The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 that recognized the best

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

and

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s of the year. Produced by '' GameTrailers TV's''

Geoff Keighley Geoff Keighley ( ; born ) is a Canadian video game journalist and television presenter, best known for his role as the host of several video game industry conferences and presentations. He is the executive producer and host of the Game Awards s ...

, the show featured preview trailers for upcoming games, live music performances and appearances by popular performers in music, movies, and television. The VGAs was held at various locations in Los Angeles and

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, California as well as

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Nevada. Spike's only Video Game Hall of Fame award, given to ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

'', was awarded at the 2011 awards show. On November 15, 2013, Spike announced a new format under the name ''VGX'', calling it "The next generation of the VGAs". The last award show, carrying this name, aired on December 7. Changes from the previous format included "in-depth extended demos of the next generation of games and interactive one-on-one interviews and panels in an intimate studio setting." In November 10, 2014, Keighley announced a new awards show, the Game Awards, dropping the support from Spike.

VGX

2013 awards

The 2013 awards, the final awards show, was rebranded as ''VGX'' and held on December 7, 2013, and was hosted by

Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger, Jeffrey "Jeff" Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community (TV seri ...

. The show featured a different format from previous years. It featured extended demos of next-generation games, one-on-one interviews, and "a more intimate studio setting." Rather than airing live on Spike TV, the show was livestreamed online on

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

, Twitch,

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, and Android devices, as well as on GameTrailers.com and the websites of Spike,

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

, MTV, MTV2, and BET. As with previous years, the show featured exclusive world premieres of game demos and trailers. The 2013 VGX premieres included

Telltale Games Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...

' and

Gearbox Software Gearbox Software, L.L.C is an American video game developer, video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established as a limited liability company in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitch ...

's collaboration ''

Tales from the Borderlands ''Tales from the Borderlands'' is an episodic interactive comedy graphic adventure sci-fi video game based on the '' Borderlands'' series. It was developed by Telltale Games under license from Gearbox Software, the developer of the ''Borderland ...

'', '' Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition'' (an

and

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

port with graphical updates and all DLC included), Remedy Entertainment's '' Agents of Storm'' for iOS, Telltale Games' ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'', and independent developer Hello Games' ''

No Man's Sky ''No Man's Sky'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure survival game developed and published by Hello Games. It was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Windows in August 2016, for Xbox One in July 2018, for the PlayStation 5 an ...

''. The 2013 show also featured reveals of '' Titanfall'', '' Thief'', '' Quantum Break'', '' South Park: The Stick of Truth'', '' Broken Age'', '' Dying Light'', ''

Tom Clancy's The Division ''Tom Clancy's The Division'' is a 2016 online-only action role-playing video game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. It was released on 8 March for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is set in a near ...

'', and '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt''. Nintendo of America president

Reggie Fils-Aimé Reginald Fils-Aimé ( ; born March 25, 1961) is an American businessman best known for being the President (corporate title), president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, the North American branch of the Japanese video game co ...

demoed an upcoming

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

game, '' Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'', and

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

worked with the production team to produce a musical performance of the music of ''Grand Theft Auto V''.

Spike Video Game Awards

2012 awards

The 2012 VGAs (promoted as ''VGA 10'' for the tenth anniversary) was held on December 7, 2012, at

Sony Pictures Studios Sony Pictures Studios is an American television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California, at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard (south), Washington Boulevard (north), Overland Avenue (west) and ...

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

. Samuel L. Jackson returned to host for a fourth time. This was the last year under the name "Spike Video Game Awards". For the first time, the awards were broadcast on

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the origina ...

. Live users could "play" the show as it aired live. Responses to poll questions were tabulated in real time on screen for the Xbox Live audience and users with Xbox SmartGlass devices got a unique second-screen experience that updated in real time alongside the show content. Additionally, Spike TV and ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' partnered to create the first-ever "Entertainment Weekly and Spike VGA Best Game of the Decade" award. Exclusive world premieres that debuted at VGA 10 include Naughty Dog's '' The Last of Us'',

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...

' '' Gears of War: Judgment'',

Obsidian Entertainment Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California and part of Xbox Game Studios. It was founded in June 2003, shortly before the closure of Black Isle Studios, by ex-Black Isle employees Feargus Urquh ...

