The success of Penny Arcade happened gently. Over the years, two guys from Seattle went from drawing a funny comic strip about video games on the internet to slowly building a multi-million dollar empire. It now encompasses two colossal video game expos every year, a web TV show, an episodic game, mountains of merchandise and recently, a games journalism branch.
During this rise and rise of Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, they’ve helped bring video games into the spotlight for people who once had no understanding of them beyond the unfortunate ‘Grand Theft Auto Blamed For School Shooting’ style headlines. Through various bold initiatives such as their Child’s Play charity and exposing the hypocrisy of such anti-gaming media personalities like Jack Thompson, the two have now progressed far beyond the hard times when they were bullied at school for being hardcore Dungeons & Dragons fans. Good for them.
During this ascent to fame and fortune however, something happened under the surface. I first noticed it when I read a Wired interview with them in 2007. Krahulik says about being bullied:
“One time in high school, someone broke into my locker and stole my stuff, so I had to wear gym clothes for the rest of the day,” he says, wincing at the memory. “I developed humor as a defense mechanism. Now I drive a fucking Mercedes.”
Okay. Nerds overcoming adversity, that’s great. But I couldn’t help but notice the twinge of anger, still very present in Krahulik’s words. It struck me as a bit of a grudge. A grudge which remained years after they were no longer high school students. In the end, I dismissed it. Who cares, right?
In the years following this interview, their success and eventual influence in the video game industry grew in size. Not only has their fan base increased many times over, but the launch of the Penny Arcade Expo began their increasingly large position of being able to direct how video games are shown to the public. Their Seattle-based convention (and the second Boston-based equivalent) draws thousands of people each year as it is the foremost public video game convention in the world. Which is great since the annual Entertainment Software Association’s larger Los Angeles-based convention, E3, is a little harder for the average person to gain entry to. But PAX, as it is known, now commands demo booths from every top game publisher and developer. Multi-million dollar companies now come to them to show their products to the public. This is such an incredible turnaround of the pair’s influence, the long dead memories of being treated badly in school now seemingly completely reversed.
Late last year, the ‘Ocean Marketing’ fiasco happened. A public relations manager became internet famous for being a complete bastard towards a customer. The customer contacted Penny Arcade and a tragically hilarious saga ensued. The manager involved lost any credibility, his company’s name and reputation were ruined forever and Penny Arcade laughed all the way to the hilarity bank.
The PR manager involved (Paul Christoforo) was and remains a scumbag, that isn’t in question. But in the space of a single post (including his email and phone number), a web comic site destroyed a man’s life. Forever he’ll be known as ‘the Ocean Marketing douche’ and that black mark will follow him until he dies. The company’s name was dragged through the mud and garnered stains that will never wash off. That is power you can’t just buy or gain overnight. Penny Arcade launched an internet lynch mob and revelled in the consequences. The whole situation was ugly and seemed worlds away from a web comic about video games. Again, that feeling of anger was evident. This time it was directed, with a cheeky “I’ll just leave this here” statement when publishing Christoforo’s contact details for their fans to devour like ravenous wolves. It was clear they knew what the were doing and the reality of their influence was obvious for everyone to see. Penny Arcade were not to be trifled with.
In February of this year, Penny Arcade branched out into games journalism with The PA Report, a sub-arm of their comic. Hiring former Ars Technica editor Ben Kuchera to run things as Senior Editor, the mantra planted at the top of the site was this:
“Games Journalism” is broken. Many sites suffer from forced output cycles, “news” about cakes, and playing along with the industry PR machine. We can do better.
Ambitious, to say the least. To go from making jokes about load times to actively claiming the journalism covering their hobby is not good enough takes some passion and long-term vision. The PA Report set out to highlight what it believed to be quality games writing in their ‘The Cut’ section, republishing carefully chosen articles from other websites and writing some of their own previews and interviews.
From the start, there was an inherent risk to the mission statement that they and Kuchera had in mind. Before even publishing a single article, if your aim is say certain parts of your industry isn’t good enough and you’ve started a section of your site to ‘fix it’, then you have to be careful not come across as arrogant.
The PA Report haven’t been careful.
