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PAX separates from Penny Arcade in co-founder's New Year resolution
Penny Arcade the comic is officially distancing itself from PAX, the yearly gaming convention held in Seattle, Boston and Melbourne. Co-creator Mike Krahulik announced the ideological split in a blog post, as part of his New Year's resolution to be less of "a bully." "You'll notice that it is no longer the Penny Arcade Expo," Krahulik writes. "It's outgrown us and it belongs to the gaming community at large now not just PA fans. Someday I expect to attend a PAX and not even be recognized. That's honestly fine with me. I don't want the material on PA or who I am to keep people from attending and enjoying PAX." Penny Arcade similarly distanced itself from the charity it started, Child's Play, when Krahulik and co-creator Jerry Holkins realized the comic's content was impeding the charity's outreach, Krahulik says. Child's Play is now its own organization that Penny Arcade supports from afar. Much of Krahulik's resolution stems from "a difficult year" where he received negative public attention for things he said on Twitter, the Penny Arcade blog and at PAX. In 2010, Penny Arcade ran a comic that made light of rape, and Krahulik and Holkins responded to outcry by selling merchandise supporting the strip – the "dickwolves" debacle. Krahulik and Holkins removed the dickwolves stuff from its stores, but on a panel at PAX Prime 2013, Krahulik said that pulling the merch was "a mistake." His statement reopened the wound.
Ron Gilbert, MC Frontalot, RoosterTeeth, more confirmed for PAX AUS
Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion creator Ron Gilbert will give the keynote at the upcoming PAX Australia, Penny Arcade has announced. Gilbert most recently worked on The Cave for Double Fine, and will kick off the Penny Arcade Expo's Australian branch with a "storytime" session, presumably about his work in the glory days of adventure gaming, creating the SCUMM interpreter, and his most recent work on DeathSpank and at Double Fine.Other announced guests for the show include musicians The Protomen and MC Frontalot, and video makers RoosterTeeth are also set to appear – and we're sure founders Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik are headed down under, too. PAX Australia is set to take place at the Melbourne Showgrounds on July 19-21, 2013, and there are still tickets available for the first two days right now.
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.
PvP and Penny Arcade bring you to The Trenches
Webcomics are a dime a dozen, but when doodling kingpins Scott Kurtz (of PvP fame) and Mike "Gabe" Krahulik and Jerry "Tycho" Holkins (of Penny Arcade fame) team up on a new project, you can bet we're gonna take notice. Enter: The Trenches. The Trenches is new (like, new new), so there's only one strip as of right now, and seeks to catalog "the tribulations of software testing with the precision tools of 'the office comedy.'" On top of each comic, the trio will publish stories from actual testers in the trenches -- anonymously, of course. The first story involves an individual who had to test Ken Griffey, Jr's Winning Run for the SNES. Yup, it's as bad as it sounds. The Trenches will be updated on the Penny Arcade off-days, every Tuesday and Thursday.
WoW Archivist: The legacy of Leeroy Jenkins
The WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? Leeroy Jenkins is easily the most recognizable name in all World of Warcraft. It isn't Thrall, it isn't Arthas, it isn't Chris Metzen or Ghostcrawler. It's Leeroy Jenkins. Leeroy has transcended the realm of geekdom in a way that no other aspect of World of Warcraft can. While World of Warcraft may have made appearances in shows such as Stargate Atlantis, Leeroy has found a place on How I Met Your Mother, My Name is Earl, Scrubs, and beyond -- he has become a genre and a trope unto himself. Leeroy Jenkins has been mentioned and plugged so many times in pop culture that the days of his being a World of Warcraft reference are in decline and we're coming to a point that most of the world has no idea of the origin of the joke. It's just a funny thing that exists, disembodied from its nerdy, video game roots. So who is this Leeroy Jenkins fellow, and why is he so gosh-darn funny?
