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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.
Pretty much the best DS Lite mod ever
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Pretty_much_the_best_DS_Lite_mod_ever/'; When aliens come to lay waste on our planet after an interstellar decree to rid the galaxy of our race before our warlike nature spreads to other solar systems, this Nintendo DS Lite case mod could be humanity's saving grace. At the precipice of mankind's extinction, the extraterrestrial army will stay its advanced armaments, realizing that any society capable of producing such an awe-aspiring object deserves to continue its existence!Forged by the same hands that brought the Legend of Zelda-themed Wii mod to life, this gold and black beauty's metal die-cast Master Sword/Shield crest rotates to match your handheld's orientation and illuminates when being charged. Buying this one-of-a-kind DS Lite will also net you a custom charging dock, two painted styli (silver and dark blue), and the admiration of your peers and cosmic beings alike. Proceeds from the auction will once again be donated to Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity.Head past the post break for more photos of the DS Lite mod. It's a good preview of what we'll spend the rest of our enslaved lives assembling after our alien overlords decide to spare our pitiful race.
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).
Readers pick best webcomic: time to retire
Coming on strong this week is 2P Start, whose 1337 Gamerscore nets them the top honors as this week's best game-related webcomic.Coming in second place is Digital Unrest, while the third place trophy has been divided in half between Penny Arcade and VG Cats. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
PA shows the less-than-sexy side of Live
So, earlier today we gave you a guide on how to be an A-hole, which is all good and weel. While, on the other hand, the guys over at Penny Arcade told their account of running into someone who was just downright creepy. To their credit, they did show a good idea on a feature that should be added to a future dash update when filing a complaint just doesn't cut. So, make the jump, have a laugh, and maybe shed a tear for those who run into people like this daily. That all being said, if this really weirded you out, don't worry, we got something lined up for you that'll brighten your day.
Forum Post of the Day: I have never looted an epic
I am impressed by EU forumgoer Yippi. Despite having two characters at level 70, one at level 69, two more at 60, and a host of lower levels, Yippi has never even seen a world drop epic. That's enough to make you wonder if the darn things even exist! Even though, in my experience, I have to say that they do -- while leveling, I've gotten Robes of Insight, an Underworld Band, a Jeweled Amulet of Cainwyn, and I've seen (though I didn't win) a Krol Blade. Maybe I'm as lucky as Yippi is unlucky? But, I don't know... like the guys over at Penny Arcade say -- green is the new purple. Maybe missing out on those world drop epics isn't that bad after all.Interested in more forumgoer opinions? Take a look at previous forum posts of the day!
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.
Puzzle Quest loved by Penny Arcade, tossed aside by game shops?
Ever since Infinite Interactive released a PC demo for Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, gamers have been scrambling to find a DS or PSP copy of the title. The addictiveness of its Puzzle/RPG blend is matched only by its apparent rarity in stores. NeoGAF forumer Eric P aptly described the game and its limited distribution when he posted, "If Bejeweled is crack, then this is Space Crack that you can only buy from Space Crips in Space Angeles's space ghettos."Don't expect those Space Crips or your local shop to hang onto unsold copies for too long, though. According to Penny Arcade, Electronics Boutique stores in Canada might already be taking the game off their shelves due to disappointing sales. Considering that this much sought-after title was released only a week ago, ousting it this early in its lifetime seems downright unconscionable. We really hope this isn't a trend that other North American retailers will follow.Meanwhile, both the DS Fanboy and Penny Arcade offices have been caught by Puzzle Quest's steely grip, rendering us incapable of focusing our thoughts on anything else. Tycho and Gabe have drawn up two comics about the title in just the past week, dedicating several posts to their adventures obtaining and playing the game.Infinite Interactive's Steve Fawkner published a short comic of his own, explaining Puzzle Quest's shipment shortage. Check it out past the post break.
