In a session for developers hoping to have their downloadable titles noticed on XBLA and PSN, the panel, which included Capcom, Hothead Games, Backbone and Jonathan Blow, agreed that these games should avoid releasing during the holidays. With strong competition from major titles at retail during the holiday season, the group agreed that downloadable games are best served avoiding the rush.

Age of Booty was used as an example of a solid game that was crushed under the tidal wave of the holiday releases. Downloadable games apparently see a dramatic drop in sales between late September until December. Although developers don't really have control over when Microsoft or Sony release their games, Blow noted that they'd want "March or June or August" as a release date and for downloadable games to "stay away from Christmas."

The PlayStation Blog gives word that the second episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness will be available today on the PSN.

PAA: OtR-SPoD: Ep. 2 features Trophy support and, unlike the first installment, the option to change difficulty settings. The fruit-fracking mini-RPG will cost $15 and should be available as soon as the PSN update occurs later in the day.

Microsoft, it would seem, has no pity whatsoever for our aching bank accounts (or cash stuffed mattresses, these days), as it has been officially announced that Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode 2 will arrive on Xbox Live Arcade next Wednesday, October 29. The game includes many new gameplay features, including extra difficulty modes, completion tracking, and the ability to transfer Episode One characters into the game. The game will also feature music from The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a rock group devoted to the writing of H. P. Lovecraft. Perhaps best of all -- and certainly most interesting -- PAAOTRSPDE2 will cost 1200 Microsoft Points, a full $5 less than the 1600 point Episode One. Find another video after the break.

The second episode of Penny Arcade Adventure: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, is coming next Wednesday, October 29, for Xbox Live Arcade, Windows, Mac and Linux. According to the press release, the PC versions will be available via Greenhouse. As previously revealed, the episode will cost $15 for all platforms. No word on the PlayStation 3 release. Episode One will finally be hitting the PS Store tomorrow, or six days before everyone else gets the sequel.

It's been a long(ish) wait for PlayStation 3 owners, but the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is finally landing on the North American PlayStation Network this Thursday, October 23rd. Other regions will follow "shortly thereafter," notes the press release.

In addition to gaining Trophies, custom soundtrack support and a score ranking feature, PS3 gamers will receive a "thanks for waiting" discount in the game's lower, $15 price. The Mac, PC and Linux versions on Greenhouse have also dropped to $15 -- good news for Penny Arcade fans and people who don't write for Edge.

Last week during PAX 2008, we sat down with Hothead COO and Penny Arcade Adventures Producer Joel DeYoung as he guided us through Episode 2 and improvements to the engine. The gist of it is: if you liked Episode 1, you'll like Episode 2 that much more. Here's the rundown from our talks:

• Highlighting points of interest has been made easier! "If you have your proximity putting you close enough to 2 or 3 things, you can slide through that with bumpers," said DeYoung.
  
• There are now difficulty levels, including an Insane Mode (unlockable only after beating the game). Special collectibles and pickups are only available if you play Insane Mode. Comparatively, Episode 1's difficulty is "a little easier" than medium.
• All the weapons have been replaced. Tycho gets a shotgun, Gabe has new fist upgrades and your player now possesses -- wait for it -- a hoe! Also changed are the special attack minigames.
  
• You now have, among other new items, a revive potion. Healing won't be enough to bring your troops back to life. "Just adds a little bit of depth to it," said DeYoung.
• The real-time reaction for defense has been made more obvious (e.g. "Block!" now appears when you need to push block), but nothing analogous for attacking has been added.

More after the break.

While Hothead is busy pimping its upcoming Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 2, let's not forget about its other, simpler-titled project DeathSpank. The company has released three new teaser trailers for the snarky title ("Fight" is shown above), built from the ground up with Joystiq's own Ludwig Kietzmann in mind as the target demographic.

During last weekend's Penny Arcade Expo, Hothead COO Joel DeYoung said he considered the game a "more Diablo-esque" episodic action RPG with ample amounts of creator Ron Gilbert's humor, "lampooning video game space and the idea of the video game hero that takes himself too seriously." The game is not using PAA's Torque engine. More information about DeathSpank should be coming "soon," he said. After the break, check out the "Item" and "Armor" trailer. (Spoiler: Two of these three videos use the phrase "Thong of Justice.")