In the months since launch, it is true they have brought to light some truly stellar pieces of games journalism. But on the other hand, it has also become a bastion of snide, holier-than-thou statements in regards to how other games journalists, editors and sites do their jobs. Take Kuchera’s pre-E3 article for example. It was this and the following statement included in the article that made me sit up and take notice:
Let me be clear about something: A trailer is not news. It is a commercial.
Kuchera’s not wrong. But he’s also not something else: A soothsayer. Any games journalist in existence realises this to be the case and knows for a fact that the entirety of E3 is just one big commercial. This is not news. It’s as if Kuchera acts like games writers were all blind and the PA Report has suddenly allowed them to see. If a trailer isn’t news and shouldn’t be posted on games sites, then why is anyone covering E3 at all? Why don’t we all just pack up, go home and wait to see what shows up on the shelves of games stores on launch day? I get where he’s coming from but any valid message he has at heart is lost when he talks like other people in the games media are misguided children and not as learned as he is. I respected Kuchera’s work at his former site, Ars Technica, so I was surprised this at this kind of condescension. Since then, I have seen Kuchera grown inwards, joining his employers in their bitterness. More and more, he seems to spend a lot of his spare time criticising how other writers should write about games, even when they pour their heart and souls into every word.
Following E3, quite a number of issues regarding sexism and violence in gaming reared their heads. From controversial trailers and questionable game design motives, it seemed 2012 was becoming the final straw for many people. No longer were we satisfied to sit by and see another glut of big boobs and big guns define our beloved industry. One of the hot topics were ‘booth babes’, models employed to seductively attract male gamers to demo stations by way of not wearing many clothes. A lot of people were tired of this age-old practice and felt it was time to retire them and allow video games to grow up a little. The PA Report was among them. Kuchera published an article calling for the ban of booth babes at E3.
After reading it, my first thought was “I agree”.
My second thought was “Give me a break”.
Personally, this was the last straw for me. Since 2007, Penny Arcade has run a competition called ‘Dickerdoodles’. Their readers are asked to design cakes, make them and then send in the best pictures. Penny Arcade then chooses a winner. Here’s 2011′s winner (NSFW). As you can see, ‘Dickerdoodles’ are cakes in the shapes of erections. Some ejaculating, some dressed in clothes.
This coupled with the ‘Dickwolves‘ saga and the funding and support of hentai card games made me stop and think. You’re going to tell me to be outraged at how women are being exploited at a games convention (that isn’t yours) but on the other hand you run an annual competition that perpetuates the stereotype of fourteen-year-old males who thinks dick jokes and porn desserts are hilarious?
Fuck off.
Penny Arcade as a brand has grown to monstrous levels and their fan base have displayed such blind devotion to the pair that the video games industry, including game companies and journalists, have become fearful of crossing them. In the past, they have proved their power of crippling people and companies with a mere mention of their disapproval. If a game is featured (for good or bad) in their comic strip, this has more effect on sales than any number of reviews. When their long-standing anger comes bubbling up to the surface, it is a powerful weapon. A weapon that is starting to damage parts of this industry.
We have come a long way since the days of computer clubs and the Atari 2600. Video games are accepted in society now. Almost everyone we know plays them, whether it is on PC, consoles or mobile devices. Penny Arcade however, still seem to live in a time when the whispered approval of a role-playing game could get you beaten up in the school yard. They’re still pissed off and ready to lash out at anyone who disagrees with what they say or how they go about their business. And The PA Report appears to be a new version of an old grudge.
The video games industry can hold its head high in 2012. Sure, it still has many problems but we’ve reached the point where we can say to almost anybody that writing about, developing or publishing video games is a career choice and not be ashamed of it. It took a long time for this to happen and the future of this industry is a long road of endless possibilities. But one obstacle we need to get past is Penny Arcade’s frightening influence. They have their place, but nobody should stop to think twice before calling them out on their bullshit for fear of retaliation. If this industry remains shackled by such silly and wasteful fears, then we may as well return to a time when Dungeons and Dragons were three dirty words. I sure as hell don’t want to go back.
In that same Wired interview I mentioned before, I couldn’t help but notice the writer’s description of the pair. At the time, it rang true.
