History Trivia / PennyArcade

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/02/24/ Tycho's]] claim that ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' was the tenth game in the [[VideoGame/MegaMan series]]. More than that, this was based on an actual discussion between Mike and Jerry, and they proceed to bicker about it in [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2006/02/24/gabe-1-tycho-0 a few]] [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2006/02/24/tycho-2127000-gabe-difficult-to-determine news posts]]; including evidence submitted by readers that includes discussion on whether ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'' qualifies as ''Mega Man 9''. It eventually concludes in Gabe's favor when [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2006/02/24/new-facts a reader points out]] that ''X'' was released before ''VideoGame/MegaMan7''. And this all became HilariousInHindsight when the ''actual VideoGame/MegaMan9'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'' came out two and four years later, respectively.

!!TropeNamer for:
* [[ForumSpeak G.I.F.T]]
* TheMerch: Brutally satirized [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/01/05/ here]].
* ShootTheMedicFirst: Named while [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/9/21/the-protip/ discussing]] ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''.

** [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/03/18/in-which-much-is-revealed In this comic,]] Gabe claims "Syfy" is Polish for "syphilis". It'd be pronounced /sɨfɨ/ in Polish, but it's close to the [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/syf colloquial/vulgar term for the disease]]. Also, the Polish word for "whore" is a common curse word [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kurwa#Interjection and interjection used to express strong emotions]] - calling it "normal stuff" isn't even a reach.

* TheCameo: ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''[='=]s Finn and Jake appear on a poster in one strip. Derpy Hooves, from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' appears in a few convention request strips.

-->Putting up a link is actually considered a hostile act by some comics. The bandwidth drain our readership - well, you, I guess - can place on a site is almost indistinguishable (at first) from a Denial Of Service attack.

* {{Determinator}}: In a genre prone to {{Schedule Slip}}, Penny Arcade stands out as one of the few webcomics out there that updates on a very consistent basis even when real life gets in the way, at the expense of Gabe whether it's swine flu (in which PA reached out for guest strips while Gabe recovered) or badly cutting his thumb.
* DevelopmentHell: Episode 3 of ''VideoGame/PennyArcadeAdventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness'' was seemingly in this inferno, until the creators said the video game series was over and the storyline would continue as a [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/rainslick/ novel]].
** Episode 3 has now been SavedFromDevelopmentHell. It has been picked up by the creators of ''VideoGame/CthulhuSavesTheWorld'', and is taking on the form of a 16-bit RPG. It was a Summer 2012 release for Steam, Xbox Live Indie Games, and mobile devices, and episode 4 was also developed.
* HeterosexualLifePartners[=/=]TrueCompanions: Jerry once described Mike in a news post as: "He's not my friend. He's more like my ''arm''".
* LongRunners: [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/1998/11/18/the-sin-of-long-load-times The very first comic was submitted]] on ''November 18, 1998''. To this day, it's still going and is still getting new strips frequently.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: one comic mocking ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' got them into trouble with American Greetings' lawyers because they chose to satirize American [=McGee=] creating a very violent and sexually explicit WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake game- they were aiming for a franchise much mocked as saccharine in the 80s and had unfortunately chosen a franchise American Greetings had coincidentally chose to revive shortly before the comic was published. The comic was taken down, but they made their greviences clear in a subsequent comic. They also encouraged their fans to KeepCirculatingTheTapes in the dark web.
** When [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:MurielOK asked]] by a Website/{{Wikipedia}} user in 2019, Muriel Fahrion--the original designer of ''Strawberry Shortcake''--said she did not pay attention to the controversy at the time as she wanted to stay positive following her husband's illness and sought to continue working as an illustrator to pay her dues.
* SpinOff: They attempted to make a Jim Darkmagic comic arc, which seemed to involve him and his stage performances going horribly wrong. It was however, voted down. Probably due to the fact that "That wasn't Jim Darkmagic! Jim Darkmagic only ever rolls natural 20s! He's seven feet tall with red hair and eyes like the sun!"
** Also due to the fact that, as great as the Jim Darkmagic's (of the New Hampshire Darkmagics) strip was, the even more amazing alternatives -- ''Automata'' and ''Lookouts'' -- crushed it in in the voting, with ''Lookouts'' winning by a small margin (all three concepts are going to be revisited anyway, they just wanted to know what ''order'' readers would like).
** They've since presented another round of potential spinoffs like ''[[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/10/27/ Sand]]'' and ''[[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/11/1/ Queen of Bells]]''. One, ''[[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/10/29/ The New Kid]]'', has already been optioned for a movie.
* SpringtimeForHitler: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/24/ Twisp and Catsby]], which Gabe and Tycho intended to be so horrible that nobody would enjoy it. They became immensely popular instead, much to the creators' disbelief, and remain a favorite when they want to do something surrealistic.
** One of the appearances of the Victorian duo was a children's book written for one of their kids, in fact.
* TechnologyMarchesOn: Inevitable considering how long the strip has run. Some ideas are reinvented to suit new mores - the Fruit Fucker 5000 was originally a parody of the rambling cable-TV gadget advertisements popular in TheNineties, but has since moved on to parody Apple's range of {{iProduct}}s.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/02/21/ Olympus]], an actual dream of both of them, is an arcade utopia which will never come to fruition because neither Gabe or Tycho have millions and millions of dollars.
-->'''Gabe''': Imagine it's like a really classy Dave and Busters, like with dark hardwood bars, glass rooms full of high-end audio and video equipment... Khoo said not yet.\\

