For as long as the medium has yearned for mainstream recognition, so too has gaming attempted to highlight it’s best and brightest with awards shows. Striving for the same level of public attention as the Oscars, these award shows have generally disappointed with overt advertisements, pointless celebrity appearances, and a general lack of respect for the industry altogether. The Spike Video Game Awards was the big name show for many years, and, being broadcast on television, was one of the more outward facing representations of gaming. For 10 years the VGAs were less a celebration of the best games that year had to offer, and more a hype generating machine built on marketing deals. In 2014, longtime VGA show runner Geoff Keighley broke away from Spike after it was announced the production of the VGA’s was to be shuttered. The next year he announced a re-tooled awards show, simply titled The Game Awards. This show would strive to deliver the class and sophistication the VGAs sorely lacked. Streamed to the public via online channels in 2014, the shows premier was an improvement over Spike’s decade of pomp without circumstance. The Game Awards 2014 focused on highlighting developers, limiting pointless interruptions, and included interesting awards such as ‘games for change.’ While there were problems with the production, it was a good first attempt and seemed to be on the right path to providing a quality space for the genuine celebration of the years best in gaming. However, if the Game Awards for 2016 is anything to go by, that ideal awards show is still out of reach. Way, way out of reach.