With PAX 2008 bringing out oodles of Penny Arcade love, why not use this opportunity to pimp the upcoming PA Adventures Episode 2? In addition to chatting with COO Joel DeYoung (that aftermath of which will be published early this week), Hothead Games sent us more than a dozen new screenshots, including a few that are just for us (we feel touched by that, although on that note we wonder if some of them are creepy subliminal messages to us). PAA:OTRSPoD Episode 2 is due out later this year.

Oh, how you yearned for their unrestrained chuckles -- their sparkling smiles -- to be transformed into naught but a cacophony of wailing and ceaseless misery. What gave them the right? Was it their fancy PCs, Macs and Xbox 360s? Did they so enjoy coasting down The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness on their technological toboggans that they couldn't even cast a single glance towards you, sitting atop a lonely and immobile PlayStation 3? Well, when the snow falls again this Winter, revenge will be yours.

Also, Trophies! Posting on the official PlayStation Blog (they let anybody on there these days), Hothead producer Joel DeYoung confirmed that the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures would arrive on PSN before the end of the year, complete with Trophy support and 1080p resolution. "Looking back, I think it's a shame that we weren't able to release the PS3 version closer to the initial launch of the game," he said.

With the game's engine now up and running on the hardware, DeYoung expects that future episodes will arrive on Sony's platform in a more timely fashion. No more being left out in the cold, our monolithic friend.

For this week's XBLA in Brief, we welcome the arrival of (ahem) Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One. The first in a series of four episodes, Penny Arcade Adventures presents the very first episodic game to grace Microsoft's download service. The question that remains is whether or not it's any good. After our experience with the trial version, we'd say that it is (so long as you like Penny Arcade, role-playing games, adventure games or, even better, all three). Check out the video to find out if On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is for you.

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Developer Hothead Game just announced that Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One has gone gold for Windows, Mac and Linux. The press release is a good reminder that right now, somewhere in the world, someone is playing the full version of the game and you're not.

There, there, we know, it'll get better over time, promise ... okay, you're gonna need to stop making that whimpering noise, it's starting to get people's attention and it's embarrassing to both yourself and to us. PAA:OtRSPoD:E1 is due out "later this quarter" via their new Greenhouse download service for $20. The game is also coming to Xbox Live, potentially in another quarter, for 1600 MS points (US $20). In the meantime, enjoy some new wallpapers.

Penny Arcade and Hothead Games -- the developer behind On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness -- have just announced a joint partnership to launch Greenhouse, a brand new online game store, focused on digital distribution for independent games.

Not to be mistaken for a downloadable client application (like GameTap and Steam), Greenhouse is simply a website for digital distribution, putting it in direct competition with fellow indie game portal Manifesto Games. The site, which is currently in beta, will initially be the exclusive download source for Precipice, offering the PC, Mac, and Linux versions. Later, more Hothead Games will be distributed via the service, along with other indie offerings.

While the digital distribution market is getting a bit saturated as of late, let's hope Greenhouse's platform-agnostic approach to publishing keeps the service on our radar.

The XBLA game with the overly long title of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One finally got some real details. Hothead games, the developer, released the game's final price, $19.99 (1600 MSpts). It remains to be see how the game will sell with a relatively high (for an XBLA game) price. It also remains to be seen what form of episodic game Penny Arcade Adventures will end up being. With a price of twenty dollars it seems more likely to be Half Life 2 style episodes (which debuted at the same price). The only other real episodic gaming example that would apply would be the Sam and Max episodes. Those however are $8.95 and have a monthly release cycle. What path PAA takes remains to be seen, but if it does end up following the Half Life 2 model, expect at least a trilogy of games with an overarching story across them all.

Via Joystiq

Hothead Games today punched its rambling epic, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One (phew!), with a $19.95 price tag. That's just over 30 cents a letter (colons not included), assuming cost is derived, as it is for all episodic games, by the title's length. Currently, that price applies to all versions of the game, which include PC, Mac, Linux and Xbox Live Arcade editions. 1600 Microsoft Points ($20) would be new territory for digital distribution on Xbox 360, but clearly, Hothead and its two stars have made it a point to be living on the edge.

PC, Mac and Linux specs are posted after the break.