Video-Gaming convention to bring 60,000 to hub

Convention to draw 60,000 fans, yield $20M for Hub
Biggest game in town
By Paul Restuccia | Friday, March 26, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets

Boston’s latest convention hasn’t even opened yet, but it’s already being called a huge success that will pump nearly $20 million into the local economy.

The Penny Arcade company’s PAX East video-gaming convention, which starts today at the Hynes Convention Center, was expected to draw 30,000 people, but quickly sold out 60,000 spots to gaming enthusiasts. More than 12,000 hotel rooms in 11 Hub hotels have been booked for the three-day event.

“This show’s packing a powerful whallop, considering this is the first time it’s been held here in Boston,” said Pat Moscaritolo, chief executive of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, who estimates that PAX East will bring $16 million to $19 million into the local economy. “This is great news for our tourism industry, like Christmas in March.”

The popular show, which is contracted to be in the Hub for three years, is expected to move from the Hynes to the larger Boston Convention & Exhibition Center next year.

Not bad for a convention developed by two Web video-gaming cartoonists that attracted just 4,500 to its first show in Seattle in 2004. Attendance has doubled every year since, and the event now draws some 70,000 gaming geeks to Seattle over Labor Day weekend every year.

Penny Arcade Inc. picked Boston over other Eastern cities to be the site of its first East Coast exhibition.

“We looked at New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Chicago, but Boston made the most compelling case as the best city,” said Robert Khoo, PAX East’s business development head and show director. “It’s a city with a lot of young people and lots of creative energy in video gaming.”

Khoo said Greater Boston boasts major video-game makers - such as Harmonix, maker of “Rock Band,” 2K Boston, creator of “Bioshock” and Turbine, which created “Lord of the Rings Online” and “Dungeons & Dragons Online.” Also, he said, the area has the Gambit Game Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and scores of indie game developers who will have their own showcase at the convention.

“This show is going to be a great chance to connect with all our fans right here in our own back yard,” said Adam Mersky, director of communications for Turbine, which will send 250 of its 320 Massachusetts employees to man its 1,000-square-foot show booth. “PAX is unique in that its focus is on players rather than industry types.”

Jason Schupbach, creative economy director for the Bay State, who helped PAX East set up shop here, said landing the convention shows the state’s growing importance in creating games.

“This is a huge opportunity for the Massachusetts video-game industry to raise its flag,” he said.
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