PAX is a convention unlike many others in video games.  Its focus sits squarely on gamers themselves - more than 50,000 enthusiasts make their way to Seattle every year to play games, attend panels, and find out what's new in the world of gaming.  It's sort of like a huge LAN party, except it's one in a really huge house with every platform, nearly infinite table space, and a really expensive kitchen.  Oh, and one where game developers bring their upcoming games for your and your friends to try out.

Borderlands had its very first hands-on event this year at PAX!  We packed up and flew the game all the way to Seattle so that gamers would finally have a chance to get the game in their hands, and the verdict is in: they really liked it!  Friday, the first morning of the show, our booth area was open.  People could come and go as they liked and pick up a controller to check out the game.  That worked for, oh, an hour or so.  We were getting slammed.  You could hardly move between the demo setups.  People were playing way too long or being asked to leave way too soon.  It was chaos!

As much as we hate making people have to wait, we had to do it.  We had to form a queue.  Our helpful 2K booth staff helped us find the tools we needed, and we put a little control on the chaos.  From then on, our line wrapped around our booth for pretty much the rest of the show.  As much as we hated people having to wait, it was extremely exciting to see the enthusiasm the gamers there had for Borderlands.  

So, on to that "Game of Show" part!  Community gaming and blogging site Destructoid nominated seven games for the Game of Show at PAX.  Borderlands was among them, and we were thrilled when they brought the nomination by our booth.  One night during the show, Destructoid handed out ballots to attendees to vote for their favorite game they'd seen during the show.  When the results came in, Borderlands came out in the lead, the favorite of gamers at the show!  We were up against some heavy hitters and big sequels, but in the end our mix of shooter, RPG, and 4-player co-op won the day!

A big congratulations to all the developers and everyone at Gearbox!  To win a Game of Show award at a convention like PAX means a lot - it's coming straight from gamers!  And, of course, thanks to all the fans out there and everyone who stopped by our booth and spent their time with Borderlands - we're glad it was worth the wait!