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Rumor: XBLA could get Penny Arcade game
According to Gaming Target, EGM is reporting that Penny Arcade's first game could soon join their innumerable picture packs and themes on Xbox Live. The mag brings the news in their September issue that Penny Arcade Adventures Episode One: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness will appear on the Xbox Live Arcade in the fall.Developer Hothead Games isn't confirming the news at the moment, but with PAX a scant three weeks away, they could just be trying to keep the tabby in the satchel so Gabe and Tycho can reveal the news at the show. For our part, we'd love to launch PA's game from our Cardboard Tube Samurai-themed Dashboard, the theme we shall continue to rock until something better comes along, in other words: Forever.[Via X3F]
Play Pink Godzilla Dev Kit at PAX, win fabulous prizes
Itching to play Pink Godzilla Dev Kit? Going to the Penny Arcade Expo? If so, you're in luck. Pink Godzilla Games recently informed Joystiq that they will be in strong showing at PAX 2007 in Seattle. In addition to offering copies of PG Dev Kit for sale, Pink Godzilla will be hosting a tournament for the game, with prizes for the top three competitors, and a very special super-secret prize for first place.According to Pink Godzilla co-owner Greg Hess, the tournament will be held in rounds of three-player, single-elimination games. Space will be limited, so Hess recommends signing up at the start of PAX. Sign-ups will be located at the free-play tables for PG Dev Kit. The winner will receive $200 spending money, and a very special prize that Pink Godzilla doesn't want to announce quite yet. Suffice it to say, it's pretty darn cool. Any rampant speculation?
Rock Band playable at PAX
Harmonix will have a booth at this year's PAX convention in Seattle Aug 24-26 where Rock Band will be playable. For those who during E3 didn't have an appointment with EA, get invited to the West Hollywood party or end up in the suite gathering, here's their chance to play with the general populace -- like Chris Furniss of The Weekly Geek Show. Furniss points out, "Sure you could play Harmonix's Guitar Hero-and-every-other-game-ever-killer behind closed doors at this year's E3 ... But it wasn't on the show floor. This just furthers my frustration with companies at this year's E3."Yes, the picture above created by and featuring Furniss does not actually use the Rock Band peripherals and he's using Donkey Kong bongos in place of the drums -- but it's still funny, darn it! Hopefully Harmonix will think ahead and have some plan set up for PAX and the mass of people who will want to play Rock Band. The 20x30 booth they'll have set up may only be for one set, which means PAX attendees will hopefully not experience the Nintendo Wii line of 2006 for their chance at the game. Thankfully, the game is just as fun to watch as it is to play.
Vote for your favorite PaRappa the Rapper video
Did you enter the PaRappa the Rapper Chop Chop Master Onion's Rap Showdown? Hope so. Contestants performed their own renditions of their favorite PaRappa songs for a chance to win some pretty awesome PaRappa swag. In addition, the grand prize winner will get an all-expenses paid trip to the Penny Arcade Expo. But, who's going to win?That's where you come in. Visit the official PlayStation website to vote for your favorite. Heck, you don't even have to vote ... it's funny enough to see these classic songs get the real-life treatment by fans. Check it out.
Off the Grid reviews Diceland
Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column on gaming away from the television screen or monitor. Continuing our love-fest with the games of James Ernest (we'll be moving on to other designers soon, I promise), we've come to Diceland, a unique two-player tabletop title that's been the opening game of every PAX Omegathon thus far. So, you know, it must be doing something right.What makes Diceland so unique is its game pieces: large, eight-sided paper dice that the players assemble themselves. In the standard game, players select a team of five dice, each representing a different character. Rather than play cards or position miniatures, the placement of characters is accomplished by literally rolling them onto the table; where they land is where they are. From there, players take turns repositioning dice, rolling new ones, or aiming to take out their opponent's. Points are scored for each defeated enemy die, and first to 50 points wins.
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.