Mike 'Gabe' Krahulik speaks his mind about SWTOR
Sometimes being a celebrity in the gaming world has its perks. Take Mike Krahulik from Penny Arcade, for example. People instantly recognize him, they want his opinion on everything, and he can get in on any beta he wants. All right, that last bit was a stretch, but he did get into game testing for Star Wars: The Old Republic. And after much begging, the marketing team at BioWare gave "Gabe" the chance to publicly sound off about TOR. Guess what? He loved it. Based on a statement he made in the Penny Arcade blog, Krahulik believes that this Star Wars MMO lives up to its expectations, unlike another Star Wars MMO from the past. Specifically, he compares questing in The Old Republic to questing in other MMOs: "Turning the quests into an interactive experience makes me care a lot more about them. A quest is still a chance to get XP, money and loot but it's also an opportunity to advance your character towards the dark or light side based on your decisions. In most MMO's taking quests is what you do so that you can go play. In SW:TOR, taking quests is playing." To catch his full 1200-word write-up on The Old Republic, jump over to the Penny Arcade blog. Find out whether he feels the game is "Star Wars-y" enough and what he thinks of his "shimmering blue glory."
Penny Arcade Scholarship now accepting applications
Wondering what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the benevolence frequently exhibited by the creators of Penny Arcade? If you're a college student with starry-eyed ambitions to change the video game industry for the better, you might be able to bask in the warm light of their generosity by receiving the fourth annual Penny Arcade Scholarship, a $10,000 academic grant set aside for a special student with a GPA over 3.3 and the aforementioned revolutionary aspirations. Applications for the scholarship are currently being accepted and must be sent in by May 30, along with two letters of recommendation, an academic transcript, an essay on how you plan to change the industry and your photograph, which will only be seen publicly if you're the winner, as displayed on the scholarship's page. It's not like the Penny Arcade guys are basing their decision on prettiness or anything. [Via GamePolitics]
Time readers rank Penny Arcade co-creators as more influential than President Obama
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/04/time-readers-rank-penny-arcade-co-creators-as-more-influential-t/'; Happy final Easter everyone! Wait, what? You didn't get the memo about this being the last Easter? Yeah, apparently the recent 2010 Time 100 Poll, which ranks the most influential people on the planet, is actually a sign of the impending end of days. Yeah, that was the only explanation scholars could come up with when they saw that Lady Gaga was in the lead (with approximately 150k votes), ranking above global humanitarians and, you know, world leaders. Carving out their own little slice of notoriety are Penny Arcade co-creators Mike "Gabe" Krahulik and Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, whose 9th place position (at the time of this writing) has pinned them as more influential human beings than Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey. Hey, as nutty as that sounds, we've never bought a video game based solely on recommendations from the latter three. [Via Kotaku]
PAX East returns to Boston in 2011 and 2012, in bigger venue
It appears the East Coast has an annual gaming mega-convention to call its own, as the Penny Arcade Expo East officially locks into Boston for two years. The wildly successful inaugural year had an estimated 60,000 attendees (twice the number originally planned for), which has led organizers to move the show from the Hynes Convention Center to the much larger Boston Convention & Exhibition Center for 2011 and 2012. Although the extra space will be welcomed by publishers and attendees, the other convention center is inconveniently located (especially by Boston standards) down by the harbor. While the Hynes, which is located downtown by Copley, may have been a little cramped, it's surrounded by shops and restaurants for meetups. Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik told Joystiq, "We had assumed we would be in [the Hynes] for what? Three years, I think? That was our initial idea. And already this will be our only year here. We have to move it next year." It'll be interesting to see how publishers treat PAX East in 2011. With no other major show in the first half of the year except for the Game Developers Conference, which attendees have complained for years has lost its way by having a larger media presence, PAX East could be the new place to make announcements. Especially if this year-round major game release calendar we've seen in 2010 becomes permanent. Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins spoke about PAX East's place in the industry and the recent occurrence of major releases outside the fourth quarter saying, "I think the problem is [publishers] never had a place to promote those releases, and if they're given a place to promote those releases – this is what [Penny Arcade's business guru] Robert [Khoo] has heard when he talks to the people he talks to to get the show going – they need a place that can attract you and can attract the people who play games ... enthusiasts in general, not industry observers." %Gallery-89141%
Visceral Games to stream Dead Space 2 panel live from PAX East
Can't make it to PAX East this year? We feel your pain -- while there are quite a few Joystiqeurs winging their way off to the East Coast to partake with Mike and Jerry and the gang, there are almost as many of us still stranded back at home with all of you. But fortunately, our friends at Visceral Games are doing their best to share the love -- they'll be Ustreaming their Dead Space 2 PAX East panel live this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. EST. We've included the feed on this very post, so bookmark this page right now, and then come on back Saturday afternoon. Producers Steve Papoutsis and Rich Briggs will be in attendance along with Art Director Ian Milham, and the guys will "bring players up to speed on the Dead Space universe and prepare them for what's to come in Dead Space 2." They're even showing a bonus look at "the all new Isaac suit," and they'll be answering questions live from the simultaneous Facebook chat, too. Of course, a Q&A with the Dead Space 2 producers is little consolation to missing out on eating breakfast cereal with professional hugger Justin McElroy, but those of us at home this weekend will have to take what we can get.
