Talk:Penny Arcade

Wikipedia mentioned
(and not flatteringly) in today's rant.


 * Yeah, those guys are unbelievably ignorant. In their defense, someone must have given them quite the wrong pic of what WP is and wants to be. Then again, one has to read and keep to the rules if one wants to post in their forum, too.. --92.202.62.175 (talk) 17:38, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Penny Arcade Game?
Kotaku article. Found it via Slashdot.

Wikipedia's been parodied again!
I've just read the latest Penny Arcade comic, another parody of Wikipedia. What's more, it actually concerns the Penny Arcade page! This link will lead you to the new parody. XD --Luigifan 18:43, 20 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Ah, so that's what that IP user just now was trying to do. I was wondering what they were doing... still, they'd need to upload the actual strip to Wikipedia if they wanted their edit to work; you can't replace an image with a link to a image, so... yeah. Di saster Ki rbyTalk 18:47, 20 August 2007 (UTC)


 * What's more, Tycho's explanation of the strip mentions a device that's supposedly usable to commit mass vandalism, and simultaneously making it nearly impossible to track the culprit down; or, it can be used to scan somebody to spy upon their activities on Wikipedia. Here's Tycho's post, from the Penny Arcade News Board:

With PAX coming up this weekend (!!!), we didn't really have time on Friday to invest in Virgil's Wikiscanner - that mystical oracle that takes a raw IP range and then excretes a list of that organization's Wikipedia edits. This is the pulsing, possibly Martian device that dished up last week's awesome Electronic Arts edits.

I wasn't sure if we should feel sorry for them or not - now that EA is situated in the number two slot, does that make them the scrappy underdog? - but I quickly realized it probably doesn't matter. They can come right out and say "Yes, we edit it all the time," mischaracterize the nature of the edits, and by the time it's on the second page the events in question never happened. People don't remember anything these days that isn't on the first page of their feed aggregators. In any case, the entire affair is talking place on Wikipedia. Kudzu will grow over the propaganda soon enough.

Though time was indeed in short supply, we did fritter some portion of it pawing through ancient email headers, scraping for filth on old enemies. Or enemies with whom we have resumed talks. Or enemies who are now friends! Even people I hope to make enemies in the future by my careless commentary must fall beneath the scanner's baleful eye.

Like a chugging trawler, we hauled up net after net of treasure onto the deck, sifting it on hands and knees. I'd never expose it, of course - sparking a desperate arms race to find self-serving commentary is a conflict I'm likely to lose. And with the deep catalogue of nemeses we've inspired worldwide (and even below the world, in the warrens of the pale Gambrya, where hate is eternal) it's not what I'd call a fabulous scenario. For us, at least; no doubt, our foes have already begun their malevolent harvest.

(CW)TB out.

So, apparently, EA's page got vandalized without anybody's knowledge... it appears that the admins ought to launch an investigation into this "Wikiscanner" device, before the whole site is undermined by technovandals!!! --Luigifan 18:51, 20 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Note that the PA character page has been given a week-long semi-prot cover. I'd say if the same "jokes" here are added without being encyclopedic, this page should also get the same prot (even though the comic in question is about the characters, not the strip). --Masem 18:52, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Oh, great. I'm being WP:BOLD and requested this already.  --Masem 19:06, 20 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Just to clarify this point for posterity - I don't think Tycho was suggesting Wikiscanner was a "device" used to vandalize EA's page - rather, it was used to trace edits to EA's page (presumably of the NPOV / conflict of interest variety) as having been made by employees of EA itself. It isn't a tool for "technovandals".  See the Wikiscanner article for details.  Ruyn 19:45, 12 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Wikiscanner is the most simple thing (and not powerful at all). With little effort you can do the same by hand. Once again Tycho shows that he knows next to nothing outside of consoles, if that. --92.202.62.175 (talk) 17:51, 1 November 2010 (UTC)


 * What? I think Some of you may have misread/not understood what was written. which is just weird. Do we need an interpreter for Jerry Holkins form of writing on here? Wikiscanner finds edits by ip ranges. It does not vandalise in any way.--96.29.243.67 (talk) 15:31, 7 May 2012 (UTC)

Great new source
Check it out. rootology ( T ) 21:35, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Please help!
I'm trying to find the penny arcade comic where Tycho and Gabe are playing 20 questions (or some similar game). Tycho asks "Is it batman?" and Gabe says "shi- No its not Batman" but then Tycho guesses Spiderman and Gabe is busted again :) Does anyone happen to have a link to this comic?? They have 10 years worth of archives and a broken keyword search!! Thanks for the help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.31.255.41 (talk) 13:23, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

It's this one http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/2/20/numquestions-20/ but this really isn't the right place for that. Crusader1089 (talk) 18:38, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

