The Game Awards 2014: A Sincere, If Flawed, First Attempt

The Game Awards 2014 got a lot right, but they also got a whole lot wrong.

[Relientk77]

It was better than last year, so it's an improvement

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Agreed, It beats the hell out of last year.

The presentation alone was day and night. But it was an indy fest which isn't exactly a bad thing.

Glad to see Sony and Nintendo attending the show.

Overall it was good but not the best.

[SkippyPaccino]

I found it kinda funny that Microsoft was a no-show... I thought they were all about the games now? 😉

I thought it was a good overall show and I always prefer a setting that has a live crowed.

[KnightRobby]

I thought it was great. It felt like it had no time constraints because it was NOT on TV. It was nearly 4 hours as I recall, which is incredible. Ton of game reveals.

I was expecting a total crap experience, but I will say this is the step in the right direction definitely.

[cemelc]

This was a great show, last year was awfull.

Positives:
-Imagine dragon legend of zelda majorask mask song was amazing.
-Linsey from youtube with dragon age.
-Legend of zelda demo (skyrim map zelda gameplay) was personally a dream come true.

It can be improved, but wont see me complaining if next year is more of the same.

[GearsOfWar]

Honestly, I feel like they finally got it right.

I'm not saying there isn't room for improvement but I think we expect too much from an awards show. That's due to the hype Keighley creates but also partly from our high expectations.

I would be fine if they kept the show close to this format in the future. It's a good balance. The world premieres/announcements are there as the icing to keep us interested in what's new and unknown, while everything else is there to showcase the past year of gaming in a way that's relevant to us.

I feel like we should do a better job communicating to Keighley that it was a step in the right direction so that he knows what to shoot for in the future. All the show needs is a little more polish and refinement.

Who knows, developers might be more inclined to drop bombshells next time.

[temple]

I think overall it was a nice improvement over last year, but these world premiers and trailers fell a little flat. I kept waiting for a huge game announcement (Fallout 4 someday?), and I kept getting games I have little to no interest in. I think that the last game announced at the VGA's or TGA's that I cared about was Skyrim.

[Eonjay]

It was a strong start for the new program. It was a actual awards show with a proper dedication and Reggie was even okay. As the highest ranking guy in the business there, he was able to drum up support for Nintendo without seeming to competitive.

Scott was cool. I like the fact that he was basically in and out and I actually enjoyed the music performance from the No Man's Sky Soundtrack.

[iamlegend9999]

Imo, was really boring. Nothing but performances i didn't care about and over hyped announcements that wasn't that big at all. Probably the last time i watch a video game awards show.

[Kevlar009]

I could actually see production values at the The Game Awards. The company presenters took it seriously based on the level of content they revealed (no Cranky Kong reveal this time)

[memots]

Cranky Kong was almost as cringe worthy as the ever infamous Riiiiiiiiiiidge Racer ...

[jasminlenovo]

yeah , they improve much

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Well we knew Sony was waiting 'till their Showcase to reveal/elaborate on anything coming up, and the indies use this as their mini-E3. Anyone who expected more was bound for disappointment.

[GamingSinceThe80s]

I wonder why MS had zero first party presence there?Do they have a show of their own coming up also?

[Golden_Mud]

In January yes. And some rumors say they'll be showcasing Fable Legends , Scalebound, Quantum Break and the new Rare Ltd. Game (not a kinect game) , oh and also showcase Windows 10 and DirectX12 , but the most important thing , they'll be having an event http://www.microsoftproduct...

[skyrimer]

Much better than last year, I actually really enjoyed it. I wished we had bigger reveals, but watching some new footage of Witcher 3, No man's sky, Zelda, The Order, Bloodborne, and so on was good enough for me. Also Before looks interesting, the King Quest history video with Roberta was fantastic, same with the first look of the new game. Even Dragon Age won best game (thank god it wasn't Hearthstone), so I really liked the new format.

[vikingland1]

It seemed to me that the people that won awards were actually happy and thankful to receive them. That's good because that's what it was all about.

[Spore_777]

Progress made, don't hate.

[Tapani]

I thought it was good! If they keep the same mentality, but iron out the small flaws, make it bigger and stay humble, it will be a fun show to watch. Or even attend to!

The best bits for me were No Man's Sky, 65 Days Of Static live performance, The Sierra piece + the first and the last performance.

Thanks for the people who made this happen! I will be a proponent for the future game awards.

Suggestions: Trim out the speeches and useless mumbling, up it a notch with class when it comes to respecting the guest interviews (looking at you Geoff!), show slightly more games, have some interesting bits about game development and game culture, and make it 2hrs30mins max. After party footage for 1hrs.

Cheers!

[noctis_lumia]

it was good now remove the bands that sings every 10 min and im good

[ReturnToSanity]

So what was Sony's "unexpected" announcement that was going to "make fanboys rage?" Those were Sony's exact words. Please don't tell me overhyped promises by them again...

[medman]

@returntosanity
You're one confused skunk...don't you realize the ps experience kicks off in earnest on Saturday? Also, I think plenty of people will be upset at SF not coming to xbone. Street Fighter 4, in all it's iterations, sold over 8 million copies (that may not "rage" you, but others will be upset). You poor slob...wake up. If you're going to troll, at least get your facts in order, gee whiz. Your username says it all. You see how you troll.

[Predaking77]

While not perfect, it was better than last year. There was kind of a balance focusing on the industry as a while and not taking sides. The show must be shorter, have all the awards on stage and have less music performances.

Also, I felt Ok with the winners of the awards. Did not felt like it was bought by money.

Interesting note 1: Most of the nominees for game of the year were RPG games. That is nice. Remember the time RPG were fading?

Interesting note 2: Microsoft was a complete no show. I felt like they were not there at all. Even Nintendo had a better presence than Microsoft. That doesn't look good.

[crazychris4124]

They need to separate sports and racing next year. I know that doesnt leave a lot of games but it gives the companies a better shot at winning.

[snookiegamer]

Wondered how long it would take for complainers, whingers and out right negativity regarding these ceremonies!

Can't we at least be happy for once? It's awesome that we (Gaming) even have a presence that warrants yearly award shows!

Don't Worry, Be Happy....Just Game! ;)