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Readers pick best webcomic: Justice for Penny Arcade
We aren't sure if people really loved this comic strip, voted because of its clout, or mistakenly voted for this when trying (in vain) to get "none of the above" to work, but Penny Arcade took a commanding lead in this week's webcomic wrapup.Second place went to Ctrl+Alt+Del and third place is a virtual three-way tie, with Digital Unrest holding a meager lead (happy birthday, Chris). Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any gaming webcomics you stumble upon this week!
PA disses Tiger's matchmaking skills
Today, Tycho at Penny Arcade briefly goes over the unnecessarily complicated matchmaking process in Tiger Woods 07. The steps include:"1. Consent To Be InvitedIn any other Goddamn Live game, you're done. In Tiger, one must then2. Endorse The Invitation3. Yield Wholly To The Concept Of Inviting4. Surrender To The Invitation Beam.And then, finally,5. Lift Your Voice In Supplication To Raoul Invitatio, 'He Who Maketh The Match'"Most of our readers probably know that EA maintains its own servers. This was required by them years ago before they would allow their games on Xbox Live. Why do they need their own servers? It makes it easier to spy on you of course. Personally, I don't deal with EA's matchmaking very often, as I don't really own any of their games -- and probably won't until Burnout 5, or possibly Army of Two. So, X360F asks you, is matchmaking in Tiger really that bad?
Penny Arcade responds to our "hideous editorial," misses the point [update 1]
PA's Tycho has responded to my rational gamers editorial calling it "hideous" and remarks, "It's fun to think about the author tippity-tappin' this one in while he eats light bulbs in the last car of the circus train." [Mmmm, light bulbs. BRB.] It seems the point was missed because I mixed too many different issues into one post. If I had instead posed the hypothetical as follows, I doubt many would have objected: Assume Nintendo is selling a white-colored Wii at a profit of X and the tangerine-colored Wii at a profit of X+Y. That is, the price (and hence, Nintendo's profit) on the tangerine Wii is greater than the price (and profit) on the white Wii. Which of the two devices would a rational consumer choose, all else equal? He'd choose the one with lower factored-in profit margin. That is, the lower-priced console. In the comments below, JB Cougar (and others) wrote: "I believe the black MacBook outsells the white one, and yet Apple charges a $200 (might even be $300) premium for it. They are the same system, save for the color." For that to be true, you're assuming inequal demand for the colors. "All else equal" means equal demand for different colors of the console. Hopefully, the elimination of mention of "Sony" or "Microsoft" from the thought experiment makes the point amply clear. So why make such an obvious statement? Isn't this like saying that consumers will buy the larger candy bar if the price and taste of all candy bars on the shelf are the same? Yes, but this question is a required first step before digging into the following question: if gamers are showing a preference for undiscounted hardware, then what else is at play here? What are people paying for, if not for hardware? That allows us to get into discussions on Nintendo's strategy (with mention of Reggie's favorite Blue Ocean Strategy book), the value of fun, the value of software exclusives, and the value of the "unique" control scheme. This was to have been a multi-part series of editorials dissecting the value attributed to the Wii versus its rivals. With hardware power out of the way entirely, the discussion would narrow to more meaningful topics. [Update 1: added quote from reader JB Cougar.]
See PAX in the (sun starved) flesh
Ever wanted to see a huge gathering of gamers all packed into one convention hall? Have a yearning to witness a massive orgy of videogaming, tabletop gaming, and cosplay? No? Well, too bad, because that's exactly what you'll see in this video (WMV) of the Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX. If you look very carefully -- and quickly -- you might even catch a glimpse of our very own Chris Grant. Isn't that precious?[Via Major Nelson. Image from Penny Arcade.]
Overheard at PAX: because "OmegaDethlord" sounds so formal
Overheard at PAX: "Hey... umm, uhh... What's up? Like, do I use your real name or your internet name?"
First Art of new Penny Arcade game: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
We're sitting here in the "big theater" at Meydenbauer as the clock strikes 7 PM, signalling the end of an embargo on the teaser image shown here. Now, normally we're not ones to post teaser junk, but we'll cut the Penny Arcade boys some slack given that they're new to this whole game thing and we tend to always root for the underdog. One thing we won't let slide is that tagline. Is this like a new Leisure Suit Larry game or summat?
Penny Arcade pilgrims play blue ball game
While sitting outside the main hall of Meydenbauer waiting for the first live panel with Penny Arcade's Gabe and Tycho to begin, the crowd grew restless. Someone produced a blue ball. Someone else started a chant. The ball was crowned king. The ball was worshipped. The ball was bounced from the ground level to the first balcony, and a game was born: bounce the ball up, way up to the top of the atrium. It was all good until some nubcake bounced the ball too high, and it got lost. Boos rumbled through Meydenbauer, but you can't keep gamers down. Bean bags were quickly brought into the mix, and festivities resumed. There's a good vibe here at PAX, and this little emergent game demonstrates it better than any press release. This crowd came ready to play. [Update 1: Image credit to Miles from Tacoma. Thanks, Miles!]
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.
Penny Arcade creating ESRB ad campaign
With an angry mob of politicians and parents (and pareticians) waving their pitchforks and torches at the ESRB's front door these days, launching a new ad campaign might be a wise move -- at least a good deal wiser than dumping gallons of hot oil on your detractors. The powers that be at the ratings board have tapped none other than the Penny Arcade crew to create a new marketing initiative aimed specifically at gamers, one that hopes to illustrate the importance of those letters you may have glimpsed on American game covers.Thanks to the involvement of people who have actually played games before, it's a safe conclusion that we'll be spared from the usual in-your-face X-treme to the max gamer representatives that only exist in the minds of ill-informed marketing types. Instead, Gabe and Tycho have spent the last few months creating a series of characters, each one being paired with one of the ESRB ratings. As you might have expected, Tycho has already written short narratives for all the characters that explain just how the ESRB impacts upon their lives. These will no doubt be filled with words too gigantinormonomical to comprehend.Though some teaser images were already shown at E3, Penny Arcade says that the full campaign will be invading magazines and websites very soon. We're hoping that 'ole DivX machine will be teaching us the ins and outs of the M-rating.
HD-DVD buying tips from Penny Arcade
Read Ben's HD-DVD review and decided you can't wait another minute for your optical discs of high definition goodness but you know there is no way your better half is ever going to let you buy one?Good news, Gabe and Tycho have a plan. Check out yesterday's webcomic Treachery in 1080i to find out the secret to buying an HD-DVD player without having to actually finish that around the house work you've been promising to get done. For the uninitiated, Penny Arcade is a mostly gaming centered webcomic that has been around for a few years, if you play games check out the archives, they are hilarious.[Thanks for the tip Adam!]
