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[V_Ben]

Don't Want To Be Spoiled On The Reveals? Go Here.

Time Conversion: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Spike+VGA+2011&iso=20111210T1930&p1=179

Stream Links (The Show Is Streaming Online This Year):

US: http://www.spike.com/events/video-game-awards-2011/live-video/oxv45o

UK: http://ginx.tv/spike-video-game-awards-2011-vgas-live-stream-uk

EU: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=33335029&postcount=86

The Host:

Zachary Levi

Star of NBC's "Chuck," voice actor for "Fallout: New Vegas" and "Halo: Reach" and video game super fan Zachary Levi will host Spike TV's 2011 Video Game Awards (#VGA). Telecasting from Los Angeles, CA and featuring some of the most notable names in video games, Hollywood, music, sports and more, the two-hour event honoring the outstanding achievements within the video game industry over the past year will premiere LIVE on Spike TV, MTV2 and Spike.com on Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.

"Zac Levi is an avid gamer who is truly a part of gaming culture and understands the fans," says Casey Patterson, Executive Producer and Executive Vice President, Event Production, Talent & Studio Relations for Viacom Entertainment Group. "He has great ideas about this year's show. Zac is all about honoring the year in gaming and ushering in the future by showcasing massive world premieres at this year's event. We're excited to be working with Zac."

FAQ

So, what’s the show about?

The Spike Video Game Awards, according to the official site, “pays tribute to the outstanding achievements of games, designers, animation, breakthrough technology, music and performances of the past year in the industry. The awards also provide a glimpse at the future of gaming, including sneak peeks and world premiere footage or some of the most anticipated games from the years to come”

So, what is the show really about?

Are you kidding me? It’s a chance for Spike TV to invite a veritable fuckton of weird and wonderful celebrities onto their stage, and a chance for us to watch barely functioning members of society struggle to read off an autocue. Of course, sometimes somebody who actually knows what they’re doing steps on to the stage to either host the damn thing or reveal something cool, marketable, or based off a Spike property. Usually it’s a horrifically awkward festival of cringing and “I can’t believe they just did that” laughter. No sane / not filled with self loathing person would watch this if it didn’t have crazy game reveals.

Ok, I get it Ben. Jesus. Who are the nominees?

Game Of The Year:
Batman: Arkham City
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Studio Of The Year:
Bethesda Game Studios
Naughty Dog
Rocksteady
Valve

Best Xbox 360 Game:
Batman: Arkham City
Forza Motorsport 4
Gears of War 3
Portal 2

Best PS3 Game:
Infamous 2
Killzone 3
LittleBigPlanet 2
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Best Wii Game:
Disney's Epic Mickey
Kirby's Return To Dream Land
Lost In Shadow
The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Best PC Game:
Battlefield 3
Minecraft
The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings
Portal 2

Best Handheld/Mobile Game:
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Infinity Blade
Super Mario 3D Land
Jetpack Joyride

Best Shooter:
Battlefield 3
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Gears of War 3
Rage

Best Action Adventure Game:
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
Batman: Arkham City
The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Best RPG:
Dark Souls
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dragon Age 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Best Multi-Player:
Battlefield 3
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Gears Of War 3
Portal 2

Best Individual Sports Game:
Fight Night Champion
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
Top Spin 4
Virtua Tennis 4

Best Team Sports Game:
FIFA Soccer 12
NBA 2K12
NHL 12
MLB '11: The Show

Best Driving Game:
Dirt 3
Driver: San Francisco
Forza Motorsport 4
Need For Speed: The Run

Best Fighting Game:
The King Of Fighters XIII
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Mortal Kombat
WWE All Stars

Best Motion Game:
Child Of Eden
Dance Central 2
The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Gunstringer

Best Independent Game:
Bastion
Minecraft
Superbrothers: Sword And Sworcery EP
The Binding Of Isaac

Best Adapted Video Game:
Back To The Future: The Game
Batman: Arkham City
Captain America: Super Soldier
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Best Song In A Game:
Bastion: "Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb
Portal 2: "Exile Vilify" by The National
Dragon Age 2: “I'm Not Calling You a Liar” by Florence + the Machine
Bastion: "Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)" by Darren Korb

Best Original Score:
Bastion
Batman: Arkham City
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Portal 2

Best Graphics:
Batman: Arkham City
L.A. Noire
Rage
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Best Performance By A Human Male:
Portal 2: J.K. Simmons as Cave Johnson
Batman: Arkham City: Mark Hamill as The Joker
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception: Nolan North as Nathan Drake
Portal 2: Stephen Merchant as Wheatley

Best Performance By A Human Female:
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception: Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer
Portal 2: Ellen McLain as GLaDOS
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception: Emily Rose as Elena Fisher
Batman: Arkham City: Tara Strong as Harley Quinn

Best Downloadable Game:
Bastion
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Stacking
Trenched

Best DLC:
Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues
Mass Effect 2: Arrival
Mortal Kombat: Freddy Krueger
Portal 2 Peer Review

I’m angry, why isn’t “X” nominated for “Y”? Explain this to me! Who the hell nominated these games?