Penny Arcade 'hoping' for Episode 3 reveal at PAX East
While it's been some time since we last heard about the third installment in the Steampunkian Penny Arcade Adventures series, a glimmer of hope resides in the coming months with PAX East. A Penny Arcade representative confirmed to Joystiq that, "They [Penny Arcade] are hoping to have something to announce by PAX East. Unfortunately, we won't have anything before then." Presumably, we'll exclaim "oooooh" when we do finally see the game, as Mike "Gabe" Krahulik explained when we last heard from the duo about the game's absence.Jerry "Tycho" Holkins further confirmed the possibility of an appearance for PAA: Episode 3 at PAX East, telling MTV Multiplayer, "Listen very closely to the announcements at PAX!" We're certainly ready to "feel the vigor in all our limbs," as Holkins claimed we would last September, but it's been so long we're not sure we'll remember that city-saving, hobo-beating, purple pantaloon-wearing protagonist of ours ... oh ... well, maybe not.
Penny Arcade crew kicking off new book tour February 23
Between the thrice-weekly comic, the quad-monthly PATV episodes and the bi-yearly conventions, we find ourselves pretty saturated in Penny Arcade's artistic outings. Still, there are a few places in our lives where we could use some more of Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins' irreverent brand of jest -- like, for instance, our coffee table. That gap will soon be filled by the duo's new book, The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11½ Anniversary Edition -- a tome which covers the history of the comic, the Penny Arcade Expo and the annual Child's Play charity. The book is due out February 23 -- at which point its creators will kick off a national book tour. Check past the jump to see if they're making a stop in your town!
Penny Arcade to be honored by Game Developers Choice Awards
To the far, far outside observer, a comic strip which frequently features a tiny robot who commits sex crimes against citrus fruits wouldn't seem like the most altruistic venture. We know the truth, however -- that Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins, Mike Krahulik and Robert Khoo have been putting a generous, entertaining face on the gaming industry for over a decade. For this, the three men will soon receive a special honor during the Game Developers Choice Awards -- the "Ambassador Award." Man, that sounds prestigious as hell. According to a press release announcing Penny Arcade's decoration, the award is given to folks who have "helped the game industry advance to a better place, either through facilitating a better game community from within, or by reaching outside the industry to be an advocate for video games and help further our art." Yes, Penny Arcade has done both of those things, while still finding time to make hilarious comics about sentient juicers.
15 Minutes of Fame: Making Child's Play of WoW
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. Kristin Lindsay makes child's play of WoW. In fact, she makes child's play of gaming in general and even of her work. That's because Child's Play, the charitable organization that brings games, books and cash to sick kids in children's hospitals across North America, is her work. As project manager at Child's Play, Kristin helps the organization raise millions of dollars worth of toys and cash for children's hospitals and put a positive face on gamers and gaming. Child's Play was created by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins of the online comic strip Penny Arcade. This year, the group has raised $1,302,367, shooting to surpass last year's $1.5 million total. We dove into a niche in Kristin's busy season to visit with her about her WoW habit, her work with Child's Play and how we WoW players can help Child's Play achieve a record-breaking year for hospitalized kids.
Samwise does guest strip for Penny Arcade
The webcomics community seems like a pretty cool bunch, specially when they all pitch in and help each other out. One of my favorite webcomics, PvP Online, often features guest artists to fill in for creator Scott Kurtz when he's away at some convention or just down with some bad bug. Just recently, he coralled the immensely talented Ramón Pérez, the genius behind Kukuburi, to do a guest strip while he was down with the flu.That's nice, you say, but what's this got to do with World of Warcraft? Well, see, Gabe from Penny Arcade (aka creator Mike Krahulik's alter ego) apparently picked up some kind of bad bug during their PAX or Penny Arcade Expo, and some well-known comic folks such as Bill Amend and Kris Straub stepped in to help. The highlight is that World of Warcraft's art director, Samwise Didier, the man largely responsible for the look and feel of many of Blizzard's games also pitched in his contribution.It has nothing to do with our favorite game, but it's freaking Samwise doing a freaking Penny Arcade strip! I mean, I don't really have to explain why I'm posting this, right? One of our favorite WoW icons doing a guest strip on one of our favorite webcomics (that occasionally tackles WoW) is so full of win it almost makes Saurfang cry. These sort of crossovers are so cool, you almost wish these webcomic creators would get sick more often. Ok, not really, but you know what I mean.
