PAX AUS 2013: Expo Hall, Nintendo, Ubisoft and Framed!

I've been reading Penny Arcade since 2000-2001. That's a good 13 years and almost half my life. That's a crazy thought, to have read a webcomic three times a week for that long. Over the years it's grown from a simple webcomic about games and gamers into a multi-headed hydra. It's now a charity, a TV series, a video game itself, a tabletop game, a podcast and a reality show. The crown jewel in this multi-headed beast is the Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX for short. Held in Seattle and later in Boston PAX is widely regarded as the best gaming expo for actual gamers.

After months of rumours it came out that the third PAX added to the annual circuit (after Prime in Seattle and East in Boston) would be based right here in Australia. Melbourne to be exact. With little hesitation I snagged a couple of three day passes and book the cheapest, nastiest flights I could find (Tiger fit the bill).

My love for comic and pop culture conventions is widely known, but how different would a gaming con? Especially an international heavyweight like PAX? Hit the jump and find out!

Interview Time with Andy Goergen of Nintendo World Report and 8-Bit Acrylic!

Andy Goergen is involved with a few different video game things you might not be familiar with, but should be. A friend of mine for a number of years now, he was gracious enough to take some time to talk about what's going on with Nintendo, video games in general, and other endeavors. He has a interesting perspective on Nintendo that I hadn't considered, and it's a good reminder that I have to reclaim a high score in a game we both play...

Andy can be found at Nintendo World Report (Twitter and Facebook) and 8 Bit Acrylic (Etsy and Facebook).

Perth Supanova 2013 Round Up: The A to Z of Supanova!

So pop culture expo, Perth Supanova 2013, was a rollicking success that we still haven't quite recovered from. It's an overwhelming amount of craziness to cover, so - seeing as how we're one of the few semi-literate sites left on the 'net - we're going to start by getting all fancy... and do an A to Z of some of our highlights from the weekend. Jacinta and I took a hell of a lot of photos, so from Ariel to Zombies we have you covered...

Full images and commentary after the jump! Hopefully it will tide you over until our more in-depth coverage and supastar celebrity interviews start landing very soon. 

ONWARD! There's something here for everyone...

Retro Review: Nintendo Game Pack Trading Cards!

This past weekend we ventured to a vintage market where, amongst dusty LP’s, burlesque prints, and fancy hats, I managed to find some sealed packs of classic Nintendo Game Pack trading cards for a mere two dollars a (waxy) pack. I didn’t know what was lurking inside - I didn’t even need to know - all I knew is that I needed them and that I’d force you to hear all about them. Even though, let’s be honest, Nintendo is notoriously sissy. DON’T HIT ME! (Or should that be “ineffectually slap” me?).

Join me after the jump and we will crack these cards open and ROFL at the gloriously retro art and fun to be had inside. Or should I have spent that $4 on a coffee? Let’s find out!

Nintendo Wii U Zombie Video Shows That You Too Can Be An Annoying Jerk!

Here's a four-minute "skit" from Nintendo which shows off the variety of communication features built into their upcoming Wii U console. And what better way to show off these features than utilise the memorable overacting of The Annoying Nasal Nerd, Douchebag Warren and Comedy Grandpa. You can be like all these jerks when you harness the power of the Wii U! It makes wrestling that giant controller a dream! But enough of me! Take a look for yourself...



A couple of things...

I already do most of these things with my iPhone. I check forums and watch videos when ever I'm stuck, or can even twitter/facebook/email/phone friends. I can even Skype them or use face-time without having to get up and place my phone in front of the television like the hilarious character portrayed in this video. So if that's the selling point I'm not quite convinced.

Secondly, have you seen the "community" on the existing online consoles? Is that something you're desperate to be a part of? Will the Wii U make it easier for me to converse with barely literate rednecks hollering homophobic slurs? I can't wait to spend more time with those guys!

Am I off-base here? Did I miss something important while watching the clever interplay of the various characters? Let me know why this is a good idea in the barren comments section below.

Kickstart the Week: Epic Mario by Zachary Pollock

This is something that I would love to see get made.





I've personally tried to make video game images, pixel by pixel out of Lego bricks, but it's insane. The NES screen resolution was 256 x 240 pixels, which means one screen has 61,440 pixels. If you needed to use single 1x1 bricks at the Lego.com price of .10 each.. each screen would cost you over $6,000. Luckily, Super Mario Bros had a solid blue background for most of the level, and a 16 x 16 plate can be used, bringing the cost of each background pixel down to less than 2 cents each.

