I'm all for rewarding the developers of the year's best games with a big shiny prize, especially nation-wide on television. The idea of the editor-in-chief's at the gaming's biggest publications collaborating together to decide just which games achieved the best quality in their particular field is brilliant.
So why, year after year, are the VGA's an embarassing representation of the gaming community?
The tenth edition of the two-hour broadcast aired on SpikeTV last night in what is supposed to be 'the biggest night in gaming'. If you didn't tune in, Samuel L. Jackson hosted for the fourth time in what was 120 minutes of lackluster skits which allowed Mr. Cool himself make fun of every game to hit the market this year, majority of which he probably hasn't played.
One of the highlights included Jessica Alba speaking before the world premiere of Dark Souls II, where she recollected about how hard she remembered Mario was when she was younger. Yes, really.
I want to like the Video Game Awards, I really do. I just can't. Call me antagonistic, but when 45 minutes into the broadcast, the only award to be presented is Best Shooter, yet we get SpikeTV social media plugged down our throats every commercial break, I become fearful of how gaming is being represented to the mass media.
I aplogoize for the rain of negativity, I just think that the gaming industry needs more respect in the real world and not just the internet. I understand that you need an entertainment factor in order to make primtime TV, but I think the awards and trailers can speak for their own in that category.
An accurate look at the year in gaming would be a benefit, because I can hope that most gamers agree that the VGA's aren't a representation of how good the gaming world is.