I wasn't aware these were coming out yet, but I saw them, so it must be true: Kiko hooked us up with a new Penny Arcade logo tee, as well as a fresh I Roll Twenties design that I am about to buy from myself.

Robert is with us to make sure we don't sell Penny Arcade again, that is his main purpose, but he is also Gabe's Splinter Cell partner. It's gotten to some weird level with those two, they have a pair of neon green elastic bracelets to signify their unconventional union and everything.

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows looks a little better each time I see it, coming all the way from my initial exposure which never really found purchase. I'll take a look at E3 and see if fully seven sorrows are actually on display - I'm not in a position to know, but I understand that this level of despair is considered somewhat implausible.

Our friend Kiko just put his new shirts, I'd seen the designs and I wondered when they were gong to hit. He's got shirts based on what appears to be some kind of powerglove-type device, and the one I've been waiting for - he's got a new Hadouken shirt that I like as much as I like anything on the face of the earth.

one more time for the ladies.

Everyone has already seen the 1up's Perfect Dark feature, I'm assuming, or at the very least they've seen the muddy, aliased shots that served as our introduction. Seeing it in motion on the MTV thing - at least, what they were willing to show us - was a great deal more impressive. Screenshots have really lost their ability to communicate today's games - it's already true for this generation of 3D acceleration on PCs, and every time I see a game actually moving on a next generation console it really drives the point home. So many visual gains now arise from the behavior of simulated light and the surface contours revealed thereby. Screens just don't evoke it.

There are also some good bits on the new system - including some next-gen footage - in this Gamespot thing as well. I've seen those Ghost Recon 3 shots floating around, but in motion it's another thing entirely.

Imagine that Microsoft has weapons aimed at every market segment.

So how about that Xbox 360? I am assuming that everyone watched the MTV show last night and I am also assuming that we all agree it was garbage. The important thing to understand here is that, much like Twisp and Catsby that show was not for us. When I say us I am referring to the hardcore. The sorts of people who perhaps downloaded a torrent of last nights MTV show. The sorts of people who had to call their cable company to find out what channel MTV was on. The sorts of people who had their Tivo or media PC grab the show for them so that they could watch it at their leisure. Last nights unveiling of the Xbox 360 was not for us it was for the people who were already watching MTV. It's true, there are human beings out there who watch MTV in the same way your mom might watch ABC. Sitting through show after show and watching as rides are pimped and celebrities are punked. Last nights show was for them and when you look at it that way I have to say I think the show was a success. I cannot imagine those sorts of people not being entertained for the entire 30 minutes by the flashing lights and famous people. Gaming is cool now. Isn't that awesome.

A freelancer for GameSpy wrote up a review of Donkey Konga 2 which they did not approve of, but instead of simply doing away with it or directly pasting a press release into the news script, they tarted it up and shoved it out on stage. To hear him tell it, they changed his one point five score to a three, adulterating it further with phrases friendly to the game in question. The review has since been removed, hauled off the Internet - but Google remembers all. Or, at any rate, it did. I didn't care for the review, and I doubt their fiddling made it demonstrably worse - but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I just wanted to post all the information on or E3 appearance again.

It happens a lot, English-speakers get wind of the free beta period running on some odd, inventive MMO hauled from the Game Mines of Korea. There's a bloom of activity, and then I never hear about it again. It's possible that it already happened for Shot Online - if that's true, I apologize. If not, I mean... This is pretty wild. The game told me I could play until what they called "Level 10" for free, but as far as I know there's no charge at all currently.

Let's talk about them vidyagames.

Nearly every morning I'm treated to a kind of "after-action report" where the rigors of the evening prior are related. These tend to be action packed, and sometimes involve him acting out key portions in a meticulous fashion. One recalls the odd dance of the honeybee upon returning to the hive, instructing his fellows by virtue of these motions, and I have seen Gabriel's pantomime with such frequency that I think - think, now - that I could successfully defend a abandoned orphanage. Supposing such a thing were ever necessary.

A few people mailed me to tell me that Lowtax over at SA was pretty upset with me for something I did five years ago. He has a little history of SA post that mentions the efront scandal that we were both caught up in. It's true I was pretty pissed off at him back then but I had no idea he was still mad. Honestly I don't have any hard feelings for the guy anymore. He made a decision back then that I thought was bullshit and I called him on it. Now looking back on the whole situation I honestly can't blame him for it.

I just remembered! There is a way to find out exactly what sorts of things you would like us to make for the store. I can just ask you!