Spike Video Game Awards
The Spike Video Game Awards (VGA) is an award show that recognizes the best computer and video games of the year. Started in 2004, the Spike TV Video Game Awards garnered much attention, since video game awards were not common prior to its introduction.
Video Game Award Results
2007 Awards
- Game of the Year: BioShock
- Studio of the Year: Harmonix
- Best Shooter: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Best RPG: Mass Effect
- Best Military Game: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Best Individual Sports Game: Skate
- Best Handheld Game: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- Best Graphics: Crysis
- Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show: The Simpsons Game
- Best Rhythm Game: Rock Band
- Best Driving Game: Colin McRae: Dirt
- Best Action Game: Super Mario Galaxy
- Best Team Sports Game: Madden NFL 08
- Best Soundtrack: Rock Band
- Breakthrough Technology: Portal
- Best Xbox 360 Game: BioShock
- Best Wii Game: Super Mario Galaxy
- Best PS3 Game: Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
- Best PC Game: The Orange Box
- Best Original Score: BioShock
- Best Multiplayer Game: Halo 3
- Most Addictive Video Game: Halo 3
2006 Awards
- Game of the Year - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Before PS3 Version (Bethesda Softworks)
- Action Game of the Year - Dead Rising (Capcom)
- Best Individual Sports Game - Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Activision/Neversoft)
- Best Team Sports Game - NBA 2K7 (2K Sports/Visual Concepts)
- Cyber Vixen of the Year - Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2: Episode One (Valve)
- Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show - Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
- Best Performance by a Human (male) - Patrick Stewart in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
- Best Supporting Male Performance - James Gandolfini in The Sopranos: Road to Respect (THQ/7 Studios)
- Best Performance by a Human (female) - Vida Guerra in Scarface: The World Is Yours (Vivendi/Radical Entertainment)
- Best Supporting Female Performance - Rachael Leigh Cook in Kingdom Hearts II (Square Enix)
- Best Cast - Family Guy Video Game! (2K Games/High Voltage Software)
- Best Song - "Lights and Sounds" by Yellowcard in Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
- Best Soundtrack - Guitar Hero II (Red Octane/Harmonix)
- Best Original Score - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
- Studio of the Year - Cliff Bleszinski / Epic Games (Gears of War)
- Best Driving Game Award - Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
- Most Addictive Game - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
- Best Fighting Game - Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway Games)
- Best Shooter - Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
- Best Military Game - Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
- Best Graphics - Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
- Best Handheld Game - New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
- Best Multiplayer Game - Gears of War (Microsoft/Epic Games)
- Best Breakthrough Technology - Wii (Nintendo)
- Best RPG - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
- Best PC Game - Company of Heroes (THQ/Relic)
- Best Wireless Game - SWAT Force (Vivendi/KAOLink)
- Critic's Choice (released after 11/15/2006 and before 12/31/2006) - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo EAD)
Previous Awards
Criticism
The Video Game Awards (as well as G-Phoria, another game award show presented by the former video game channel G4) have been heavily criticized since its inception (the first one in particular was universally panned for numerous reasons). One common criticism is that the VGAs are merely a popularity contest. This means that console games are more likely to win or be nominated over PC games. Another controversy is that the VGAs tend to ignore games released for the Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo in general. For example, Super Mario Galaxy wasn't nominated for Game of the Year, even though it was the second best reviewed game of all time, scoring higher than all the other games on the list by most critics.
In the very first VGAs, Halo on the PC won the best shooter category when it was technically a two year old game ported to another system by this point and should have been an invalid choice. Also in the first VGAs, during one year's shooters nominee preview, they spelled SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs "SOCMO." A similar situation arose the next year when Samuel L. Jackson repeatedly referred to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as "Grand Theft Auto 2", though San Andreas is the fifth game in the series. The game was also shown as "Grand Theft Auto 3: San Andreas" when displayed.
Another common criticism is too much focus on the celebrities than the games, as well as the general tackiness of the show. According to some, the organizers also over emphasize on things that visually attract audiences, rather than anything actually relevant to video games.
The 2005 awards had also received criticism for having nominations for Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie and 50 Cent: Bulletproof (the latter of which was nominated for game of the year, despite being panned by critics and gamers alike). Both games had just been released when the special had aired, but after the filming, citing the possibility that the show was merely used as an advertising campaign for both games. The same could likely go for letting the TNA iMPACT! video game having a sneak peak at the awards, and possibly not letting WWE video games get nominated, since TNA iMPACT! is a Spike show, in hopes of avoiding more competition.
Parodies
- The Video Game Awards were parodied on an episode of MADtv, highlighting the fictional 1st Annual Video Game Awards on June 21, 1977, hosted by Joe Namath (played by Michael McDonald) and Farrah Fawcett (played by Arden Myrin), musical guest The Jackson Five, and award presenter Mark Spitz (played by Ike Barinholtz). Pong and Asteroids were the only video games nominated for all of the awards presented, even though Asteroids wasn't released in the arcade until 1979. The categories shown in the sketch were "Best Graphics in a Video Game" (Asteroids wins), and "Most Realistic Sound in a Video Game" (Pong and Asteroids win in a tie). Bobby Lee accepts an award as a designer of Asteroids. Space Invaders is shown to display the future of video games, although it was released before Asteroids in 1978.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ MADtv Episode #1121, Air Date: May 13, 2006.