IDG Entertainment is sending word that instead of August, this year's E for All Expo has been moved to October. This news should serve as a relief for those worried the the event may conflict with PAX's own schedule for 2008.

Details are in the full article. Just click the "read more" link below.

It's never too early to reserve a place in the next Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). It was announced today that the event will be accepting registrations as early as January 2008. The last PAX had 37,000 gamers roaming its floor. Tickets were sold out so early registration may be a good idea.

PAX 2008 will be held on August 29 to 31 and attendance is expected to double again. "Again" because attendance has been doubling ever since the first PAX. The attendance grew so large that the last event was held in the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle just to fit everyone in.

Next year's PAX will mark the expo's fifth year and will continue the tradition of game exhibitions, conference programs (about games of course), concerts, tournaments, freeplay gaming and general fun times for everyone and all in the gaming community.

As the the Assassin's Creed (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) video fellow blogger Ryan C. posted earlier indicates, there was plenty to see over at Sony's end of the PAX 2007 event. And just in case you were wondering what else the company was featuring , we managed to pick up a booth tour video that should give onlookers (and non-visitors) a peek.

Taking us on this tour is Sony PR Manager Sheila Bryson, who briefs us on the wares her company's brought in. Make sure to keep an eye out on the moss-covered ruins and skulls that decorate the area - that's a direct reference to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3). Viewers may also want to look out for snippets of Sony's SingStar booth, and the other titles such as Lair, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, and Jeanne d'Arc. With that said, we direct you to the 7-minute video below. Happy viewing!

This may be one of the hard evidences of Nintendo DS's immense popularity among the handheld market: Almost every handheld gamer in Penny Arcade Expo 2007 (PAX 2007) had a DS, but there was nary a PSP in sight. Well, almost. A Wired reporter eventually found a lone PSP owner, and that's after he spent some time searching for one.

Most of the handheld gamers present in PAX 2007 were found lounging on enormous beanbags on the hallways, entertaining themselves with multiplayer DS games and Pictochat.

The Sony PSP and Nintendo DS are both very good and competitive handhelds, but it is rather a bit disconcerting to find out that Sony's multi-media handheld wasn't at all present in PAX 2007, given the fact that the place was packed and full to the brim with gamers. Or maybe they were just protective of their PSPs like that?

More PAX 2007 updates to come!

Namco Bandai's coming to Penny Arcade Expo 2007, and it's bringing a gigaton of games along with it for some good old hands on gaming. For those of you attending PAX 2007 which starts tomorrow in Seattle, you can find Namco Bandai at booth 616.

Perhaps the biggest highlight to grace their booth this year is the photorealistic Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation for the Xbox 360. Namco is setting the game loose for competitive and cooperative fighting on Xbox Live with multiplayer supporting up to 16 players so be ready to set the skies on fire.

Another highlight although in a completely different genre is Beautiful Katamari (also for the 360), whose multiplayer supports up to 4 players. Another game that would probably have you rolling to Namco's booth is Dynasty Warriors: Gundam that mixes the world of Gundam with the hack and slash gameplay of Dynasty Warriors.
   
Other games the games publisher will be showcasing are Eternal Sonata, Tales of World: Radiant Mythology, Culdcept SAGA, .hack®//G.U. Vol. 3: Redemption, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2, Time Crisis 4, Warhammer Battle March and collections of classic Namco Bandai games for the Wii and Nintendo DS in Namco Museum DS and Namco Museum REMIX.

 

When PaRappa the Rapper is in the house, we know there's more than just chopping onions and driving lessons. Chop Chop Master Onion's Rap Showdown was announced just last month, yet hundreds of aspiring rappers and series fans already sent in their entries.

The dough is finally shaping up and the winner is about to be crowned. Ten finalists have been chosen, and it's up to you to vote for your favorite rapper. To do that, just head over to the PlayStation site, which you can find via Read link below.

We were quite amused watching the videos. Contestants range from teens, to dads dressing up their sons as PaRappa. Still, we'll have to say each and everyone in the top ten deserve their spots. Most of them are ghetto style, but some also nailed the PaRappa feel.

Whoever gets branded as crowd favorite will earn a trip for two to PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, WA, August 24, 25 and 26, 2007. One double-occupancy hotel room for three nights and spending money for meals and transportation for three days are also included in the package. Two PSPs and two copies of PaRappa the Rapper are also for grabs.

Penny Arcade has just announced that the entire floorspace for the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) 2007 has sold out, despite the organizers' addition of more floorspace for people to roam and for companies to use.

In fact, this year's PAX has three times the game exhibition space, a fold up from their previously announced doubling.

