The Video Game Awards 2014 is on, and it's like the Oscars merged with E3.
Show producer Geoff Keighley teases major reveals for the Video Game Awards tonight, and he's plans to pioneer a gaming awards event with the caliber of the Oscars and Emmys.
The Video Game Awards pushes through today in Las Vegas, the night before Sony launches its hats off to the PlayStation community (PlayStation Experience), also in Sin City. Dubbed as a celebration of gaming, the awards event aims to emphasize the cultural impact of "the world's most dynamic form of entertainment."
The event has the backing of the big three console makers: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are expected to tease new projects or offer updates on existing ones. Third-party developers will also share the limelight, EA, Warner Bros., Ubisoft, and Rockstar Games, among others.
The VGA is a different event from the Spike Video Game Awards, though both are Keighley's brainchildren. A schedule for the Spike Video Game Awards (renamed as VGX) is yet to be confirmed.
The VGA advisory board is composed of executives from the gaming industry: representatives from Nintendo, Ubisoft, Konami, PlayStation, Xbox, EA, Warner Bros., Rockstar Games, and Valve will moderate the nominations and winners.
Keighley takes a different approach tonight, airing the event on live stream instead. Tickets to the Axis Theater in Las Vegas are priced $45 apiece, but the event is also streamed through Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and PC (gamespot.com).
Keighley comments in a Forbes report that the Video Game Awards 2014 almost didn't push through.
"I honestly felt that if I wasn't going to do a show like this, then it wasn't going to happen. This year our industry really needs a big celebratory moment to bring us all together. We need to show that gaming is a positive and uplifting industry - a place where you want to work and play."
