E3 2013: Searching for Pocket Gamer's Party of Show

E3 - the ultimate insiders show - takes its partying very seriously.

The sprawling afterhours scene is a serendipity of experiences that could only be described as nirvana on speed; a sensory overload of mindblowing productions and limitless libations, softened by hugs at every turn by everyone you've ever known in the industry.

The nights are as intense as the days are long. From the moment the show floor closes, breaking news, gameplay reveals and back-to-back interviews give way to a collective freefall into reckless abandonment.

To find the E3 2013 Party of Show would not be easy as many of the parties were off-list, but I was determined to be thorough in my investigations. I prepared the Pocket Gamer Ultimate E3 Party Guide, reached out to friends producing the parties, and hustled every which way to get the wristbands.

The partying started over the weekend as everyone made their way to LA.

In my Facebook feed, friends were photoboothing themselves in Capcom's DuckTales' money pit, sipping on toxic concoctions in a zombie wasteland at Naughty Dog's Last of Us launch party, wrestling Dolph Lundgren and fighting with Nolan Bushnell at the Swedish Affair mansion, and posting vine after vine of the Polygon & The Verge Revenge of the Party Monsters shindig.

Most everyone laid low as there was a marathon day of pressers ahead: Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, and Sony. By the time The Shins hit the stage at Microsoft's party Monday night, E3 2013, was well on its way to being considered one of the best openers in a long time.

By contrast, up in San Francisco, WWDC once again was going head-to-head with E3, pitting the Apple keynote against Microsoft's jaw-dropping presentation.

Anamanaguchi had a show and SF had a party crawl but nothing could compare to E3's bacchanals except for perhaps the Pocket Gamer WWDC party with nativeX where hundreds of devs descended on Vessel nightclub to show off their mobile games and mix it up over cocktails and tasty treats.

We partied hard and just a few hours later we were on the plane to E3!

First up was our Pocket Gamer E3 Party with iDreamSky. Always a neat affair, the champagne was flowing, the food was classy, and the networking was stellar. 500 industry notables flowed in and out of BottleRock and there was a really nice vibe as news and gossip were shared around intimate communal tables and oversized wine barrels.

Pocket Gamer crew

From there, I went on a wild party run with the Sega team to Machinima's RechargE3 where there was a wicked carnival on the rooftop of Icon Ultra Lounge with DJs and fire dancers.

But by the time we arrived the line was so long that we decided to make a mad dash for GamesRadar Remix with Far East Movement at the swanky Conga Room. It was a good time but in the chaos of the queue I lost my friends and decided to return to Pocket Gamer where the party was still going strong.

When our party ended, we went onto TwitchTV Qualcomm, which was an incredible affair. We were warmly greeted by Kevin Lin, one of the Twitch founders who slipped purple wristbands on us and escorted us in. We were then handed all sorts of toys, shuttershades and a giant foam glowstick. The DJ had a great mix going and there were nooks and crannies everywhere to hunker down and enjoy the conversation.

By the time we got the Nexon invite we were pretty happy not to go anywhere. Had we only known what was going on across town, with smoke machines billowing onto a masquerade of scantily clad mistresses while Grey Goose was being poured into the mouths of the crowd, we might have done otherwise.

But ignorance is bliss.

We were exhausted. Heading back, we got lost on the dark and desolate streets of downtown and still ran into people we knew. Inside the Fig, a party was spilling out into the back and at every turn there was someone we knew. Destructoid, PlayStation, EA, Activision, and so on and so on... UNTIL someone jumped into the pool and security kind of lost it.

The biggest E3 parties traditionally take place Wednesday night and as such there was a Boogie Bus sponsored by Liquid Advertising with DJ and open bar that helped partygoers make their rounds.

As pacing plays a huge part in how much one enjoys E3, I only had two parties on my list.

First stop was Saints Row, which turned out to be a huge surprise. Not only was the party really well done but guests were treated to goodie bags overflowing with video games, sleep shirts, Redbox codes, and more.

For an E3 that was light on giveaways, fans of Metro Last Light, Saints Row The Third, and Dead Island Riptide left feeling pretty psyched about their loot.

For this reason, Saints Row wins Pocket Gamer's E3 2013 Best of Schwag.

My final destination of course was Wargaming - winner of Pocket Gamer's E3 2013 Party of Show.

On so many fronts, Wargaming crushed it, for orchestrating the most anticipated party, for scale of production, and by popular consensus. With world domination as the end goal, one would expect no less.

Most of us unabashedly worship Wargaming as the overlord of gaming raves and are still recovering from past shows with Diplo, Pete Tong, Markus Schulz, and LMFAO.

In keeping with tradition, Wargaming took E3 2013 by storm and the entire experience was over the top decadence with breathtaking projections, a stunning lightshow, endless trays of elixirs and noms, and giant inflatable warplanes raining down in showers of confetti.

By the time the clock struck midnight, Zedd was working the dance floor into a frenzy of pure ecstasy. The gacha machine was eliciting screams as it teased toy tanks as prizes.

Exchange LA was basking in all its glory with a massive tank parked in front, and war models photoboothing in back. There were high fives all around for Wargaming's most excellent show which included a thrilling Xbox One reveal and an immersive dome presentation for World of Warships.

Morning came soon enough and I spent the day on the show floor in meetings, checking out games, and snapping goofy pics at the Nintendo booth. When they announced "E3 is over, now leave!" there was a roar of cheers, but not from me.

It was now the beginning of the long goodbye and I found it hard to say farewell to my British colleagues.

As luck would have it, I was dropped at the wrong hotel for the CCP party. A common mistake. Turns out there are two Standard hotels - one super plush with a disco roofdeck and waterbed pods, and the other a retro-vinyl Hollywood dive far, far away.

I was on the curb figuring out what to do when a bunch of Blizzard guys told me they were huge Pocket Gamer fans and that my party list made their show. They gave me a ride to CCP and I wound up having an amazing good time. Some of E3's biggest party producers were in the mix. I made many new friends on the astroturf poolside and in the hideaway lounge in back.

In summary, there's really nothing like E3. When you can play like this and call it work, you know you're in the coolest business around.

Join us in San Francisco on Wednesday, 26 June as we recap E3 and WWDC with Sega, Kabam and WeMade at our next Pocket Gamer Mobile Mixer.

All welcome! RSVP here.