Another issue with Lego is the amount of colors available. The NES had a color palette of 48 colors and 6 greys. Lego has that many, but not in every piece. The amount of colors that are readily available is way less than 48. But it's close enough to make work, especially in the earlier less detailed video game designs.

It would take a miracle to hit the goal within the next three days, but Kickstarter miracles do happen. Plus at the pledge levels of $25 and above, you get a pixel by pixel Lego recreation of level specific items, characters, and even full scenes. If some of the big gaming sites took notice, this could still be successful. Anyone up for sending some emails to Kotaku, Joystiq, IGN, G4TV, 1up, etc..? :)

Epic Mario on Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plaidsquirrel/epic-mario

Super Button Mashers - Retro Video Game Art Gallery

Steff Bomb, designer plush extraordinare, is back with another amazing hand-crafted creation. This time it's a plush original Game Boy (with Tetris cartridge!)

Steff made this exclusively for the Super Button Mashers art show, which opened in Chicago last week.

A group exhibition where artists pick a video game (be it arcade or family console) from their past or present and reinterpret in their individual vision. - OhNoDoom.com

Click through the jump for a collection of images from the exhibit, kindly provided by Andrew Hayward (http://www.andrewhayward.org). Andrew writes for such awesome publications as Nintendo Power, Paste Magazine, The Escapist, and everything else that you probably read.  :)

3DS Ambassadors!! Guide To Your 10 FREE GameBoy Advance Games.

If you bought the 3DS on launch day, or even launch month.. Nintendo has a sweet Christmas gift for you!  Not only do they consider you a 3DS Ambassador, but the second wave of free games came out this week.  It's 10 games, that are 10 times better than the first batch.

Which games? How do I get them? Wheeee?!

Click through the jump, my fellow Ambassador.

Mario Kart 7 - Two Sentence Review!

First thought: more of the same.
Second thought: that's exactly what I want from Mario Kart.

Advanced Zelda gaming

Man this game seems hard! I don't know if I'm fit or agile or Stephen Chow enough to play Skyward Sword

Movember day 23: The Mario Bros

How can you not be hooked on these brothers? Look at those stashes!

now swing your hands side to side

Yes live action rapping Mario is a thing that exists. I have no idea what is going on at the start of that video but it looks amazing. These vids are the intro and end credits for the Super Mario cartoon

I've always wondered if the names are Mario Mario and Luigi Mario. Or if Mario's first name is something like Patrick or Jones or maybe it is just Super. That would be a bit of a burn on Luigi by their parents.

Oh one last thing I learnt from watching this cartoon is that the Mario brothers are from Brooklyn.

Zelda Raps

Time for some Zelda Rap videos since a few new ones have turned up

Hit the jump for some more Zelda rap goodness

Phoenix Wright the live action movie

OHHHHHHH YEAHHHHHH!

Phoenix Wright is the greatest DS game and greatest crime solving game ever made (its gameplay destroys LA go eff yourself Noire) and they've brought on the great Takeshi Miike(13 assassins, Audition and Ichi the killer) to turn it into a film. Honestly you couldn't have picked a more suited director to handle this content

I love this comment from youtube:

America: "You know, the source material is a little weird, we'll have to tone it down for the movie."

Japan: "You know, the source material is a little weird, BUT FUCK IT LET'S DO IT ANYWAY."

true dat yo indeed youtube commentor

Go Vacation

manly tears

Mistaken hero identities

The Amazing Anatomical Pop Culture Sculpture of Jason Freeny!

Here's what we know about Jason Freeny: He's an artist. He's awesome. And we should visit his site, worship, and purchase from him. He's also literally pulling apart some of our favourite pop culture icons to see what makes them tick.

The Staypuft Marshmallow Man is full of delicious marshmallows, right? No. He actually has a skeleton and internal organs. Which makes it all the more tragic when he dies in a fire:

Join me after the jump to see a few more of my favourites, and learn a little bit more about the man!

Review: Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program! The First Ten Free Games!

So apparently I am one (of about 25) Nintendo 3DS suckers who paid full price for the system at launch. Since mid August it took a rather dramatic $100 price drop, so the sheepish Nintendo have contacted me to assure me that I'm not actually a sucker after all - I'm actually an AMBASSADOR. An ambassador! Well that changes everything! I feel important! Like Ambassador Jar Jar Binks!

But (the sheepish, won't-look-me-in-the-eye) Nintendo are making good by gifting me today with 10 free downloadable classic NES games!

More on this eggplant bullshit later!

Now, we have a lot of old school Nintendo fans that write for the site, but I'm unforgivably not one of them. In fact, most of these classics I have never even played in my life!

So join me after the jump as I review my ten free games after playing them for the first time!