On Sunday, fellow PG! writer and Pixel Clicks Podcaster Jordan Pollock and I were invited to the first ever Press Start LAN to see what it was like to go to a LAN party “on PCP.” Long story short: it was a blast.
Jordan and I were both expecting a rather small event, maybe a hundred or so LAN goers, but that was not the case at all. Held at the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine in our native Southern California, Press Start threw one hell of a party.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq6lDLf8vYE[/youtube]
When we first walked into the main room we were blown away by the hundreds of gamers mixing it up on the show floor. With PC players mixing it up in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to the right and dozens of Super Smash Bros. Melee players competing to the left, it was like entering a gaming paradise.
With several different stages showcasing tournaments in League of Legends, Titanfall, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Starcraft 2 and several other games, Press Start was the place to be this weekend. Indeed, the Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament ended up on the front page of Reddit, thanks in part to the hilariously title for a spectacular moment in the fights.
One of the tournaments was for a game neither of us had heard of before; osu!, a music-based rhythm game. It was quite different from the rest of the games being played at Press Start. Watching the finals for osu! on the main stage was a bit of a mind-bending experience; I can only imagine what it must be like play at a competitive level for such a interesting, and dare I say trippy, game.
No event would be complete without celebrity appearances. Counter Logic Gaming showed up for a meet and greet on Sunday, much to the delight of fans. StarCraft II fans were surprised when the man, the myth, the legend, Lee “Jaedong“ Jae Dong came and competed in the the tournament.
The event’s sponsors were there in force, with many different tables from Newegg, MSI, Lootcrate and other companies showing off their goods. Jordan and I both walked away with several prizes from the many different giveaways provided by the sponsors. We managed to score three different Lootcrates, bags, pens, mouse pads, shirts, posters and more. Jordan also walked away with a brand new computer case for his soon-to-be return to being a PC master, courtesy of the Newegg raffle.
There was also a huge setup for Elite: Dangerous, complete with three wide screen monitors and a Saitek X52 Pro Flight Control System. Jordan was quickly sucked into space, blasting enemy ships to his heart’s delight. In search of a new computer chair for quite some time, I got the chance to sit down in one of the premium chairs on display from NEED for SEAT USA. My back and butt quickly fell in love; I may be ordering such a chair to replace my old IKEA Markus very soon.
Special thanks go out to Caleb Finn, Press Start’s magnificently-haired host and director, for inviting us to come out to the event. It was a blast to get to see so much love and passion for gaming from our fellow gamers.
Jordan should have a video up soon showing off the event, including an interview with Caleb. Caleb will also be “On PCP” in the near future, joining the Pixel Clicks Podcast crew to discuss the chaos of planning and operating an event of this scale, as well as his secrets to staying up for more than 36 hours straight to do so.
We look forward to many more events from the Press Start group in the future; with such a successful launch, we might just have a contender for DreamHack in a few years.
