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Reader Comments (66)

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 3:06AM snoogieboogiewoogie said

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can't say i follow music... being deaf and all. but yea judging from those pictures i can tell the nerd force is strong with them.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 3:29AM (Unverified) said

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I thought that guy was horendous. I was just there and I left halfway through his act.

I was the dude who greeted you by the side of the road Chris. Wished I would've tried for a T-Shirt.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 4:14AM (Unverified) said

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Am I the only one who could careless about this PAX stuff?

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 4:04AM CBXweb said

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Nerdcore Hip Hop is one of my more favorite songs. At the end of the day though, mc chris owns.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 4:38AM (Unverified) said

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No marcus, you are not. Those Penny Arcade guys love themselves a bit too much.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 4:52AM (Unverified) said

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Yeah, this is sad coverage and has nothing to do with video games.

Hopefully this stuff is done by tomorrow so the gaming can flow freely again.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 5:37AM (Unverified) said

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Looks like that guy got hit in the face with a hot sack of dimes, and who taught him how to dress? Yes, let's get back to the gaming coverage, if I want updates on PAX, I can go the PA site for them.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 6:01AM CBXweb said

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Maybe the people above me, including me just dont get it. Its a pretty funny web comic, but conventions, charities in the name of it? Why? I wonder if PA was turned into a animated show and how the fanboys would cry sellout.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 6:17AM mercatfat said

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You guys are amazingly oblivious to the nerd world if you don't get this post's relevence to this blog.

Posting that you couldn't care less about PAX is like saying that you couldn't care less about the Tokyo Game Show or Apple's re-release of the Lisa computer. This shit matters to a lot of people and it's just plain unnecessary to point out yourself as a complete turd like that. Unless that's what you're going for, of course.

For most of us, there's more to being a gaming nerd than just playing games.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 7:51AM (Unverified) said

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I agree with 9. Additionally, since E3 is no more, PAX is relevant to the gaming community as a fairly large gaming convention that a lot of press and gamers actually have access to. I don't understand how a gaming comic can put on a gaming convention with musicians singing about gaming and have it not be relevant to this gaming blog. Maybe that's just me.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 8:04AM (Unverified) said

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I don't usually care for MC Frontalot's type of music, but I did actually enjoy a couple of his songs. While I waited to see the Minibosses afterwards. While he was playing, I was in PictoChat on my DS, and let's just say the comments ranged from derogitory to downright scathing. When the concert let out, there was a huge crowd around the Minibosses' table, and virtually no one around his table. I actually felt kind of sorry for him, and might have bought a t-shirt or something if I'd had the cash on me.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 9:04AM (Unverified) said

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They draw comics based on their thoughts of games and the gaming industry, then they somehow gather enough money to start their own convention. Sure it's about gaming and all, but it's not E3 nor will it ever be. So I don't see why we have to be force-fed this crap.

@ #11,

You're a paradox.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 9:51AM (Unverified) said

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Re: #9, the problem is not that this PAX shit is uninteresting to some of us or that it's nerdy. The problem is that it's so tangentially related to gaming culture as to be unnewsworthy. I submit that a play-by-play of a forum for Penny Arcade fans to gather and circle-jerk is a waste of space on the Joystiq front page.

And you'll forgive me if I question whether you're qualified to speak for "most of" Joystiq's readership.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 10:30AM (Unverified) said

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You'll forgive me for preferring a gaming convention where gamers actually get to have fun playing games to a convention where gaming industry "journalists" are fed PR bullshit that they can regurgitate as news.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 10:31AM (Unverified) said

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I do tend to agree. Gamers as a majority tend to care about games that they play, and not other people playing them. I know personally I could give 2 shits about these unknown bands playing Guitar Hero, its just un-interesting crap. The guys at penny arcade really do love themselves far too much and these ego feeding news reports dont help.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 10:30AM (Unverified) said

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Don't like the article? Don't read it!

I love this PAX stuff, wish I could be there. It's kind of cost and time prohibitive though when you live on the exact opposite side of the country though.

And regardless what anyone might think, Penny Arcade is relavent to gaming and gaming culture. Just because you don't like them doesn't make it not so.

