In case you missed it, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom won Best Action/Adventure Game at this year’s Game Awards in Los Angeles.
Fans, however, are a bit angry with the show’s organizers because during Eiji Aonuma’s speech, the teleprompter appears to have called for the longtime Zelda producer to “finish.”
As noted by our friends at Push Squaremany respected industry individuals seem to have received the same treatment during their acceptance speeches, but given Aonuma’s legendary status, many balked at the tight time constraints.
There are, of course, more factors to consider in doing so. An awards show that doubles as a platform for game announcements is always going to be a tricky beast to plan, so organizers will understandably want to keep things moving at a brisk pace.
It’s also likely a direct result of the acceptance speech he gave at last year’s event God of war voice actor Christopher Judge, which many in the industry considered too long. One final note to consider is that Aonuma apparently had a relatively short speech written before he took the stage, so it’s unlikely that he would have stuck around too long regardless.
It’s a tough balancing act for sure, but hopefully Geoff Keighley will take the feedback on board and give the developers little a little more stage time next year. After all, there would be no Game Awards show without them.
