroes.
The To-Don’t List
A couple little words of warning from a PAX veteran. You'll thank me later.
SWAG
We all love free stuff, but seriously…don’t be that guy. Don’t wait in line for 45 minutes to play a game you don’t care about just to get a shirt. And please don’t loiter around a headphone booth hoping to catch an inflatable hat. You will get free stuff without trying too hard, so don’t let SWAG ruin your PAX.
Lines
Okay, lines are unavoidable. If you want to do much of anything at PAX, you’re gonna wait in some lines. But, this is on the “don’t” list simply to help you make good decisions. Do you really need to wait in line for an hour to play God of Warwhen it comes out in just a couple weeks? Think about it. Do you really want to wait in line for an hour to watch a new Marvel's Spider-Man trailer that will be online Monday morning? Time is precious at PAX. Choose wisely.
This year's expo hall appears to be the biggest ever.
The Optional List
Three PAX traditions that should not be ignored. Your interest will likely depend on who is involved, so take note.
Keynote
The “Storytime” session is typically a great opening ceremony for PAX, especially for first-timers. The Penny Arcade Q&A is once again immediately after this, so if you're a fan of those guys, you should probably go to the keynote to get a good seat. It's one of the few times they don't clear out a theatre before the next event. This year’s speaker is ???????????
Music
On Friday and Saturday night, the Main Theatre will be rocking late into the night. Whether you know anything about the performers or not, the concerts are a great time especially if you don’t have any other late night plans. Friday’s lineup is billed as a mystery for some reason. Saturday night will feature the Paul & Storm, Powerglove, and Super Soul Bros.
Omegathon Finals
The Omegathon is an elimination tournament that takes place throughout the entire weekend between a couple dozen attendees who were randomly selected prior to the show. The final game is always kept a secret until the very end. It’s usually a great closing ceremony, but it totally depends on the game. I’ve seen some great ones like Vs. Excitebike, Ikaruga, Trials Evolution, and (inexplicably) a stuffed animal crane game. But, I’ve also seen some pure train wrecks like Spaceteam and Cornhole. So, I can’t recommend it as much as I used to, but it still has the potential to be awesome.
The many faces of PAXAMANIA. RIP Austin Walker.
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Celebrating 6 years of British people groping Americans at PAX.
Well, that's all I've got. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or complaints, let me hear it. As always, hopefully this will help some people out and maybe I'll see some of you at PAX. Let me know if you spot my Mii in StreetPass too. It'll probably be the last time. Anyway, it's gonna be a blast. Have fun. And, yes, fog machines and loose, warm temperature, raw hot dogs are still banned.
If you've been around this here website (about video games) for a while, you know I love stats. Unfortunately, I don't get to do it as often since site data is no longer easy to access, there's no more achievement tracker, and reviews are dead. But, here we are at the end of a hellacious 2017 and I thought it'd be fun to take a look at some numbers from all of the Game of the Year #content this year.
First off, some ground rules. Since not everyone decides to do a nice and tidy one through ten list, I had to get a little creative with how to tally everything.
A "regular" ranked list results in a total of 55 points available. (1 point for 10th, 10 points for 1st, etc.)
If a person gave 10 games but did not rank them, each game gets 5.5 points.
If a person gave more or less than 10 and did not rank them, I averaged them equally to total 55. For example, an 11 game list would be worth 5 points each.
If a person was exceptionally difficult (I'm looking at you, Danny), and ranked a list of 8 games...I made it work.
If someone gave a spot a tie between two games, I split the allotted points. For example, if someone put two games in their 10th place spot, I gave each 0.5 points.
As always, it was fun to listen in on the deliberations to figure how they decided what game won each category. But, what if we trusted the math? How different would the outcome be? For what it's worth, I'm not saying it should be done this way. We've seen how well a democratic vote works out recently, right? It's just fun to compare the cold, hard stats to what went down in that hot, sweaty room.
Okay, I can hear you already. You're saying that Rorie wasn't in the room and Jan was only present at the very end. That's a fair point, so let's see what happens if we factor them out.
Not a whole lot changes in the top 10 other than Cuphead & PUBG moving up a few spots and Pyre jumping in.
Guests' Top 25
As a bonus, what if we take a look at the guest lists from this year. Nearly fifty friends of the site contributed a list this time. Did their views line up with the staff?
As you can see, it was a landslide victory for Zelda among the guests. It had nearly twice as many cumulative points than PUBG in 3rd. Here some other random observations.
NieR:Automata got the most 1st place votes with four.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild appeared on 22 people's lists (nearly half).
Only 19 people actually ranked their list.
The highest ranking game with no 1st place votes was Horizon Zero Dawn at #5.
@aurahack's list was soundtracks, but I included it anyway. There are no rules on what guests can submit.
Well, that's all I've got this time. Obviously this isn't as in-depth as some of my past projects, but I thought it'd be fun to look at. Maybe if we ever get to 775 reviews, I'll dig up that spreadsheet one more time.
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