It's like saying Joystiq isn't a relevent part of gaming culture. It's just some guys that post on a blog about stuff they find interesting in the gaming world. And if you find that to be at all accurate of Joystiq, then why are you here reading anything in the first place?

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 10:36AM (Unverified) said

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Also, there are times when I see something covered on this site that I couldn't care less for, but do you see me crying about it and posting that that stuff shouldn't be on Joystiq? No, because I know that even if I don't like it, I know that others do.

Respect your fellow readers and just pass the article if you don't like it.

It's the weekend anyways, what gaming "news" do you think is going to pop up that PAX coverage will take away from? Do you honostly think that if there's something else interesting on the web or in the news that the rest of the Joystiq bloggers will just gloss over it because of PAX coverage?

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 10:39AM (Unverified) said

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So many nerds and emos at pax .. and not a woman in sight. Yea, where do i sign up?

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 10:50AM (Unverified) said

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I don't get why you guys don't like PAX. It's like saying the Oscars isn't newsworthy. What's wrong with having celebrities in gaming?

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 10:58AM (Unverified) said

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headn00b, jealousy, that's what's wrong with gaming celebrities. Just read the comments on any article discussing Fatal1ty. Some people just can't handle not being one of those famous people.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 4:01PM WatTsu said

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I guess you can say whatevr you want about Penny Arcade, but at the end of the day, they are really the only gaming webcomic that makes me laugh and that I can stand on a regular basis.

I feel any other criticisms are moot, at least to me, by this point.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 11:13AM (Unverified) said

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Its hard to consider folks like Tycho or Fatal1ty as gaming celebrities.

To use baseball as a comparison, we'd have folks like Miyamoto as short stop or Cliffy B as the third baseman (the real celebrities). A person like Tycho would be that team's number one fan. He isn't directly responsible for the team's victory but he's essential since he buys tickets, merchandise, etc.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 11:28AM (Unverified) said

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t 21.

I disagree. While it's not as obvious, mediums like Penny Arcade have big influences on gaming. Just because they aren't necissarily the ones crafting the games doesn't mean they don't affect them in a substantial way.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 11:42AM (Unverified) said

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@headnoob: "I disagree. While it's not as obvious, mediums like Penny Arcade have big influences on gaming. Just because they aren't necissarily the ones crafting the games doesn't mean they don't affect them in a substantial way."

Care to elaborate? Beyond what Kid Chemical said, I can't see any influence on the direct production of gaming. Except maybe that Jack Thompson game.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 11:47AM (Unverified) said

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You're a humongous nerd and you need a life you think this nerdcon has meaning to life.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 11:49AM (Unverified) said

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Wow

For some of you it's like Penny Arcade ran over you kid or something.

Penny Arcade is relevent to gaming. To say they aren't is possibly one of the most ignorant statements I've heard yet. They are a site almost completely devoted to gaming. They blog about games and make comics about games. They are just as relevent to the gaming community as Joystick...actually maybe more so since they are creating content instead of just reporting on news from other sites and lightly commenting on it. Tycho's front page might not have clearly defined articles about gaming news and sections marked game review with a 1-5 star rating, but he does review games and report of gaming news. Hows is that not relevant to the gaming community.

It is starting to sounds like you guys are jealous, because your arguements are totally illogical...and bitter.

How is a convention solely devoted to the gaming community not relevent to the gaming community. Please explain that one agian for me. Please fill me in because that would be some impressive rhetoric.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 11:54AM (Unverified) said

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"24. You're a humongous nerd and you need a life you think this nerdcon has meaning to life."

Kevin you are commenting on Joystick...news alert! You are a Nerd! Deal with it dood. We are all
humongous nerds just for having this conversation. Anyone who thinks differently is in denial.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 11:57AM (Unverified) said

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I had a nightmare with this guy once in it. Scary to know he's real. *frightened*

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 12:16PM (Unverified) said

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I think people are irritated because there has only been one real newsworthy story to come out of PAX (their game) yet there have been 10 articles about PAX.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 12:31PM (Unverified) said

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Re: #17, much of what is posted on Joystiq is of little interest to me. I don't complain about it, because I fully realize that my lack of interest in a news item does not mean that it's irrelevant.

This is different. Joystiq's coverage of the trivialities of PAX like this nerd/rapper/assclown has the effect of drowning news out in noise. Hint: That's bad.

