Gabe's had to replace a couple Xboxes, and there were well over a hundred at PAX, and we've never seen one catch on fire, or shoot lava out the back, or whip its power cord around like a scorpion tail. But the mental images generated by this Boomtown article were too rich to pass up. It's my understanding that there have been thirty or so cases out of 14.1 million units shipped, so it seems unlikely your entertainment center will become a tower of flame anytime in the next ten minutes.

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat hits next month as well, the fourteenth I think, and my excitement for it hasn't abated detectably since I saw it at E3. Of course, it's true that I relish any opportunity to utilize those bongos - but there is something valid and pure about the game in its own right. Check out these videos if you aren't sure how it could be fun.

We recently received a batch of photos from the Texas Children’s Hospital. They took some pictures of the toys as they arrived as well as some kids playing with their new Gameboys.

More downtime last night as we tightened up a few things. With each catastrophic system failure I feel more sympathy toward Blizzard.

You always hear about the Farmers Of Asia, but never before has there been a documentary series entirely devoted to them. Explore the fascinating world of exotic, imaginary currency with Rilf as your guide.

Gabriel routinely subverts my expectations. We have been kicking it for night on twelve years now, and for whatever reason I believe those measured words of erudition are always right around the corner.

I'm really happy with how this one turned out. We had the benefit of all the character information Gearbox built up for the game, and we tried to be as true to it as we could. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

I know it’s late but I’ve uploaded a new sketchdump. It’s got some junk I did at the Emerald City Comicon as well as some stuff I doodled while flying on gryphons in WOW.

Just saw that Republic Commando went gold, which we have decided to commemorate. I really can't wait, for all the reasons I described in the demo, and of course enthusiasm is always compounded in the period between an exceptionally tender trial balloon and the retail release.

Another top secret page from Third Echelon's Spy Training manual has been released to the public. Ubi Soft seems to think we created these pages but the truth of the matter is we had nothing to do with them. Once a week we receive an unmarked envelope in the mail containing another of these grainy photocopies. I'm not sure who's responsible, but it's obvious that someone on the inside wants these pages to get out.

Another top secret page from Third Echelon's Spy Training manual has been released to the public. Ubi Soft seems to think we created these pages but the truth of the matter is we had nothing to do with them. Once a week we receive an unmarked envelope in the mail containing another of these grainy photocopies. I'm not sure who's responsible, but it's obvious that someone on the inside wants these pages to get out.

It is our goal with PAX to create the greatest gaming convention anywhere in the world.

That was the longest we've been down, as opposed to merely inaccessible, for at least four years and I apologize for it. Hopefully the warmth and well being that accompanies each Penny Arcade update will soon flow free of obstructions. The move to the new equipment was one of the prerequisites for our new design, which has a much more efficient way of going about things. So, that is the "sausage making" portion of today's update. Delectable.

I think things are kind of doing what they're supposed to. Just above this text is the newspost I wrote for Monday. The traditional schedule takes hold again tomorrow.

A young man asked us if we were planning on doing a sketch for this year’s convention, as is our sometime tradition. I don’t believe that was the original plan, but his enthusiasm won out in the end. I hope that this comic does not keep a person from relating their fantasy conquests, as I actually enjoy them - but when every fantasy story we hear over two days is concatenated into a single epic, the resultant product cannot fail to amuse.

I'm starting to understand that the "Seattle Area" is silly with developers, and it's only getting more dense. We've already got some massive players, and I'm just fine with that, but you might have caught the news about a Sony Online Entertainment Seattle branch. This is a development I hope we can transform into a series of free lunches disguised as editorial work sometime in the future.