One of Penny Arcade‘s biggest attractions is that it dares to be dismissive. Most of the enthusiast press is loath to offend the publishers who provide advertising and access to their content. But if Holkins and Krahulik think the lightcycle mode in Tron 2.0 is shit, they say so, and they use the word shit. (They also stress that they don’t mean it’s “the shit.”) Teen fans love the strip for serving up such flame-war ammo.
What a difference a few years makes.
Well said, Raygun. Penny Arcade Report’s E3 intro made me sick: pretty much dismissing all E3 coverage from other providers as “marketing” while anything Kuchera put forth was to be considered thoughtful coverage. I compared the piece that he wrote on the Hitman: Absolution demo and compared it to that by Stephen Totilo of Kotaku. Totilo gave his impressions of the game, whereas Kuchera provides lengthy quotes from the producer (read: PR mouthpiece). What would you consider to be marketing? I’d say the latter.
Truth is, as much as I used to love their comic, Krahulik and Holkins have revealed themselves to be bullies in the past few years (especially with the whole Ocean Marketing incident). I’m not keen to suffer their bitterness and dismissive discourse any longer either.
Cheers Tristan!
Your most egregious error is, I think, assuming that Kuchera’s E3 post is aimed at journalists. I mean, it is, partially, but in a chiding, “you’re better than this” way – he’s not trying to educated the rest of the games media, he’s trying to slap them in the face. Gently.
If it is educative at all, it’s educative toward PA’s fanbase – he’s trying to tell them not to pay attention to trailers because they aren’t news.
There are other issues with your copy – you’re clearly holding a pretty big grudge against PA and to dismiss their audience as teenage boys holding their dicks is very petty, marginalising whatever good points you make. Which is a real shame because the actual point of your article – that nobody should be scared of pissing off PA – is perfectly valid, and one I agree with. I just think this comes across as just as much of a bitter, angry rant as anything PA have done themselves.
A rant certainly wasn’t my intention but I can understand where you’re coming from.
As far as a grudge against PA is concerned, I don’t have one. They’ve never done anything against me personally.
I’ve always had a lot of respect for the PA guys, and I think generally they do good work, but I also did a double take when I read that tweet of Ben’s that you linked to.
It’s as if he somehow boiled Katie’s whole article down to being about this one PR guy at E3, and completely missed the fact that it’s indicative of a much bigger problem in the industry. What good does he think naming and shaming this one PR guy who made a judgement error is going to do, when there’s hundreds more like him doing the exact same thing? The dude wasn’t making a conscious choice to disparage women, he just legitimately thought she wouldn’t be familiar with PC FPS gameplay mechanics.
Maybe the question we should be asking is “what made him make that assumption in the first place?”, not “What’s that dude’s name and address, so we can send the internet after him?”
And I guess that ties into what you were saying about PA having an air of defensiveness and negativity about them. They’d rather ruin another PR guy’s life instead of taking a more measured look at the cause of the problem.
Thanks!
First, Ben Kuchera is not Mike or Jerry. Why should he fuck off because Mike and Jerry think dick jokes are funny? Lots of people think dick jokes are funny. You can think a dick joke is funny without being disrespectful towards women.
I don’t think most people live in fear of Penny Arcade. I think people like you like to take a stand against them because they’re not on the feminist apologist bandwagon and will say insensitive things that are easy to point the finger at. They don’t care what you think and they won’t apologize for being funny in the way they want to be funny.
The games industry is sometimes offensive towards women. All entertainment is in some ways. That doesn’t mean crude humor should be banned or anyone that thinks dick jokes are funny is an immature child. Who are you to stand in judgement? How about you fuck off.
They won’t be bullied. They don’t care if you’re offended or you write a trendy blog post to fan the hate flames against a writer that works for the people you dislike. If you don’t like Penny Arcade, don’t read it. Are you so sensitive to the horrors of Penny Arcade that it’s very existence haunts you? That article was “the last straw” for you? Grow up.
I’m pretty embarrassed to read this.
I do think there are issues with the article (Comparing the dick cookies to booth babes is a bit problematic, for example) but when you use expressions like “feminist apologist” in a negative tone you pretty much instantly sound like the sort of person that’d angrily call Anita Sarkeesian a sexist slur.
Approaching the games industry’s sexism by saying “hey, the whole world is sexist, so who cares?” doesn’t that strike you as really missing the point?
