E3 isn't just about the games....it's infamous for its after-hours parties. Many of which the CCC staff gets to attend on your behalf. by the staff at CCC

Stupid Comments Heard at E3 (and a few stupid things too):

Some guy on his cell phone. "Booth babes are real! I even got my picture taken with one!"

Two gamers with a Pac Man toy. "Let's go around the show floor and pretend we are Pac Man to people." (Because that would look really professional.)

Apparently, standing in lines has become a favorite E3 pastime. There was a six hour line to see the Wii. A reminder to the ESA, if a person is truly at E3 to do business they don't have six hours to stand in line to see a console. And if a person is at E3 and has a life, they don't have two hours to stand in line to get Adam West's autograph. No joke. Two hours. (Adam West is the mayor on Family Guy).

Just because someone is Japanese doesn't mean he is a developer for Nintendo. While trying to bypass the Wii line, Dave noticed one fanboy falling all over himself to a Nintendo rep asking what games he made and how he can't believe he is meeting people who actually make games while the Japanese Nintendo rep stared bewildered at the crazed fan.

We believe that the second people get off the airplane in Los Angeles, they slip on their E3 badges and don't even take them off to shower or sleep even if they don't need the badges until the they get to the convention center two days later. We saw E3 badges on people checking into their hotels on Monday afternoon, people taking walks down Sunset, people at the press conferences, and people sunbathing at the pool (okay, we didn't really see that, but probably only because we didn't go to the pool).

Our secret contact at the hotel we stayed at told us that E3 is the biggest time of the year for prostitutes at the hotel. While we shouldn't be surprised, eww still. As Vaughn so aptly put it, what would happen to the porn industry if someone where to blow up E3? One can only wonder.

E3 Parties

E3 isn't all work. We do have a little fun. This year, Cheat Code Central made sure to make appearances at all the hot and not so hot parties to report back to you.

Microsoft

After the Microsoft press conference on Tuesday, they guided us over to the famous Roosevelt Hotel for a party that we totally needed to celebrate the announcements of Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV. They had an open bar and fed us really good Japanese food in colored take-out boxes while still running demonstrations on their new games. Of course, we lost interest in the take-out food after we discovered two chocolate fountains and two tables full of desserts. The party extended from the inside of the hotel to the pool outside where we were served more food (cookies) and more demos. We soaked up the sun for a little bit, checked out a demo of Shadowrun and then headed back inside to compete in Rockstar's new Table Tennis game. A woman's voice came over the intercom to thank us for coming and less than two minutes later two security guards came to kick us out. We didn't even get to finish our game of table tennis.

Intel/GGL/Ziff Davis

Wednesday night, we headed over to the Hotel Figuaroa after an exhausting day at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Ziff Davis, GGL, and Intel host this poolside party that boasts an intimate, casual atmosphere. Again, an open bar and free pizza and burgers satisfied our appetite while we were able to mingle as the sun set over the smoggy Los Angeles skyline. We hurried away from this party too soon to join a party at the famed House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard.

Best Buy/Activision/ Rockstar

The invitation to this party promised us an exclusive party with plenty of celebrities. Apparently there were celebrities (of course, the term depends on your definition because we hadn't heard of anyone on the list) at the party, but they were put in their own VIP area. We were put in the normal people area where we paid for our own drinks and food and listened to a band no one had ever heard of excepting an Xbox Live rep who seemed to take it as a personal insult that we didn't think the band was "the next big thing." So basically, it was like going to a restaurant except without any tables. We had to pay for our own food and drinks and then stand in the middle of an empty "dance floor" awkwardly trying to eat cold buffalo wings holding the paper plate in one hand and our plastic drink cup in the other hand. We understand why Rockstar doesn't have the money to throw a party (after all, Take-Two has had to deal with the whole Hot Coffee debacle recently), but Best Buy? We believe we spend more money in one month at Best Buy than they did on this party. And besides that, "exclusive" apparently meant anyone off the streets who was willing to stand in line long enough since the party was officially open to the public. Lame.

GameTap

GameTap held it's party in a portion of the ritzy Windows restaurant at the top of the SBC tower in downtown Los Angeles. Again, free food and drinks. The mini cheeseburgers were quite delicious. The party was relaxing and a fun prelude to the Sony party. We believe this Windows restaurant (which we have never eaten at) can charge exorbitant amounts for their food because they are located thirty-two floors up and overlook Los Angeles. The view was not worth the food price. Los Angeles has become so smoggy that you look down and you can't see anything besides the foggy smog cover. Even now, when the sun is shining bright in the sky beyond us, we still can't see it for the white smog today.

Sony

The Sony party is always the most coveted party at E3. They really go all out to impress us. The party is held each year at a hill near Dodger Stadium and the security to get in is nearly as meticulous as the security to get on an airplane. After we got through security, we were handed flutes of champagne to kick off the celebration. Once inside the party, there are tents all over the place with different food. We had the choice to dine on tacos, hot dogs, burgers, pizza, cracker jacks, steak skewers, and much more. Sony had plenty of entertainment including a dance troupe we would like to don "The Freak Show" as they danced around in leather goth costumes and black makeup while pretending to have an orgy. Of course, Sony always has a Sony artist come to entertain us. In the past, they have brought out such artists as Missy Elliot, Jimmy Eat World, and Black Eyed Peas. This year, they entertained us with Incubus. The party was everything we expected it to be and was the perfect way for us to end E3 2006.