U rappin' good? Go to Penny Arcade Expo for free
U Gotta Believe!Sony is hosting a new contest, encouraging wannabe rappers to perform their best PaRappa rap. It just takes some ambition, a camera, and some YouTube know-how to enter. Choose one of three songs provided on Sony's official contest page, and swallow your pride.There are some awesome prizes: PaRappa PSP skins, PaRappa PSP charms, PaRappa's signature beanie and a copy of the game. The first 100 entrants will get the awesome PaRappa tee. Finally, one winner will get to go to Penny Arcade Expo with a friend ... absolutely free. If you're thinking of entering, definitely show us. We'd love to see your moves!
Leipzig benefits from E3 death, gets 40% larger
E3 died and every other convention seemed to benefit. The Game Developers Conference got more exposure this year than ever before and now the 2007 Leipzig Games Convention is filling in their lederhosen and reports a 40% growth. The growth is apparently due to international exhibitors from outside of Germany. It sounds like the Kentia Hall crowd found a new local. Every major gaming company will be in attendance. Despite what Guillemot wants to believe about his Ubiday, Leipzig is the European E3. A bunch of companies are putting more effort into the show, Activision says, "We expect crowds of national and internationa trade visitors ... to be prepared for that, we are expanding our presentation at this year's fair." Fill in that vacuum everyone, there's still plenty of space to fill up in E3's absence.
Tip a 40 to the homies, this used to be E3 week
We are gathered here today, not to remember E3's death on July 31, 2006, but rather its life. A life which we would have celebrated this week if it weren't for its untimely passing. In the words of 20th Century wordsmith P Drs, we take a moment to remember: I tip my 40 to your memoryTake a drink, and IStop to think, and II know one day soonWe'll be, we'll be hangin out It is hard to imagine that the event so many loved to hate to love is actually gone now. Right about now journalists, industry folk and the legions of fanboys who scored a pass would be preparing to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow and get settled into our ghetto hotels before the madness of Wednesday. The sweat, the ecstasy and the pounding beat of thousands of speakers vying for consumer industry attention. But, like a tweaked-out twink on a three-day bender, the party couldn't last. The scene became too much for the big publishers and they decided to scale it down, keep their party tight and in private hotel rooms. Abandoned and with no place to go, with no more support, E3 passed. And so, we lost a good friend.But let us not forget that left behind are PAX, E for All and Min-E3. Two events geared for the masses and one ultra-exclusive meant to take E3 back to its roots. Get the journalists who didn't make their business cards with mom's HP inkjet in to the cover the event. It is sad to think many will not know the joy and exhaustion caused by E3, but in time the pain will fade, like all pain does, and the happy memories will remain. We miss you E3.
PAX07: Wil Wheaton keynote, TGS prize, Minibosses headlining
Additional details of this summer's PAX07 festival have just been released. We already knew about the larger venue -- the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in downtown Seattle -- and the dates -- August 24-26 -- but we didn't know about the keynote speaker, the Omegathon prize, and the headlining band. Until now.Taking the place of last year's thoroughly entertainging keynote speaker, Alex St. John, is wundergeek Wil Wheaton who's certain to find a receptive audience in the geek-hungry halls of PAX. Next up, the Omegathon prize. Taking the place of last year's tricked-out Scion xB, the gamer with the mostest gets a trip for two to the Tokyo Game Show (in new four-day flavor) along with $5K in spending money so you can nerd it up in Akihabara. Lastly, the headlining band. Taking the place of last year's face-melting Minibosses are ... the Minibosses! Of course, they joined by the likes of The OneUps, MC Frontalot, Jonathan Coulton, Freezepop, The Neskimos and Optimus Rhyme, so expect a full two nights of rocking (and rhyming, whatever the case may be).
Did WoW kill LAN parties?
