A host of the most influential members of the gaming industry, as well as stars from the worlds of sports, television, music and movies gathered at the biggest night in video games, and watched Bethesda Studios release “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” receive the highest honor a game can receive when it took home the coveted Vector Monkey after being named Game of the Year. “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” also won Best RPG, and garnered Studio of the Year honors for Bethesda Game Studios.
Other multiple award winners included “Portal 2” which won in five prominent categories, including Best PC Game and Best Multiplayer, and “Batman: Arkham City,” which won four Vector Monkeys, including awards for Character of the Year for the Joker, Best Xbox 360 Game and Best Action Adventure Game.
“The Legend of Zelda” creator Shigeru Miyamoto made a surprise appearance to accept the first ever Video Game Hall of Fame Award on the groundbreaking franchise’s behalf. “We always push ourselves,” said Miyamoto, “and we’re grateful you notice.”
Additional honors included the second ever Gamer God Award, which was bestowed upon Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of the “World of Warcraft,” “Starcraft” and “Diablo” series. Original founders Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce were all on hand to accept the prestigious award.
The “VGAs” debuted never-before-seen world premieres of the most anticipated games of 2012 and beyond, including Naughty Dog’s “The Last of Us,” the surprise reveals of “Command & Conquer: Generals 2,” “Alan Wake American Nightmare,” Epic Games’ “Fortnite,” “Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance,” “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Patriots,” “Transformers: Fall of Cybertron,” “BioShock Infinite” and the winner for Most Anticipated Game “Mass Effect 3.”
This year’s show included presenters and appearances by major stars from all over the entertainment world, including Charlie Sheen, Brooklyn Decker, Seth Green, Felicia Day, LL Cool J, Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Tony Hawk, will.i.am, Hulk Hogan, Stacy Keibler, Bellator stars Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler, Blake Anderson, Adam Devine, Anders Holm and game designers Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games and Hideo Kojima of Konami. The show also featured a performance by Grammy Award winning rock duo The Black Keys, and Grammy Award nominated dance music innovator deadmau5, who helped transform the show with his visual representation of sound into a real life video game experience. Additionally, NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice was on hand to announce the results of the vote for Digital Cover Athlete of the forthcoming “NFL Blitz” from EA Sports, with Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens selected by fans who cast their ballot at vga.spike.com during the show.
A full list of winners is included below:
- Game Of The Year: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Studio Of The Year: Bethesda Game Studios
- Character Of The Year: The Joker – Batman: Arkham City
- Video Game Hall OF Fame Award : “The Legend of Zelda”
- Gamer God Award : Blizzard Entertainment
- Best Xbox 360 Game: Batman: Arkham City
- Best PS3 Game: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
- Best Wii Game: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- Best PC Game: Portal 2
- Best Handheld/Mobile Game: Super Mario 3D Land
- Best Shooter : Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Best Action Advanture Game: Batman: Arkham City
- Best RPG: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Best Multi-Player: Portal 2
- Best Individual Sports Game: Fight Night Champion
- Best Team Sports Game: NBA 2K12
- Best Driving Game: Forza Motorsport 4
- Best Fighting Game: Mortal Kombat
- Best Motion Game: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- Best Independent Game: Minecraft
- Best Adapted Video Game: Batman: Arkham City
- Best Song In A Game: "Build that Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb – Bastion
- Best Original Score : Bastion
- Best Graphics : Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
- Best Performance By A Human Male: Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2
- Best Performance By A Human Female: Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2
- Best Downlaodable Game: Bastion
- Best DLC: Portal 2 Peer Review
- Most Anticipated Game: Mass Effect 3
- Gametrailers.com Trailer Of The Year: Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – E3 2011 Trailer
- EA Sports NFL Blitz Digital Cover Athlete: Ray Rice