's '' South Park: The Stick of Truth'',

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

's '' Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2'', Irrational Games' '' BioShock Infinite'', Crystal Dynamics' ''

Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise i ...

'',

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

's '' Assassin's Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington'', and 343 Industries' '' Halo 4: Spartan Ops''. Two new games were announced, including '' Dark Souls II'' by

FromSoftware FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Founded by Naotoshi Zin on November 1, 1986 as a business software developer, the company released their first video game, '' King's Field'', for the PlayStation in 1994. Its s ...

, and a new game called '' The Phantom Pain'' (later revealed to be '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''). The event also had appearances from all past hosts of the VGAs except David Spade. The event featured musical performances by

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by the actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Their music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass' acoustic guitar playing. Critics have described their fusion of ...

Gustavo Santaolalla Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla (; born 19 August 1951) is an Argentine composer, record producer and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Gustavo Santaolalla, numerous accolades for List of works by Gustavo S ...

and

Wolfgang Gartner Joseph Thomas Youngman (born March 17, 1982), better known by his stage name Wolfgang Gartner, is an Americans, American DJ and music producer. Much of his music prior to 2010 was released through his own record label, Kindergarten, but he signe ...

2011 awards

The 2011 VGAs was held Saturday, December 10, 2011, at the

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

, California, hosted by

Zachary Levi Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...

. The awards previewed world premieres of '' Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriots'', '' Transformers: Fall of Cybertron'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Alan Wake's American Nightmare'', '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'', '' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD'', ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'', the exclusive PlayStation 3 game '' The Last of Us'' developed by Naughty Dog, '' Command & Conquer: Generals 2'' from BioWare Victory, and '' Fortnite'' from

. New trailers for both '' Hitman: Absolution'' and ''

Mass Effect 3 ''Mass Effect 3'' is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. The third major entry in the ''Mass Effect'' series and the final installment of the original trilogy, it was released in March 2012 for ...

'' were aired during the show, as well as a pre-show announcement for ''

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' is a 2011 fighting game, the eighth installment in the ''Tekken'' fighting game series and the sequel to ''Tekken Tag Tournament''. It was released for the arcade game, arcades in September 2011. It received an updat ...

''.

Mark Burnett James Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a British television producer who has won thirteen Emmy Awards including ten Primetime, one Sports Emmy Award and two Daytime Emmy Awards. His other accolades include five Producers Guild of America A ...

was the Executive Producer for the event, and for the first time, the VGAs aired live on MTV 2 (US), Spike.com (US) and Ginx TV (UK), in addition to Spike TV. The winners, as well as world premiere trailers, were announced during a pre-show red carpet live event hosted by GTTV's Amanda MacKay and Daniel Kayser. The 2011 VGAs also honored ''

'' franchise with its first ever "Video Game Hall of Fame Award". Another unique award at the 2011 VGAs was the ''NFL Blitz'' Cover Athlete award. This award, determined by live online voting during the event (just like Character of the Year), determined which NFL athlete would be on the cover of the

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

game, ''

NFL Blitz ''NFL Blitz'' is a series of American football themed video game originally released by Midway featuring National Football League (NFL) teams. It began as a 1997 arcade game '' NFL Blitz'' that was ported to home consoles and spawned a series of ...

''. Appearances were by

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...

, Brooklyn Decker, Seth Green, Felicia Day,

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

Jason Biggs Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor. The accolades he has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, alongside nominations for a Daytime Emmy Awards, Daytime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award ...

, Seann William Scott,

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first docume ...

, will.i.am,

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

, Stacy Keibler, ''

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

'' stars Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler, Blake Anderson, Adam Devine, Anders Holm, and game designers Cliff Bleszinski of

and

Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer. Regarded as one of the pioneering auteurs of video games, he developed a strong passion for film and literature during his childhood and adolescence, which in turn has had a significant influence on his game ...

. Musical performances were by

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...

and

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...

2010 awards

The 2010 VGAs was held Saturday, December 11, 2010, in Los Angeles, California at the L.A. Convention Center and returned to using a host which was

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received List of awards and nominations ...

. Unlike previous years, all the awards were not awarded during the show. Several new games were announced which include

BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Since 2007, the company has been owned by American ...