As for your last point, you seem to be writing a disagreeing and critical comment in response to reading something you dislike and that’s totally fine but you then criticise the author for daring to do the same thing.
He won’t be bullied. He doen’t care if you’re offended or you write a trendy blog comment to fan the hate flames against a writer that says some words you dislike. If you don’t like David Rayfield, don’t read it. Are you so sensitive to the horrors of David Rayfield that it’s very existence haunts you? Grow up.
Excellent.
What’s the feminist apologist bandwagon? Is it thinking that men and women are equal? Cool. Jump aboard!
“They won’t be bullied” But they’re happy to be bullies.
Well I sure didn’t plan on ‘bullying’ them since I’m pretty sure that’s impossible to do even if I wanted to.
And it looks like you’ve missed my point on the whole thing but thanks for reading anyway! *thumbs up*
It was their process podcasts that first highlighted Krahulik’s broad ignorance – often manifesting as homophobia and tacit racism – for me. It often seems that the Holkins doesn’t contradict this stuff because he knows he’s on to a good thing; no drawing = no Penny Arcade, and those same podcasts revealed Krahulik does a surprising amount of the strip-writing. Holkin’s bizarre tap-dance around the Dickwolves debacle is a good example.
Haven’t seen any racism or homophobia personally but I don’t read the strip on a regular basis. Cheers for reading.
I think there was a podcast for the writing of this strip http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/03/16 where it was abundantly clear that Krahulik was laughing at a different joke from Holkins. The latter going for a (hardly enlightened) irony-in-macho-posturing thing; the latter basically just going “lol gays are funny and like jewellery”, or something. Not a great listen.
Not even up three hours and you already have people inferring you are a feminist apologist! GJ!!
Your quote from the early Wired article is illuminating. What’s stuck with me the most about PA and has stopped me from reading it more than the Dickwolves etc did (though that was pretty damn stupid), and what I would’ve written about myself if I had as much chutzpah as you do, is Gabe’s post after he published his conversation with Ocean Marketing http://www.penny-arcade.com/resources/an-update1.html
Quote:
“I think there is a big difference between being sorry and being sorry you got caught. I have a real problem with bullies. I spent my childhood moving from school to school and I got made fun of everyplace I landed. I feel like Paul is a bully and maybe that’s why I have no sympathy here. Someday every bully meets and even bigger bully and maybe that’s me in this case. It’s the same thing that happened with Jack Thompson. It might not always make the most business sense and it is a policy that has caused us some legal problems, but I really don’t give a shit about that. When these assholes threaten me or Penny Arcade I just laugh. I will personally burn everything I’ve made to the fucking ground if I think I can catch them in the flames.”
Maybe Paul’s apology and his concern for his own son and wife were an insincere attempt to stop the flaming–it doesn’t matter; Gabe’s reaction is still telling.
I mean, hell, this guy has it made! He’s a figurehead in video games, an accomplished artist, has a family of his own, huge bucks, he’s achieved so much and done so much good… and yet, he’s so victimised by his past, he not only has he no pity for anyone he considers a ‘bully’ (including rape victims who don’t like rape jokes apparently?), he is happy to destroy everything he’s achieved to do it.
I had a wretched time for much of my childhood. That shit stuck to me and I’m still struggling to wipe it off. But man, I consider my few accomplishments my most prized possessions; throwing them away to attain Vengeance of the Nerds is the last thing I ever want to do!
Hearing these words from Gabe, who has far more than I may well ever have, is honestly disturbing. Can you imagine what it must be like, to be willing to sacrifice all the good you’ve achieved just to have the last word in an argument you should have walked away from years ago?
I can, actually–and it’s scary shit.
I’m sure there’s a negative chance of PA reading or reacting to my armchair psychology and people like Mr Embarrassed are going to call me a tit, but whatever, I’ll live. I just hope the next time I hear about Penny Arcade isn’t when it’s up in flames.
Yeah that kind of dedicated negativity is something that’s not my cup of tea either.
Never been called a feminist apologist before! I should get a trophy or banner or something.
essentially, Gabe = Syndrome from The Incredibles
Great comment.
Fantastic post David – the number of retweets you have gotten, coupled with the vitriolic comments in such a small space of time shows that you have hit the nail on the head.