No criticisms?
This entry seems to be fairly positively biased. I think it needs a criticism section. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 15:51, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * If you'd like to tell us where we can find some reliable sources, we'd be happy to include them in the article. Nifboy (talk) 17:40, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Also we are to avoid criticism sections as it indicates a poorly written article, instead notable criticism should be woven into existing text appropriately. -- Banj e  b oi   18:39, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * And put another way, I don't think I've ever seen actual valid criticism from reliable sources about Penny Arcade, aside from (maybe? help me here) Jack Thompson, who may not be a neutral or reliable source in regards to Penny Arcade by Wikipedia's current standards. rootology ( C )( T ) 02:01, 13 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Actualy, I've never come across any negative attention to Penny Arcade (except maybe the occasional fan whining about declining quality), and if anything, it's the webcomic that all other gaming webcomics are compared to. It's no Ctrl Alt Del when it comes to critism, that's for sure. --A Chain of Flowers (talk) 10:27, 28 March 2009 (UTC)
 * You're kidding, right? Penny Arcade has been widely criticized for repeated homophobia and the promotion of rape culture. 70.36.142.204 (talk) 23:06, 11 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Do you know about any reliable sources with such criticsms? Svick (talk) 19:21, 18 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Here's two links to news articles about the controversy:, .   Sophus Bie  (talk) 07:40, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade?
The other day I found an Amazon entry for an "11.5 Year Anniversary Edition" Penny Arcade book. Does anyone have further information on this, and would it do to add a mention in the "Collected Editions" section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.115.8.53 (talk) 01:01, 30 January 2009 (UTC)
 * It's being published by RandomHouse and will be available on Feb. 23, 2010. I added it to the list. - 67.187.245.98 (talk) 17:01, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Greenhouse (content delivery)
I'm just wondering if there's a reason why there isn't an article regarding Greenhouse, the content delivery system. There doesn't seem to be much info about the system either on the Penny Arcade page or on the Hothead Games page. This archived talk page mentions a merger between 3 articles, including one about Greenhouse Games (I think), but I can't seem to find any information about Greenhouse anywhere on Wikipedia. I'm just wondering if there's grounds for a new article or there's something obvious I'm missing? --Stozball (talk) 13:57, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

qj ref?
Article says "At Sakura-Con 2007, Krahulik announced that the charges had been dropped." but the qj.net ref used doesn't mention Sakura-Con, nor an announcement by Krahulik. While "charges had been dropped" sounds correct, the ref says Thompson's countersuit is still going, but shortened from 37pages to 14pages with the racketeering allegations removed. --EarthFurst (talk) 05:46, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Reputable source check
Non-directly related to this page: Over the course of several wiki pages, I've noticed (and complained) about people listing Penny Arcade as a professional reputable source for the rating of several games. I know this web comic is "your favorite web comic ever", but can you please keep them out of anything beside their own little Wikipedia page? They have no professional experience (as far as the writers have ever mentioned) on any kind of rating despite their own "original experience". It's nice that they have played a lot of games, but until they actually have become recognized as a source to cite, please keep this trash off of other wiki pages. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.116.71.175 (talk) 00:20, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

PATV
I think that the new PATV series is worth mentioning somewhere in this article, no? 24.218.118.135 (talk) 14:09, 30 November 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. Freddicus (talk) 19:39, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

This article is an example as to why redirection to subsection heading is broken
Don't be a dick has a see also directing readers to the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory. Someone made Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory be a redirection to Penny Arcade (webcomic).

This, apparently once "worked". And it stopped working when someone else put quotes around "Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory" in the subsection heading John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.

I see this as yet another example as to why redirection to subsection heading is deeply broken, and should be deprecated in article space.

I also see it as an argument to spin off Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory to a standalone article.

Cheers! Geo Swan (talk) 19:27, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

PATV as a source?
Thought I'd solicit opinions on the use of PATV as a source. It's shown interviews with staff members and even covered the birth of Holkins' daughter. It's real info that might be hard to get in newspaper articles. And it could be used to add info on their business operations, personal lives (i.e. "Holkins has a daughter"), and more. Thoughts? --Qwerty0 (talk) 19:40, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it's fine. Treat it like you would any of their posts. Nifboy (talk) 21:30, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Generally fine for what I think you're asking about (using a self-published sources for information about themselves in articles about themselves). For more guidance see Identifying_reliable_sources. Starblueheather (talk) 00:14, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Dickwolves rape controversy
It seems negligent and not in the interest of Wikipedia's users to omit the strips about Dickwolves and their ensuing controversy. I'm not knowledgeable enough about the strip to create this section, but I find the dialogue between readers on both sides as well as the authors interesting and an important part of understanding this comic and its culture. 173.164.241.129 (talk) 00:02, 20 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Since it keeps popping up, and just got inflamed again, I agree. 99.175.206.169 (talk) 20:54, 31 January 2011 (UTC)


