I think this years show was a step in the right direction. Started off very strong and awards were presented well and given the respect and time they deserve. Then it kinda dragged a little and got a little too press-conference-y. Having a Ubisoft person come out and present Farcry Primal, Palmer Luckey come out and talk up Rock Band VR Tim Shaefer pitch his crowfunding campaign. Weird. If there's one piece of feedback I'd give to Keighley, work on that stuff.
I question whether it will ever be that, because I think Geoff wants to put on a show. Because if you want a big expensive production, you need eyeballs watching it, to justify the production cost to advertisers and sponsors who are fronting you the money.
And while some segment of the gaming audience is really keyed into gaming industry news, and already knows these studio heads by name (Phil Spencer, Jade Raymond, etc.), I'm not sure that's enough people to warrant the cost of the production. It's why they rope in barely-gaming-relevant celebrities and include game announcements/new game trailers; that kinda stuff appeals to a wider audience. I agree that a lot of the awards just got tossed off on the side with no person on-stage accepting them, seemingly in favour of having more weird advertisements, and that's a bummer, but overall, I wonder if Geoff ever plans to lessen the amount of business that is part of this awards show.
Well I think that stuff is fine to be there, but in trailer form. The trailer and world premier portion has to, and I think should be there. But I feel like someone coming out on stage to pitch their game in the middle of this award show is pretty inappropriate. I mean, I know all a trailer is is marketing shit, but there's a difference.
I think this years show was a step in the right direction. Started off very strong and awards were presented well and given the respect and time they deserve. Then it kinda dragged a little and got a little too press-conference-y. Having a Ubisoft person come out and present Farcry Primal, Palmer Luckey come out and talk up Rock Band VR Tim Shaefer pitch his crowfunding campaign. Weird. If there's one piece of feedback I'd give to Keighley, work on that stuff.
Now that I think about it, why don't like, the Oscars premier new trailers?
They probably don't have to because their awards actually mean something. Just like most actual awards.
And that's not me being pissy at the Video Game Awards. Just calling a spade a spade.
I'm not saying they should because they have to, I'm just wondering why not? I'd be more interested to tune in for more than just the last two awards. And its one night where like, everyone has their eyes on that industry.
Also at the end of that interview is the following interesting line from Geoff with regards to having trailers and such:
'“Some people say that makes the show too commercial and it should be purely about awards,” Mr. Keighley said. “I’ve found that, for this audience, you need to blend the two.”
And I think he's actually right. Sitting through a couple of hours of nothing but awards is way less appealing than the chance of seeing some cool reveals. I understand that makes me sound like putty for advertising but still, I am a sucker for 'cool reveals.'
He's absolutely right. I just hope he still remembers that its an award show and still focuses on improving that part of the show more than the world premier part.
Now that I think about it, why don't like, the Oscars premier new trailers?
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