I’m glad to see that someone else is finally calling out Ben on his radical transformation from a fantastic, moderate and friendly games editor at Ars, to an elitist, condescending asshole not long after taking his post at PA.
His writing is still the same great mix of editorial and long form investigation, but its his manner of dealing with his fellow games media that makes my blood boil. Barely a day goes by without him tweeting about how terrible the rest of the industry are because they don’t have the luxury of being self funded and not needing to rely on advertising traffic.
His reaction to Katie’s fantastic Kotaku post, including the utterly insulting insinuation that she didn’t start a witch hunt because she was afraid of losing access (rather than protecting the guy and his family from mob attack) was a prime example of how deafening things are at the top.
I guess sharing an office with two guys who just continue to play their Revenge of the Nerds fantasies has rubbed off in the worst way possible.
Thanks mate!
I think there’s a few problems with this article. I think that it’s trying to tie the actions of ‘Penny Arcade’ together with things Gabe has said and done, also onto things the PA Report has said and done, and tie it into a big convoluted mess.
First off, I agree with the author that Gabe has a very big chip on his shoulder and it comes out at what might be the worst times for him and his company. And who, aside from Tycho, would be able to rein him in? He is the boss. His feelings of persecution colored the dickwolves debacle and his glee with dealing with Ocean Marketing man.
However, in regards to Ocean Marketing, it’s very important to note that Gabe did not do anything to that man’s career aside from ban him from Pax. Everything else he did was a result of Gabe giving that man enough rope to hang him with. His own actions were what did in Ocean Marketing, Gabe simply gave him the stage with which to have the maximum impact. I believe Gabe left out publicly available contact information, so no real foul there. If I’m mistaken, then I would circle back to point one.
The biggest problem in this article, I think, is the parts involving the PA Report. I don’t know who you are, but I bet if I check you’re a video games journalist. *checks* Indeed. You’re letting your perspective on this color your reactions to Ben’s words. Everything he says you’re taking as a condemnation of your profession. So you’re being defensive. Here’s the thing though, Ben’s not wrong. I’m not saying everyone else IS wrong, but Ben took a stance in line with the values he put forth when he started PA Report. His thesis seems to be that the steady stream of press releases that get pasted onto the throng of gaming journalism sites tends to mask real effort put in towards *actual* journalism. So him saying that he would not be posting E3 trailers because they would not be news? Absolutely in line with that.
Ben is trying to draw a line in the sand between press releases and journalism. There is *nothing* wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with covering press releases, but there’s no use pretending that’s actual journalism. Ben’s tweet about the Kotaku sexism article? A LOT of people want to know who that is so they can *fix* this. People are *fixated* on fixing things, that was part of the point of the Kotaku article. The fact that a LOT of people wanted to know that isn’t surprising. But the talented woman who wrote that article chose to transcend that dynamic, and I applaud her for doing so. Just because you disagree with Ben, or Gabe’s take on that situation, doesn’t make them terrible people.
Also tying back into the PA report… stating that Ben, or PA in general *loses its standing* to talk about E3 Booth babes because they have a joke contest about dickerdoodles is *ridiculously* idiotic and undermines every point you were trying to make in this article. I hate the dickerdoodles, but there’s nothing wrong with people having fun with it. And saying that they become hypocrites because they like confectionery penises and dislike fleshy game booths is just stupid. I’m not familiar with you, or your work, but I suspect you’re better than making associations like that.
I agree with you on one core aspect. Gabe has a very serious chip on his shoulder, and Tycho is far too passive to keep it in check, and it does do damage to them and their brand. The dickwolves is a prime example. That entire fiasco was ridiculous, but the bad part for PA was they kept making it worse. It was a train wreck, Gabe refuses to be bullied for any cause, and feels like he has the clout to NOT be bullied no matter the cause, reason, or situation. So when the outraged portion of the Internet tried to use their clout against Gabe aggressively, it was a powderkeg. That’s what PA needs to be cautious of.
The rest of your article? Honestly? Defensive posturing from a wounded ego. Honestly, this was a journalist way of acting just like Gabe would, in your situation.
“It was a train wreck, Gabe refuses to be bullied for any cause, and feels like he has the clout to NOT be bullied no matter the cause, reason, or situation.”
