Penny Arcade Expo doubles in size

Popular Web comic Penny Arcade has a number of spin-offs, from customizable card games to books to video games, but perhaps the most successful of its ancillary ventures has been the annual Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX. Developed as a celebration of all forms of gaming, from pen-and-paper role-playing games to the latest video game consoles, the convention has grown in size each year it has been held.

Today Penny Arcade revealed the first details of the fourth annual PAX, the largest one to date. Slated for August 24-26, the expo has outgrown its old venue and will be moved to the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in downtown Seattle, Washington. The extra room afforded by the move will make the 200,000 square feet of floor space at this year's PAX more than twice the size of last year's show. More space means more people, and the organizers are "conservatively" expecting 30,000 attendees at PAX 2007.

That doesn't quite match the attendance of last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, which had more than 60,000 visitors. However, it might not be long before the growing expo rivals E3's largest attendance figures; PAX attendance has doubled with each new show.

In addition to a show floor filled with contests, tournaments, and unreleased games, PAX 2007 will play host to the annual Omegathon three-day gaming competition, as well as a number of musical acts. Penny Arcade writer Jerry Holkins told GameSpot today that Jonathan Coulton ("Code Monkey," "Re: Your Brains") and Freezepop (whose music can be heard in games like Amplitude and Guitar Hero) will be performing at PAX 07.

To register for the show, visit the official Web site.