Thanks to the generosity of a co-worker's friend, I was able to drop by during setup at the PAX exhibit hall last night. (While I was there I passed Gabe and made eye contact with Tycho, but <del>chickened out</del> decided not to talk to them as they were doubtless very busy.)
One thing that caught my eye immediately was the presence of Sony. This is a very good move on Sony's part: Last year it was conspicuously absent, which made it an easy target for criticism and mockery.
The prime example came when Tycho and Robert Khoo played Guitar Hero II onstage and their PlayStation crashed a third of the way into their song. The crowd began chanting: "Sony sucks! Sony sucks!" Had someone from the company been there, they could have done...something. Anything. It was pretty painful.
Delightful things spotted:
For some reason, Sony has skulls and pagan idols at its booth.
Pirates of the Burning Sea has cannons that fire t-shirts.
Ubisoft, Shonen Jump, and Viz will be raffling off your weight in packaged ramen.