PAX East Nerds v. Anime Boston Geeks: Who Rules?
With PAX East in the Seaport and Anime Boston in the Back Bay this weekend, nerds flooded the city from all angles. As Boston became the land of the geek for the past three days, we ask “who was King?”
In terms of the length of their bodies of work, Anime has the edge. PAX is in only it’s third year in Boston while Anime has been geeking in the Bean since 2003. PAX did recently sign a 10 year deal with the city, but I doubt we were going to see either event disappear anytime soon regardless.
PAX East has the overwhelming advantage in size though with almost 70,000 attendees in 2011 compared to Anime Boston’s 19,000. In addition, PAX is expected to grow to over 100,000 attendees in the coming years. If this milestone is reached, it will become the biggest video gaming event in the world (At which point I will begin taking an annual vacation out of the city for that weekend). Anime has expanded every year it has operated but, unless Japanese cartoon fervor consumes America, it is unlikely to be as popular as the gamer fest.
Anime is more of a celebration of weirdness while PAX is mostly a business expo so it’s difficult to compare the number of companies at each. That said, PAX had 150 of the biggest names in the gaming industry filling the Boston Convention Center’s exhibit hall for three full days. Anime overtook the Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton, but the grandeur of the wasn’t nearly the same.
PAX is an absolute spectacle. When I attended on Saturday I was awed by what I saw. Mostly because I had no idea that people actually care so much about playable fantasy. The exhibits assembled by many of the bigger companies rivaled Broadway stage sets.
I give the weird award to Anime. Each convention had events, challenges, promotions, speeches, gaming, and panels but Anime had a blood drive and masquerade ball. Yes, a blood drive. That kind of freakiness deserves an extra point in my book.
At both events there were wild costumes all around, but it was in the Back Bay where I didn’t even feel comfortable making eye contact with the men and women behind the masks. To be honest, I felt like I was walking through 8 Mile. I just put my head down, tried not to walk into anyone, and hoped make it out alive.
So, who wins as King of the Geeks? Based on the size and scope of its weirdness, PAX does. In terms of creepiness per capita, Anime Boston does. PAX pulls a huge crowd–from casual gamers interested in seeing new products to people who clearly split their personalities with video game characters. Anime’s army was hardcore and devoted to its creepiness.
I don’t mean for that to sounds like a middle school “everybody wins” award, but it’s true. The events are hard to compare because of the difference in their motivations–business vs celebration. So, it appears that the land of the nerds was ruled by an oligarchy.
[image via animeboston flickr]
from BostInno http://bostinno.com/2012/04/08/pax-east-nerds-v-anime-boston-geeks-who-rules/