Every year in March hundreds of thousands of people descend on the capitol of Texas for one of the largest conferences and festivals in the world, South by Southwest (SXSW). The surge of visitors increases Austin’s population by about 50-percent, creating an atmosphere that’s truly electric.
TCL was one of the brands who braved the gridlock and called Austin home during the event, participating in the sprawling showcase of technology, music, gaming, and sweet, sweet Texas barbeque—which cannot be compared to any barbeque I have ever stuffed into my face. Seriously, it is that good…
We teamed up with Vox Media (publisher of the The Verge, Eater, SB Nation, and Curbed to name a few) to build the Polygon Arcade at Vox's The Deep End experience.
Combining the new with the old, TCL and Vox created a space where gaming fans and attendees could play specially selected games from Polygon Essentials. Hands-down the favorite was Super Smash Brothers, which could be played on the biggest and boldest TV we have to offer, the award-winning 75-inch 6-Series. Rocket League, TowerFall and the incredibly stressful Overcooked 2, were also available and paired with our 5-Series, a TV that combines superior 4K UHD picture quality with Dolby Vision HDR plus ultra-low latency for the serious gaming warriors.
Polygon also threw in some of the best games from yesteryear like Pac-Man (we owned the top two scores on that one, by the way), NBA Jam, The Simpsons and the impossible to beat Asteroids. It was a beautiful marriage of nostalgia and the best of the new age. Attendees also had the opportunity to go head-to-head with their favorite Polygon editors. Bonus: the arcade’s air conditioning also made the space an even more sought-after attraction!
Just below the arcade, Vox’s Podcast Studio hosted special guests such as Olivia Wilde and Mark Cuban for a range of talks that focused on the intersection of technology, entertainment, and media. TCL also presented a panel discussion with Polygon, where Adi Shankar (Netflix’s Castlevania), Amy Hennig (Creative Director of the Uncharted series) and Kiki Wolfkill (Studio Head of 343) discussed the overlap of games and movies. The fun conversation revealed how this media may potentially be integrated into one medium in the not-so-distant future.
TCL's SXSW event was a weekend packed with gaming, fun, and of course barbeque. Overall, as an amateur food critic I give Austin’s BBQ a 13.5/10 and the Texas-spin on Mexican food a -8/10. Let’s face it, the best Latin-American food can be found right here in Southern California!
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