That’s a pretty solid explanation behind both of the major PA/Gabe vs. Feminists shitstorms, thinking about it- Gabe hates bullies, even when they’re bullying someone for being in the wrong. Unless that wrong thing is being a bully, of course.
Bullying begets bullying.
Gabe probably doesn’t see it that way, of course…
As far as I’m concerned, Penny Arcade and The PA Report are the same organisation and hold some of the same responsibilities. I’m no economist, but I can only assume Holkins and Krahulik pay Kuchera’s wages.
Sorry you disagreed but thanks for
reading. At least I got the core aspect right!
This is an interesting article. I feel like the dickerdoodle v. E3 booth babes is a rough comparison since perpetuating sexism is not the same as finding anatomically correct pastries funny. PA’s booth babe crusade has been on-going for some years now, long before Dickwolves. And besides, the Dickwolves issue was not about sexism as much as it was about empathy (lack thereof), victimization, and stubbornness. (IMHO, the joke was in poor taste perhaps, though I laughed, but the point it was making was valid; namely that some game quests *do* involve terrible story elements like rape. Obviously that was lost in the kerfuffle.)
That said, the broader point you make, more concisely put, that “With great power comes great responsibility,” is apt for PA. They do copious amounts of good for the gamer populous. Let’s just be clear about that. However, and this shouldn’t be anything new to long time PA fans; Mike is a hot-head and he says some pretty rancorous things. We love him for it, but there it is. And for a while I think that they’ve been forgiven most of these public flame-ups because ,”Hey, they do Child’s Play.” It’s almost like a carbon offset for dickish behavior. At a certain point though, it should be said that good is done because it is the right thing to do and not simply to make gamers (read: us) look better. Or put another way– don’t do good just to cover up the bad. This strays from the scope of the article a bit, I know, and is perhaps a stretch, but it’s closer to the truth than some might want to admit. Remember: Child’s Play genesis was from the Jack Thompson days to prove him wrong, to change the public perception. Today it does amazing good for hospitals across the country.
But perception– that’s kind of the point, right? PA started out as the outsiders looking in on a seemingly impenetrable industry. That was their traction; their street cred. But they’ve grown exponentially. They *make* games now. They are part of that club. *They* are the cool kids. And while It’s popular to be dismissive of others and easy to do when you’re just talking with friends, maybe it’s time for the public facing side to catch up with the company’s status.
Yeah I see where you’re coming from but I think’s PA’s current position as ‘one of the cool kids’ requires more responsibility and accountably when they start to wave their influence around.
In regards to Child’s Play, there are tons of charities that don’t have organisers that behave like this and I just grew tired of people using the charity defense when PA make questionable decisions.
thanks!
A wonderful article. Enjoyed reading it, not shocked to hear about penny arcade really. I dont read them anymore as I found the jokes increasingly more immature and just downright idiotic, and frankly -anybody- that sets a internet lynch mob onto another human being is scary. Some people deserve it, i feel that way, but then i look back and wonder…are you any better than the person if you will stand at the sidelines and watch them be destroyed, or take part in the destruction?
Suffering is suffering. Regardless as to who it is.
I believe it IS still illegal to disclose private information such as personal address and phone numbers is it not? at least it is in the uk.
I really wanted to get into game journalism,i even took a degree in writing…but, really, i dont see anywhere i want to work for that doesnt fill me with a sense of dread at the competition and the…downright evil in-fighting between journalists in this field with each other, and then gamers themselves.
Thanks very much!
Also, don’t let negativity stop you from writing about something you love. I quit music journalism for those very reasons and as such, music is dead to me now.
In-fighting in games media is ugly but believe me, it is sweetness and light compared to music journos. And pfft, music ain’t video games right?
The most ridiculous thing about Kuchera’s call for E3 to ban “booth babes” is that PAX doesn’t ban them.
Booth babes are fine with the PAX organizers as long as they wear more than X amount of clothing, where X is a value below which people may complain. But many publishers and other vendors are still hiring models.
Case 1, at PAX Prime last year, Nos had a bunch of scantily clad women wandering the expo hall giving drinks out like it was effing vegas. PAX clamped down and…. kicked the women out until they changed their clothes. So the same models came back and instead of clothes showing skin, they had tight, but covering clothes. Somehow that’s better.