 * I think you can safely call it a controversy now. http://www.penny-arcade.com/2011/2/2/ 99.10.223.83 (talk) 20:22, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

I have taken a first stab at a section on the Dickwolves controversy. I threw in a few references, but it definitely needs more independent sources. One source I expect will be particularly useful: http://debacle.tumblr.com/post/3041940865/the-pratfall-of-penny-arcade-a-timeline --zandperl (talk) 02:24, 4 February 2011 (UTC)


 * I've removed this section; I'm not convinced this 'controversy' is sufficiently notable to deserve mention here. Lots of Penny Arcade strips have offended or annoyed someone; there's nothing unusual about that. This one may have generated a lot of argument among blogs, but unless it's had any coverage in reliable sources, or produced actual real-life consequences (like the legal disputes mentioned elsewhere in this section), I don't think there's any reason to include it. Robofish (talk) 12:03, 4 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Google news archive search shows two places mentioning this. They had someone announce they wouldn't be at Pax because of this, so they went and pulled that merchandise from their stores.  If you search their site for the word "rape" you get what Google calls "about 30 results". .  Back in 2008 they had to edit their podcast because people were upset by them saying "rape was a minor action".  In 2009 they apparently had trouble with comments made about a rape drug.  Use Find to scroll down to where the word "rape" is used at  to read both of them going back and forth on that issue.  They have a list of their own comics tagged with the word "rape" .    D r e a m Focus  13:36, 4 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Also, The Boston Phoenix gave this significant coverage in a reliable source. Thanks, Starblueheather (talk) 14:13, 4 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Looks like I may have spoken too soon on this one - I hadn't realised how much coverage it had got. Some of these sources are probably good enough for our purposes, the Boston Phoenix one for instance. I found another fairly neutral summary here. OK, if anyone re-adds this to the article, I won't revert them. Robofish (talk) 15:22, 4 February 2011 (UTC)


 * As usual, a Wikipedia admin substitutes his own judgement and experience for facts. Please stay retired next time, thanks.  You're part of the cancer that's killing Wikipedia. 99.10.223.83 (talk) 22:48, 4 February 2011 (UTC)


 * I have no idea what just happened re: my edit (newbie here). I just think it's prima facie notable, click the "debacle.tumblr" link fcs - and don't really see how any reasonable uninterested bystander would think otherwise. What I wrote is pretty basic and needs to be edited, though. Esp. header is ...meh. Someone fix, plox. Pär Larsson (talk) 18:40, 4 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Robofish reverted it again. There are plenty of references to prove it is notable.  Stop removing it.   D r e a m Focus  22:08, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Are Gabe & Tycho "Bronies?"
There's lots of fan-made comics that makes it look that way, only post legit ones from the actual site.

http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/08/29 http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/03/14

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.17.134.7 (talk) 23:43, 22 September 2011 (UTC)
 * I think they were joking. I doubt two grown men really play that game.  Also, Gabe and Tycho aren't real people, just characters made by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik.   D r e a m Focus  00:37, 23 September 2011 (UTC)


 * ...er, does it matter? Perhaps I missed some sort of mini-edit war, but I can't imagine that we actually need to list all the things that the characters are or are not fans of. EVula // talk // &#9775;  // 01:28, 23 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Indeed it doesn't. Also the ponies are usually inserted because of a fan request or simply as a gag by Krahulik.--96.29.243.67 (talk) 15:28, 7 May 2012 (UTC)

Unreliable sources
I'm not as well versed in Wikipedia's guidelines for notable reliable sources, that said why is a tumblr blog listed as one for the dickwolves controversey?--96.29.243.67 (talk) 23:56, 12 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Ok, it has been over 2 weeks since my last post about it. the http://debacle.tumblr.com/post/3041940865/the-pratfall-of-penny-arcade-a-timeline link in the article is in violation of several wikipedia guidelines, WP:ELNO to the most extent. Its also highly biased, leaving out certain points in relation to the attacks and slander against Penny-Arcade, Penny Arcade fans, and Mike Krahulik. No one spoke up for 16 days as to why it should stay and had merit to stay in the article. --96.29.243.67 (talk) 15:52, 28 May 2012 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Move Penny Arcade → Penny Arcade (disambiguation) and Penny Arcade (webcomic) → Penny Arcade Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 13:18, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

