The fifth Penny Arcade Expo attracted record attendance figures this year, with 58,500 people showing up for the Seattle-based convention.

"Overall it [PAX 2008] was a huge success,” Robert Khoo, PAX"s director of business development, told Big Download. “The challenge each and every year is to keep the community and cultural feel of the show intact, and I really think we pulled it off.

"We finally stopped doubling our attendance, but lord I"m not sure if we could have handled any more people if they showed up. Key learnings for next year? Better line management and more space."

With the attendance figure for the three-day consumer-orientated event far outstripping pre-show estimates and last year’s 37,000 visitors, Khoo also acknowledged that overcrowding had become an issue that would need to be addressed in the future.

"Regarding the overcrowding, it was definitely a symptom of the popularity of the show, but not one that can"t be overcome. At two or three of the main theatre events three-to-four percent of the line wasn"t able to make it, but we hear those three-to-four percent loud and clear," he said.

"We have a few ideas to manage that problem for 2009 including wristbands for popular events or just a straight-up head count of people in line. The worst thing is if people line up for something and end up not getting in."