Hell if I know why, but these are the people on this year’s advisory council. Maybe they’ll be able to tell you. If you ask them. They probably won’t, but it wouldn’t hurt to try would it?

Andy McNamara (Editor in Chief, Game Informer Magazine)
Brian Crecente (Editor in Chief, Kotaku)
Chris Baker (Senior Editor, Wired Magazine)
Chris Kohler (Games Editor, Wired.com)
Chris Slate (Editor-In-Chief, Nintendo Power Magazine)
Christopher Grant (Editor in Chief, Joystiq)
Dale North (Editor in Chief, Destructoid)
Francesca Reyes (Editor in Chief, Official Xbox Magazine)
Gary Steinman (Editor in Chief, GamesRadar)
Geoff Keighley (Host, SPIKE)
Jeff Gerstmann (Editor in Chief, Giant Bomb)
Jeff Jensen (Senior Writer, Entertainment Weekly)
Jerry Holkins (Writer / Co-Creator, Penny Arcade)
John Davison (VP of Programming, GameSpot & Metacritic)
Logan Decker (Editor in Chief, PC Gamer Magazine)
Lou Kesten (Reviewer/Editor, The Associated Press)
Mike Krahulik (Artist / Co-Creator, Penny Arcade)
Mike Snider (Technology Reporter, USA Today)
Rich Greenhill (Director of Content and Programming, Yahoo Games)
Sam Kennedy (Director of Audience Generation, IGN.com/1UP.com)
Scott Alexander (Freelance Writer, Playboy & Family Circle)
Shane Satterfield (VP of Content, SPIKE Digital Entertainment)
Stephen Totilo (Deputy Editor, Kotaku)
Tal Blevins (VP Games Content, IGN Entertainment)
Tina Amini (Assistant Editor / Video Games Channel Manager, Complex Magazine)

Why do I feel like my voice isn’t being heard? Why can I not nominate 999 in every single category?

Again, not a clue. But there were 2 audience voted categories this year;

Most Anticipated
Bioshock: Infinite
Diablo 3
Halo 4
Mass Effect 3
The Last Guardian

Trailer of the Year
Assassin's Creed: Revelations (E3 Trailer)
Batman (Hugo Strange Reveal Trailer)
Dark Souls (Ignite '11 Debut Trailer)
Dead Island (GDC '11 Cinematic Trailer)
Deus Ex (Purity First infomercial)
Skyrim (in-game Debut trailer)
Hitman: Absolution (E3 trailer)
Prey 2 (E3 trailer)
Tomb Raider (E3 trailer)
Uncharted 3 (E3 trailer)

Ok, ok. So, what’s being revealed?

The Reveals:

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

New Gameplay From Bioshock Infinite

Alan Wake XBLA

Transformers: Fall Of Cybertron

A New Franchise From Bioware (New In The Sense That Bioware Have Never Made A Command And Conquer Game Before)

A PS3 Exclusive You Won’t Believe

Diablo 3’s Opening Cinematic

Rainbow 6: Patriots

A New Franchise From Epic Games

The Debut Trailer For The Amazing Spider-Man Game

Some Brand New Footage From Mass Effect 3

- and others that aren't announced yet -

A New Tony Hawk Game

(Not That)

A Tekken Reveal

Hitman Absolution

Something Related To Sound Shapes

Darksiders 2

Umm, I can’t watch the stream anywhere. can you do a live blog?

Perhaps. If I do, it'll appear right here, and I’ll update it as often as I possibly can. If the show is REALLY bad, I'll be doing updates for game reveals and things of supreme importance... If not, I'll use this space to summarise events to the best of my ability as and when I can.

Edit 1: LET'S DO THIS: There's a man walking around a stage filled with creepy looking 3D batman characters. It's super weird. HI EVERYBODY.

01:38 Rainbow 6 trailer is go. It features men walking down corridors with guns. Truly a brave new direction for the rainbow 6 franchise.

01:40 The host is back, and you guys can vote for the blitz cover athlete. You lucky fuckers.

01:42 They talked, now there's commercials. Look at all those gadgets.

01:47 Levi is back on stage, and is talking about skyrim. Woop woop.

01:50 The trailer for the new Alan Wake game, it looks like Alan Wake 1, and it looks pretty.

01:53 Holy shit, they actually got Miyomoto to turn up. Whoa.

01:54 And he's gone. Instead, we have Felicia Day playing fruit ninja. Yep. Fuck this.