"We thought that by tripling the available exhibitor space, we'd have enough room for everybody. I guess we were wrong," said Mike Fehlauer, Penny Arcade's director of sales. He thanks the exhibitors and attendees for their responses for the event - something he calls a "kickass party for the gamer community".

And along with this, Penny Arcade has also given a complete list of the companies who've signed up for exhibition. Starting August 24, expect the likes of Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts/Mythic, Harmonix, Foundation 9, Sierra/Vivendi, Wizards of the Coast, NCSoft, Sabertooth Games, D3 Publisher, Telltale Games, Behemoth, Namco-Bandai, Upper Deck, Wizkids, Atari, ArenaNet, Hothead Games, America's Army and Rockstar Games - among others - to tickle your fancy at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center, in downtown Seattle, Washington.

Click on Full Article to view the complete list of exhibitors registered for PAX 2007.

Remember when we mentioned that Sony was starting up its ad campaigns to promote PaRappa the Rapper? In case you think you've got the mad skillz to be able to create your own rap routine based on the game's songs, we've got a contest for you.

Sony has just sent word via their PlayStation site that they're now inviting gamers to their "Chop Chop Onion's Rap Showdown" competition. This contest will have players choose one of three PaRappa clips featured at the home site, with the player challenged to do their very own rap version of the song. The competitor's video must be in a Capella, and must use the original lyrics. The top 10 performers for this competition will stand a chance to receive these following prizes:

• PaRappa PSP skins
• PaRappa PSP charms
• PaRappa's signature beanie
• A copy of the game
  

Of these top ten, the lucky contestant that gets elected as the "Ultimate" PaRappa Rap Master will win tickets for this year's PAX (Penny Arcade Expo). Breaking down the details of this sweet prize:

• Airfare for you and a friend to PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, WA, August 24, 25 and 26, 2007
• One double-occupancy hotel room for three nights
• Spending money for meals and transportation for three days
• Two PSPs and two copies of PaRappa the Rapper

We advice guys planning to join up to move quickly - the first 100 registrants will also be awarded free PaRappa-themed Paul Frank T-shirts. That's the basic rundown for this latest game promo - guys interested in reading the full contest rules are advised to click on the read link for full details.

The PlayStation Portable is destined to get a new beat as video game PaRappa the Rapper is expected to hit North American shores this coming July. Actually, this PSOne original from developer NanaOn-Sha was released in Japan last year and this is the first time fans in other markets get to play it on a handheld device.

To help promote the game, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) will be running a series of promotions in the next weeks. In fact, the company even teamed up with fashion company Paul Frank Industries to make sure that the prize for the said promotional events - a tee-shirt - will be something fans would really look forward to.

"To help promote PaRappa the Rapper's debut, Paul Frank Industries teamed up with PaRappa's co-creator and artist, Rodney Alan Greenblat, to create a limited edition tee-shirt featuring Paul Frank's signature character Julius and our very own PaRappa the Rapper," reads a part of SCEA's official announcement.

There is still no mention what kind of promotional event exactly will be used with this but Sony mentioned that they are going to be both online and at numerous events such as Wizard World, ComiCon, LollaPalooza, PAX, and others.

Just a little reminder to all you PAX-goers out there who happened to "have a life" and forgot all about the registration: early-birds must sign up for a three-day pass on or before Saturday, March 31, 2007 before they hike the registration fee back to US$ 45, while those who register at the event itself will have to pay US$ 30 per ticket per day. So it's better to have saved some bucks to ensure you've got a great deal for a wicked time at the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo.

The three day affair will begin at August 24, and should be situated down at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. That's over 200,000 square feet of leg room! Just about enough space for gaming related tournaments, concerts, contests, booth demonstrations of coming games and a swimming pool. To qualify for the Omegathon tourneys, you've got to be a pre-registrant.

Straight from a press release, Penny Arcade claims that tickets are selling twice as fast than last year (which had over 20,000 gamers attend), so you'd better use four hands for typing and two for mousing around at the Penny Arcade Expo site. And nerds can bob their heads to the music from The OneUps, MC Frontalot, Jonathan Coulton, Freezepop, The Neskimos and Optimus Rhyme.

Remember, every type of gamer is invited, even if you just rap on tables and play musical beat games. So even if you can't relate to the more than 50 companies slated to appear on the floor at PAX 2007, you're still welcome, unless you've come to balk at Penny Arcade like one soul we-could-probably-name-but-we-aren't-going-to.

Expect Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts/Mythic, Sabertooth Games, Telltale Games, the Behemoth, Namco-Bandai, Upper Deck, Wizkids, ArenaNet, Harmonix, and Rockstar Games to show up. And if you miss out on the March 31 deadline, make sure you do pre-register from April 1 to August 1, or else Tyco and Gabe will draw silly caricatures of you and make weird faces...and deny you access to the three-day long Omegathon tournament!