Field Report: Video Game Developers and Tech Brands Level Up Demos at PAX East -

In 2004, the creators of the popular web comic Penny Arcade launched PAX to bring together the gaming community and celebrate game culture. After years of growth, PAX expanded from Washington to several cities around the world, and PAX East was established in 2010 as the event’s East Coast branch.

We headed up to Boston for this year’s PAX East event, held March 26-29 at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center, where attendees experienced new releases from major game publishers and independent developers, panels from video game industry insiders, game culture-inspired concerts, tabletop gaming and more.

The name of the game at PAX was demos. Consoles, PCs and tables were everywhere for attendees to try the latest and greatest in gaming. Here, we rounded up 10 companies that took those demos to a whole new level with eye-catching, engaging builds and activations.

Nintendo of America

Nintendo brought the biggest footprint to the show floor and gave attendees the opportunity to try out three new game properties on Nintendo Switch 2 consoles, including Pokémon Pokopia, Super Mario Bros. Wonder and the upcoming Pokémon Champions. At two photo ops, participants could don a Ditto hat or climb into a Super Mario Bros. Wonder pipe, complete with movement and sound.

Wizards of the Coast

Magic: The Gathering was back with a multisided booth offering numerous touchpoints for attendees to interact with and learn about the popular trading card game. At the front, attendees could enter the School of Mages from the soon-to-be-released Secrets of Strixhaven edition, as well as participate in a photo op, crack-a-pack challenges and a digital quiz to find out which Strixhaven College they belonged to. On the reverse side of the booth, they could learn to play Magic with the newly released “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” edition or shop in the MTG store.

Nex Playground

The Nex Playground console uses motion tracking to enable active play right in players’ living rooms. Demo spaces allowed families to explore the console, but the real highlight was a video wall featuring hundreds of tiny house-shaped screens running a loop of actual game play provided by console users. (Design: In-house)

Logitech

Tech brand Logitech showcased its line of PC and console gaming gear, Logitech G, with a special focus on its Pro X2 Superstrike mouse. Attendees tried their luck to get the “winning click,” which tested how fast they could click with the new mouse. Logitech also had streaming installations, a SIM racing setup and a claw machine game.

OVR Technology

Remember “Smell-O-Vision”? OVR Technology showed it’s now a reality with the consumer debut of Omara, a device that uses scents to enhance players’ gaming experience. We tried the Lemony Fresh game, and when we cleaned up dirt with a little lemon, it literally smelled like citrus.

Illfonic

Developer Illfonic brought the iconic Myers’ house to life on the show floor, promoting the upcoming Halloween game with the front lawn available for demos.

Aniimo

Aniimo introduced attendees to the world of its creature-catching game through a booth featuring giant-sized characters, game demos and a stamp rally to earn prizes.

Bonus: Non-Endemic Brands Making Big Impact

A handful of non-endemic brands arrived with footprints that showed they truly know their audience. Trolli’s Sour House presented a dynamic photo op that was used for creator meet-ups and podcast filming, and highlighted its partnership with Microsoft for the 25^th anniversary of Xbox.

Yogibo bean bag chairs offered congoers a place to sit and relax in the center of the show floor, plus they could try their luck rolling a d20 to get a chance to win prizes (we rolled a Nat 20, IYKYK).

Red Bull went all out with the RPG theming in the Red Bull Tavern. Adventurers could choose Wizard, Rogue or Fighter quest cards with challenges to check off in the tavern, like checking out the board game library or defeating a classic monster (this wizard only rolled a 3 to attack the chimera)—all while sampling free Red Bull.