The VGA Awards: A Junkies Fix

I doubt these words will matter much in the small time-frame after the ending of the glitz and glamour the Spike VGA awards provides. The saccharine sweet ceremony is the triumph of what the gaming colossus has become; the vindication of being mainstream by making things mainstream, no matter how much it pains the critics and placates the uninformed.

Hey, maybe this is a mark of true maturity for the burgeoning industry we call our own. After all, the string of unenthusiastic celebrities, high profile game previews and non-surprising award recognition is the norm, the expected results from an expected ceremony. The rise of the gaming giant can finally be marked as complete through the mundane process we come to expect. But not to me. I reject this notion that the industry truly has achieved it’s apex of growth through climbing the corporate ladder.

Like a shifty-eyed dealer looking to peddle the next fix to a sedated junkie, the VGA’s have a proverbial hold over their clientele, innocent to the truth of the addiction that holds them. It is a control that is not easily broken, a control that siphons the fortitude of even the most cynical of critics, a control dictated by the pushers to conceal the underlying truths beneath it.

We see the signs of it. In fact it’s almost transparent to the point of being in your face. Flavorful morsels to entice the senses, formulated into flashy trailers of things to come, to savor down the line. The manufactured anticipation offers little in the form of substance, but plenty of undutiful style. The epitome of a two hour commercial to consume as a reward for the empty spectacle in-between, the proverbial high the pushers hope you get.

It is kind of an odd phenomenon if you sit back and think it over. How does a million-dollar event constantly generate the revenue needed? While there is no true statistic to really sit back and analyze this, in the end that is irrelevant to the point. Like any good dealer, the supply is kept limited and the demand high to push the merchandise. Quality is not the name of the game, if it was the honest folk toiling over the IAAs or the IGFs would be more than an open secret to the addicted. No, the point and purpose is the lifeblood of any business, bribes and all.

So pushers will continue to control through the sins of avarice and gluttony. Our true feelings sedated by that natural high, if only for a moment, give us a swill of hope how fleeting it may be. It is only afterwards, when we become deflated from our moment of bliss we realize the truth, but can’t help in craving more of it afterwards. It is almost a crime, really, to be apathetic towards such an event on a daily basis. But I guess people just can’t wait to get their fix sometimes.
 
Nice post... but I'm not sure on the point. Are you saying we shouldn't look forward to games, and that we're all consumer whores? Or are you saying the VGA's sucked? Well written though, if a bit indirect on the message.
 
Thats the point of it, actually. There is no point to this at all, so the message can be interpreted as what you will.

To be honest, any point I make about the VGA's is a moot one since its been discussed to death, but generally, the show is crap and we all know it, but we watch it anyway for some reason.
 
I don't watch them. All the trailers I can find online the next day, and I don't care if Spike TV thinks Uncharted 3 is awesome, I'll go with an actual review site.
 
Rakon said:
I don't watch them. All the trailers I can find online the next day, and I don't care if Spike TV thinks Uncharted 3 is awesome, I'll go with an actual review site.

Same, GOTY stuff is fun to do with friends and forums but gaming sites and publications have obvious answers and selections. I don't disagree with Skyrim getting GOTY but at the same time that was expected. I liked the trailers that were shown, Last of Us looks awesome I mean sure we've killed zombies before but it looks like it'll have survival concepts and a great story (the two characters reminded me of enslaved somehow). I applaud for Epic Games taking their ballsy move and making fortnite. It's so far from Gears but I'm interested in seeing what it'll turn into. My childhood is happy to see a good Tony Hawk........ It's been a while

Links I see the point you're making, the gaming industry is a non-stop anticipation machine but I don't see that as a bad thing. The constant anticipation could mean that gaming is so good now-a-days that there is always something amazing around the corner. Hell ten years ago we were playing games like vectorman or sonic 2D adventures that basically followed a formula of "keep moving right and don't die". Sure there is a lot of crap or over-glorified titles in gaming (*cough* MW3 *cough*) but it's the same thing in movies, TV, music and literature. Games have evolved so much and it's inevitable that when something becomes big, corporate will want a hand in it which affects the medium to a big degree. It is funny how crazy people will go over the new *insert title here* but that just means we love this type of entertainment and it's normal to get excited for it.

................. I feel like my point is no where near what you were saying...... If so disregard
 

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