It was at during the E3 game show that we knew we had to have Qualcomm Snapdragon as a sponsor.

Outside of the Staples Center, the company had set up a carefully constructed set that paid homage to games – and to other forms of popular art.

Yes, you could indulge in a variety of mobile games at various monitors. That’s a given at E3.

But you could also enter a small theater and watch a scene from Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim in highly detailed 4K. The fact that it was running on a Snapdragon processor made it all the more compelling.

That wasn’t all. Outside, you could hear the good-natured rants and ravings of various eSports teams onstage. And later on that same stage David Garibaldi, a fast-paced artist, made paintings to music – each one made in minutes.

As we’ve said before, we don’t bring on just any sponsor to the Circle Awards. It has to make sense. The Snapdragon people look at games as popular art and they mix in other popular art forms  – as they did with such energy at E3 – to prove it.

So, Qualcomm Snapdragon, here’s a hearty welcome to the New York Videogame Critics Circle Awards!