02:00 WHEATLEY. WHEATLEY WHEATLEY WHEATLEY

02:02 The shambling corpse of Tony Hawk has been wheeled on stage to talk about spider man.

02:04 Hulk Hogan is here. Yep.

02:05 OH GOD GUYS HERE ARE ALL THE AWARDS IN 1 MINUTE.

02:11 Actually, that totally was a bunch of awards at once. Really classy.

02:14 Hey, how about the black keys? You like them, right?

02:17 Ok, Miyamoto bobbing his head along to the black keys was entertaining.

02:18 And now we have a random guy talking about how everything is bullshit.

02:22 ROBOTS. WITH SOULFUL MUSIC. OR SOMETHING.

02:29 Giant floating zelda sword. woo.

02:30 Yep, Charlie Sheen is here, and he looks cracked out of his mind.

02:33 Why the fuck is somebody being teabagged on stage? This is fucking horrible.

02:33 And now, Jerry Rice is here. Wearing the skin of his dog it seems.

02:34 Cliffy B is about to announce his new IP. It's about exploration?

02:36 Who likes cartoon art styles? Epic does! Yay!

02:42 And now, some dudes from american pie. Talking about Diablo.

02:45 Oh hey, some people actually involved in video games are on the stage. The co-founders of Blizzard are accepting an award.

02:45 Blizzard CG trailer.

02:49 Health pack joke. Levi is entertaining enough.

02:51 Bioshock Infinite's video is a mixture of old and new footage, and it looks so very pretty.

02:52 Guys... he drank a blue potion and it gave him back health. HOW MUCH ABOUT VIDEO GAMES DO YOU NEED TO KNOW. RED POTION. RED.

02:58 Skyrim wins best game. That sound you hear is PS3 owners yelling.

03:01 Metal Gear Solid Rising. Yep.

03:04 And that's your lot. That was pretty.... awful.

 

[V_Ben]

This post is going to be used for posting spoiler free links to the game reveals. Or, pictures of celebrities at the event looking foolish. Maybe both.

Edit: It isn't tonight guys, I'm getting this up early in case I'm not around at the exact time. If a mod could lock it until the event starts, that'd be great. Once I finish putting together the OP.

Edit: Trailers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84-l6Ct3hAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bge-OrFK7vA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRk5B3pRh4g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGy4jpdlUNM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWzcYbtZQrk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6bg6yhyTK4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q10u2SIQ4pw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMz8PKe5RFU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZg1hJPEDeU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUq5lossiRU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84-l6Ct3hAI

 

[Cloudius12]

I usually watched it minus the music performances.

 

[Lakitu]

What time is it on in UK?

 

[subversus]

I want to see his new Epic's IP. Don't care about everything else including this zombie Sony game.

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

It's a toss up between Spider-Man and Tony Hawk for what will be the worst reveal. Hopefully Last of Us redeems that garbage.

 

[thehypocrite]

Let's get this out of the way.

Get Hype!!!!

 

[Hot Coldman]

Ah, never mind

 

[Ken Masters]

I'm watching it for the awesome musical performances, A list celebrity appearances, and hilarious and relatable celeb host

 

[Divvy]

Why does Zachary Levy look so much like Shia LeBoeuf in that picture?

 

[SykoTech]

How many more reveal spots are left? Two?

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

How many more reveal spots are left? Two?

Given Master Chief's appearance in the VGAs logo on several videos, Halo 4 is probably one of the reveals too... Even if Frankie denies it vehemently. =/

 

[V_Ben]

Ok, done. Some game images may not represent the final product. Hope the thread is both entertaining AND informative.

 

[Killthee]

I see a no hotlinking pic for the Epic Games shot in the OP.

Also saw some shots of The Last of Us you can use instead of the one you have.

 

[Frankenstrat]

A New Tony Hawk Game

(Not That)

Oh for fuck's sake. Just leave it dead and buried already.

 

[V_Ben]

I see a no hotlinking pic for the Epic Games shot in the OP.

Also saw some shots of The Last of Us you can use instead of the one you have.

You live up to your tag, sir Image rehosted, and Last Of Us image changed

 

[Evershade]

God of War 4 will be one of the reveals.

Spoiler

Half Life 3 is the other

 

[GodfatherX]

GAF VGA drinking game+chat...somebody create the rules

 

[boingball]

This post is going to be used for posting spoiler free links to the game reveals. Or, pictures of celebrities at the event looking foolish. Maybe both.

Edit: It isn't tonight guys, I'm getting this up early in case I'm not around at the exact time. If a mod could lock it until the event starts, that'd be great. Once I finish putting together the OP.

I am not watching TV, but I will watch this space. Hopefully there is a nice surprise.

