GDC08: Joystiq live from Sony's Block Party

by Christopher Grant { Feb 21st 2008 at 1:45AM }

Word on the street is that Sony's Block Party, uh ... party is, well, in a word: exclusive. We spoke with several notable video game writers, developers, and others who apparently couldn't get into Mezzanine, the trendy club you're seeing in that shot above. To be honest, we hate to sound like the ungrateful twerps everyone assumes we are but, here goes.

Upon arriving at the door, having our unique bar-code invitation scanned, getting a wrist bracelet, and wandering inside, one thing was abundantly clear: There's a lot of stuff here, and none of those things are video games. There are hula-hoop girls with really short shorts; there's a breakdancing crew getting boogaloo on the dance floor; there's a DJ mashing up 70's throwbacks; there's a barber shop upstairs (no, seriously, they're actually cutting hair). We ask a group of people why they're here. "We're friends with the bartender."

Guess what we're trying to say is this is a "party" in the typical sense of the word. Think performances by Q-Tip and Guru and not, say, Phil Harrison; think "dancing" and not uh, LittleBigPlanet-ing. So, in short, we're totally out of our element; our awkward, maladroit tendencies grating harshly against the rest of the well-dressed (and overwhelmingly good looking) party-goers.But, what's that? Just as one of the evening's rappers takes the stage, and just as our spindly ankles begin lifting up and down to the rhythm, we spot MTV's Stephen Totilo and look, over there, it's Q Games' Dylan Cuthbert. We may just get the hang of this "party" thing after all ... but alas, a long night of blogging lays ahead. No rest for the wicked.

Gallery: Sony Block Party (GDC08)

Tags: GDC08, party, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Matt @ Feb 21st 2008 1:59AM

Sounds disapointing. At least theres no dead goats.

Hashbrown_Hunter @ Feb 21st 2008 2:03AM

I think dead goats could have made this party better.

FidliousWong @ Feb 21st 2008 8:17AM

dead goats make every party better.

Hashbrown_Hunter @ Feb 21st 2008 2:03AM

I find it absolutely hysterical that a party from Sony is totally irrelevant to games. I sincerely hope this isn't how their keynote goes.

rodsky @ Feb 21st 2008 2:19AM

"and here we have the new sku version of the Blu-RayStation 3 and its new line of movies, I mean Playstation and games, wait no I was right the 1st time"

Andrew Yoon @ Feb 21st 2008 2:11AM

There is no keynote.

ThornedVenom (Ludwig Defense Force) @ Feb 21st 2008 11:51AM

The keynote is a lie.

mezzanine @ Feb 21st 2008 2:28AM

I could get in. I have the same name as the club.

Negativecool @ Feb 21st 2008 2:43AM

I'm not really sure where the confusion is coming from.

It's a party...at a club...With the exception of the barber shop above, with the word "party" in mind; I see nothing out of the ordinary from your description.

What's wrong with it? It doesn't have games for you to play? GDC has never been the wallet busting display showcase for a company's games lineup for the rest of the year like the E3's of old, hence Nintendo is keeping out, and Sony is keeping it low key.

Microsoft seems to be the only one that realizes that blogs like Joystiq have clout and are thus turning an event originally meant for developers only to share tools and ideas of the trade, into a circus.

Jesus...Sony happens to make consoles with games, but they are providing you a venue to stop thinking about games for a minute and have fun in other ways. So, stop thinking about the games until tomorrow. Now, get drunk, hit on one of those scantily clad women, inappropriately touch them, and get tossed out of the bar too drunk to see what body part you just grabbed. Get-er-done for those who aren't there god dammit!

HighFiveJesus @ Feb 21st 2008 3:47AM

Sony always seems to have a stylish trendy presence. Just hope the party was as fun as they usually get in clubs. Sucks you feel out of your element though, NUUURRDS.

NineT9mustang @ Feb 21st 2008 4:52AM

Perfectly said wow...I have absolutly nothing to add, nice to see some positive attitude here on the net, i tend to only see negative remarks about every single internet news item everywhere...we need more positive thinkers like you to let others realize how they are being!

Dirk Dorkelson @ Feb 21st 2008 7:02AM

What do you mean "Nintendo is keeping out?" I spent a good deal of time at Nintendo's booth in the expo, which was vary geared toward the conference attendees as gamers, as opposed to as developers. While Microsoft didn't have a space in the expo hall to show off new and upcoming 360 games (unless you count the XNA lounge), both Nintendo and Sony had a substantial presence. I had fun trying out Super Smash Bros. Brawl (I played as the Ice Climbers) and Wii Fit. At the Sony booth, I watched some guys play Echochrome for a while.