Penny Arcade skins for Xbox 360

[zangster]

It looks like the fine folks at Penny Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com) Industries will be among the first to take part in microtransactions on Xbox 360:

Those of you who are lucky enough to find an Xbox 360 here in a couple days will get a cool surprise. You will be able to download Penny Arcade skins and avatars to customize your Xbox Live experience. These items will be available via the new marketplace feature in Live.
Please note that Gabe and Tycho are pretty cynical about things so for them to be involved says a lot.

[Evil Avatar]

Please note that Gabe and Tycho are pretty cynical about things so for them to be involved says a lot.

I think it says, "Ka-Ching!!!"

[kizke]

I think it says, "Ka-Ching!!!"

My, someone's cynical. :p

I haven't had reason to doubt their integrity yet.

[Evil Avatar]

My, someone's cynical. :p

I haven't had reason to doubt their integrity yet.

Who said anything about integrity? What is wrong with getting paid for their work?

[*Legion*]

Not necessarily from PA, but I would spend some pocket change on a neat skin from the Marketplace.

Not a ton of them, but once or twice, sure.

[TheKeck]

We don't see eye to eye on the role of "micros" as they relate to the working artist, though - that's true. As I have said in the past, I vastly prefer macropayments.

Interesting that he said this today on the site. Seems a little contradictory. (Not that I'm trying to "expose" the PA guys or anything. I LOVE PA!)

[bapenguin]

Interesting that he said this today on the site. Seems a little contradictory. (Not that I'm trying to "expose" the PA guys or anything. I LOVE PA!)

I think what he's saying is a joke...as in...he'd rather get a whole bunch of money instead of a little bit.

[mister_slim]

I think it says, "Ka-Ching!!!"
There will be an EvAv skin, right?

Tell your masters at MS we want one. :p

[Nite_Moogle]

I'm sure that Microsoft has figured out that as PA goes, so go about 50,000-100,000 gamers. So getting them on board for the skins and whatnot goes a long way to getting their business model up and running.

[bapenguin]

There will be an EvAv skin, right?

Tell your masters at MS we want one. :p

How bout a Faceplate? (http://my.1up.com/media?id=2471599)

[Achilles]

I must say the skins for the “blades” look amazing. I haven’t seen PA’s skins but having a beautiful high-def picture up on every blade, which is pretty much constructed it seems around showing off the art on the blade, takes desktop wallpaper to the next level. The fact that every game that comes out will have a host of images that let you deck your 360’s UI out in that game’s look is a huge plus.

As an art nut, putting high-def images up on the blades is actually one of the things I'm looking forward to most about the 360 and I'm sure PA's art will sell very well and look amazing on there.

[Heretic Machine]

Whelp, that means that about ten minutes after I get my 360 hooked up this weekend (or possibly Monday) I'll have to buy something off the marketplace.

[Serapth]

Whelp, that means that about ten minutes after I get my 360 hooked up this weekend (or possibly Monday) I'll have to buy something off the marketplace.

You just said that to gloat your getting yours early... didntcha? didncha? :D

[rein]

You just said that to gloat your getting yours early... didntcha? didncha? :D

Every chance he gets... :D

[Chagrinful]

They are funny clowns when you think of it, they used to be against pimping a product over every possible medium, good ol' integrity always looses to the mighty dollar.

[Heretic Machine]

You just said that to gloat your getting yours early... didntcha? didncha?

*shoves bapenguin's flayed body into a tub of salt*

Gloat? Why, I never :p

But seriously, I'll be buying this skin, as long as it's reasonablly priced.

[Wonka]

They are funny clowns when you think of it, they used to be against pimping a product over every possible medium, good ol' integrity always looses to the mighty dollar.

Actually I think your comment is way out of line Chagrinful. I notice that they still don't whore their website out. They seem to be quite selective in who they let advertise there, and I have never once seen a popup add there. They do have some selected adds on their site, but these guys have to eat too you know...

I think that this is pretty simple really. These guys have families to feed. If MS is going to help them do that I don't see a problem with it. I would like to wish them the best of luck as they try to make cash in a new medium. And honestly if the idea of a theme somehow STILL offends you, then just don't buy it.



