Tag: Game of the Year

GOTY Flashback: 2005 Spike Video Game Awards

Geoff Keighley will present the 2020 Game Awards to the best games from this past year on December 10th.

But first, let’s travel back in time to his earlier awards show gig, the Spike Video Game Awards, and see what was big in gaming in… 2005.

The 2005 Spike Video Game Awards were also held on a 10th of December, which was just days after the launch of the Xbox 360 and the beginning of a new generation for consoles. Promising high definition graphics and out-of-the-box online play, the Xbox 360 offered console gamers something they had never seen before. So it wasn’t too surprising that the console’s showcase game, King King: The Official Game of the Movie, lead all titles with seven nominations (though not one for “Game of the Year”).

2005 was also the year that the PC platform came roaring back in a big way with the release of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, which was one of the frontrunners for “Game of the Year.” The massively popular game did battle against Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 2, Monolith’s F.E.A.R., and Sony Santa Monica’s God of War for the prize, but it was Resident Evil 4 that took home the trophy. Capcom’s reinvention of the franchise put a nice capper on the GameCube/PS2/Xbox generation while also grabbing the award for “Best Graphics.”

However, all the “Game of the Year” nominees would get their chance to step into the spotlight.

World of Warcraft claimed victory as the “Best PC Game” and “Best RPG.” Call of Duty 2 captured the award for “Best Military Game.” F.E.A.R. scared up the prize for “Best First Person Action.” And God of War smashed its way to the stage to collect “Best Action Game” and “Designer of the Year” for David Jaffe.

Activision’s True Crime: New York City wasn’t up for “Game of the Year,” but its cinematic presentation and stacked cast garnered six nominations ahead of the ceremony. Those Hollywood connections came in handy, the game took home two trophies (“Best Supporting Male Performance” for Christopher Walken and “Best Supporting Female Performance” for Traci Lords) on its way to becoming a multi-award winner.

While one game can often dominate an awards show, that wasn’t the case at the 2005 Spike Video Game Awards. The judging panel was in a generous mood, and more than a dozen games received at least one award during the ceremony. Lumines (“Best Handheld Game”), Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (“Best Individual Sports Game”), Madden NFL 06 (“Best Team Sports Game”), Fight Night Round 2 (“Best Fighting Game”), and We Love Katamari (“Best Original Score”) were among the games who each picked up a single award.

King King: The Official Game of the Movie even got the chance to climb up on stage by the end of the night. The Ubisoft-published adaptation claimed victory for “Best Performance by a Human Male” (for Jack Black), “Best Cast,” and “Best Game Based on a Movie.” Publishers poured a lot of resources into game adaptations of blockbuster movies 15 years ago, and though they’re mostly forgotten today, Charlize Theron also won an award for “Best Performance by a Human Female” for Aeon Flux and Maria Menounos was named the “Cyber Vixen of the Year” for her appearance in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love.

Samuel L. Jackson hosted the Spike Video Game Awards for the first time in 2005, and he would return to MC the ceremony three more times over the next decade. A complete list of all 27 trophies he handed out (as well as all the nominees) can be found after the break.

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GOTY Flashback: 2010 Spike Video Game Awards

Geoff Keighley will present the 2020 Game Awards to the best games from this past year on December 10th. But first, let’s travel back in time to his earlier awards show gig, the Spike Video Game Awards, and see what was big in gaming in… 2010.

2010 sat at the exact midway point in the lifecycle for the PS3 and Xbox 360, making it an uncommonly good year for video games. But a slew of classic games were introduced for all three consoles and the PC that year.

Leading the way was Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, which captured “Game of the Year,” as well as “Best Original Score,” “Best DLC,” and “Best Song in a Game.” Red Dead’s closest competitor in 2010 was definitely Mass Effect 2, which earned “Studio of the Year” honors for BioWare, along with “Best Xbox 360 Game” and “Best RPG.”

The other big story of the night was God of War III. Ten years on, it’s been overshadowed by other games in the franchise (including the 2018 reboot), but Kratos’s third adventure did win “Best PS3 Game” and “Best Graphics.” Not to be outdone, the PSP’s God of War: Ghost of Sparta took home the “Best Handheld Game” prize.

Unlike Sony’s continued commitment to the God of War franchise, Blizzard has all but abandoned the the StarCraft series in 2020. However, that uncertain future couldn’t stop StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty from flying high in 2010 as the winner of “Best PC Game” and “Best Performance by a Human Female” (for Tricia Helfer’s role as Sarah Kerrigan) at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards.

Amazingly, even the ceremony’s crop of solo winners are still fondly remembered a decade later (and many of them can be found scattered throughout the Video Game Canon’s Top 1000 too). That list includes Super Mario Galaxy 2 (“Best Wii Game”), Limbo (“Best Independent Game”), Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (“Best Action Adventure Game”) and Rock Band 3 (“Best Music Game”).

