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Penny Arcade Honored By Washington State

Posted by Soulskill on from the pro-games-legislation dept.

Dutch Gun writes "Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik (Tycho and Gabe) of Penny Arcade have been honored by the Washington State legislature with a resolution. The bill praises their charity work (PDF) with Child's Play, for attracting tourist dollars by starting the Penny Arcade Expo, which has grown to become the largest video game exhibition in the country, providing student scholarships, and for their leadership role within the computer gaming community. Washington State is home to at least 45 game development companies, including such notable names as Nintendo of America, Microsoft, Bungie, Valve, ArenaNet, PopCap, Gas Powered Games, Monolith, Zipper Interactive, Snowblind Studios, and more. This is a marked departure from the typical news involving governments and gaming. One could see the courtship of the computer gaming industry by the State of Washington as a shrewd political move, given the current tough economic times and the seeming resistance of the entertainment industry to recessions. Or, perhaps a bit less cynically, this might just be a sign that gaming has reached a critical threshold of mainstream normalcy."

31 comments

  1. Their reponse by Norsefire · · Score: 5, Informative

    Their response, the related comic.

    1. Re:Their reponse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah. oldnews. Penny Arcade already informed us about this!

  2. Reasons by Norsefire · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I wouldn't say there is anything sinister behind it, or that it is a sign that "gaming has reached a critical threshold of mainstream normalcy". I think it is more that they have looked around for people who are offering positive contributions to society and they have chosen two people who bring in tourist dollars, give to charity and provide scholarships. The fact that they are gaming-related doesn't detract from these contributions nor does it indicate anything other than that Washington is willing to acknowledge the work they do.

    1. Re:Reasons by moderatorrater · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Agreed. If they only had the most popular webcomic, then they wouldn't be worth honoring. If they just did child's play, then they might or might not be, depending on the day. For single-handedly bringing the largest game expo in north america to their state that normally wouldn't have seen it probably would be worth honoring them for. Put all three together and it's a slam dunk.

      I'm willing to bet that the senate hasn't seen most of the content of their comic, and if you ignore the content of their webcomic, they're great guys by anyone's standards.

    2. Re:Reasons by gknoy · · Score: 1

      Even with the content of their comic, I still think they sound like awesome people. I am continually impressed at the wonder that they will express at such things as the joys of fatherhood.

  3. Not Once, But Twice by rsmith-mac · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They were actually honored by the Washington Legislature twice, once from the Senate and once from the House. Of course I suspect that this has far more to do with PAX bringing in 50k+ visitors than it does with anything else, but hey, an honor is an honor.

    And I think The Escapist put it best: Jack Thompson's brain is dangerously close to exploding.

    1. Re:Not Once, But Twice by socsoc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Unless Washington has some crazy new political system, a bill honoring them would need to pass through both chambers. Yes, obviously the house and senate have both honored them.

    2. Re:Not Once, But Twice by shawb · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I suspect that this has far more to do with PAX bringing in 50k+ visitors than it does with anything else

      To be fair, the file name of the PDF representing the Senate bill is called "Honoring Child's Play" and the PDF representing the House bill is called "Child's Play." At the very least the legislature is trying to make it LOOK like they are honoring the charitable aspects

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    3. Re:Not Once, But Twice by Workaphobia · · Score: 2, Funny

      Jack Thompsons ego must be rolling around in his sanity's grave right about now...

      --
      Evidently, the key to understanding recursion is to begin by understanding recursion. The rest is easy.
    4. Re:Not Once, But Twice by rsmith-mac · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not quite. They're not being honored by the State itself. If you read the resolutions, it's quite clear that they're being honored separately by the House and the Senate (although the resolutions are exactly the same, save for replacing Senate with House).

    5. Re:Not Once, But Twice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's probably angrily shaking his chelicerae in the air, and vowing to write a nasty letter to the Washington State legislators.

  4. Re:Suck my penis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    what a homosexual comment.

  5. Major Omission by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

    Don't forget Cyan. They are a Washington company and have been around quite a while.

    1. Re:Major Omission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or yellow.

    2. Re:Major Omission by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't want to irritate Magenta either. He'll levitate your ass!

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
    3. Re:Major Omission by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Cyan. They are a Washington company and have been around quite a while.

      I knew that I would probably forget at least one major WA company, which is why I said "and more". You're right, of course. They do belong in the "notable names" category.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
  6. Priorities by Dutchmaan · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Government hates video games, but it loves money!

    Give enough money and a government will love whatever you hand to it.

    1. Re:Priorities by silverkniveshotmail. · · Score: 1

      Government hates video games, but it loves money! Give enough money and a government will love whatever you hand to it.

      Why would the Washington State government hate video games or software in general? I'm not aware of any software ever doing us harm.

    2. Re:Priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Governments don't actually "hate" them. It's just that it's one of the easiest scapegoat targets they can use these days to direct bad publicity away from themselves. (Not as strong a lobbying group backing it like music or movies. :p)

    3. Re:Priorities by Sobieski · · Score: 1

      You sir, are clearly not thinking of the children!

      --
      Particles, stuff that matters.
    4. Re:Priorities by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      I like to think the lack of response is more because most people on the internet find it difficult to give a damn about someone being vaguely mean in washington after being exposed to bored Btards.

      Think of it as not feeding the trolls.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    5. Re:Priorities by slackbheep · · Score: 1

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_X Never Forget.

    6. Re:Priorities by schon · · Score: 1

      I'm not aware of any software ever doing us harm.

      Clearly you've never used Wind..

      You know what? I just can't do it. That set-up was just too easy. :)

    7. Re:Priorities by NiceGeek · · Score: 1

      Stayed away from Vista did you?

  7. Steven tyler says: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't give UP! **Insert Coin**

  8. these losers should NOT be honored by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gabe is a complete tool. Unbelievably arrogant. Don't believe me? Check out accounts of his behavior at Foolscap when he was guest keynote speaker with Harlan Ellison. He acted like a total douche.

    1. Re:these losers should NOT be honored by Man+On+Pink+Corner · · Score: 3, Funny

      If you're sharing a stage with Harlan Ellison, you'd damn well better crank up your douche factor, or nobody will even notice you're there.

    2. Re:these losers should NOT be honored by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/09/26/ are the relevant posts. Draw your own conclusions.

  9. Stop your foolin' around Mr. Ellison by justinlee37 · · Score: 1

    Mr. Ellison, is that you?