The reason Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One was so long in coming to the Playstation Network had nothing to do with favoritism, and everything to do with technology.

"Everyone seemed to come up with their own rumors," Ceraldi said. "They thought there was exclusivity or that Penny Arcade doesn’t like the Playstation 3 but that wasn’t it at all."

After announcing their game for the PC, Linux and Xbox 360 Hothead discovered they had to essentially build their own version of the Torque game engine to bring the Penny Arcade Adventures they wanted to consoles and it took much longer than they expected.

"At that point we were fully committed to getting the game done as soon as we could," Ceraldi said. "So we focused on PC, linux and what we had already announced, the Xbox."

"As soon as we finished and got approved we moved those developers to the playstation and they started working on it for the Playstation Network," he said. "Until we got it running the way we wanted to look, we weren't going to announce anything."

"As soon as we did a full play through of the game we announced."

Future episodes of the game—Ceraldi believes there will be a total of four for this particular adventure—will still not arrive at the same time for all platforms.

While their was a lengthy delay between the release of Penny Arcade Adventures on the Xbox 360 and it coming to the Playstation Network, the new episodes will likely hit within weeks of one another. The Playstation Network will likely still be the last platform the episodes are developed for, he added.

While Ceraldi wouldn't talk hard numbers, he said that the game has had "very very solid numbers" for a digitally distributed game with no retail.

"We are an indie company," he added.

The future of the budding franchise appears to be strong. Ceraldi said that they may even look into releasing a box set or special edition of all of the episodes for Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness at retailers or online.

While they would love to bring the episodic game to the Wii, the size limits for Wii Ware prevent them from going the digital distribution method, he said. But that doesn't mean it couldn't come out down the line as a boxed game for Nintendo's console.

"Id love to be on the platform," Ceraldi said. "It’s purely an issue of size limit. Our game is just too big. If they increase that limit or add a harddrive, anything like that we would revisit (Wii Ware)."

And what happens after the episodic game has run it's course?

"Our goal is to have those single episodes. have them part of an overarching story. We speced out a story arch for it and Tycho has said he would like to do four episodes.

"I think the plan is that we may do a different game. Different theme but still Penny Arcade. They’ve done many different storylines and settings. There is lots of work they would like to explore."

A few weeks back I brought you news of The Arcade Flyer Archive and their effort to launch two new archives, one for Pinball Flyers and another for non video game Arcade Game Flyers. On April 30th TAFA opened it's two new archives both of which can be accessed from their main page. The two new sections have been supplemented with over 400 new flyers each in addition to the many that they already had in the mix. Also present is a fancy new logo and streamlined navigation system.

If you are a fan of these old arcade treasures, do yourself a favor and check out the new archives. The art is great and these guys deserve our support. Without them, there would be no weekly Arcade Flyer Art Saturday not to mention that a huge portion of arcade history would be lost to the ages. Flynn De Marco

The Arcade Flyer Archive [TAFA]

I love this concept: DDR meets dog walking:

Basically you have to walk on a treadmill while holding this white dog's leash. Walk too fast, and he'll get tired. Walk too slow, and he'll get bored. And when obstacles like the neighborhood bully dog or a oncoming car shows up on the screen, you better steer clear! If you mess up, your dog dies.

Seems like a really neat idea. It won't be long until someone marries this concept to Paperboy... I hope. Brian Crecente

Virtual Dog-Walking Arcade Game [Tokyomango]

This is worth the $45 membership fee, and it's valid for a whole year, so fill up on giant cans of con queso in case you decide to have an impromptu Fourth of July in June. Not only do you get Super Mario Bros, but you also get Donkey Kong, AND Donkey Kong Jr (all by Namco, of course) all for the super-low Costco price of $3,000! Shipping and Handling included, plus it probably doesn't smell like a day care center like the originals. Kim Phu

Indoor Games & Arcade [Costco, thanks Jason!]

Gentlemen, grab your beer coozies and mirrored sun glasses! Ladies, pull down your tube tops and shake those jublies to the sky, it's time for some good old fashioned ROCK AND ROLL!!

