History of the Video Game Awards

In 2003, the Spike TV Video Game Awards (or VGAs) became the first of such honors to focus on honoring recognition of excellence within the growing computer & video game industries. Each year, the best of the games are rewarded, interspersed with live musical performances, film & tv celebrity appearances, & preview trailers for soon-to-release video games. The awards ceremony has taken place in various locations in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, & Las Vegas, & has been hosted by Samuel L. Jackson on multiple occasions. In 2009, for the first time, the awards show did not have any host at all. Musical performers have included Snoop Dogg & The Bravery, & celebrity guests historically have included Jack Black, the cast of MTV's Jersey Shore, Green Bay, & Stevie Wonder.

Among the shows honors are categories featuring the coveted Game of the Year, along with best of honors for hottest video action & adventure, innovative graphics, & know-how. Categories include separate honors for best Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, & PC games; separate honors for best handheld, shooter, action adventure, RPG, multiplayer, fighting, individual sports, team sports, driving, & music games; Game of the Year; Studio of the Year; Best Soundtrack, Best Original Score, Best Graphics, Best Game Based On a Movie/TV Show, Best Performance By a Human Male/Female, Best Cast, Best Voice, Best Downloadable Game, Best DLC, & Most Anticipated Game.

In the work of the second awards ceremony, the host, Samuel L. Jackson, referred to the fifth installment of the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, as "Grand Theft Auto two." In addition, later on the same year's show, the game was mistakenly displayed with the label of "Grand Theft Auto four." When video games King Kong: The Official Game of the Film & 50 Cent: Bulletproof were nominated in categories despite having not even been released by the time the awards program had been filmed - in fact only being released in time for the award show's broadcast - critics immediately took their nominations as nothing over parts of marketing & publicity campaigns for both games. It did not help that the video game Bulletproof, had actually even been nominated for the most highly sought after honor of the awards show, Game of the Year, in spite of negative reception by critics as well as game enthusiasts on its release. Another sore spot for critics of the awards program is that they feel the ceremony dedicates much time & emphasis to celebrities, musical performances, & aspects of popular culture that have nothing to do with the video game industry, to draw a bigger audience & boost ratings for the show.

Critics of the awards disapprove of its choice processes for determining both nominees & winners, which they are concerned reflect bias toward specific products & platforms, with video console games being more likely to come out as winners of the crystal awards over PC games. Since winners are determined by online polls, critics accuse the program of awarding popularity only, than true advancement or innovation in the grand process of the industry. Additionally, concerns arise from the show's tendency to misappropriate awards or refer to games incorrectly. For example, in the work of the first Video Game Awards show, Halo won an award in the section of best shooter although it ought to have been deemed ineligible, since it was technically a year elderly game by then.