I myself might actually like to buy a PA themed gameskin. Especially if it had a cardboard tube samurai in there somewhere. That would be MUCH better than a game specific one. I just never got into any one game enough to want to skin my whole console with it. A PA theme just sounds more "universal" somehow.

[Achilles]

This is no different than them selling Cardboard Tube Samurai posters or compilation art books. People who say they’re sellouts need to get their heads checked.

[earthworm48]

I must say on t he subject of PA, I still find it odd this year that Tycho has said he is going away from PC gaming for various reasons (this is since E3 this year, with 3 newsposts specifically highlighting it) and I personally find it odd as while his reasons are definately correct, Tycho has always been the PC gamer of the two!

[Roc Ingersol]

yeah they totally jumped the shark when they started trying to make a living by whoring themselves out to new mediums. I mean, comics? on teh interwebs? :rolleyes:
what sellouts.

[TheKeck]

I think what he's saying is a joke...as in...he'd rather get a whole bunch of money instead of a little bit.

Hmmmm, maybe it went over my head.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I must say on t he subject of PA, I still find it odd this year that Tycho has said he is going away from PC gaming for various reasons (this is since E3 this year, with 3 newsposts specifically highlighting it) and I personally find it odd as while his reasons are definately correct, Tycho has always been the PC gamer of the two!

Do you by any chance have the links to these specific newsposts? I'd love to read them, but really don't want to dig through the whole archive.

Unfortunately I stopped reading PA back in March when I disconnected my internet, and I haven't had the time to even try to catch up on it since.

[earthworm48]

Sure:

E32K5: New Sensation, in this section the last paragraph was the first (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/05/25)
Last paragraph of first post, note look at the next newspost day, he tells us he preordered his 360 immediately after he posted (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/08/19)
Most recent, the paragraph that starts with "It's not even" (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/10/24)

There was an interview from Slashdot last november were he said consoles generally aren't his bag, and prefers PCs, so it was definately after what he saw this E3 that changed his mind.

[Balthasar]

Please note that Gabe and Tycho are pretty cynical about things so for them to be involved says a lot.

I really don't see what their cynicism has to do with them trying to essentially sell merchandise through Live. All this would seem to say is that they don't mind making an extra buck.

[Balthasar]

I think what he's saying is a joke...as in...he'd rather get a whole bunch of money instead of a little bit.

No actually, it's not a joke at all. Tycho has contended for some time that, at least in their arena, one should not have to pay for individual comics--or more appropriately, few people would enjoy their site if they did that. Rather, they think the optimal route to generating revenue is to give content in whole (that is, litterally, everything), and thus have whatever revenues you contribute be, in essense, for everything. It's much more complicated than that, seeing as how they don't charge for site access, but instead use their free site access to generate ad revenue and promote merchandise. They've also had other methods of revenue creation in the early years, but that's besides the point. It's been a huge point of contention between Tycho and Scott McCloud for years.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Sure:

E32K5: New Sensation, in this section the last paragraph was the first (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/05/25)
Last paragraph of first post, note look at the next newspost day, he tells us he preordered his 360 immediately after he posted (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/08/19)
Most recent, the paragraph that starts with "It's not even" (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/10/24)

There was an interview from Slashdot last november were he said consoles generally aren't his bag, and prefers PCs, so it was definately after what he saw this E3 that changed his mind.


Thanks, you rock!

[TheKeck]

No actually, it's not a joke at all. Tycho has contended for some time that, at least in their arena, one should not have to pay for individual comics--or more appropriately, few people would enjoy their site if they did that. Rather, they think the optimal route to generating revenue is to give content in whole (that is, litterally, everything), and thus have whatever revenues you contribute be, in essense, for everything. It's much more complicated than that, seeing as how they don't charge for site access, but instead use their free site access to generate ad revenue and promote merchandise. They've also had other methods of revenue creation in the early years, but that's besides the point. It's been a huge point of contention between Tycho and Scott McCloud for years.

Yeah, what he said. I knew there was some substance there. :)