This previous week was one of the vital crowded for online game information due to two occasions: The Recreation Awards 2023 and the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer. Initially, I used to be shocked the 2 weren’t one and the identical. GTA 6’s reveal is probably the most important recreation announcement of the yr, in spite of everything, and Geoff Keighley at all times appears to be looking for huge Elden Ring- or GTA 6-level moments for his present, even when he doesn’t at all times get these. After taking a step again and how every carried out independently of the opposite, I believe each have been higher off staying separate.
Taking middle stage
When it first teased the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer in November, it stated the trailer can be launched “in early December.” Like many others, I assumed that this meant it could present up at The Recreation Awards as a result of that tends to be the case when recreation builders tease an announcement for that window. For instance, Focus Leisure additionally stated a launch date for Warhammer 40,000: House Marine 2 can be confirmed “in early December,” and that ended up taking place throughout The Recreation Awards.
In the end, Rockstar had the GTA 6 trailer slated to launch on the morning of December 5, however ended up releasing it on the evening of December four attributable to a leak. The sport wouldn’t go on to make any marketing-related look at The Recreation Awards 2023 on December 7. Though GTA 6 skirted The Recreation Awards, was leaked, and obtained posted sooner than meant, it was nonetheless a groundbreaking reveal.
GTA 6 Trailer 1 garnered over 93 million views inside 24 hours, in keeping with knowledge supplied by YouTube Gaming. “Setting this new all-time report is a testomony to the cultural affect of the collection and demonstrates why YouTube is the main vacation spot for gaming content material and popular culture,” head of YouTube Gaming Leo Olebe stated in a press launch about that accomplishment that was supplied to Digital Traits. Whereas clearly meant to advertise YouTube Gaming, that assertion caught with me as a result of it culturally defined why GTA 6 didn’t want The Recreation Awards.
Trending Deal:
Irrespective of when or the place the primary GTA 6 trailer dropped, it could have been an enormous deal. Posted independently of another gaming information, it turned one of the vital seen YouTube movies hours of all time within the first 24 hours. It was the principle factor everyone within the gaming area was speaking about till The Recreation Awards, because it paid off years of hype and dominated a video platform on which the collection has flourished. It might’ve benefited neither Rockstar Video games nor The Recreation Awards to mix the 2.
On Rockstar’s finish, the trailer’s affect would have felt a bit blunted if it had appeared through the crowded present. Though occasions like Summer time Recreation Fest and The Recreation Awards might be pleasing for followers as they comprise nonstop flurries of bulletins, I believe Geoff Keighley’s reveals have gotten bloated by way of the variety of trailers and divulges proven. I noticed the impact of this as a result of my roommates watched the present stay as I reported on it, however struggled to recollect a lot apart from Marvel’s Blade and OD afterward due to how nonstop the bulletins have been.
I do like how The Recreation Awards offers us a good mixture of indie, AA, and AAA bulletins, however it’s robust to recollect a lot of the video games proven except that they had a fantastic trailer, like Den of Wolves and Pony Island 2: Panda Circus, or a memorable onstage second, like Tales of Kenzera: ZAU and OD. If GTA 6 have been to have been at that present, it could have been the premier announcement there, however it additionally would have been preventing for consideration with different AAA video games.
It additionally would have taken the eye away from any bulletins or awards that got here after. I’ll admit I had a tough time getting invested in Jurassic Park: Survival as a result of it instantly got here after OD through the present, so I might solely think about how worse it might have been if one thing like Tales of Kenzera: ZAU needed to comply with up GTA 6. And that’s not even mentioning how underserved the awards portion of the present felt at The Recreation Awards 2023.
As a present already struggling to stability the calls for of advertisers, followers, and award winners, I don’t assume a groundbreaking second just like the reveal of GTA 6 would’ve been an excellent match for The Recreation Awards 2023. In the end, it is a what-if situation that didn’t come true; it’s a thought experiment that exposes the size of GTA 6’s cultural relevancy and flaws with The Recreation Awards’ construction and pacing.
GTA 6’s trailer sits at effectively over 130 million views. The Recreation Awards 2023 nonetheless amassed thousands and thousands of viewers through the stay occasion, in keeping with knowledge from Streams Charts, as has the VOD of the occasion. It’s not like Keighley’s present is at risk of dying with out the assist of firms like Rockstar Video games, nor did GTA 6 lose a lot consideration by not being at The Recreation Awards. The awards present and GTA 6’s trailer will garner thousands and thousands of views sooner or later, not crossing paths till the sport itself reveals up on the award circuit. That is only a reminder that each announcement you may consider or predict for an occasion like The Recreation Awards isn’t at all times nearly as good of a match as chances are you’ll initially assume.
GTA 6 launches for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Collection X/S someday in 2025.
Editors’ Suggestions