All of the major entertainment industries have their own awards shows, whether it’s the Emmys for TV, the Grammys for music, the Oscars for movies, or the Tonys for Broadway, but the video game industry does not really have that one big show that recognizes all the talent within its own industry.
Tracy aspires for EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), but room for one more letter?
The Video Game Industry Does Have Awards Shows…
Over at GDC, there is the “Game Developer’s Choice Awards”, which centers more on the game developers, and Spike TV has been hosting the “Video Game Awards” (later renamed to VGX) focuses more on the actual video games themslves, and has more of the Hollywood awards show feel to it, complete with live musical acts.
Now, Geoff Keighley, the video game broadcaster behind the VGX, has unveiled “The Game Awards” show, which looks like it will now focus more on game developers, while also including e-Sports and communities, recognizing both game developers and game players. Similar to the VGX, it will also feel like a Hollywood awards show, as well as having live musical acts, but the focus will certainly be on video games. In addition, the show will also feature world premieres of new games.
Advisory Board Contains Some of the Biggest Names in the Business
Looking at the advisory board on the website, it features a star-studded group including: Peter Moore, (COO of EA) Hideo Kojima, (Director of Kojima Productions) Phil Spencer, (Head of XBox Microsoft) Reggie Fils-Aime (President and COO of Nintendo America) Shawn Layden, (CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America) Yves Guillemot, (CEO and Co-Founder of Ubisoft) as well as the game publishers, Valve and Rockstar Games.
The Game Awards 2014 show will be held on December 5, 2014 in Las Vegas at the AXIS Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Tickets will be made available through Ticketmaster starting on November 11, 2014. While the show will not be picked up by any of the TV Networks, it can be viewed directly from the show’s website, as well as on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Nintendo, and Steam.
While it can be argued that this is just the industry patting itself on the back for work that it’s supposed to do, however, for myself, I feel that it is important to give credit where it’s due, as well as using these kinds of awards shows to inspire people to continue pushing forward. Hopefully, as video games become more prevalent and prominent in our society, we can see a show such as this become a major award that game developers aspire to win. I can’t wait to see what the red carpet interviews would look like!
Published: Nov 10, 2014 10:21 am