PAX 2022 Retro Indie console racing sims roll play and more

PAX 2022 was back this year in force. 3 days of gaming, gaming and gaming at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).

I've been fortunate to have visited, exhibited and presented at numerous expo's however have never been to an expo that spans 3 days, is this big in physical size, super engaging, jam packed from start to finish and sold out every day! PAX is much more than an expo, its more of a community gathering and something worth checking out.

By the start of each day, tickets had been exhausted and the entry lines, yes more than 1 meant at 10:30 the wait to enter for single day passes was in excess of an hour. To say PAX is super popular would be an understatement. 

Thankfully Sunday was warm and sunny which meant many groups sat outside to enjoy their breaks - and there were a lot of people along with intriguing outfits. Was cool watching cycling go past wondering what they had stumbled upon?  

Whatever tickles your fancy in the gaming scene, its likely that PAX has you covered.

From Retro to Indie, modern consoles, racing sims, VR, PC hardware and accessories, tabletop products and play areas including cards, roll playing, PC, PS5, Xbox play, miniature paint and take. 

Big names included Intel, AMD, Republic of Gamers, Audio-Technica, Logitech, Thrustmaster, Yamaha, Red Bull Gaming, SEGA, Amazon and many many more...

The amount of PS5, Xbox, PC gaming machines and screens was insane.
If your wondering why there is a PS5 shortage this is where they all are!

The Aussie Broadband Arcade Machine section at Melbourne's PAX 2022 delivered the gods (and goods) and was bigger than most of the arcade parlours you'll find in Melbourne or throughout Australia. With everything on free play and minimal waiting times, there was much fun to be had.

While we didn't get to play them all, here are most of the arcade machines including multicades

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT)
  • NBA Jam
  • Pac Man
  • Space Invaders
  • Donkey Kong
  • Street Fighter
  • Daytona USA
  • Moto GP - one of our favourites ;-)
  • Mario Kart GP
  • Star Wars battle Pod
  • Big Buck Hunter
  • Time crisis
  • Point Blank
  • Moto GP
  • Atari Pong coffee table
  • Dance Dance Revolution
  • Alpine Racer
  • Guitar Hero
  • Air Hockey

Video highlights of the arcade machines in action

    Aussie Broadband Arcade quick snaps

    Guess who had the top 3 scores on Moto GP... More arcade than Sim, but a lot of fun sliding through corners.

    We decided to leave the dancing to the pros.

    Not sure how much PONG you can play, but seriously a beautiful item to look at.
    With atleast 3 varied air hockey tables, you clearly can never have enough air hockey - note the curve on this table.

    There was so many stand up full size arcade machines.

    Racing Simulators, Cockpits and accessories 

    Red Bull, Logitech and Thrustmaster brought along a fair bit of gear for everyone to try. The great thing about PAX was that everything was hands on - no don't touch signs in sight :-).

    The Red Bull F1 racing edition playseat looked the part. Released around 2011 with estimated weight of 33kg and 60cm long x 50cm wide and 55cm tall, Red Bull had these in storage, so what a better time to dust them off and bring them out for some sim fun!

    The Red Bull VR F1 Sim was meant to replicate the F1 seating position and deliver an off track experience as close to the real thing as possible. Apparently these are worth 40k and moved around a fair bit. Was cool to see it dive forward under heavy breaking.

    Logitech had 3 different rigs at their stand running v8 supercars along with a main screen showing the cars as they made their way through key parts of the track with commentary.

    Thrustmaster showcased its various levels of racing wheels, pedals and shifters including its next level racing cockpits and stands.

    Their new range of entry wheels/pedals seem to exceed what the Logitech g29 offers while sitting at a slightly lower price point.

    Thrustmaster was the only one with flight simulator gear and rigs setup for play.

    PC Free play area

    This looks like one serious LAN party...

    Play area including tabletop and console

    The console area had a library system where you could check out a chosen console game and there were rows of tables with a lot of free spots for uninterrupted play. One could easily spend hours playing games - all in the name of research ofcourse ;-).

    Best of upcoming Aus/ NZ Indie Games

    From over 100 submissions, Indie titles shortlisted for the showcase were

    • Blind Fate: Edo no Yami.
    • Cyber Knights: Flashpoint
    • DAVIGO
    • Demon's Mirror
    • Dwerve
    • Hostile Mars
    • Keylocker: Turn Based Cyberpunk Action
    • Orbitals
    • Plunder Panic
    • Power Chord
    • Rusted Moss
    • The Wreck

    A large number of patrons went all out dressing up as their favourite characters. Some very impressive outfits indeed.

    Street Fighter 6

    Did we mention the Street Fighter 6 stand? Numerous consoles were setup for gameplay. SF6 looks quite special and imagine it will be amazing given the official release isn't until mid 2023. This will be released on leading consoles including PC.

    PAX 2022 is clearly a winning formula with a strong community behind it.

    Thank you and see you in 2023!

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