's announcement of ''

'', '' Prototype 2'', '' Insane'' from acclaimed filmmaker

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

, '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'', ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

'' featuring Kratos, '' Resistance 3'', '' Portal 2'', '' SSX: Deadly Descents'', and '' Forza Motorsport 4''. '' Batman: Arkham City'' had another CGI trailer debut and the first trailer of '' Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'' aired during the awards. Appearances included AnnaLynne McCord, '' Thor: God of Thunder'' video game star Chris Hemsworth,

Dane Cook Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He is known for his use of observational comedy, observational, often blue comedy, vulgar, and sometimes black comedy, dark comedy. He released six comedy ...

Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network G4, and on the series '' ...

, Dominic Monaghan, Michael Chiklis, Academy Award nominated film director Guillermo del Toro, '' Halo: Reach'' star and VGA nominee Nathan Fillion, Nick Swardson,

, and the cast from the hit series ''

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'',

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, and

Rob McElhenney Robert McElhenney III ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actor, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his role as Mac on the FX/ FXX comedy series '' It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present), a show he created and co ...

. Musical performances included award-winning violinist Diana Yukawa,

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

, and José González. The show featured use of augmented reality technology, conceived by Done and Dusted; with Lee Lodge, in partnership with Weider Design, Full Mental Jacket, and Orad.

2009 awards

The 2009 VGAs was held on December 12, 2009, at the Nokia Event Deck in Los Angeles, California and is the only VGAs that did not feature a host. It opened with a trailer announcing the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to '' Batman: Arkham Asylum''. There were other exclusive looks at '' Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands'', '' UFC 2010 Undisputed'', '' Halo: Reach'', '' Tron: Evolution'', ''

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

'', '' Crackdown 2'', ''Bonanza'', '' Spec Ops: The Line'', '' Rock Band 3'', '' Deadliest Warrior: The Game'', and ''

True Crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

''. Samuel L. Jackson previewed

LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game brand licensing, licensor, former video game developer and video game publisher, publisher, and a subsidiary of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George ...

newest upcoming ''Star Wars'' game, '' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II''. In addition, '' Green Day: Rock Band'' was announced and accompanied with a trailer. Appearances were made by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, the cast of MTV's ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

'',

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

, and

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

, with live music performances by

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

and The Bravery.

2008 awards

The 2008 VGAs was held on December 14, 2008, at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. Hosted by

, the show featured previews of '' Brütal Legend'', ''

Dante's Inferno ''Inferno'' (; Italian for ' Hell') is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem '' The Divine Comedy'', followed by and . The ''Inferno'' describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himsel ...

'', '' Fight Night Round 4'', '' Gears of War 2'' "Combustion" map pack announcement and trailer, '' God of War III'', '' Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned'', '' Mafia II'',

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

's album '' Ten'' for ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

'', '' Terminator Salvation'', '' Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'', and '' Watchmen: The End Is Nigh''. Musical performances included

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

, The All-American Rejects,

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...

, and

2007 awards

The 2007 VGAs aired December 9, 2007. Hosted by Samuel L. Jackson, the winners were announced ahead of the event which was held at the

Mandalay Bay Events Center The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts Int ...

in Las Vegas. The show featured performances by

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

, and exclusive world video game premieres of '' Borderlands'', '' Gran Turismo 5 Prologue'', '' Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2'', and ''

TNA iMPACT! ''TNA Impact!'' (stylized as ''TNA iMPACT!'') is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that debuted on June 4, 2004. It also features wrestlers from WWE's ...

''.

2006 awards

The 2006 VGAs aired December 13, 2006, at the

Galen Center The Galen Center is a multipurpose indoor arena and athletic facility owned and operated by the University of Southern California. Located at the southeast corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street in the Exposition Park area of Los Ang ...

in Los Angeles and were hosted by Samuel L. Jackson. The show featured a world premiere of

Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Irvine, California, and a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Originally founded in 1991, the company is best known for producing the h ...

's opening cinematic movie for its highly anticipated expansion set, '' World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade''. The event featured musical performances by

and AFI and show appearances by

, Eva Mendes, Sarah Silverman, Seth Green, Masi Oka,

Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere ( ; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has starred as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010), Kirby Reed in the slasher film, slasher Ho ...

