Intellivision Party re-cap from the LA Report
e3 2006 Review: INTELLIVISION Retropia Party at ARENA Interactive Lounge
by Don Rose
Intellivision decided to throw a fun Retropia party to celebrate the e3 expo, and since I always like retro themed events, I had to pop in. The party took place fairly far from the Convention Center (e3 epicenter), but that was for good reason -- they wanted to have the bash at the very funnest new game place in West L.A., the Arena Interactive Lounge.
As a DJ spun tunes, gamers enjoyed classic Intellivision games as well as the other modern games Arena features in its innovative space -- for example, Guitar Hero, which proved popular with some of the attendees. Arena is definitely a fun place to hang, if you and your pals love playing games in a fun, relaxing environment. The two-story space is located upstairs at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Butler (across the street from a classic LA landmark of sorts, the recording studio with no sign known as The Village).
The Intellivision party certainly won the longest time range award -- "3pm to 2am" -- and featured excellent food from a nearby eatery (another LA classic: Cafe 50's). One of the coolest touches at the party was the video display, which displayed classic TV commercials for Intellivision in its 80's heyday, featuring at least two ads starring pitchman George Plimpton (one had George talking with "ET" star Henry Thomas). As the party came to a close, I even spotted a classic SCTV futuristic sketch onscreen. I wish all parties could have such cool video going in the background since, to me, this kinda stuff is like icing on the cake of a good soiree.
