Penny Arcade Expo Kickoff

The Second Annual Penny Arcade Expo kicks off today, with a weekend full of goodness planned. A GameCloud interview with organizer Mike Fehlauer goes into detail. From the article: "...the show was created as a party for fans, and everyone was cool with each other and had a good time despite a few first-show bugs. We expected about 1,500 people so when over 4,000 showed up we were a bit overwhelmed." Gamespot has a look at some of the vendors this year, the second Omegathon contest is set to run, and The Frag Dolls will be recruiting from the female convention attendees. Additionally CmdrTaco will be there getting his nerd on, so make sure to give him a hard time if you see him.

Comments

Still no answer to my suggestion

[BlackCobra43]

for cardboard tube duels..possibly even a tournament. It's genius I tell you.

Re:Still no answer to my suggestion

[Yocto Yotta]

Please keep in mind, half the people there are likely allergic to cardboard, among many other things. No easy-to-come-by amount of calamine lotion could sooth that many rashes.

Re:Still no answer to my suggestion

[theantipop]

I'm sure you've read the CTS strips but I'm not sure you realize the damage those things can cause. Do you think they want to be responsible when someone gets a little zealous and splits their opponent in two? Think of the carnage!

Re:Still no answer to my suggestion

[AvitarX]

This is a far more realistic interpretation of tube warfare.

But car can be taken to pick a tube of propper strength. You than score it on style and/or a fencing type system, and a broken tube is a loss.

Re:Still no answer to my suggestion

[HunterZ]

Sorry to go off-topic, but what is that code in your sig? It looks like the cheat code for the Sega Genesis version of Shadowrun, but that one is ABBACAB

Re:Still no answer to my suggestion

[Yocto Yotta]

Close. It's the blood code for the original Mortal Kombat on the SEGA Genesis. Kudo's friend!

Re:Still no answer to my suggestion

[Kynmore]

Man, it's the blood code for Mortal Kombat, maybe the Genesis veriosn only... ahhh, the days of olde!

Nothing but admiration

[theantipop]

The more times goes by, the more the PA guys prove they are all about the fans. Even in their new era of internet super-stardom, they find a way to convey their gaming experiences and passion to their readership on a personal level. Every year I expect their comic to get a little less humourous, to see big banner ads for the next big EA game on their site. But every year they are back with the same earnest love for games that they had back in '99.

Re:Nothing but admiration

[AcheronHades]

Seconded. I have been reading Penny Arcade three times a week for the past four years and their comics are better than ever.

Re:Nothing but admiration

[KDR_11k]

Every year I expect their comic to get a little less humourous

How would that work?

Re:Nothing but admiration

[Castar]

I think the reason PA is so successful is because they take it seriously, but never take it for granted. A lot of online comics either don't treat it like a real obligation ("No strip today either, I stubbed my toe and I wanted to watch The Matrix again.") or once they become famous, start becoming prima donnas *cough* Megatokyo *cough*

PA has always been run like a business, even when it wasn't one, and Gabe and Tycho seem to be in a constant state of shock over their success.

Of course, it also helps that they're always funny and follow gaming so closely. I actually think PA is one of the better sources for industry news out there.

Re:Nothing but admiration

[hobbesx]

Microsoft: Where do you want to go today?

Google: Do no evil

Penny-Arcade: Don't be a Dick(tm)

Fixing typo

[Anonymous Coward]

Additionally CmdrTaco will be there getting his nerd on, so make sure to give him a hard time if you see him.

it should read as:

Additionally CmdrTaco will be there getting his hard on, so make sure to give him a nerd time if you see him.

"Frag Dolls"

[Anonymous Coward]

And the Frag Dolls will be hiring... er, 'recruiting', huh? Jeez. More corporate shilling. You marketroids will be the death of everything good.

Ice cream anyone?

[Anonymous Coward]

Additionally CmdrTaco will be there getting his nerd on, so make sure to give him a hard time if you see him. Will he be the one leaving a trail of ice cream

But Tycho is a liar. :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Tycho's own words (from today's news post):

PAX is sort of funny. You make a convention because you are obsessed enough with something to create an event dedicated to it, and then it hoards all the time you used to invest in that thing. And then you think, if I'm not really playing games, doesn't throwing a convention expressly devoted to them make me a fucking liar? And then a voice like oiled leather says, "Yes, yesss."

I'm finding that the (CW)TB posts are funnier than the strip lately. Perhaps they were always funnier and I just didn't notice until recently.

Re:But Tycho is a liar. :)

[Rallion]

I'm finding that the (CW)TB posts are funnier than the strip lately. Perhaps they were always funnier and I just didn't notice until recently.

They've pretty much always been, yes.

It's not hard.

[OwP_Fabricated]

When you make $40,000+ a month in ad/other revenues.

They're shills alright, but at least they're up front about it.

Fuck, I'd shill for money hats like that.

Re:It's not hard.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Shills"?

Are we talking about the same guys? These guys have never been afraid to stab a finger in the eye of the game industry, even their favorite game makers, even their sponsors. They got the hook up to the WoW beta and they still were right out front bitching about the server issues. Hell, they took away the WoW game of the year award (then later gave it back when Blizzard got things running smoothly). These guys are STILL the real deal, they deserve kudos for that.