The recently announced Australian edition of the Penny Arcade Expo will be held in Melbourne during 2013 and 2014.

Victorian Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business Louise Asher stressed the importance of holding such an influential video game festival in Australia.

“This is the first time the event has been held outside the United States and attracting PAX Australia to Melbourne was a major coup for Victoria,” Ms Asher said in a statement today. “It is a great opportunity to showcase games culture in Australia to the rest of the world, and the exposure around the region and the world that Melbourne’s games industry will gain from the event, and the number of international and domestic visitors that will be drawn to Melbourne, cannot be underestimated.”

Penny Arcade President Robert Khoo added that an enthusiastic Australian community influenced their decision to bring the expo down under.

“When we reached out to our international fans, the response from the Australian community for a local PAX was overwhelming," Mr Khoo said.

"Melbourne has a long history of supporting the games scene, through showcasing cultural game exhibits to supporting world renowned game developers. Holding PAX Australia in Melbourne is the perfect fit for our show.”

PAX Australia will be held at the Melbourne Showgrounds from 19-21 July, 2013 and will be run by ReedPOP in conjunction with Penny Arcade. Register for the expo here.

Lucy O'Brien is Assistant Editor at IGN AU. You should talk to her about games, horror movies and the TV show Freaks & Geeks on IGN at Luce_IGN_AU,or follow her @Luceobrien on Twitter. If you like what you're readin', meet the rest of the Australian team by joining the IGN Australia Facebook community.

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