WorldofWar.net points to an article over at Boot Daily which proclaims the death of LAN parties. I don't know if you've been lucky (or nerdy, I guess) enough to be party to this phenomenon, but a LAN (Local Area Network) party is where a bunch of nerds bring their computers over to someone's house or a hotel, hook them all up, and play Counterstrike, Warcraft III, or whatever the latest game is (I have fond memories of huge Rise of Nations and Soldier of Fortune matches at a friend's house) until the sun comes up.This article, however, says that LAN parties are dead, and World of Warcraft is holding the smoking gun. Not only are the nerds staying home to raid in Outland, but even when they show up to the parties, according to the article, some are playing WoW instead of participating the game of choice. The real fun of LAN parties isn't just playing-- anyone can do that now, from Xbox Live to the many, many online PC games-- but it's playing with people right next to you, and all the camaraderie and trash talking that comes from that.It's true that I haven't been back to a LAN party in a long while (though part of that might have been a move away from the city where I used to do it), but I don't see that they're dead-- just last year I was at PAX, where the culture of the LAN party was alive and well. And claiming WoW killed them is a stretch at least-- if anything it's the spread of broadband (which makes the hassle of a LAN party just not worth it to many casual players), and a general lack of really classic multiplayer games lately. Really, what's the last multiplayer experience that was strong enough to build a whole culture around? Battlefield 1942 and the sequels maybe, and then... ? Gears of War? If LAN parties are dead, it's because players are still stuck playing games that are years old-- even Dreamhack, the biggest LAN party in the world, is still playing CS 1.6 and Quake III Arena. Heck, they're playing Starcraft, which was released almost ten years ago! If LAN parties are an "endangered species," it's because the games that supported them are dying off as well.
PAX '07 set for Aug. 24-26 in Seattle
Expecting not to slip into "the rain-slick precipice of darkness," PAX '07 plans to be "bigger and badder." The Penny Arcade Expo will take place at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center. Previously held in Bellevue, PAX can thank the ESA canceling E3 for now making them the event of the year for the hardcore -- no fake press credentials required. Oh wait, there's the E for All Expo, but we have no idea how that's going to play out."We conservatively expect 30,000 hardcore gamers in Seattle this summer, making us the fastest- growing and largest gamer festival in North America" said Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade. "Exhibitors and attendees keep spreading the word about PAX; it's amazing, but attendance doubles each year."What we're really looking forward to is just seeing more of Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness game, which we're sure will have some announcement at the convention. You know the guys at IGN and Gamespy can't wait to get their hands on it for some sweet, sweet retribution.
Joyswag: A Castle Crashers tee for your thoughts
One of the greatest parts about meeting The Behemoth's Tom Fulp at PAX (hi Tom!) was hearing how he read and incorporated our reader's feedback into the Castle Crashers' PAX build, specifically Psaakyrn's comment that enemies appeared to get stuck outside the screen. In the footage from the PAX build you'll notice a dearth of such behavior, with most of the action concentrated towards the center of the screen.In the spirit of continuing this line of communication, we'll be giving away two of these super sweet Castle Crashers tees to a randomly selected comment containing feedback. Do you like the graphics? How much would you pay for a title like this? Did you manage to acquire the coveted "first post"? Just kidding, that last one doesn't count. Let us, and The Behemoth, know what you think of their latest effort and you could win a tee (continue reading for the rules). Get to it, we'll give you another chance tomorrow.P.S.- Tom agrees with us, the world would be a much better place with a Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006 game. He didn't say they're making one, he was just saying. We're gonna puff up our cheeks and hold our breath until PBCBSF2006 climbs out of its animated grave and into our interactive world. Starting. Now.
PAX: The Castle Crashers test
The exhibition space at PAX was a bit cramped, but that didn't stop Redmond neighbors Microsoft and Nintendo from representing, Guitar Hero II from rocking out, game import shop extraordinaire Pink Godzilla from selling, and The Behemoth from having one of the most popular games at the show. Who are The Behemoth? They're the small game studio responsible for the adorable Alien Hominid and the delicious Castle Crashers, both headed to Xbox Live Arcade.The line around Castle Crashers was continuously full -- all four controllers being put to the singular use of button mashing the baddies and quaffing all one could quaff -- while programmer (and Newgrounds chief) Tom Fulp watched on, paternally. One thing he heard continuously through the show, and I corroborated several times, was the repeated claim that players would "buy" an Xbox 360 "just for this game." Seriously, I heard the claim about four times within a half hour, and Tom said he'd been hearing it incessantly since the show floor opened. It was a sort of test. Will this game -- a throwback to the arcade 4-player beat-em-ups of yore dolled up with high-def graphics and (hopefully) an online multiplayer component -- sell next-gen systems to an audience that Gears of War can't? Don't have an Xbox 360 but still want to play Castle Crashers? I overheard Tom saying there's no reason the title couldn't come out for whatever platform Sony has up their sleeve ... although we have a hard time imagining rows of people proclaiming a similar purchasing intent for the pricier PlayStation 3. Check out GameTrailer's shakycam footage of Castle Crasher's PAX build after the break.