** [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/03/18/in-which-much-is-revealed While 'syfy' in Polish]] just means "zits" (and "syphylis" is "syfilis" or "kiła"), the Polish word for "whore" ("kurwa", for the record) is a common curse word and interjection, also used to express strong emotions - calling it "normal stuff" isn't even a reach.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: one comic mocking VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice got them into trouble with American Greetings' lawyers because they chose to satirize [=American McGee=] creating a very violent and sexually explicit WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake game- they were aiming for a franchise much mocked as saccharine in the 80s and had unfortunately chosen a franchise American Greetings had coincidentally chose to revive shortly before the comic was published. The comic was taken down, but they made their greviences clear in a subsequent comic. They also encouraged their fans to KeepCirculatingTheTapes in the dark web.

** When asked by a Website/{{Wikipedia}} user in 2019, Muriel Fahrion--the original designer of ''Strawberry Shortcake''--said she did not pay attention to the controversy at the time as she wanted to stay positive following her husband's illness and sought to continue working as an illustrator to pay her dues.

* {{Fingore}}: Mike once cut his thumb clear to the bone without even realizing, something he wrote into the comic. In [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/03/30/ the accompanying strip]], Tycho was less than concerned.

* WriteWhoYouKnow

* ScrewedByTheLawyers: one comic mocking VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice got them into trouble with American Greetings' lawyers because they chose to satirize [=American McGee=] creating a very violent and sexually explicit WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake game- they were aiming for a franchise much mocked as TastesLikeDiabetes in the 80s and had unfortunately chosen a franchise American Greetings had coincidentally chose to revive shortly before the comic was published. The comic was taken down, but they made their greviences clear in a subsequent comic. They also encouraged their fans to KeepCirculatingTheTapes in the dark web.

* QuoteSource:
** JumpScare

!!ImageSource for:
* AllegedlyFreeGame
* AndroidsAndDetectives
* {{Animorphism}}
* BileFascination
* BreadEggsBreadedEggs
* ClusterFBomb
* CuttingTheElectronicLeash
* DeathNotification
* DoubleEntendre
* ForumSpeak ("G.I.F.T" section)
* HealingShiv
* HighPressureBlood
* HomoeroticDream
* InNameOnly
* LevelLockedLoot
* LukeIMightBeYourFather
* MadLibsDialogue
* MassMonsterSlaughterSidequest
* MermaidProblem
* MoodDissonance
* MurderIsTheBestSolution
* NerfArm
* NinjaLog
* NoHeroDiscount
* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo
* PokeThePoodle
* ThePowerOfHate
* QuicksandBox
* RageAgainstTheHeavens
* RainbowPimpGear
* {{Scrub}}
* ShootTheMedicFirst
* {{Squee}}
* StoppedCaring
* SureLetsGoWithThat
* SwissCheeseSecurity
* TalkingApplianceSidekick
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential
* WhatIsThisFeeling
* AWizardDidIt
* YouKeepUsingThatWord

* ColbertBump: Any website that Tycho links to in his blogpost that isn't used to getting several thousand pings will be crashed by the massive influx of people who read Penny Arcade. In the words of the bard himself:

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/02/24/ Tycho's]] claim that ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' was the tenth game in the [[VideoGame/MegaMan series]].
** Became HilariousInHindsight when the ''actual VideoGame/MegaMan10'' came out four years later.