We're going all the way back to 1984 with rock god Ronnie James Dio and his classic song Last in Line. Featuring a leading man/delivery boy with hair that would make Willie Ames jealous, Dio takes us to Hell in an elevator. Hell apparently consists of shuffling dead people with shopping carts, cruel demon overlords, and Dio himself in some sort of weird Egyptian collar thing. Of the many tortures inflicted upon the damned, the most cruel are probably the brain frying electric guitar, people shackled to video games that electrocute you if you lose and prolonged exposure to the face and hair of Ronnie James Dio.

Now, press play and prepare to ROCK OUT WITH YOUR COCK OUT! Flynn De Marco

They've ported Soul Calibur III to the arcade, updated Counter-Strike NEO, shoveled out another Taiko no Tetsujin (this time it's got Super Mario Bros. songs in it! *cough*) and Rockin' Bowl-O-Rama and redemption games and UFO catchers and zzzzzzz...

Let's hope they're hard at work on Tekken 6 for PlayStation 3!

AOU 2006 Namco Coverage [Impress Game Watch]
Official Time Crisis 4 Site

So here's the deal, full networked arcade cabinet with a 32" LCD, two control sticks and foot pedals, 5.1 surround sound, and player data storage card compatability. Players can choose from multiple game modes and multiple classes including "Soldier", "Ranger", "Sniper", and "Engineer".

Check out the wildly weird screens (including super sexy Combine lady soldiers) at Impress Game Watch.

AOU2006 Taito Coverage [Impress Game Watch]
Official Half-Life 2 Survivor Site

Sega showed of a number of titles, with flagship fighting series Virtua Fighter well represented in its fifth major iteration. The Virtua Fighter 5 arcade cabinet features a 32" widescreen LCD monitor, dedicated single player controls, and strong networking capabilities alongside the VF Terminal and VF.TV. VF Terminal lets players manage and upgrade their character, for a price of course, while VF.TV lets non-players watch intense Virtua Fighter 5 match ups.

Sega also showed off a "ride" version of House of the Dead 4, which will spin safely buckled-in players according to in-game events and features a 100" screen. Early shots of HOTD4 looked a bit rotten, but check out some of the new screens at Game Watch to see how it's progressing.

Other arcade titles on hand included Virtua Striker 4 v.2006, Sangokushi Taisen 2, a new "brain training", touch-stick enabled, cash-in cabinet, and plenty of *yawn* medal redemption games.

AOU2006 Sega Coverage [Impress Game Watch]
Official VF5 Site
Official HOTD4 Site

It's also an opportunity to get your first look at one of the new combatants, Eileen, whose style looks like monkey kung fu. Monkey kung fu! I've been drooling for a monkey fighter since van Damme's Bloodsport.

VF5 Shaky Cam Videos [File Front]
Virtua Fighter 5 Official Web Site

Insert Credit reports that Soul Calibur 3 is getting ported to arcades. This was revealed at a Namco private show, and the release is planned for next spring. Good news for Soul Calibur fans. (Soul Calibur fans that live in Japan, that is.)

Full, er Short, Story Here [Insert Credit]

After buying my 360 on Saturday morning, I stopped by a game center for a little Mario Kart fun. Nobody was around, save for some little girls playing Oshare Majo. In the day's fitting denouement, I had to go at it alone. Game's a definite winner. Pics to follow.

Namco [Official Site]

Buttonmashers have outdone themselves this time: usually content on making fantastic-looking game controllers, they've gone and built a whole arcade cabinet, complete with custom paint job, authentic arcade controllers, a hardwired from the video card (no TV-out) setup and .. to top it all .. it's networked.

What a work of art. Mr & Mrs Buttonmashers, we tip the Kotaku hat at you in awe.

Beautiful Retro Invaders Arcade Cabinet [Etsy]

Peeping Toms and widespread groping are so bad in Japan that trains in Osaka and Tokyo have "Women-only" coaches. A much needed police crack down has resulted in multiple arrests of organized gangs and respected members of the community. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there's an arcade game that lets pervy men look up women's skirts without getting arrested by the cops. I have no clue about how this game works, don't know the name of it or anything else about it. (Not that I'd want to.) Our naughty-sister site Fleshbot's got a link to a short clip, which says more than words. And well, if Fleshbot's linking it, ya might wanna wait until after work to check it out.

Upskirt Game [Fleshbot]