A complete list of all the winners and nominees from the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards can be found after the break.

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GOTY Flashback: 2015 Game Awards

Geoff Keighley will present the 2020 Game Awards to the best games from this past year on December 10th. But first, let’s travel back in time to an earlier incarnation of the show and see what was big in gaming in… 2015.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt racked up more nominations than any other title at the 2015 Game Awards, and it easily waltzed away with the “Game of the Year” prize. The game also secured the “Best Role Playing Game” statuette during the show, as well as “Developer of the Year” honors for CD Projekt Red.

While The Witcher 3 is known for its massive size, two smaller games also collected multiple awards during the 2015 ceremony. Sam Barlow’s Her Story took home the awards for “Best Narrative” and “Best Performance” (which was given to actress Viva Seifert). And Rocket League knocked two into the goal when it won for both “Best Independent Game” and “Best Sports/Racing Game.”

Nintendo also had a good night at the Game Awards in 2015 as Splatoon earned a pair of awards for its unique take on the multiplayer shooter (specifically, “Best Multiplayer” and “Best Shooter”), and “Best Family Game” went to Super Mario Maker.

Mortal Kombat X (“Best Fighting Game”), Life Is Strange (“Games For Change Award”), Ori and the Blind Forest (“Best Art Direction”), and Lara Croft Go (“Best Mobile/Handheld Game”) each won a single award.

Finally, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain won “Best Action/Adventure Game” and “Best Score/Soundtrack,” though host Geoff Keighley explained that he couldn’t accept either award in person as Konami had barred him from the event. While that turn of events was a bit shocking (and frankly, rather petty), the biggest surprise from the 2015 Game Awards might have been that Bethesda’s Fallout 4 was completely shut out.

A complete list of all the winners and nominees from the 2015 Game Awards can be found after the break.

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2019 GOTY Scoreboard: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Untitled Goose Game, and More

It’s rare for the critical consensus around the “Game of the Year” to stray beyond a handful of titles. But that’s exactly what happened in 2019, as three games split the major awards and nearly a dozen others laid claim to at least one publication-specific award.

Leading the pack, if you can even call it that, is From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which was the big winner at The Game Awards and the SXSW Gaming Awards. Then there was House House’s Untitled Goose Game, which waddled away with trophies from the DICE Awards and the GDC Awards. Finally, there’s Mobius Digital’s Outer Wilds, which won the big prize at the BAFTA Games Awards.

After that, it’s easy to go down the list and find a few highlights, including Remedy’s Control, Kojima Productions’s Death Stranding, and Capcom’s Resident Evil 2, all of which were recognized as the top title of 2019 by at least nine publications. And that’s not even getting into the massive traffic jam of titles that earned runner-up status. We might be heading into a transition year for the game industry, but 2019 was certainly a capstone year for this generation.

You can see all of the “Game of the Year” contenders from 2019 in the 2019 GOTY Scoreboard after the break.

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Outer Wilds Wins “Best Game” at the 2019-2020 BAFTA Games Awards

The Goose had one last chance to steal a “Game of the Year” trophy at this morning’s 2019-2020 BAFTA Games Award, but alas, the prize for “Best Game” went to Mobius Digital’s Outer Wilds. The planetary exploration game also claimed two other BAFTAs, winning in the “Original Property” and “Game Design” categories.

One other game, ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium, also managed to collect three trophies during this year’s ceremony. The investigative RPG racked up wins for “Narrative,” “Music,” and “Debut Game.”

However, House House did not return home empty handed. The Australian developer’s Untitled Goose Game was selected as the winner in the “Family” category by the BAFTA committee.

As with this year’s other awards shows, the 2019-2020 BAFTA Games Awards was a digital-only affair, and you can watch a replay of the entire ceremony after the break (alongside a complete list of this year’s winners and nominees) or on YouTube.

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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Wins “Video Game of the Year” at the 2019-2020 SXSW Gaming Awards

The cancellation of this year’s South By Southwest feels like a distant memory, but in the weeks since the announcement was made, a few people had started to wonder if the winning envelopes from the 2019-2020 SXSW Gaming Awards would also remain locked away forever. Thankfully, the festival’s organizers recently fired off a press release that revealed all the winners.

Drumroll, please…

From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice won “Video Game of the Year,” and the one-armed ninja also snuck away with a win for “Excellence in Visual Achievement.” Only ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium (the “Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award” and “Excellence in Narrative”) and Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding (“Excellence in Musical Score” and “Excellence in Technical Achievement”) were able to earn more than a single award from this year’s voters.

“Gaming is a key part of the creative ecosystem that brings us together, and now more than ever it provides us with a unique sense of escape and adventure in uncertain times,” said Hugh Forrest, the Chief Programming Officer for South By Southwest. “We were devastated that we weren’t able to celebrate our honorees in person with the cancellation of our event, but glad that we’re still able to share their achievements and creative works with our community.”