Joystiq interviews Penny Arcade Adventures' Hothead Games
While at PAX, we also got to speak with Joel DeYoung and Steve Bocska of Hothead Games, the ex-Radical development team tasked with bringing Penny Arcade's dark vision to life, episodically, as Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. We asked them about their team, the degree of cooperation with Penny Arcade, the growing episodic gaming space, and whether or not they'll use any of those fancy cartoonish graphics employed in Radical's Simpsons Road Rage title ... we hope they do.You can download the full interview here (.mov), or watch the video embedded after the break.
Joystiq interviews GameTap's David Reid
We had a chance to sit down again with David Reid at PAX, and talk with the former director of platform marketing for Xbox and current vice president of marketing for Turner's online subscription gaming platform GameTap about the growing role of episodic gaming and downloadable content, the Sam & Max deal, competition with Xbox Live, and even the Penny Arcade game. Since the interview took place on Friday morning -- after the embargo on the Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness game had already been broken, but before the team made their official announcement -- there wasn't much David could say except that they'd be willing to work with Penny Arcade "in principle." You can download the full interview here (.mov), or watch the video embedded after the break.
Joystiq interviews Penny Arcade's Gabe and Tycho
Just about this time a week ago, we were watching the final two Omeganauts do battle in Tetris ... actually, it was more of a slaughter, but we'll leave that up to the history books. Shortly after the show was over, we got a couple minutes with the duo behind Penny Arcade, PAX, Child's Play, and now Penny Arcade Adventures. Of course we took the opportunity to ask them about the game (they're not talking), the PS3 (they're not buying), and the amount of time it takes to get that good at Guitar Hero ("you gotta have priorities"). Indeed.Grab the admittedly large file from our servers below or embedded after the break. If you're still rocking the 56K, stay tuned for a transcribed version to be added to this post.Watch me:Penny Arcade Interview (.mov)
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.]
Blogphotopodcasting: Fanboy style
Major Nelson's latest podcast consists of a panel at the Penny Arcade Expo with an unwieldy title and one familiar participant. "Blogphotopodcasting: New Media in the Game Industry" features none other than Xbox360Fanboy's (and Joystiq's) Christopher Grant as a dulcet voice of reason.
WoW at PAX (or lack thereof...)
Hey everybody! I'm back after a long weekend away (did anybody miss me?) in Bellevue, WA, visiting the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX, for those of us in the know). Joystiq did a great job of covering the whole event (and I wrote up my own PAXperience), but they left one question unanswered: where was WoW?Not at PAX, apparently. MMO makers Mythic and NCSoft made a nice showing (more on that in a second), but Blizzard didn't have any official presence at all at what is quickly becoming one of the bigger public gaming events. I did see a few neat t-shirts (and one awesome guy who pinned his name and server on his back, but walked away before I could snap a picture), and hear a shoutout during a Q&A panel to the PA guild on Dark Iron (last item), but Blue and the Burning Crusade were nowhere to be seen. Maybe that means that six million players is enough for Blizzard, or maybe it means they really do want to get the expansion out before the year ends.But while WoW was missing, there were plenty of WoW competitors there. I got to play Guild Wars, Lineage II, and Auto Assault at the NCSoft booth (and got free copies of each, thanks!), D&D Online from Turbine, and I was able to check out and play an early alpha of the WoW clone (or killer, depending on who you talk to), Warhammer Online. I asked a guy from Mythic exactly what the difference between WHO and WoW will be, and he said they'd like to make a game that lets a player completely focus on PVP, rather than having PVP as just one element. Unfortunately, playing it seemed to me to be a little too much like Dark Age of Camelot (which Mythic is also responsible for), and it just didn't have that polished and shiny Blizzard magic, early alpha or not. So, is it possible to surpass World of Warcraft? From what I saw at PAX, not yet.
