Even though it wasn’t the best event for Xbox, we have to admit that this year’s Game Awards ceremony was quite a spectacle. Even the endless speech of Christopher Judge, aka “Kratos”, even gave rise to memes, and an Al-Pacino by his side who could well have died of old age in the meantime. But other than that, it didn’t disappoint. Sure, commercials and “World Premieres” are the most eye-catching of the bunch, of course, but after several years, it’s safe to say that our friend Geoff Keighley is here to stay.
And we don’t want you to misunderstand, a number like this was needed, one that would bring the positions between different media closer together in an event in the same way that video games and movies become transmedia products. Whether it’s for that reason, for the news, for the prizes themselves, or for the Steam Deck they’ve been giving away every minute, this year The Game Awards surpassed their own record for live views: 103 million. Let the Oscars tremble, because they have found a competitor.
This year #TheGameAwards reached a new audience record: 103 million live broadcasts.
Thank you for making this Game Awards the most watched in history.
See you in 2023! pic.twitter.com/bOyvbTtv7H
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) December 16, 2022
The Game Awards continue to grow in popularity
Clearly the bait for the gaming community is the presentation of unreleased titles, or in the case of 2019, even the reveal of the Xbox Series X itself, which left us all speechless. I personally remember Mick Gordon’s gig at the 2016 awards, playing the DOOM OST live. Huge. Or that awesome musical performance from Red Dead Redemption 2, which won Best Music the same year. There’s a lot to throw in finery, that’s for sure. But for the video game industry, it’s time to admit that it has been able to generate unforgettable moments.
Hopefully next year, 2023, we’ll have an Xbox exclusive among the GOTYs, like Starfield or Redfall, but somehow Xbox will still be around and the prices will still aim high. I leave you with this sublime performance:
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