Well, a lifetime of waiting and all I can do is recite wise words from a gentlemanly scholar named Tyga. I know I am not breaking any news by discussing the Penny Arcade Expo "expanding internationally" but I feel in the excitement of Melbourne, Australia being named as PAX's first big romp outside of America, the true significance for gaming in Australia has been overlooked here. Let me first clear up that my intention isn't to whine about how the gaming situation in Australia (and New Zealand) is particularly unfair compared to our trans-atlantic brothers. But to be brutally honest, there's gonna be a little bit of whining. And I think it is worth whining about again and again because if PAX heading to Melbourne tells us anything, it is that the video game market and community in Australia is and has been rapidly growing for decades and is finally being realised for what it is: strong.

It wasn't until venturing from my surburban nest in Melbourne and flying halfway around the world to the untamed north, that I realise how lucky people have it in North America. It is truly like living in a gaming eutopia. I no longer meander into an EB Games merely to stare and pick mindlessly through new and used games, finally announcing that "$90 for Duke Nukem Forever is ratshit". And it is, that game is terrible. I would rather have Duke spend an evening with my mother than pay that much for his festering 90's humour. Regardless, $60 for new release games is something unheard of down-under and it is appauling that the pricing remains this way. Now, for a long time I was fed talk of 'the high cost of transport', that there were crazy taxes involved and now that the Aussie dollar is (and has been for years now) buying me steak and gold teath to eat it in the States, I really think there are many questions to be asked. However, this is not a new topic and one I barely just wanted to touch on. I'll leave the politics to the polticians and my racist grandfather.

The point is, for a long time I have felt that Australia has been seen as a country on the backburner in terms of gaming. This view may not be shared by all as the majority of my time spent amongst international gamers has been lots of fun and I feel gamers as a whole are very progressive thinkers (yes, I've played Call of Duty and I don't consider it a game as much as I do digital masturbation) but perhaps it is the lack of international exposure of Australian gaming and the fact that there has never been an expo of the magnitude and scope as PAX in Australia. The EB Games expo is of course quite large and cannot be forgotten but of course it has half the attendees that the PAXAus expo anticipates and is run by the same people who routinely overcharge us for the games they are showing us. Having a truly dedicated gaming expo that showcases not only the big headliners but also has room for indie guys as well is a milestone and one I feel Australia has well-earned.

After all, Australia makes up nearly one-fifth of all the traffic the PA webpage sees and accounts for almost half of its international sale orders. It is a bigger community than even most Australians would hazard to guess I'll bet. The Australian industry itself is also expected to continue to grow and even surpass the gloal figures soon enough! Yet these are just facts and they are meaningless, "facts can be used to prove anything". But what this all signifies is that the video game market is healthy in Australia and consumers deserve to be rewarded for their passion.

Luckily, someone was listening. I'll be making sure I score a sweet, sweet ticket and enjoy the metaphorical representation of what Australian gaming has evolved into in the 21st century. But truly, I'll be enjoying a demo of Half Life 2: Episode 3 because if I was Valve, I'd announce it thousands of kilometers away from anything.