Though The Game Awards 2014 was far from perfect, it was a significant improvement over the horrible Spike VGX 2013 ceremony. The audience tuning in recognizing as much – according to Polygon, it had 1.93 million which is a 75 percent increase over Spike’s show. This is coupled with more than 350,000 comments across streaming services like Twitch, YouTube and MLG TV along with the average viewer tuning in for at least 28 minutes.
Geoff Keighley, who put it all together, was amazed by the response considering the resources on hand. “I’m used to having a lot of support resources — a promotional team, a digital media team, a PR team. All we had was the support of the game publishers and fans to spread the word and on social media.” Keep in mind that Keighley financed the whole show himself.
For those complaining about the length of the show and the de-emphasis on awards, some which were given offstage, Keighley says he would look at a two hour format with more awards and less premieres next time.
“This year was about earning the respect of the audience and proving that this ‘open source’ distribution model can work.”
Do you agree? Let us know what you thought of The Game Awards in the comments.