OK, so it's taken me a bit longer to get this up than I originally intended, but it's finally time for me to post my thoughts on PAX Australia 2013.
In short, PAX Australia is PAX, but in Australia. Like PAX East, the location gives PAX Australia a different feel than PAX Prime. But just like PAX East, PAX Australia is PAX. Everything I go to PAX for is there: the expo hall, the tabletop area, the handheld area, the panels - it's all there.
So, what makes PAX Australia different from the American incarnations? Besides, you know, the obvious.
Well, first, PAX Australia was in the Melbourne Showgrounds, which meant that large portions of it were outside. In what was, technically, the middle of winter. Which was still warmer than Boston during PAX East was, just in case anyone was curious. I kind of liked the mix of indoor and outdoor areas, personally. It created a kind of "outdoor festival" kind of feel, with some of the food trucks and eating area being outside.
There were some issues there: the panel theaters were simply too small, so panels would fill incredibly fast. There's a good chance the next one will be held somewhere else to try and resolve this issue. But even then, it was still a great show and I'd love to be able to come back, if only airfare between the US and Australia wasn't so freaking expensive.
I'll end with a link to my Flickr photoset of pictures from PAX Australia.