Wow. Once 10am rocked around, the expo hall of PAX Australia got busy. Real busy. The tide of bipeds was slow at first, steadily filtering between the booths like grains in a sand frame and just when you thought everyone was in, more bodies would deposit themselves around you. Negotiating the floor, an easy task just 30 minutes before, now requires a dexterity score of 18 and a roll of 10 or more on the dice.
The first photo I’m going to show from my next batch is of the Xbox One. Well, its display case anyway. I’m not entirely sure when it’s going to make an appearance, but even in its incorporeal state, it still managed to attract the odd bystander. Said wandering souls would hang around for a few moments, perhaps thinking they could conjure it into being via sheer strength of will, before realising the impossibility of such a task and departing for, well, cases with something in them.
World of Tanks developer Wargaming.net is one of the larger exhibitors. As we saw earlier today, it has plonked sizeable chunks of automotive metal in the centre of the expo hall, but in case people actually want to play its caterpillar-treaded MMO, it has a bunch of PCs set up for that. Bonus points to anyone who can spot Father Christmas getting his sabot on.
For League of Legends fans — and going by the crowd here, I’m going to say there’s more than a few of them — your needs are catered for. Along with the massive presentation area, showing off a live game complete with commentary, is a big screen on which to watch the action. I wanted to get closer to see exactly what was going on, but I feared for the structural integrity of my puny, underdeveloped body and the various gadgets strapped to its delicate frame.
Ubisoft has a decent bit of floor space, but this play session of Splinter Cell Blacklist definitely comes in on the intimate side of things, relative to the extravagant displays of those around it. In fact, this area is just across from LoL, so any feelings of inadequacy Ubi might have are well warranted.
Even with the smaller area, Blacklist drew a healthy crowed, both seated and standing.
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Those of you worried about the somewhat empty-looking show floor — the following images should put those concerns to bed. The image on the left is taken from the stairs near the main entry, while the other two are random photos from around the expo.
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Finally, I was escorted from the show floor to the media room by a pair of bounty hunters in Mandalorian armour… OK, I wasn’t escorted so much as trapped behind, but hey, a guy can dream of having his own personal guard.
Comments
28 responses to “The Invisible Xbox One And Other Observations From PAX Australia”
Clearly they’re displaying ‘The Cloud’….
amirite? amirite?
Computer says No.
It’s running Windows, though, so I suspect bias.
Thanks for the updates, Logan! If you can spend an extra 5 minutes in the Indie Showcase, that’d be awesome 😀
That’s exactly what the Xbox One is going to look like in my living room.
This here is your winner
That’s the digital version of the Xbone
A post-modern artwork reflecting their anticipated install base? Or is the truck just late? How intriguing.
Xbox Twitter says Xbox One will make an appearance at 6pm.
Seems appropriate – that’s when peak TV viewing hours start.
So it’s late to come to the party while everyone else has been there havin’ a crackin’ good time… seems like its current business model so far.
For 30 seconds. Guarded by two boozy Vikings. And you may only smell it. Once.
Doesn’t that room close at 6pm?
Hahaha noticed that
Gotta say, looking at the display case for the (missing) xbone..
What a tacky looking display.
Microsoft need to lift their presentation game.
Maybe the XB1 is being shared with another family member
Its the same Xbone180 MS was using at E3 to run all the demos.
While the majority of the con is packed (and getting into panels requires early queuing)… Kinda surprised how few spots are taken at the BYOC area..
I’m there atm and there’s just over 250 chairs, about 1 in ten of those have computers setup at them. Given the passes sold out last year that’s a lot of people who aren’t using it yet
It’s also a Friday, and the people able to drive into the city may have generally been at work.
I’m not taking my beast of a machine, but I predict there will be a lot more people with PCs tomorrow.
The Xbone is so advanced it cannot be interpreted on our plane of reality
+1
Reminds me of Invader Zim; “Is it supposed to be stupid?” – “It’s not stupid, it’s ADVANCED!” That was an awesome show.
Must be getting family shared somewhere else.
the #XboxOne is the blackest black possible. so black that it cannot be seen with the human eye
Obviously the internet was out and it couldn’t connect.
DRM working perfectly. No internet, no XBone.
Last minute tweaks to XBONE? I guess not. Too little, too late.
The Xbox One did make an appearance later in the day. Somewhere between around 2 and 3 they put a display model into the case. 1 day down, 2 to go. And I’ll be back there tomorrow
I don’t see what the problem with the empty case is. It only needs to check in every 24 hours.
That 9am to 10am hour man…. So much bliss. Easy to get around, plenty of time to chat with people from devs to other media guys… After that, good luck being able to do ANYTHING.
Preorder now! They are disappearing fast 😀
X-box – None