And the fact that it's the weekend doesn't mean that it's a good idea to post filler. Filler pushes more relevant, albeit older, news into the archives. Hint: That's also bad.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 12:34PM (Unverified) said

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Re :#29

You explained exactly how I feel. Thanks.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 12:39PM (Unverified) said

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Oh man, I know that guy. HE SUCKS! I am all for being nerdy and I am all for hip-hop but talent has to be involved at some point.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 12:38PM (Unverified) said

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@phillosmaster:

I'll try to field some of your questions, but the abscence of punctuation makes it hard to know where your thoughts begin and end. Illogical sure is a fitting word.

I think the whole PA respect thing boils down to what they contribute. You use game reviews and game news as "contributions", but you forget to note that they haven't any basis for a respected authority on either. Their opinion is just that: opinion. Much like how yours is yours and mine is mine. Just because they share their opinion on the internet does not make them contributors to the greater scheme of the gaming culture. Every Joe Blow can post his opinion on the internet, but that doesn't make it a worthy contribution to the topic it happens to be about. If you wanted to argue for their contributions, you should have perhaps mentioned their charity work or their advertising work for the ESRB: not their one-off blog reviews and link-trading news stories. They really don't contribute that much to gaming at all: none of their information is first hand, they don't perform interviews or investigations; it's just a personal spin on already existing events.

What they have successfully done, though, is build a very strong fanbase that is paying for their lifestyle now. PAX isn't a charity event: it's bringing them in a lot of money. And surely, their game (regardless of how good or bad it is) will do the same. They're profiting off you in the exact same way as EA Sports or any developer is: you're buying their product and supporting them. It's just with PA they have a nice comical "real life gamer" fasade to hide it all.

Because, in the end, what really seperates Penny Arcade from the tons of other game-related web comics out there? Do they not contribute in the same way? No, I guess not, simply by the merit that they haven't blown up into a profit-making machine. Yet.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 12:40PM (Unverified) said

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Jeez guys. PAX is a big, fun event that is clearly relevent to this site. It's weird that the point is event being argued. 28 is right that there was only one real newsworthy story (the game), but that has never been what PAX was about; it's about a community of gamers getting together to nerd-out. Though the rest of it isn't "newsworthy," it is extremely fun and cool and I for one, enjoy reading postings that give a flavor of the fun. Having been to PAX yesterday, I can say the posting have done a great job capturing the show. Don't worry all of you folks that don't want to read about PAX; it's all over in 24 hours and then you won't have to worry about it for another year...

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:04PM (Unverified) said

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I totally agree with Dision. I had to click "next page" to see that the 360 is 10 pounds cheaper in the UK. WTF?! I am a gamer in the US and that news SHOULD NOT be on page 2.

*rolling eyes*

"I don't like the PAX articles! Boo hoo!"

Hike up your skirt Mary and keep walking. PA is relevant to gaming. They do charity events that make sick kids in hospitals happy by giving them games. They do Good Things (tm) for the gaming community and industry and are at least one piece of ammo in our salvo when people like Jack Thompson are going off about how games cause people to kill kittens.

PA is relevant. Deal. If you don't like it, patch up your skinned knee Sally and go tell your daddy, not us.

-p-

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:09PM (Unverified) said

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Pffft, he's nothing compared to mc chris.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:11PM (Unverified) said

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I rather enjoyed the PAX posts - hopefully you will do them again next year.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:11PM (Unverified) said

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Of course all of the things you mentioned with Penny Arcade are very much relevant to gaming.

"MC Frontalot busts rhymes, nercore style, at PAX"

"PAX: Typcho melts faces at Guitar Hero Omegathon challenge"

"Overheard at PAX: *crickets* (or: Gaming trivia contestants don't know jack)"

Relevant....not so much.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:11PM chrisgrant said

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Matt: if you see me again, ask me.

Everyone complaining, it's a weekend, this is the largest gaming convention in the country (now), and a great deal of your peers would be commenting in approval if they weren't busy enjoying themselves at PAX.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:27PM (Unverified) said

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My lazy punctuation does not make me illogical. It might make my posts hard to follow. I'll agree to that.

