PAX 2012 Gallery

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“As an industry, we have been undersold this event”- Hideo Kojima

To be honest, I almost didn’t make it this year. There were projects that need finishing at a job that gave me real money. My 3-day badge would have made triple the purchase price on eBay. My wife wasn’t going with me, because there was no way I was going to make her stand in line like that while she was 6 months pregnant. Still, had been a long, hard, and almost getaway free summer, and my friends had a hotel room for me to crash in, so off I went.

PAX is the biggest convention Seattle has ever seen, and it is the ultimate test of fandom resolve. Pre-release Triple-A games are everywhere but you could stand in line up to six hours to try them out. Every venue, restaurant, and parking line looks like the crowd bulldozer scene from Soylent Green. After having to park 6 stories in the air, I was done. The only panel I went to was the Extra Credits community event (Which was a blast!), and I only lined up for about 4 demos. It turns out that this is the way to go at a place like PAX. It’s PAX, people! There is always something new to see and do. Even if you’re stuck in a corner people-watching, it’s still a better show than what you can see at home. There’s always a Cosplay group, some free swag, or even invitations to special developer parties just floating around the convention hall. Go with the flow, and you shall find what you seek. You can see more pics of the convention after the jump.

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Penny Arcade 3 to Launch 2 weeks Early

In a startling reversal of video game development logic, Penny Arcade has decided to release the third episode of The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness on June 25 instead of July 10. Tycho explains:

We’re committed to releasing it “When It’s Done” as they say, and it is done, so waiting until July seems dumb.  How does the 25th sound, for Steam and XBLIG?

You can’t argue with that. The game will be available on XBLIG and Steam.

Source: Joystiq

Raingeek Rant: Is PAX Killing E3?

We can all remember the time when E3 was a superbowl, a prom, and a gala on par with Comicon or Gencon. Video game magazines (remember those?), blogs and websites would light up like Las Vegas, and our summer dreams would be filled with promises of the latest and greatest technology in time for Christmas. Now, things are different. If you look at the headlines leading up to E3, the only significant news is what will not be at E3. The first glimpses of the future cornerstones of video game culture have been replaced with mini-games and social networking. And you know what? That’s okay.

While the investors and retailers of E3 have no stomach for the red ocean of hardcore gaming, Gaming culture itself has gotten a lot bigger and more powerful. There are two Penny Arcade Expos, one for each coast. They are being followed by a plethora of gaming expos across the continent. If you want to sell a hardcore game in today’s economy, why would you waste your time with investors who don’t get the culture and are looking for alternate revenue streams anyway? If you ask me, the conversations coming out of PAX and its ilk are much more value than the unfocused flailing going on at E3. E3 seems to act like it doesn’t need gamers, but the truth is gamers don’t need E3 either.

Release Date for Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3

The quirky new installment of Penny Arcade‘s RPG series On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is due to be released for PC, Mac, and XBLIG on July 10. The game costs $5 dollars on Steam and whatever the equivalent exchange amount is in Xbox live points. Steam’s cross-platform ability will allow you to play the game on your choice of operating system, and details will be forthcoming as to when the game will hit iOS and Android platforms.

Source:Joystiq.

Paul Christoforo Sues N-Control

A new chapter has opened in the Ocean Marketing Saga. You may remember Paul Christoforo as the man who thought it would be a great idea to physically threaten the creators and staff at Penny Arcade because they exposed his less than admirable treatment of customers waiting for the Avenger controller for gamers with disabilities. Christoforo, now in need of a gig, has filed a lawsuit against N-Control, makers of the Avenger, for defamation of character. The following is a quote from his letter to Kotaku:

The grounds are defamation of Character telling lies about me my company and preventing me from making a living by lying about things that never happened and I plan on going after other people too esp .coms who printed the lies and did not retract after i asked nicely. Breach of contract for them not paying me an undisclosed sum of money Due to me at the time we parted ways and a few other things named in the lawsuit.

The question is, after all he’s said and done, after saying things like “Son Im 38 I wwebsite as on the internet when you were a sperm in your daddys balls.”, and after not possessing the google or grammar skills to figure out who he was dealing with? how could anyone possibly add anything to that lexicon that would count as defamation of character?

Source:The Escapist

The Scouring of PAX Prime 2012

In case you haven’t heard already, all badges, three-day, single-day, and otherwise, have sold out for PAX 2012. If that wasn’t surreal enough, Gabe wrote this heartfelt apology to the fans who couldn’t go. While it’s nice, I’m not sure that he needed to do that. Same-day sell outs have existed at big-name concerts for years, and for an event like this you need to manage your expectations. As big as PAX is, North America is in dire need of space like Tokyo Big Sight, where the 500,000 strong Comiket is held twice a year. You know those numbers are coming. But then I think, hold on! I’ve been going to conventions since they were nothing more than glorified band camps. How did we go from that to having enough numbers to literally storm Normandy Beach? What exactly happened here? Was it all the superhero movies? The invention of good video game graphics? Failures in institutions like school, religion, and major league sports franchises? All of those things I just mentioned had points in their history when they were only practiced by few and eccentric, just like video games, comics, and their ilk. Perhaps we’re on the verge of another such great expansion, but now we have the privilege of seeing it first hand.

Source: Penny Arcade

PAX PRIME 2012 info released on PAX Forums

A Wild FAQ appears for PAX Prime 2012! User SmallLady has posted some information confirming the gaming mega-conventions dates at August 31st, September 1st and 2nd 2012. Also of note, badges will NOT be printed with attendees names on them, which will lead to speculation on how the convention organizers plan to combat the problem of counterfeit badges. Over 5,000 badges were faked for PAX last year, leading to some situations that looked like something out of Soylent Green. The badges will be going on sale at the end of April.

Source: Penny Arcade Forums

Penny Arcade Adventures 3 is Reborn

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness was all but cancelled at PAX East 2010. Flagging sales and  a long, painful “he said, she said” rift between Penny Arcade and the developer, Hothead had sealed the series from any future instalments. But now, a 3rd episode is finally on the horizon by way of Cthulhu Saves the World developer Zeboyd games. The dynamic Duo of Bill Stiernberg and Robert Boyd have teamed up with Penny Arcade’s Jeff Kalles to create a retro RPG adventure using a combination of Final Fantasy V‘s graphics and Grandia‘s combat system. The new game will be available over Steam, iOS, Google Play and (sigh) Xbox live Indie Channel for $2.99 this summer.

Source: Joystiq

Oni Press Takes Over As Publisher of ‘Penny Arcade’ Print Books

Penny Arcade announced at the Emerald City Comicon that it would be switching over to Oni Press from Dark Horse for their 8th print volume, “Magical Kids in Danger”. From the Press Release:

“This was a no-brainer for us,” said Oni Press publisher Joe Nozemack. “The guys at Penny Arcade are driven by the same rebellious desire to create that led to our starting Oni Press. We emerged from the same zeitgeist. The first Oni Press comic was published at the end of 1997, and Penny Arcade hit the web in 1998. We aren’t just peers, we come from the same graduating class.”

The new volume will be released August 29, 2012 for $14.99.

Source: ComicsAlliance

Penny Arcade Official Lego Set

At Lego Cuusoo, someone has deemed it necessary to create a Penny Arcade Lego Set. As you can see, the proposed set comes with Tycho, Gabe, and Div, the drunken obsolete piece of technology. There also plans at the site for the infamous “Fruit Friend” robot who, among other things, enjoys touching people’s hair at night. If the project gets enough votes, soon you can get Gabe and Tycho, to uh, play video games on a tiny couch near you very soon.

Source: Lego Cuusoo