It’s finally arrived. The week everyone waits for all year is upon us. No, I’m not talking about E3—it’s Video Game Awards week on Spike! Sometimes on warm summer nights, I wake up in a cold sweat just thinking how far away the prime video game awards show is. My body defies science purely out of excitement.
Of course, you can probably taste the facetiousness of that last paragraph in your mouth right now. Tastes like pickled turkey, right? The Spike VGA’s, now rebranded the VGX’s, have long been lambasted by the public at large for their hilariously awful winners (Madden 04 for game of the year), terribly immature humor and basic lack of tact in every way possible.
Spike is trumpeting their new VGX’s as “the next generation of the VGA’s.” Although I’m incredibly skeptical, some of the new features, such as one-on-one interviews and panel discussions, sound intriguing. The problem is, this is supposed to be an awards show and both of those segments seem more in line with online content viewers could watch later.
To the general public, this is THE video game awards show. While everyone knows the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awards are where the true talent lies, this is supposed to be our Oscars. Instead, it sounds like a flaccid reinvention of a tired, unsuccessful format. Award shows usually are fairly dull affairs though.
That being said, I have a few suggestions on how the VGX’s could actually become a show worthy of public consumption that doesn’t require mass amounts of alcohol to make it worthwhile.
First off, the show needs to embrace the musical side of the industry. One of the few highlights I can recall from any past VGA is Jose Gonzalez’ performance of the hauntingly sparse “Far Away” off of the “Red Dead Redemption” soundtrack. Almost every year Rockstar Games has a game with singles worthy of a live performance, especially this year with the stellar “GTA V” album.
Video Games Live has also garnered a huge following these past few years. Bringing in one of the premier video game orchestras for the premier awards show seems like a no-brainer. In addition, musical acts are an easy time kill and far more entertaining than most of the asinine joke segments normally included.
Secondly, the show needs to stop trying to garner celebrities for the sake of having big names. I have an irrational hatred of Olivia Munn solely because her coverage during E3 on G4 (pours one out) was so hilariously terrible. If you’re going to use celebrities as a way to draw in viewers, at least find some that you can tell care one iota about the industry. Better yet, use some well-known figures from the actual industry. There’s plenty of easily recognizable faces out there that would probably be willing to present an award.
Third, how about Spike lets hands out most of the awards during the actual telecast? I recall an embarrassing tweet from Mark Hamill a few years ago where he and Harley Quinn’s voice actress, Tara Strong, were seated in the very back of the hall and their award was only briefly mentioned during a montage.
While the “Portal 2” winners were well-deserved, it’s utterly embarrassing that two prominent voice actors had to sit in terrible seats and fly out for an award that’s given no publicity. They usually only give out six or seven awards during the show, relegating the rest to highlight reels or online portions. Viewers like to see these developers receive their well-deserved award, even if the stigma behind that stupid monkey trophy is piss-poor.
They also need to either scrap or modify the individual console categories as well. There’s too much overlap and more often than not the award is given to some multiconsole title that has no business winning the oddly-specific award. Make it exclusive games or destroy that portion entirely.
Even if they are over-the-top, awkward and filled with hilarious pageantry, I’m still a sucker for awards show. I’d like the VGX’s to become something at least watchable rather than cringe-worthy. The increased emphasis on world-exclusive trailers and semi-credible advisory council they’ve instituted are a step in the right direction.
The show has come a long way since the stupid Black Eyed Peas performance on a run-down dock somewhere, but the VGX’s are still a ways away from becoming the type of awards show I won’t be embarrassed to watch. Too bad they already decided to stick an X on the end of their name, ugh. Cheers readers, it’s almost Saturday.
Want to sing the VGA blues with Adam? Email him at arparis@wisc.edu.
