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Webcomics come back to WoW
Penny Arcade posted a joke about Figureprints driving people back to play WoW, but today's commentary (by the always insightful Tycho) shows that it wasn't just a joke-- the PA guys have sold their souls back to Blizzard. The game has changed a lot in the past few years, and I admit-- going back to play my Hunter, which I've been doing lately, has made the game almost completely new for me. From all the talent changes to all the new items and the midgame updates, it's almost a brand new Azeroth for anyone coming back to the game.PvP Online, another popular webcomic, has been running a "return to WoW" comic series as well-- 'tis the season, apparently, to come back to Azeroth. Besides all the changes and the new content, the only other reason I can think of is that there's not much else out there in terms of really established MMO experiences-- everybody else is still getting up to running speed when most WoW players already know what they're doing and how to do it. Are we in the middle of a World of Warcraft cultural resurgence right now?
Readers pick best webcomic: The New Games Journalism
Even if we're a little late with giving you the results, this week's webcomic wrapup wasn't really a contest. Due to its timeliness and the controversy surrounding the situation, Penny Arcade's "The New Games Journalism" takes top honors this week. Timeliness is an understatement, here: we know a lot of people who first discovered Gerstmann-Gate from this comic.Second place goes to 2P Start while third is a virtual tie between Dueling Analogs and WoW Insider. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Readers pick best webcomic: The Littlest Hashshashin
Curses, Tycho and Gabe, now we really wish Assassin's Crossing was real. It would be so much fun. The duo's Penny Arcade strip from last week, "The Littlest Hashshashin" took top honors in this week's webcomic wrapup, likely for the second frame alone. (We're not going to spoil it, just click the link yourself and find out.)Second and third place go to 2P Start and Awkward Zombie, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomic you stumble upon this week!
Penny Arcade Expo 2008 dated, returns Aug 29-31
Is that two month old PAX07 t-shirt started to look slightly worn or wrinkled? (If so, may we recommend occasionally wearing other clothing.) Save the date and start booking your flight for Seattle, as the dates for the 5th annual Penny Arcade Expo have been unveiled: August 29 through 31, 2008.This year's event drew in approximately 37,000 attendees into the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. According to the press release (PDF file), "attendance for the 2008 event is expected to reach forty-seven million bajillion people." A venue for the 2008 expo was not specified; exhibitor packets are now available and attendee registration opens in January. Okay, folks, you can now officially start placing your bets on what will be next year's Omegathon.
Raph Koster's Penny Arcade Construction MMO
I'm tempted to append "Electric Boogaloo" to the end of that title. Regardless, Wednesday's Penny Arcade featured a guest post by Raph Koster, wherein he talks about a challenge that Tycho set up for him to solve: Create a construction-based MMO. So, Raph gets to it, and damned if it doesn't sound intriguing and layered! It's a massive doc, at least relatively massive, considering Tycho originally asked for a mere 500 words from Raph. I won't rehash the details here; suffice to say this ties into Raph's recent announcement of his Metaplace project, in which Joe Average can create the virtual space of his dreams. For those of you a-hankerin' to exercise your creativity, Raph has the design doc for you!
Readers pick best webcomic: To Catch a Predator
Sure, the BioShock edition of the webcomic wrapup was last week, but that didn't stop voters making ADAM-fueled decisions in their artistic preferences this week. At the top of the splicer heap, we have Penny Arcade's "To Catch a Predator: Rapture Edition"Second place goes to Fanboys and Ctrl+Alt+Del takes third. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Dweebs
Not a day passes without some poor sap's waggling image being posted on Flickr or YouTube, their awkwardness immortalized for the world to see. Today's Penny Arcade comic is a cautionary tale for all the gamers out there who lose themselves in the Wii's heightened brand of immersion, flapping their hands and dressing in costume for that authentic experience. With Harry Potter mania being at an all time high -- several video games, a new movie, and the final book all within a few weeks' reach -- we're at our most vulnerable. Guarding ourselves against these embarrassing exposures should be priority one. Remember that the next time you start riding your mother's broom during a mock Quidditch match and notice a red light blinking in one of the room's air vents.
