91 Photos of Lovable Geeks Celebrating Video Game Culture

The folks at Penny Arcade decided back in 2004 they wanted a show exclusively to celebrate gaming and game culture. Comics, anime, and other nerd hobbies were all cool, but those activities already had their own shows -- where could gamers call home? With that in mind, PAX was born, and when exactly 1,337 people pre-registered for the very first event, they knew they were on to something magical .

PAX has doubled in size each year until it hit venue capacities. At that point organizers started bringing PAX to other cities around the world, including Boston, San Antonio, and Melbourne.

Over the years, PAX has evolved with the times: embracing the cutting edge of technology with VR Freeplay, reaching out across the full spectrum of gamers via its Diversity Lounge, and building up immense game libraries for every genre and platform.

No matter what your preferred genre or platform, if you love games, you'll find home at PAX.

Thanks to our man on the street Matt Baume for capturing these images of free-range gamers at play.