Penny Arcade discontinues Report and TV

Penny Arcade has made the decision to drop both industry editorial branch the Penny Arcade Report and TV hosting service PATV in order to double down on the brand's core features.

In a brief blog post on the organisation's main site, co-founder Tycho discussed a desire to return to focusing on those parts of the business which were felt to be the most representative of the site's initial aims, as well as devoting more time to the increasingly growing needs of charity Child's Play and the consumer show PAX.

"I don't think I want to 'grow my business' anymore," explained Tycho. "I sort of want to do the opposite. And I'm tired, sick to death, of saying 'Maybe Someday' when it comes to the things we really want to make. So, we're not going to do that anymore. The next year is going to be a pretty big one, one of the biggest yet; it's the year the previous fifteen have been leading up to in the literal sense but also in other ways. I think they're going to be 'big years' from now on, frankly. And it hurts pretty bad, but I don't know where PATV as a 'channel' for third party shows and The Penny Arcade Report fit into that. We'll be shutting those things down at the end of this year.

"I think they're beautiful and useful and important; I use them every day. It's possible that you do, too. I hired people to run them, or paid them, and I am making their lives worse by doing this. Losing Ben is especially painful - he did everything we asked of him, and more. The only comfort is knowing that everyone affected by this is excellent, as is attested continually by their excellent work, and will certainly land on their feet. We've tried to connect the dots for them where we can. Still hurts."

Whilst PATV hosted video from external sources, the Penny Arcade Report had become a respected industry opinion of its own in the two years since its inception. Its editor, Ben Kuchera, made a brief statement of his own.

"I'm not really interested in crying over spilled milk; sometimes these things work out, and sometimes they don't. I've had a wonderful two years at Penny Arcade, and the few times I worked directly out of the office I enjoyed the commitment and joy that everyone found in their work.

"I've learned a ton covering PAX while getting a taste at what it takes to run that sort of show, and I was able to write many, many stories of which I'm very proud.

"This is to say nothing about the great work that Dabe Alan, our photographer, Kristin Lindsay, who both edited and copyedited the site, and Andrew Groen and Sophie Prell delivered on a regular basis. The goal was always to be enthusiastic about the games we loved, and to be ruthless with the games we hated. I think we succeeded in those two goals.

"I couldn't have asked for a better crew, and I'm proud of the things we were able to pull off with such a small, dedicated team. This is the way I like to work: Lean, hard, and with great purpose.

"I'm very happy with PAR, and if this is how it ends, that's not too bad. We had a good run. We didn't fix game journalism, but the whole idea of it being broken and needing a white knight to run in and make everything better was arrogant and more than a little pigheaded. There was good game writing before PAR, and there's going to be good game writing after we go away."