Penny Arcade Expo exhibitor list unleashed
The exhibitor list for this year's Penny Arcade Expo has been made, checked twice, and finalized. While the past exhibitors are all still present (including favorites Pink Godzilla), the major publishers have signed up en masse. Joining Nintendo and Microsoft this year on the super-sized list of 53 exhibitors are Sony, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sierra and Konami, among many others. Indie representation will be provided Gamecock, Telltale, and more. Is that the shadow of E3 we see before us? Full list after the break.
Readers pick best webcomic: extra baggage
It's the picture that sells it, really, and presentation can be just as important in a webcomic as content. Despite the usual, numerous objections in the comment section, Scott Ramsoomair's VG Cats strip took the top spot as the week's best webcomic.Coming in second place was the second Penny Arcade strip, "Retreat to the Citadel," (we favored the first strip, ourselves) while third place went to Ctrl+Alt+Del. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Gabe plays Catan ... at least, we think it's Gabe
Friday's Penny Arcade pertained to last week's XBLA release Catan, starting off with the revelation of Gabe, of all people, sitting down to play a round. Obviously, that's slightly out of character, although it is revealed in the accompanying podcast that Mike actually has played the real life counterpart, and much to everyone's surprise, hated the game. Today's strip is a continuation of the storyline, but no longer relates to Catan anymore, for obvious reasons. We spent the better part of our weekend trading wool for ore, what about you? Expect a full X3F review on Catan to come later this week.
Activist lawyer drops RICO charges against Take Two, others
Phew, that was close. And to think, he almost discovered our master plans ...Infamous Miami lawyer Jack Thompson has thoroughly revised his complaint and counterclaim against Take Two. Concerning his counterclaim, Thompson shortened it from nearly 20 pages to a single paragraph that makes no mention of previous racketeering charges that listed Penny Arcade, the ESA, Joystiq, Kotaku and others as collaborators and conspirators.Of course, Joystiq was left unaware what racketeering really was, having ignored Denis McCauley's thorough explanation for enlightenment via Tycho and Gabe's funny pictures.In light of this pseudo-victory, Joystiq is celebrating with cake, ice cream and engaging in illegal business activities usually associated with organized crime.
Too Human's Denis Dyack pokes fun at Penny Arcade game
Ever since Too Human got savaged by the press for sporting a decidedly wonky framerate at E3 2006, Silicon Knights frontman, Denis Dyack, has been somewhat frigid towards the issue of unfinished games and the media's ability to influence opinion based on early code. Not too long ago, the first part in the sci-fi action trilogy emerged from a "very cold place," hoping to set things back on track and get people to focus on all the good things that were, perhaps unfairly, overlooked in favor of counting the number of frames per second. The Penny Arcade duo has discussed (some would say dissed) the game several times in the past, most recently posting a comic literally illustrating the dangers of revealing premature products.Dyack has continued the trend by posting his own modified Penny Arcade strip on his IGN blog, taking a jab at the generally unfavorable reaction to Gabe and Tycho's upcoming foray into interactivity. With the greener shoe now on the other end of the turning tables (or something along those lines), it becomes clear that presenting your unfinished game to the public is a tricky business indeed. Perhaps that's too serious a tone to end on considering Dyack's amusing contribution, but it's an interesting dilemma nonetheless.How do you convey the big picture in a cursory glance? When do you show too much and when do you show too little?[Thanks, Adam]
Child's Play receives a huge donation from Nintendo [update 1]
Nintendo sent out an avalanche of Nintendo DS handhelds and games to the Penny Arcade headquarters last week, donating the towering collection to Child's Play. The gamer-run charity has been donating toys, games, and other gifts to children's hospitals since 2003. Since then, the altruistic group has raised millions of dollars for its partner hospitals.Nintendo made sure to provide something for everyone with its donation, delivering DS systems in every color and handing out hundreds of copies of Nintendogs, Big Brain Academy, Mario Kart DS, and many other titles. Gabe posted photos of the mountainous shipment and assured readers that the DS Lites will find their way to the gracious hands of kids in children's hospitals soon.[Update 1: According to Penny Arcade's other half, Tycho, the systems and games were actually bought from Nintendo at a deep discount, using the money raised by the Child's Play charity. We apologize for this misinterpretation.]
