The gaming hats of PAX 2012 (gallery)

Geek chic is thick on the ground this weekend at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle as gaming enthusiasts and fans from all backgrounds and geographical area come together to share their passion for video, tabletop, and card games. What’s a nerd convention without swag, though, right? This year, it seems impossible to turn around without running into a whole lot of headgear. Hats are, apparently, the easiest way to get loyal customers and rabid fans alike to wear company gear. We’ve included a ton here in the gallery below.

Mario Hat On The Bus To PAX Jonah was heading to PAX with his dad on the bus this morning. His favorite game is Marvel X-Men Pinball. His dad says the answer changes daily. Jonah is three.
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Giveaway Hat Sam is a PAX Enforcer. She is originally from Alaska, but lives in Seattle now. She says, "I'm a WoW girl."
PopCap Games Plants Vs Zombies Swag Hat If players stood in line at the PopCap booth, they got this sweet knit cap of a Walnut from the PvZ games. Alyssa was one of the booth helpers managing the line.
Plants Vs Zombie Hats On The Escalator The theme of this year's PAX giveaway swag seemed to be hats, as you can see in this photo.
League of Legends PAX Swag Hat Daniel was kind enough to let us snap this picture of him on the way into the convention center. His current favorite game is League of Legends.
Guardians of Middle Earth Gandalf Hat Cody is wearing a Gandalf giveaway hat from Guardians of Middle Earth. He is currently playing Dragon Age.
Okami HD Hats From Capcom Malou came to PAX with his parents. His favorite game is League Of Legends. They're wearing headgear from Capcom's Okami HD game.
Scallops Hat Made Of Cards Sara loves to play the tabletop version of Catan. She is at PAX as a vendor, selling the little pieces that hold her hat together.
Creeper Homemade Headgear Hat We didn't want to get TOO close to this explosive fellow.
Unnamed Orange Juice Lego Head We're not sure who this is or why he likes orange juice, but he says his name is Donny. He was kind of shy, too.
Lonely PAX Gandalf Hat At the end of the day, these were scattered all over the place. This one looked particularly lonely.