Halo Crashes PAX
COULDN’T SCORE A TICKET to the Penny Arcade Expo scheduled for August 26–28 at the Washington State Convention Center? Blame Halo. Geeks gobbled up passes for the country’s biggest gaming shindig in just weeks this year, thanks in part to a planned celebration of Xbox’s $2 billion franchise juggernaut that will include a preview of next year’s Halo 4. “We started [registration] a month later than we normally do and sold out two and a half months earlier than last year,” says Robert Khoo, a PAX organizer.
Demand was so high that $60 three-day passes were going for nearly $300 on eBay in June. “I hate that,” Khoo says. “We try to make it as inconvenient as possible for scalpers, but no solution is perfect.” Here’s to you, Master Chief.
Published: August 2011
Khoo also said, “We were 80% sold out before we announced HF”
They sold out very similarly last year without HaloFest. PAX stands on its own.
Halo is a well represented but small reason people go to PAX. There’s a reason why the street light signs say “Welcome home.” and not “Welcome Halo fans.”
A reply from Robert Khoo: http://twitter.com/#!/rkhoo/status/105693882905403392
When the guy you got your quotes from disagrees with you, you might want to reexamine your premise.