 

[LiK]

VGA might be the most predictable to figure out who wins from the nominees.

 

[MetatronM]

I want to see his new Epic's IP. Don't care about everything else including this zombie Sony game.

What if the Sony zombie game IS Epic's new IP?

 

[baekshi]

Why don't I see GT5 DLC under best dlc? ;_;

 

[Carl]

A New Tony Hawk Game

That is just perfect

 

[DMeisterJ]

Spike put their hashtag in the press release?

I mean, I love #Twitter as much as the next person, but I think its gone too far.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Last year nearly melted my brain so I think I will follow the tweets and tune in when the reveal videos are shown.

Also fantastic OP from fantastic poster as always.

 

[V_Ben]

Last year nearly melted my brain so I think I will follow the tweets and tune in when the reveal videos are shown.

Also fantastic OP from fantastic poster as always.

*blushes*

 

[we.are.the.armada]

Best RPG:
Dark Souls
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dragon Age 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Bwahahaha! Dragon Age 2 standing side by side with Dark Souls, HR, and Skyrim! Pretty amazing that The Witcher 2 isn't on there.

 

[AngelSoldier]

Batman and Portal 2 are not Xbox exclusives ... Why are they options for best Xbox 360 games ?

Microsoft, where yo' exclusives at ?

 

[thuway]

Let's go NAUGHTY DOG AND UNCHARTED 3!!!

 

[Nora Kisaragi]

Best RPG:
Dark Souls
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dragon Age 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Hm?

Best RPG:
Dark Souls
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

That's more like it. No chance of Deus Ex or DA2 winning, so let's just get down to the real battle.

 

[flyinpiranha]

Great OP.

Curious, is there a way to watch this without having Spike?

 

[JWong]

Batman and Portal 2 are not Xbox exclusives ... Why are they options for best Xbox 360 games ?

Microsoft, where yo' exclusives at ?

Kinect.

 

[Grisby]

Could care less about the awards but I do like a good trainwreck.

I'll have a glass of red wine in one hand and GAF in the other.

 

[RichardAM]

In it for the new Bioshock stuff.

/not boarding the hype train that's been circling

 

[Wario64]

Let's get this out of the way.

Get Hype!!!!

This pic makes no sense

 

[Acosta]

Hats go off to you V-Ben, great OP, and great pics selection.

Bring on the megatons!

 

[Nirolak]

Great OP.

Curious, is there a way to watch this without having Spike?

It's streaming online this year.

 

[RPGamer92]

Can't wait to see Alan Wake

 

[Radec]

Batman and Portal 2 are not Xbox exclusives ... Why are they options for best Xbox 360 games ?

Microsoft, where yo' exclusives at ?

It would be embarrassing if
the only nominees are Gears 3 and Forza 4 lol.

 

[flyinpiranha]

It's streaming online this year.

Awesome, thanks!

(No NBA means I didn't have to re-up my cable yet!)

 

[paranoidfortean]

if you watch this you are supporting everything wrong with video games.

 

[Nizz]

Nice thread! And yeah, I'm watching only for the game reveals. Oh and....

Best Xbox 360 Game:
Batman: Arkham City
Forza Motorsport 4
Gears of War 3
Portal 2

?

 

[Derrick01]

if you watch this you are supporting everything wrong with video games.

Duly noted.

Looking forward to watching it. Saturday is such a dumpster fire for TV so at least there's this to keep my attention for an hour or two.

 

[angelfly]

Nice thread! And yeah, I'm watching only for the game reveals. Oh and....


?

Multi plats were included in the console categories last year as well.

 

[AngelSoldier]

Also @ OP

Might wanna fix this

"Steam Links (The Show Is Streaming Online This Year):"

Change "Steam" to "Stream"

... Unless there is some joke here I'm not getting.

 

[V_Ben]

Also @ OP

Might wanna fix this

"Steam Links (The Show Is Streaming Online This Year):"

Change "Steam" to "Stream"

... Unless there is some joke here I'm not getting.

Whoops, fixed

 

[V_Ben]

Bugger. Real Life appears to have coincided with the VGAs in the most annoying way possible, and as such I'll be at a Theatre event on the night of the show. I'm sure a lovely moderator will be able to help me keep the thread title as up to date as possible, and threads will invariably be made for the announcements that spew forth, but it looks like doing an unusually cruel and sarcastic live blog for the event might not be on the cards anymore. I'll still be updating the thread with all the announcements and such as soon as I return from my night of revelry. Sorry :/

 

[Baller. PhD]

I still don't understand why I "won't believe" The Last of Us.

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

I still don't understand why I "won't believe" The Last of Us.

If I told you, you wouldn't believe me.

 

[Cloudius12]

I'm pretty sure it was streaming last year as well.