A complete list of winners and nominees from the 2019-2020 SXSW Gaming Awards can be found after the break.

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Untitled Goose Game Wins “Game of the Year” at 2019-2020 GDC Awards

The 2020 Game Developers Conference isn’t happening in San Francisco this year due to global health concerns, but the event’s organizers still put together a a pre-recorded version of the Game Developers Choice Awards, and House House’s Untitled Goose Game won “Game of the Year.”

In addition to The Goose running away with yet another “Game of the Year” award, the rest of the indie world had a pretty good night as well.

Hempuli’s Baba Is You collected statuettes for “Best Design” and the “Innovation Award,” ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium danced away with “Best Debut” and “Best Narrative,” and thatgamecompany’s Sky: Children of the Light claimed the “Audience Award.”

But the most-decorated game of the night was Remedy’s Control, which won in three categories. The mindbending action-adventure game was honored with awards for “Best Visual Art,” “Best Audio,” and “Best Technology.”

A full list of winners, nominees, and Honorable Mentions from the 2019-2020 Game Developers Choice Awards, as well as a video replay of the show, can be found after the break.

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See the Nominees from the Possibly-Canceled 2019-2020 SXSW Gaming Awards

The organizers of South By Southwest officially canceled the 2020 edition of the massive arts festival on March 6, and that also means this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards will not go on as planned.

Wil Wheaton and Janina Gavankar were originally picked to co-host the ceremony, which would have taken place tonight, but with no further updates from SXSW, it’s possible we’ll never find out which games were slated to win. However, that shouldn’t stop us from honoring all the previously-announced nominees.

Remedy’s Control and Kojima Productions’s Death Stranding led the way with seven nominations apiece, but Kojima’s latest mindbender wasn’t nominated for “Video Game of the Year.” Instead, Control was grouped with Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5, ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium, From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for SXSW’s most-coveted award.

You can find a complete list of nominees from the 2019-2020 SXSW Gaming Awards in all categories after the break.

UPDATE (3/26/20): The winners of the 2019-2020 SXSW Gaming Awards were announced in a press release.

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House House’s Untitled Goose Game Wins “Game of the Year” at 2019-2020 DICE Awards

I guess The Goose can cross “Win a Few Major Awards” off of its To-Do List. And that’s because House House’s Untitled Goose Game won “Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game,” “Outstanding Achievement in Character,” and “Game of the Year” at this year’s DICE Awards.

While the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’s voting body (which is comprised of more than 30,000 members) loves The Goose, it was Remedy’s Control that took home the most statuettes last night. Predictably, the outstanding action game won “Action Game of the Year,” as well as “Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction,” “Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction.” Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding was the only other game to win multiple awards, with the AIAS honoring it with “Outstanding Technical Achievement” and “Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design.”

A nice array of other games were also big winners at the 2019-2020 DICE Awards, including Sayonara Wild Hearts (“Portable Game of the Year”), Apex Legends (“Online Game of the Year”), Super Mario Maker 2 (“Family Game of the Year”), Mortal Kombat 11 (“Fighting Game of the Year”), Baba Is You (“Outstanding Achievement in Game Design”), and more.

The complete list of winners and nominees for the 2019-2020 DICE Awards can be found after the break, along with a video replay of the ceremony.

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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2019 Game Awards

Geoff Keighley and his co-presenters shotgunned their way through dozens of awards during tonight’s Game Awards, but in between all the World Premiere Trailers, they managed to shine a brief spotlight on a wide variety of titles. Unlike most years when a handful of titles dominate the conversation, this year’s Game Awards spread the wealth among a lot of worthy winners, including Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, this year’s recipient of the “Game of the Year” award.

From Software’s ninja adventure also claimed the “Best Action/Adventure Game” trophy, but it wasn’t able to sway the jury for the other three nominations it was up for. Instead, ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium became the most-honored game of the night, winning “Best Narrative,” “Best Role Playing Game,” “Best Independent Game,” and “Fresh Indie Game.”

Some of the ceremony’s other winners included Kojima Production’s Death Stranding (“Best Game Direction,” “Best Score/Music,” and “Best Performance” for Mads Mikkelsen), Remedy’s Control (“Best Art Direction”), Beat Games’s Beat Saber (“Best VR/AR Game”), Respawn’s Apex Legends (“Best Multiplayer”), and Activision’s Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (“Best Sports/Racing Game”).

In addition to a rousing speech by their former President, Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo had a great night too, taking home trophies for “Best Fighting Game” (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), “Best Family Game” (Luigi’s Mansion 3), and “Best Strategy Game” (Fire Emblem: Three Houses).

The complete list of winners and nominees from the 2019 Game Awards, as well as a video replay of the ceremony, can be found below.

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