PAX 2009: Penny Arcade worked on collectible ping-pong card game
At long last, the two culturally distinct worlds of ping-pong and trading card games have been fused into one aggregate superhobby. During the Penny Arcade Media Q&A Panel at PAX, the comic's illustrator, Mike Krahulik, explained, "We've been tinkering with a Paint the Line card game -- that has been quite a bit of fun in the office, so we'll see how that goes." For non-readers, Paint the Line was a series of strips the duo did in 2008 which tells the story of a global ping-pong power struggle. It's also a story of love and killer whales. There's a lot going on in there.For those who aren't immediately turned on by this notion, Krahulik added, "Ping-pong played in CCG is surprisingly interesting." Draw one backhand swipe! Tap one ping energy! Discard one pong.
Penny Arcade creators honored by Washington State senate
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, founders of Penny Arcade, are legendary folk heroes to much of the gaming community. For ten years, they've served as unparalleled industry commentators, strong vocabulary enthusiasts, and proponents of citrus-assaulting robots. However, these virtues recently took a backseat to their more charitable contributions to society when Penny Arcade was discussed on the floor of the Washington State senate, where legislators adopted a resolution honoring the two men for their philanthropic exploits.Senate Resoultion 8640 ennumerates the achievements of Holkins and Krahulik, such as their successful webcomic reaching its 10th anniversary, the launching of the Penny Arcade Expo, and the $4.5 million raised for improving the lives of hospitalized kids with Child's Play. While we're sure they would have preferred a law being passed in their name which mandates the death penalty for people who drop out of online games when they start losing, it's still a pretty cool gesture.[Via NeoGAF]
Tycho Brahe weighs in On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Penny_Arcade_s_Tycho_talks_about_the_Rain_Slick_Precipice'; The unique experiment of Penny Arcade Adventures has already begun in earnest. The long-term question in the making -- "Can game comic-makers make a videogame?" -- is moot. On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is now available via Xbox Live and the Greenhouse website (with demos here: Windows, Mac and Linux). The question now becomes: What do the creators think of their spawn? We sat down with Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, Penny Arcade's writer-in-residence, to get some perspective on that very issue.We had the chance to discuss a number of the game's elements -- from the origins of the Startling Developments Detective Agency to the foul creation of the evil bums. Mr. Holkins also shed a dim light on future episodes in the series as we discussed the music and writing that surround the overarching story. We also clarified that for Penny Arcade, as a creative team, there is no rest. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins are not celebrating today, they're not patting themselves on the back. Instead, they're returning to what they do best: working.Read on to find out why these guys are driven to mine the funny for your benefit.%Gallery-1545%
Are MMOs killing the single-player game?
Listening to the Penny Arcade podcast, Downloadable Content, as I am wont to do when playing something, the topic of discussion turned to how World of Warcraft has ruined Mike for playing single-player-only games because no matter what treasure is received, or secret unlocked, it's an offering on display only for himself; it cannot be shared, and therefore lacks the proper cachet. At least, that was my understanding; I may be mistaken. Check it out yourself.Regardless, the concept is sound. The rarity of your epic loot is rendered almost meaningless in a single-player venue. And perhaps the heady thrill of true PvP combat makes solo play less appealing. Being a Soloist myself, this is not too much of an issue to me, but what do you all think? Do single-player games have to work harder, innovate more, to deserve your dollar? Is the future of gaming, as Raph Koster seems to think, MMOs?
Gabe and Tycho may have a Wii adventure
In an interview with Nintendo World Report, Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik did not rule out the possibility that Penny Arcade Adventures may journey to Wii Ware. In fact, the idea was embraced with (hesitant) enthusiasm. "It's definitely something that we're investigating. I don't think I can say anything more than that ... I'll say I would love to, I would love to do it, man. I hope we can."Considering how crazy we are for anything with an incredibly silly title around here, we'll say that we would love it as well. While it sounds like the game is nothing more than a vague possibility for Wii owners at this point, it's enough to get us crossing our fingers and hoping for our own little section On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.