Case 2, at PAX East this year, the Lollipop Chainsaw incident. Once again, the organizers come down hard on the woman who had been hired and kick her out until she changes or is isolated from younger attendees, but the developer and publisher have no repercussions.
So don’t believe the lie that PAX bans booth babes. It’s demonstrably false.
It might be harder than you think to distinguish between “booth babes” and “promotional representatives”.
I’m not sure what you actually want PAX to do about them. Whilst they *could* ban Warner Bros. from PAX because one PR firm representing one developer slightly crossed a pretty arbitrary and hard to interpret line on the acceptable attire of booth attendants, I don’t think that would actually make anyone happy. PAX set standards, companies for the most part abide by them, when they don’t, they’re enforced. Removing a developer from the show floor, thereby denying gamers – the actual audience of PAX – the opportunity to see the game, for one incident, is entirely against the ethos of a publicly accessible convention.
Or it might be very easy. Ask them where and how they were hired. Recognize that if person x is a “booth babe” when they wear too little clothes, then they’re probably still a “booth babe” when they wear slightly more clothes.
Apparently it’s crazy to think that PAX would kick out a company that can’t even be bothered to follow their laughably half-assed “no booth-babe” policy. I mean, you admit that it’s arbitrary and hard to interpret and yet PA acts as though they’ve actually got a policy.
And I can’t see how giving a nod and a wink to the toxic culture that Kuchera rightfully criticizes here: “It’s not a question of whether this approach is alienating for the many women in the industry, it’s a question of how much damage is being done.” is less important than gamers not being able to play some Warner Brothers game. I think your ethos is a little misplaced.
Yeah I remember that Lollipop Chainsaw incident. There was a lot weird things happening around that one.
Thanks!
The only thing wrong with this article is that you made me click on links leading to Penny Arcade and their multitude of uninspiring crap. I used to really enjoy Penny Arcade, years ago, but when that high horse attitude started rolling in, I decided to leave them behind. There’s so many game publications / journals out there and while most of them are just a slightly modified copy of whoever broke the news first, there are some real gems that don’t rely on dick jokes or being vindictive. So, while I sometimes I wish Penny Arcade was still just a humble comic strip, I realise that ship has long sailed and that there’s better sources I can turn to for reasonable ‘reporting’ and that it’s okay to ignore Penny Arcade.
At the end of the day, I am not delusional – I know that my ignoring of Penny Arcade is not going to change their ways on my own any time soon, in the same way that you and this single article won’t make much of a difference to them either. Hell, they wouldn’t have even noticed that I stopped being a regular visitor. But for me, I have to be happy with the decisions I make in life and the ideals, values, etc that I choose to support and the things I do. So, I might not change anything about them today but I (we) have to start somewhere and, despite that some people appear to be missing the point or are just die-hard Penny Arcade fans (perhaps both), at least that point is not wasted on those who did understand and do agree and who may change the way their operate or perceive this sort of thing in the future. You have to start somewhere to become influential and powerful, right?
You nearly made me tear up, Krystal.
Agreed.
Hi Raygun, wondering if you’ve seen Kuchera’s response to this? Of course, he implied that you failed at journalism by not “contacting him for comment”:
“I also thought it was interesting to be called “inward” when I wasn’t contacted for comment. I talk all the time!
” (https://twitter.com/BenKuchera/status/215800147089694720)
Which I find funny given that he never contacted Katie for comment before coming to insulting and very wrong conclusions about her post. I find it frightening that this man considers himself a bastion of journalistic integrity and is happy to lecture others about it despite the fact that he does not abide by it himself.
Weird! That wasn’t what I meant by ‘grown inwards’ and I never contacted anybody for comment since this was an opinion piece rather than an interview.
The mutants behind PA don’t even seem to realize that they themselves have become far worse bullies than the dipshits that bugged them in high school. Their success has gotten to their heads, and their attitudes in my opinion ruin any of the charitable stuff they do. I will never support PAX, Child’s Play, or anything else they associate with because of their behavior.
The ocean marketing fiasco was a perfect example of how delusional they are. The lame bullies that gave them wedgies in high school didn’t tarnish their name for life, hell no one would even know about the bullying if they weren’t using it as a defense anytime they want to bully anyone else. No, they go and put someone on blast using their huge white knighting cult-like audience to pretty much ruin someone. The drama they helped stir is going to be at the top of the google searches for his name for probably 10-20 years if not more.