Readers pick best webcomic, how ironic
It takes guts to admit something good about a company who you've lost faith in so long ago. That's just what the Penny Arcade crew tackled in their strip relating to the recent PlayStation 3 announcements, winning best game-related webcomic of the week. Special thanks to Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, who was kind enough to stop for a quick chat at GDC last week. Second place goes to the comic we were most tipped off to, the Perry Bible Fellowship, and third place was claimed by Extra Life. A note about Tip of the Sword. While we thought the MMO joke was funny, we really loved the Halo gag more. Unfortunately, we were of the mindset that we picked that strip last week -- blame it on the jet lag from GDC. Apologies to Auker for not using the comic he submitted. Still, we thought the MMO one was funny.Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!
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.]
Readers pick best webcomic: the $64,800 bounty
True, SCEA CEO Jack Tretton's $1,200 boast has been taken somewhat out of context, but it does make for some excellent satire. Enter Penny Arcade's Tycho and Gabe, whose comic earned the not-dubious-at-all award for best game-related webcomic of the week.Rounding up second and third place are Dueling Analogs and VG Cats, respectively.Congratulations to perennial entry RPG-TV, who is celebrating its one year anniversary. According to the comic's creators there will be guest strips aplenty, starting with Digital Unrest's Chris Simmons' comic. Other guest artists promised include the minds behind Dueling Analogs, Fanboys-Online, Boot_Error "and many more whom I cant mention here without making this sentence long and unwieldy."As mentioned in the comments on Saturday, all those comics were sent to us via the tip line will be included this week. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!(Note: $64,800 is equivalent to 54 PlayStation 3 sightings.)
Readers pick best webcomic: your mom
With silly non-animation and infantile STD humor, With Your Mom dot Com takes the [adult swim] award for best game-related webcomic this week. Second and third place were occupied by Tycho and Gabe, with PVP Online's Penny Arcade joke edging out over Penny Arcade itself. Thanks to everyone who voted this week and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!
Nerdcore Rising throws down with trailer
A documentary showcasing the darlings of white boy hip-hop, Nerdcore Rising takes you along for a ride with the "Godfather of Nerdcore" MC Frontalot on his first national tour. To the uninitiated, nerdcore is what happens when you splice hard rhymes about Dungeons & Dragons with smooth beats and less aggression than what passes for hip-hop today. It could very well be the soundtrack to our culture, and the film aims to set the record straight on the roots of the genre. Making appearances in the trailer are Frontalot himself, MC Chris of Adult Swim fame, and geek gods Tycho and Gabe of Penny Arcade. Take pride in what you do and check out the trailer after the jump![Thanks, Frontalot!]
Child's Play 2006 eBay auctions
Hoping that you'll put more dollars to charity if you get something back, Tycho and Gabe of Penny Arcade have set up several eBay auctions where 100% of their proceeds go towards Child's Play, an annual charity that benefits children's hospitals.In case you are interested, here are the charities: Two tickets to the Guitar Hero II release party. The Ball from PAX. Penny Arcade original artwork- the Beach poster. Penny Arcade original artwork- Dr. Raven Darktalon Blood. Penny Arcade original artwork- Gears of War. Penny Arcade original artwork- Boba Fett. Penny Arcade original artwork- Nightmare at Twenty-Thousand Feet. WOW TCG Saltwater Snapjaw turtle mount loot card. (pictured) Most of the auctions are well into the hundreds by now, but we still urge those with charitable minds to at least take a gander.See Also:Child's Play 2006 commences
Gears of War: the sitcom?
Apparently we were so busy playing GOW yesterday -- playing co-op with all of you is great by the way -- we failed to notice Penny Arcade's latest comic. If you're absolutely sick of all the hyperbole surrounding this game (or if by some off chance you actually like the idea), you'll find the idea of turning Gears of War into a sitcom fairly amusing. It brings up an interesting point though. For those of you who've played the game (and were able to find it), how is it stacking up so far? Does it live up to the hype, or are you happy playing something completely different?