– I'm surprised this hasn't come up before. It's worth a discussion. I contend that the webcomic is the WP:PRIMARYTOPIC. It's always a bit of a warning sign when a hatnote is shoehorned into a section heading. Penny arcade redirects to a section of Amusement arcade, while Penny Arcade is a dab. I think we can have our cake and eat it too by only changing one of those. If someone types in "Penny arcade," maybe they really are just using an archaic term. But it might make more sense to make this case insensitive. Penny Arcade is arguably the most influential webcomic, and should take precedence over the old-time term for a game arcade. Checking Google results shows mostly coverage of the comic, plus the Roy Orbison song, which doesn't have an article. The page views are instructive. The webcomic had 17,783; the dab and redirect combined for 3488 (stats.grok.se is case-insensitive), and the performer had 1848. --BDD (talk) 01:09, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Penny Arcade (webcomic) → Penny Arcade
 * Penny Arcade → Penny Arcade (disambiguation)


 * Support - We'd need to hatnote for Penny arcade (to Amusement arcade), but agree PA the comic is the primary topic over any other possibly dabs. --M ASEM (t) 01:12, 28 June 2013 (UTC)


 * Support - I think this is a clear case of a primary topic. This page should be at Penny Arcade, with a link to a disambiguation page for other uses of the title; Penny arcade should probably stay as it is. Robofish (talk) 01:31, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Support - I hadn't realized that the old penny arcade article had been merged with the amusement arcade one. In any case, definite primary topic here.  TheStickMan [✆Talk] 02:21, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Comment - I think you'd get a better result with this combo


 * Penny Arcade (webcomic) → Penny Arcade
 * Penny Arcade → Penny arcade (disambiguation)
 * Penny arcade → Penny arcade (disambiguation)
 * GraemeLeggett (talk) 11:49, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm agnostic about Penny arcade. This solution would suit me, though. --BDD (talk) 15:18, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I would specifically Oppose this option. Penny arcade is just fine where it is and probably has a solid claim on that namespace.  The dab page has a mix of both capitalized and not capitalized uses.  So the nom as proposed is better then this option.  Why change something that is not broken? Vegaswikian (talk) 20:36, 28 June 2013 (UTC)


 * Comment - never having heard of "Penny Arcade (webcomic)" before I saw this RM would have assumed it was a real place, such as the Penny Arcade in 1950s Disneyland. Still, Wikipedia isn't for users who don't know about webcomics. In ictu oculi (talk) 12:05, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

PA Report
Although it's shut down now, the Penny Arcade report ran for a few years and as an operation run by PA it deserves mention somewhere on the wiki. Currently it is not mentioned in this article and lacks its own article. I propose someone add the PA Report to this article or its own page. Some guy (talk) 22:13, 14 January 2014 (UTC)

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Missing some of the newer PA content
Hi chaps.

I work with Penny Arcade, so am unable to edit this page myself, but I did notice that there are few things that are a little out of date and some content missing.

For instance, there's nothing on the Eyrewood, Thornwatch, Automata, Nightlight or Sand. Those have been pretty big projects at PA and I imagine they're worthy of inclusion in the article. This link has an overview: https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/hub/#paSideStories, and this might be helpful too https://theroamingbard.wordpress.com/2013/09/18/spotlight-penny-arcade-lookouts/

There's also some more recent stuff like the "For The Watch" contests between Mike and Jerry and some of the PA Presents that have happened since this was last updated.

Is there a way for me to help with this without breaking the impartiality rules?

Patrick from Penny Arcade (talk) 20:27, 19 August 2016 (UTC)

No Mention Of The Art Changes
The art has changed in quality at least 3 times, but the article doesn't say anything at all about who generally drew what, when, how, or with what. Is real pen & ink involved? Is it all digital? I like the middle art style best, and the current art style least. I'd like to know more about it. Anyone know? Ace Frahm (talk) 07:07, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Kickstarter section
The Kickstarter section currently starts with the sentence "Although the comic has previously lampooned uses of the crowd funding website Kickstarter". I don't see how this is relevant to the section at least in its current form. The comic has parodied some uses of Kickstarter but not its use in general or the existence of the platform. As it stands, the statement seemingly tries to imply the existence of a double standard concerning Penny Arcade and Kickstarter, which is not only goes against NPOV but isn't supported by the references provided.

Unless a reason comes up for why it should be kept or moved elsewhere in the article, I'll be removing this part of the sentence. --Veikk0.ma 06:57, 31 July 2017 (UTC)

Webcomic/company/brand/franchise...
I think the article should better communicate that PA isn't just a webcomic but also a company that has branched out to and taken part in many other things, some under the Penny Arcade brand, some not. This will become evident to the reader at some point, but the lead and the first sections don't make it clear enough IMO. Relevant categories and templates may also be in order, as well as some restructuring.

I might get on it myself but I'll just leave this here just in case I don't. --Veikk0.ma 19:13, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

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A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
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