I didn't think to mention their charity or the work they did for the ESRB or the countless comics they made to promote games. All the more reason to argue that Penny Arcade is relevent. You realize the way you describe Penny Arcade makes them sound exactly like Joystick. By your logic is Joystick not relevent to the gaming community as well? They do investigate, interview, report and review. Just like every other gaming related site. They do it in an informal and unorthadox manner. Does that make it any less relevent to the culture of gaming?

Yes, Penny Arcade wants to make a profit. Welcome to America. People do things to make a profit. This is their job. Organizing an event of this magnitude is not a trivial thing. I'm not sure what you are trying to say here? Should they be doing everything for free? They aren't saints. I don't pray to Tycho every night before I go to bed. I do read his comic every now and then. If he wants to make money from a service he rendered, I am alright with that. I was under the impression that's how the system works. Why are you making it sound like a bad thing?

"what really seperates Penny Arcade from the tons of other game-related web comics out there? "

They are successful. Therefore they get exposure like this sometimes.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:39PM (Unverified) said

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Maybe you people complaining should just go check out Kotaku instead.....

oh wait, PAX stuff there too. Well surely a professional site like 1up wouldnt.....Hmmmm, They are reporting live from PAX also.

I guess the whole internet is wrong and you 3 or 4 whiners know what is relevant in gaming.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 2:47PM (Unverified) said

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If PA isn't newsworthy, then neither is Jack Thompson or CliffyB. If you don't like what Joystiq posts, go read GameInformer; they don't have such frivolous nonsense as Centipede reenacted with muffins.

Angry nonsense aside, I always wondered what MC Frontalot looked like. I love his fashion sense.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:46PM (Unverified) said

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Re #40:
Kotaku has always sucked.

1up is for attention whore hipsters.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 1:49PM (Unverified) said

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Re: #9

But that's the thing, this only has to do with PENNY-ARCADE. Not Gaming in general. Comparing this to the Tokyo Game show is ridiculous. At the Tokyo Game Show companies set up booths and announce the latest games while showing off their most hyped games with trailers, screenshots and etc. More or less a mini E3.

What does PAX do? Lame Guitar Hero Concerts, contests, and Q&A. Nothing interesting or really relevant to gaming. Oh wait, they have their own videogame that no one outside their fanbase will buy. Whoopiedoo.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 2:21PM (Unverified) said

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RE: #13

Chris you don't seem to understand that a good gaming site listens to the people that browses it's site. If the
majority or at least decent number of people complain to Joystiq they want them to stop covering some meaningless event that they don't care about and want them to stop, then the people who run the site should at the very least hear them out.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 2:28PM (Unverified) said

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"Chris you don't seem to understand that a good gaming site listens to the people that browses it's site. If the
majority or at least decent number of people complain to Joystiq they want them to stop covering some meaningless event that they don't care about and want them to stop, then the people who run the site should at the very least hear them out."

Its people like you who ruin fun for everyone else. A few people whine about things everybody else likes, and then they just try to ruin it.

Kinda like those anti-video game activists, right? If enough people complain about a certain video game, or a decent number, the government should just bend over and ban it for all the whiners.

For the love of God, get over it. Don't read it if you don't like it. I didn't think it was that hard.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 2:32PM (Unverified) said

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Maybe Joystiq could just make a Penny-Arcade or Webcomic Fanboy section or something. Then everybody would be happy?

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 2:37PM chrisgrant said

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Jenga: Don't flatter yourself. We've got a fair amount of readers, and I don't think complaints that I could count without taking my shoes off constitutes a failure on our part to reconsider our editorial coverage. Seriously, it's the weekend. Go outside. Read a book. Bake a cake. We're not pulling fucking teeth here, just relaxe and it'll all be over very very soon.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 2:43PM (Unverified) said

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RE: #46

Funny thing is, I'm baking a chocolate cake as we speak.

Posted: Aug 27th 2006 3:41PM (Unverified) said

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Gameinformer, that's a good idea.

I do believe that website would be about video games, not webcomic conventions. You know, video games. Fashionable idea.

Link for those interested: http://www.gameinformer.com

It's also interesting that the owner of this site can't... count past... ten? Wow. As an arrogant person, Grant's response was more arrogance than I'm used to. Amusing, somewhat. Eleven comes after ten, btw.

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