The two-hour event premiered LIVE on Spike TV Saturday, December 12 at 8:00 PM, ET (tape delay west coast) from The Event Deck LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
The night's most memorable moment belonged to 25 time Grammy Award winner Stevie Wonder, who was on hand to present The Beatles: Rock Band as Best Music Game of 2009. After being welcomed to the stage by a three minute standing ovation from the adoring crowd, the icon challenged the gaming industry to create video games specifically designed for those with disabilities.
Another of the night's signature moments occurred when former heavyweight boxing champion "Iron" Mike Tyson teamed up with another Mike, "The Situation," and his "Jersey Shore" castmates to present Best Shooter to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
The gaming industry's most influential developers as well as luminaries from the world of entertainment were on hand as Sony Computer Entertainment and Naughty Dog moved into "Uncharted" territory, as their smash hit Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, was named Game of the Year. The title also took home awards for Best PS3 Game and Best Graphics, nothing a total of three Vector Monkeys, making it the year's winningest game.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 tied with X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition in taking home the second most honors, with the former netting a pair of awards for Best Shooter and Best Multi-Player Game, and the latter winning Best Cast and Best Performance By A Human Male due to Hugh Jackman's outstanding work.
Viewers were treated to performances by Snoop Dogg as he stirred the crowd with his latest single, "I Want to Rock" and The Bravery, who rocked the house with "Slow Poison," the first single from their new album, "Stir The Blood" and closed the show out with "I Have Seen the Future."
The 2009 "VGAs" featured twelve exclusive world premieres, the highest number in the show's seven year history. First look world premieres included Halo: Reach, UFC 2010 Undisputed, Tron, Medal of Honor, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Crackdown 2, Bonanza, Spec Ops, Rock Band, Deadliest Warrior, True Crime and Star Wars.
The "VGAs" pays tribute to the outstanding achievements of games, designers, animation, breakthrough technology, music and performances of the past year in the world of video games. The awards also provide a glimpse of the future of gaming – including exclusive sneak peeks and world premiere footage of some of the hottest and most anticipated games of 2010 and beyond.
A full list of winners is included below:
- GAME OF THE YEAR: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
- STUDIO OF THE YEAR: Rocksteady Studios
- BEST SHOOTER: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
- BEST RPG: Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
- BEST FIGHTING GAME: Street Fighter IV (Capcom / Capcom/Dimps)
- BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME: UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ / Yuke's Media Creations)
- BEST HANDHELD GAME: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games / Rockstar Leeds)
- BEST GRAPHICS: UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
- BEST MUSIC GAME: The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)
- BEST DRIVING GAME: Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
- BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME: Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
- BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME: NHL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
- BEST SOUNDTRACK: DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
- BEST XBOX 360 GAME: Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
- BEST Wii GAME: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
- BEST PS3 GAME: UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)
- BEST PC GAME: Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
- BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
- BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAME: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
- BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW: South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
- BEST CAST: X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing)
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE: Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen / Activision Publishing)
- BEST VOICE: Jack Black as Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend / Electronic Arts)
- BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME: Shadow Complex (Microsoft Game Studios / Chair Entertainment)
- BEST COMEDY GAME: Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (D3Publisher / Vicious Cycle)
- BEST DLC: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
- BEST INDEPENDENT GAME FUELED BY DEW: Flower (ThatGameCompany)
- MOST ANTICIPATED GAME: God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / SCE Studios Santa Monica)