, Yellowcard, Brandon Routh,

Rachael Leigh Cook Rachael Leigh Cook (born October 4, 1979) is an American actress and model. She has starred in the films ''The Baby-Sitters Club (film), The Baby-Sitters Club'' (1995), ''She's All That'' (1999), and ''Josie and the Pussycats (film), Josie and ...

, Michael Irvin,

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

, Maria Menounos, Tyrese Gibson,

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "''exhibit''), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, radio personality, and record executive. He began his musical career in 1992, ...

James Gandolfini James John Gandolfini (; September 18, 1961June 19, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007 ...

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

, among others. In character as

Stewie Griffin Stewart Gilligan "Stewie" Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the ...

and Tom Tucker from ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'',

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...

served as the voice of the VGAs.

2005 awards

The 2005 VGAs was held December 10, 2005, at the

Gibson Amphitheatre Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California, within Universal City, California, Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a p ...

in Los Angeles. The first VGAs hosted by Samuel L. Jackson, the show featured world premieres of '' 24: The Game'' from

2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several developme ...

, '' Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run'' from

Midway Games Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (franchise), Ra ...

, '' Star Wars: Empire at War'' from

, and '' Scarface: The World Is Yours'', as well as a 25th anniversary comic tribute to ''

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'' from

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

. Musical performances were by

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

, and

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

, and show appearances by

Charlize Theron Charlize Theron ( ; ; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 201 ...

, Kiefer Sutherland,

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

, The Rock, Vin Diesel,

Carson Daly Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, producer, and television personality. From 1998 to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'' (TRL), and a DJ for the Sou ...

, Donald Faison, Jaime Pressly, Josie Maran,

Carmen Electra Carmen Electra (born Tara Leigh Patrick, April 20, 1972) is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis where she met Prince (musician), Prince who produced her Carm ...

, Natasha Bedingfield, and

, among others.

2004 awards

The 2004 VGAs was held in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on December 14, 2004, at the Barker Hangar and hosted by

. The show featured exclusive world premiere game play and footage of

' ''Fear & Respect'', '' The Godfather: The Game'' from

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

and

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

, and '' Need for Speed: Underground Rivals'' for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

. Musical performances included

Sum 41 Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

, and a special live performance by Snoop Dogg and the remaining members of

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

performing "Riders on the Storm". Other performances included Snoop Dogg and

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

, and

and Redman in the first-ever '' Def Jam: Fight For NY'' performance. Celebrity appearances included Brooke Burke, Samuel L. Jackson, Vin Diesel,

, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabrielle Union,

Tara Reid Tara Donna Reid (; born November 8, 1975) is an American actress and model. Her film roles established her status as a sex symbol in the late 1990s through the early 2000s. In film, Reid is best known for her lead ensemble role as Vicky Lathum ...

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...

, John Singleton, Danny Masterson, Frankie Muniz,

Bai Ling Bai Ling (, born October 10, 1966) is a Chinese American actress and musician. After acting in numerous Chinese productions, she played small roles in American films such as '' The Crow'' (1994) and '' Nixon'' (1995) before starring as the femal ...

Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...

Bam Margera Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV Reality tel ...

, Freddy Adu,

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...

, Bobby Crosby,

Barry Zito Barry William Zito (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. His pitching repertoire consisted of a curveball ...

, and Michelle Rodriguez, among others.

2003 awards

The 2003 Spike Video Game Awards was the first video game award show to be hosted by Spike TV. It was held at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena within the MGM Grand Las Vegas, MGM Grand resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The venue opened on December 31, 1993, with a concert by Barbra Streisand, and s ...

in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 2, 2003, and aired on December 4. The event was hosted by David Spade and featured appearances by

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

, Jaime Pressly, DMX, P.O.D., Orlando Jones, and

Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian, actor and television host. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' ...

. The event also featured a WWE tag team wrestling match with the superstars Rey Mysterio,

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

, Trish Stratus, and Victoria.

Spike's Video Game Hall of Fame

Spike's Video Game Hall of Fame was established to recognize video game "franchises throughout history that have brought the industry to where it is today" – Casey Patterson, executive producer of the VGAs and executive vice president of event production for Viacom Media Networks Entertainment Group. The only inductee, due to the award show ending in 2013, was awarded at the ninth annual Spike Video Game Awards on December 10, 2011. The inaugural, and subsequently only, recipient was ''

'' franchise.

