Attending PAX West in Seattle proved to be a more economical option than purchasing an Nvidia RTX 5090 at its inflated retail price for some consumers, according to PC Gamer. Nvidia's 'GeForce Evangelist,' Jacob Freeman, was present at the event offering codes for Verified Priority Access (VPA) to purchase RTX 5090, 5080, and 5070 cards at MSRP. While this prevented attendees from buying the cards directly at a booth, the VPA system is typically a lottery that grants the chance to buy a full-price GPU.
The RTX 5090 was available for its $1,999 MSRP through this program. However, the costs associated with attending the event, including a flight from the UK to Seattle at approximately $1,352 and a $89 day pass for PAX West, would bring the total to around $3,440. This figure remains significantly lower than the $5,500 price recently observed for the RTX 5090 on retail platforms like Best Buy.
Despite the steep cost of attending, the demand was high. Freeman reportedly ran out of RTX 5090 and 5080 cards by the end of the third day of PAX West, which took place from September 4 to September 7. This indicates that for some, the math of acquiring a high-end GPU, even with the added travel expenses, was still justifiable compared to the exorbitant market prices.
Nvidia's primary revenue driver is now its artificial intelligence business, which far overshadows its gaming division's profits. The company's substantial AI earnings, highlighted by its announced $13 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, position it strongly in the AI industry. This financial reality allows Nvidia to approach its gaming hardware sales with more flexibility. Consequently, events like the 'VPA IRL' initiatives seen at QuakeCon and PAX West are likely to continue as the company prioritizes its AI ventures while managing its gaming segment.