MikeKrahulik
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N-Control dismisses marketing consultant, discounts PS3 Avenger pre-orders
Keeping up with your gamer gossip? Then you're probably up to snuff on the recent Ocean Marketing / Penny-Arcade spat. We held our tongues as the drama unfolded -- no easy task, considering Engadget's name was dragged into the affair -- but now it seems like the internet soap-opera is reaching its conclusion. Not the gossiping type? Here's a quick recap: When N-Control's latest Avenger add-on missed its November 8th street date, customers with pre-orders were left wanting. Some reached out for answers, hoping they could still get their PS3 Avenger before Christmas. All they got in reply, though, were some *ahem* choice words from N-Control's third party marketing contractor, Paul Christoforo -- a man who gained instant notoriety when his emails caught the attention of Penny-Arcade's Mike Krahulik. Krahulik took exception to Christoforo's insults, threatening tone and name-drop posturing (that's where we came in) and responded by publishing the marketing mishap on his comic's website. Suffice to say, it hasn't ended well for Paul Christoforo -- N-Control has released a statement saying that he and his marketing operation have been "categorically dismissed," stressing that Christoforo owns no stake whatsoever in N-Control. After ejecting the elephant from the room, N-Control went on to announce that all PS3 Avenger pre-orders would be given a $10 discount, and penned in a new ship date for January 15th. "I created the Avenger to make people happy," said inventor and company founder Dave Kotkin, who originally designed the controller for a student who had a physical disability, "I deeply regret that so many people have any negative feelings toward it as a result of what has happened." N-Control seems bent on moving on -- which is fine by us, so long as they keep their customers better informed. After all, it's not every day that such an awkward-looking gadget blows us out of the water. Read on for N-Control's full and apologetic press release. Update: To clarify, Engadget's relationship with Mr. Christoforo was limited to a few emails and PR requests regarding his clients.
The other side of a disturbed teen's tale
Yesterday we reported on a CNN article that surfaced recently where a teenager cited video games as inspiration for the "sport killing" of a homeless man. The piece riled up Mike "Gabe" Krahulik, whose rant places much of the blame on the parents.In a rare opportunity, the stepmother of one of the children involved in the death wrote a long and compelling letter describing her relation with the perpetrators. The writing presents a powerful, impassioned perspective on raising demonic children. "The kid knows full well that by equating what he's done to a video game," she said, "that he will generate controversy and media coverage." As Gabe points out (and we will affirm), she's right.The news will get out, whether or not the gaming media covers it (a fact Doug Lowenstein fails to understand). Gaming is the new controversial medium -- just look at how much the mainstream media has attached itself to whether or not a Utah killer possessed or played video games of any sort. It's up to the media of all forms to tackle the issue responsibly and put the issue in perspective -- that the kid was demonic and psychotic -- but we expect some outlets will go for the hysterical approach.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
PAX: Gabe and Tycho ascend the Q&A altar
The first Penny Arcade panel kicked off last night with ... an onstage proposal. Yeah, that old chestnut. It's alright, who doesn't love the heartfelt union of two of our peers on stage? Cynical, jaded, lonely jerks, that's who!So we didn't like that part, but then the evening's ringmasters took the stage to dive into their promised, and much ballyhooed, announcement ... which was, of course, leaked some hours earlier. Regardless, they announce their project, dubbed Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, to some degree of surprise, before beginning a long, often confusing, funny, and surprisingly intimate Q&A.Like the comic whose brand we've all assembled under, the questions run the gamut from the console fanboy Coke or Pepsi questions (they're going Wii60 by the way), the comic fanboy questions regarding Fruit Fucker Prime's unique feature set (he can only launch 100 out of 10,000 fruit fuckers, "it's a design flaw"), the lexiconnoisseur fanboy questions about what one would call those words, you know the ones, that sound the same in different languages but have different meanings (it's okay, Tycho didn't know it either), and just how much of an asshole Jack Thompson really is (a serious one).Seeing two regular looking dudes ("hey, they don't look like Gabe and Tycho!") field questions from throngs of loyal fans of a video gaming webcomic is a strange sort of experience; possibly a sign of video games increasing cultural potency, or of the End Times. Jury's still out on that one.
Penny Arcade feels your GRAWful pain
Do you have the GRAW blues? Do your eyes burn with a crimson fire as the phrase "1200 points" etches itself into the back of your skull? There is only one answer to your existential funk: write a folk song about it! That's how they did it in the sixties, anyway. Well, the fancy lads at Penny Arcade are one step ahead of you, and Tycho has written an acoustic ballad to ease your troubles. "You'll pay twenty when it should be ten, and ten when it should be five:and you'll pay five when it shouldbe free, as sure as you're alive." The song refers to the old 8 hot dogs/10 hot dog buns dilemma: GRAW content costs $15, but you can't buy $15 worth of points. You can buy $20 worth or you can buy $10 worth, effectively making $20 the real cost of the new GRAW content. Oh, those devious microtransactions!And since we're on the topic, don't forget to vote in our GRAW poll. We'll discuss the results on Sunday.