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, video game producer, producer and Creative director#Video games, game director at Nintendo, where he has served as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one o ...

accepted the award.

Nomination

With the exception of the fan-voted "Most Anticipated Game", "Character of the Year", and a few other non-annual categories, the award nominees and winners are voted by an advisory council, featuring over 20 journalists from various media outlets. Fans, however, can vote online for which games they think should win each category.

Reception

Video game journalism veteran Jeff Green has been vocal in his criticism of the Spike Video Game Awards. In his assessment of the 2010 VGAs, Green laments that Spike TV alienated viewers due to their decision to focus the awards on its own primary demographic, rather than the video game community at large. Green states that this leads to appearances by celebrities who "either didn't want to be or know why they were there." 2011 VGA host Zachary Levi recognized this and prior to hosting the event, told

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in an interview that, "I'm happy to work on the VGAs on Spike and make the network happy, but I want to be respectful to the community of gamers because I am one myself. And iththe humor involved, I want it to be smart, I want it to be honest, and accurate." ''

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

s Alex Navarro has also commented on the VGAs, questioning the importance of the awards themselves next to the VGA's focus on its exclusive reveals. The 2011 VGAs were given similar criticisms. ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' reported that VGA nominees

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, and the Joker (character), Joker in various animated DC Comics projects, starting with ''Batm ...

and

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The Powerpuff Girls'', '' The Fair ...

were disappointed that they were present at the event but their respective categories were not present at the show, only finding out the results of the "Best Performance by a Human Male" and "Best Performance by a Human Female" awards after the show. Wired.com writer Jason Schreier addressed Spike TV after the event in reference to food eating segments by Felicia Day and the host Zachary Levi having simulations of a sexual act performed on him. Schreier said, "It's not hard to find the root of the problem here: You think we're dumb. You think your audience is so stupid that they'll be amused by YouTube rants and health potion gags. You think we get our jollies out of watching girls bite cupcakes off conveyor belts. You think video game references make a good substitute for humor." Schreier also quoted ''

Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog which was part of the Weblogs, Inc. family later owned by AOL. It was active from 2004 to 2015, acting as the primary video game blog for the group, and operating alongside ''Engadget'' and sister blogs such ...

s Justin McElroy, who voiced his concern at many awards being shown together in a short montage. Praise was given for the handling of ''The Legend of Zelda's'' induction into the Hall of Fame including the video package of the franchise's releases and an appearance by creator

. The 2013 VGX received considerable negative press after airing; much of the criticism was aimed at host McHale's insults towards the developers and the audience.

Parodies

* The Video ''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'', highlighting the fictional 1st Annual Video Game Awards on June 21, 1977, hosted by

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...

(played by Michael McDonald) and Farrah Fawcett (played by Arden Myrin), musical guest

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

, and award presenter

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the Lists of Olympic medalists#Medalist with most medals by Olympiad, most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympi ...

(played by

Ike Barinholtz Ike Barinholtz (born February 18, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series '' MADtv'' (2002–2007), '' Eastbound & Down'' (2012), '' The Mindy Project'' (2012–2017), '' Bless the Hart ...

). ''

Pong ''Pong'' is a 1972 sports video game developed and published by Atari for arcades. It is one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but B ...

'' and ''

Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

'' were the only video games nominated for all of the awards presented, even though ''Asteroids'' wasn't released in the arcade until 1979. The categories shown in the sketch were "Best Graphics in a Video Game" (''Asteroids'' wins), and "Most Realistic Sound in a Video Game" (''Pong'' and ''Asteroids'' win in a tie).

Bobby Lee Robert Young Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. Lee co-hosts the podcasts Bad Friends (podcast), ''Bad Friends'' with Andrew Santino and ''TigerBelly'' with Khalyla Kuhn. From 2001 to 2009, ...

accepts an award as a designer of ''Asteroids''. ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...

'' is shown to display the future of video games, although it was released before ''Asteroids'' in 1978.MADtv Episode #1121, Air Date: May 13, 2006.

References

External links

VGX 2013

Every VGA Winner from Years Past
{{Spike (TV network) programming Awards established in 2003 Awards disestablished in 2014 Spike (TV network) original programming Video game awards Video game events The Game Awards