So far, 2012 seems to be the year of launching new video game sites that established editors of other sites leave to found. Vox Media kicked off the trend when a group of recognizable gaming writers went to found the Vox Media video games vertical, and now, with the help of Ben Kuchera, formerly of Ars Techncia, the team over at Penny Arcade will be expanding their empire to more traditional video games coverage.

The Internet allows people to post their grievances with just about anyone to an audience so earth-shatteringly wide that no matter the subject, even if it is something absurd that one would assume no one would agree with, people will agree with and take up arms in your Internet name. The Internet can be used the other way around as well, as a great tool for public relations. What happens when someone in public relations loses his cool at some poor customer who was only trying to find out the shipping date of a long-overdue Avenger controller? Why, the Internet becomes captivated, of course! The story is certainly helped by the fact that Mike Krahulik, otherwise known as Gabe of Penny Arcade was involved and posted the entire email corresponded chain to his website. The ridiculously absurd story, recounted after the break.

The guys at Penny Arcade hold two gaming and general geekery conventions a year, PAX Prime and PAX East, with a main purpose of being open to the public. They have now announced a new convention, PAX Dev, specifically tailored to the developers. A little counter to the mission statement of PAX Prime and East, PAX Dev will be an “industry-only event,” though in an attempt to be a little less establishment-focused than it sounds, “business types,” such as retailers, will not be invited. From the PAX Dev site:

A few years ago, a group of developers asked us to host an offsite gathering while they were in town for PAX. That idea took hold, and from those conversations we decided to dedicate the two days before PAX Prime to the developer community. We’re shooting for a small (750-ish), intimate setting where digital and pen/paper game developers alike can focus on their craft. No business. No press. Just sharing, learning and debate.

Though it sounds a little better based on the above description, a reason why PAX became so popular–aside from having a place for fans to gather, meet and have fun–is because it allowed gamers into that developer atmosphere, which, due to PAX Dev, now has a separate convention where regular gamers are not allowed. This obviously shouldn’t hurt PAX at all, but does seem a little odd when one considers one of the main points of PAX.

(PAX Dev via Kotaku)

Out of all the fun case mods one can make, and out of all the Penny Arcade characters one can choose, a case mod of Div, everyone’s favorite belligerent, drunken DIVX player, appeared at PAX East 2011 this year. The mod, called DIVpc, was initially an ATX case, that had PVC pipes attached to make the arms and gas pipes attached to form the legs, with the face made from clay, wire mesh and Bondo. The eyes are pingpong balls, both a convenient material to make Div’s eyes, as well as a (probably incidental) tribute to a fan favorite story arc. The alcohol pictured is a bottle of Wild Turkey, filled with actual alcohol that can probably never be obtained now that it’s within Div’s PVC clutches.

The computer housed within Div is a bit stronger than Div would actually be, as the case mod sports a Core i5 750 CPU, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and two 750 GB HDDs. Head on past the break to see a couple more pictures of the technologically-advanced drunk.

You can try to be too cool for Valentine’s Day all you like, but it’s going to happen anyway, and you can’t avoid it. You don’t have to like it, because it’s nearly impossible to like a 99% commercial holiday. But don’t try to escape it, because there is no escape. It is a zombie out to get you, and it’s here. (You were probably one of those “Was there some kind of game happening today?” people on Super Bowl Sunday. Guess what? Everyone knew that you knew there was a game that day.)

But in case there is still a tiny, microscopic neutron inside of you that feels an urge to do something, even something weird, snarky, or slightly mean, then here are some (mostly) printable Valentine’s Day cards just for you, lovingly scraped from a few corners of the Web.

We’ve spent a lot of time reporting on Minecraft, and we’re not about to break tradition now, especially when the news involves one of our other favorite internet things: 2 Player Productions, the makers of Penny Arcade TV.

2PP has announced that their next project; following documentaries on chip music, webcomics, and the making of Uncharted 3 and both Infamous games; will be to document the work of Mojang Studios, the makers of Minecraft.

If this year is anything like years previous, donations to Child’s Play (and wandering, vagabond checks from friends of the initiative) aren’t actually finished arriving – but the new year is a good time to take a final count, and then relate said count to the people who made the count so stupidly, inconceivably big. $2,294,317.53 is the total, which ticks the lifetime total to just under nine million, which is what you made happen in my most secret dreams. If it is possible to Win Charity, you have done so. This year, at least. If you have any ideas about how we’re supposed to crest over 2.3 million dollars next year, I’m open to suggestions.”

Tycho Brahe, AKA Jerry Holkins, writer of Penny Arcade, reporting the total of this year’s Child’s Play charity, which brings games, toys, and craft supplies to pediatric hospitals around the world.

(via Penny Arcade.)

It was inevitable that some one would quite quickly approach the idea of merging the technological advances of the Kinect with humankind’s most evolutionary of pleasures, and the first of these to gain the notice of Microsoft has been sex-game maker ThriXXX (sweet Jebus this link is NSFW), who created a working demo for a game where you use Kinect controls to touch virtual boobs.

Microsoft got on that pretty quick.  From IGN:

“This isn’t the first example of a technology being used in ways not intended by its manufacturer, and it won’t be the last,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Microsoft did not authorize or license its technology for this use.

“Xbox is a family friendly games and entertainment console and does not allow Adults Only (AO) content to be certified for use on its platform, and would not condone this type of game for Kinect.”

Sometimes it is difficult to remember that Minecraft, a game that has more than 2 million registered users and has sold more than 600,000 digital copies (I know this for a fact because those numbers are from mid-November and I just bought my copy yesterday, so…) is actually still in alpha.

Especially when you just had an office Minecraft party last night.

Well, the word has come down from on high (or from game creator Markus “Notch” Persson) that Minecraft will be shifted into beta in no less than nine days. This change will come with a refocusing of the developer’s goals, new features, and a difference in pricing.

Child’s Play, the gamer-organized charity that has gathered donations for kids in children’s hospitals since 2003, has been crushing it this year. Their annual charity dinner and auction, which took place on Tuesday night, raised more than $183,000 in just two hours, pushing the charity over $1 million in donations this year. The awesome Portal Gun made by Volpin Props sold for more than $15,000, as did PAX 2010′s Omega Claw. Meanwhile, the people behind Desert Bus for Hope delivered more than $200,000.

Child’s Play:

The proceeds from the gala and auction add to donations already contributed by gamers around the world, many organizing their own events and fundraising activities in their own cities. Desert Bus for Hope presented a check for $207,000 to Child’s Play at the event. In total, Child’s Play has raised more than $1.1 million this year.

“Every year we are blown away by the fantastic items and incredibly generous bids at the gala and auction,” said Kristin Lindsay, Foundation Coordinator for Child’s Play. “Even more heart warming is the thousands of gamers that can’t attend the gala but organize their own local fundraising. It’s this grassroots community activity the accounts for the majority of Child’s Play donations.”

As Penny Arcade’s Tycho [a.k.a. Jerry Holkins] notes, the successful charity dinner is “only a footnote to the larger drive; a drive which is ongoing, and has need of you.” If you’re interested in getting involved, check out Child’s Play’s page.

(via Penny Arcade)