Casino & Gambling
Have The Game Awards And The Streamy Awards Become Major Awards Nights To Rival The Oscars And Grammys?
Two decades ago, we would’ve never imagined there being awards shows for video games and online videos. Nowadays, both The Game Awards and the YouTube Streamy Awards are some of the most popular awards shows.
These shows aren’t as big as the Oscars or the Grammys yet, but their growing popularity could rival or even outrank them.
The Game Awards
The Game Awards began its journey into relevance eight years ago on the 5th of December 2014. Originating from the United States, they’re annually held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles with only two exceptions– the first in 2014 (held at the AXIS in Las Vegas) and the 2020 awards show (held virtually).
The Game Awards have always had millions of viewers since its exception; its first show gained an audience of 1.9 million viewers. Since then, that viewing figure has gone up, with the most recent show in 2022 having 103 million viewers!
In 2022, 72 games were nominated for an award, with Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök gaining the most nominations and wins.
There were some categories we expect at a gaming awards show, like Best Insert Genre Here Game, Best Mobile Game, and Game of the Year. However, there were some categories we didn’t expect to see in this type of awards show, like Games for Impact or Innovation in Accessibility.
The Game Awards have shown us that video gaming is rising in popularity and can also showcase that it’s geared towards more than one type of audience.
Casino Awards Show?
Speaking of games, some of us may be wondering if there’s an awards show for casino games or if there’s any room for amazing new casino awards.
Despite the popularity of casinos and gambling, few people know that there are some awards shows for casinos and casino games. They’re not advertised as much since gambling is geared towards adults compared to video games and online videos, which can have content geared towards a general audience.
There may not be as many awards shows about casinos, and the audience may not be as big, but those awards shows are there. Those who are into casinos will have to look for them.
The YouTube Streamy Awards
The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamys or the Streamy Awards, began its awards show on the 28th of March 2009– a whopping 13 years ago! This show is the first to focus on web series and other video content. Like The Game Awards, they’re also held annually in California.
The 2022 awards ceremony was held on the 4th of December in Beverly Hills, California; it was the first show to be held in person since the 2019 ceremony. Hosted by YouTuber Airrack, it was the first show exclusively streamed to a content creator’s YouTube channel.
There were over 40 awards given at this year’s show. While MrBeast had the most nominations at seven, YouTuber and inventor Mark Rober won the most awards with four.
Besides the usual awards we would expect, like Creator of the Year or the awards for many genres, many gaming-related awards were introduced this year. VTubers were even nominated for awards.
Despite Airrick hosting the awards ceremony, many creator guests, like Bretman Rock, Michelle Khare, and more, joined him. There were also plenty of presenters like Brent Rivera, Charli D’Amelio, and others.
We haven’t gotten the exact viewership for this year’s Streamy Awards, but last year’s ceremony had 9.6 million viewers, more than three times the amount for 2019’s show. The 2021 ceremony has the most views of any Streamy Awards.
And The Award Goes To…
Now that we’ve talked about both The Game Awards and The Streamy Awards, it’s time to discuss whether they can rival the Oscars and the Grammys.
The Oscars and the Grammy have been around for decades; the Oscars have been around for almost a century. They’re both famous awards ceremonies with millions of viewers annually (16.62 million and 9.59 million, respectively), which is around the average for The Game Awards 2017’s 11.5 million viewers.
16.62 and 9.59 million may sound like a lot, but those views are nothing compared to their peaks. The Oscars peaked at 57.25 million in 1998, while the Grammys peaked at 51.67 million viewers in 1984. Both are below half the viewers The Game Awards received this year.
The Oscars and Grammys hit their peaks decades ago, but The Game Awards and the Streamys are getting started. With gaming and online videos skyrocketing in popularity, there’s a strong possibility of these shows outranking the classics.