Readers pick best webcomic: Living Achievements Vicariously
Blending real life with virtual life is usually reserved for those who think it's wise to incorporate 1337 speak into grade school essays (and shame on you for thinking Shakespeare doesn't r0x0rz j00r b0x0rz). Dueling Analogs, for splicing what makes the Xbox great with what makes ... well, we don't want to go there either way, has been crowned the winner of this week's webcomic wrapup.Second place goes to still-newbie 2P Start and third place went perennial favorites (and our rocketeering racketeering partners) Penny Arcade. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: mainstream edition
Instead of trying to fill this part with meaningless dribble (at which we rock), we've decided to take a look at the comic world through two articles from this week's stream of mainstream media.Our first article is a blurb from the Wall Street Journal's Career Journal, which recently highlighted what it would entail to choose comic-book artist as a career. Two suggestions: (1) be sure to attend conventions and network with publishers, show off your work and (2) make sure your work doesn't suck.The other piece comes from Time magazine that discusses the proliferation of webcomics. It even includes complimentary blurbs about Penny Arcade and PvP Online, credited with being one of the first webcomics. Congratulations guys!Now here are some of our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics, be sure to vote for your favorite!* Rejected Wii channels Check. It. Out. Convincing rebuttal Spectrobes, original IP Like watching paint dry Our old tricks How awesome? So awesome. Games have weird premises Living achievements vicariously * and gripe about the choices in the comments below. We know you will, we know you want to, we just hope you also suggest some of the gems we missed.
Japanese hardware sales, Mar. 12 - Mar. 18: ridiculously rampant racketeering edition
It's not very often that you get accused of being part of an evil conspiracy. It certainly isn't very often that you're given opportunity to use words such as "collusion," "racketeering" or "farcical," especially not in the same sentence! It is thus with great pleasure that we inform you that Joystiq has been implicated in an imagined and entirely farcical collusion that promotes racketeering. The always entertaining and fundamentally unhinged attorney at lawl, Jack Thompson, has deemed it fit to include us (along with the ESA, Penny Arcade, Gamespot, Kotaku and more) in his latest attack on Take Two. Apparently, the publisher has "collaborated and conspired" with us to further their racketeering activities. Of course, we're not even sure what racketeering is. "I'm selling these fine leather rackets," springs to mind, but we're convinced it's more complex than that. Perhaps we've been USING TOO MANY CAPITALIZED WORDS? Should we "turn it down a notch," as the old folks are fond of saying? Either way, please let us know in the comments section -- or else we'll punch you in the face and trash your store, ya hear?- DS Lite: 121,471 12,959 (11.94%)- Wii: 67,070 22,575 (50.74%)- PSP: 43,769 12,406 (22.08%) - PS3: 21,635 10,480 (32.63%) - PS2: 13,321 1,264 (8.67%) - Xbox 360: 2,910 423 (12.69%) - Game Boy Micro: 727 85 (10.47%) - GBA SP: 557 122 (17.97%) - Gamecube: 367 127 (52.92%) - DS Phat: 159 40 (33.61%) - GBA: 9 4 (30.77%)[Sales chart beaten out of: Media Create]See also, or else: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts[This edition inspired by our fellow racketeers, rocketeers and raconteurs, Penny Arcade]
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]
Readers pick best webcomic: Hecker the Traitor
It may have required some background knowledge of 300 and Chris Hecker to understand, but the Joystiq webcomic lovers chose via parliamentary procedure 2P Start's entry as the best webcomic of last week.Second place went to Penny Arcade and third from Scott Johnson's Extra Life. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!
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.]
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 11
PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to MP_ROOT/101ANV01/. Requires firmware 2.00 or above. Do NOT place in "VIDEO" folder. Firmware 2.80 or above do not need to download thumbnails. Penny Arcade Adventures [PC]Download MP4 (3.19MB) | Download THM The following videos are featured after the break: The Invisible, Ratchet & Clank [PS3], God of War II [PS2], The Simpsons Movie
First Penny Arcade game footage exposed
Though Gabe and Tycho look somewhat uncomfortable in their polygonal bodies, the first footage of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One indicates a promising video game debut for the webcomic duo. Not much regarding the nature of the gameplay can be extracted at this point, but it's fair to say that punching, shooting and the heinous violation of fruit will almost certainly come into play. Our feelings are, in a word, prurient. (We had to look that one up.)The full trailer is embedded after the break. %Gallery-1545%
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!
Wii Warm Up: Comics and games
For some crazy reason, the Wii has come up quite a bit in webcomics since the name was officially announced. Part of that is simply due to the fact that gaming is such a popular subject in online comics, and the rest ... well, we think it may have something to do with the name. Just a guess. What are some of your favorite gaming comics? How've you felt about some of the Wii comics so far? Do you have any favorites to share?[Image from Penny Arcade (of course).]
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.)