But I’m sure they go to sleep at night with smiles on their faces thinking about all that money in the bank, or the kids they’re helping. Come as close to you can to killing a man’s reputation for life, absolve your sins by sending other people’s money to kids. But hey, they’re edgy, and that’s supar kewl d00d.
I look forward to the day that I don’t have to hear about Penny Arcade shit again. PAR is sensational garbage, PA is sensational garbage, and Gabe and Tycho no longer deserve their success.
I’m curious wrt the folks who are condemning PA for the Ocean Marketing event. I wouldn’t want to be the next consumer (or employer) to have to deal with Paul Christoforo. Do we all agree that he deserved some kind of retribution, or should crimes such as his go unpunished? Granted that PA’s punishment was severe, but can anyone suggest an alternative that would have been more fitting, or would “status quo” have been a better outcome? I have my opinions on this but I’m genuinely curious to know what others think.
I don’t know that Christoforo’s actions rise to the level of “crimes.” He was certainly impolite and foolish and did damage to the reputation of the brand he was supposed to be advancing. It’s perfectly reasonable to bring that to the attention of the people who pay him, and it would be reasonable for them to fire him. That’s where it should have ended. In that scenario, he would have the opportunity to learn from his mistake and move on. Now, though, his reputation is destroyed, and he will never live down his mistake. He may try to learn from it and be more considerate, but he can’t escape it. A lot of people think that’s warranted, but is it really? It’s not as though he murdered someone. He made a set of very stupid choices in response to customer complaints. That’s it, that’s all. That’s what makes the PA response to it bullying. For one, the response is wildly out of proportion with the provocation. For another, it’s all about the gleeful expression of power. It wasn’t just getting “justice,” it was a demonstration that Mike has power now, ain’t he cool.
>He made a set of very stupid choices in response to customer complaints. That’s it, that’s all. That’s what makes the PA response to it bullying.
Mike didn’t libel Christoforo, he posted a series of emails verbatim. Then, Mike posted the non-apology and called it for the bull it was. I’ve no doubt that some of the folks who read Mike’s post stooped to bullying. Nevertheless, I don’t think that anyone in any media, and certainly no one writing explicitly personal opinion posts, should be afraid to bring bad behavior to light because of what other people might do. Christoforo’s life isn’t ruined. At most, he will have difficulty pursuing a career he isn’t suited for. Been there, done that, didn’t die.
I am proud to say that I never thought Penny Arcade was funny. In fact I’d be interested to see if anybody could point me to a link to one of the strips that actually was funny. Not insightful either, just bad. Look at this one:
http://files.sharenator.com/blockbuster_Penny_Arcade_Stuff-s800x401-188199-580.jpg
Yea, Blockbuster sucks! Hilarious stuff.
But anyway, great article. Got here from Critical Distance, now following you on Twitter.
Yes, we’ll dig through their whole library to find the one funny comic.
And you’ll probably say “No that still sucks” and you can continue to be oh-so-proud.
Came here from flflrflrlfr now following you on twotpage.
I was just linked to this post this morning having missed it back when it was posted. Just wanted to chime in and add my applause for a well written article that in many way states what I’ve been thinking about Penny Arcade and especially Penny Arcade Report for some time. I still check both regularly but I don’t have the level of admiration for Gabe & Tycho I once did and I’m really getting fed up with Kuchera.
He’s put himself on a very high horse and frequently breaks his own rules. He will snidely call out others for acting like PR mouthpieces and dismissing popular projects like the OUYA as a scam but will devote numerous articles to promoting the Oculus Rift, often using loaded words like “the future” to describe it. Both of these things look cool but none have been actually made or released to the public yet and should be treated as such but his hand picked darling products get preferential treatment. And then there’s his near constant Apple gushing, something else very common in the enthusiast press he seems to think himself better than.
I had high hopes for the ideas behind PA Report but like with Penny Arcade itself, I think repressed ego is getting in the way of their larger vision. They have a large and rabid fanbase but fanbases are fickle and one day, they’re going to pick a fight with the wrong thing.
Fantastic article!
Cheers dude. Thanks very much!