The Game Awards 2018 is done and over. A multitude winners were crowned and tons of new games were announced. Overall, it may very well have been the best Game Awards yet, with the show being blisteringly paced, full of announcements, and some really entertaining musical acts for good measure. While Red Dead Redemption 2 took home many awards, it was God of War that took home the Game of the Year. But much to my dismay, Nintendo was not the recipient of any Game Awards – not a single one. But that didn’t stop the internet from clamoring about what Nintendo did at the show – and that was how they essentially stole the show. And here are the five reasons why:
I can FEEL the POWER! – The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Ads
Every commercial break brought a delightful ad for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. And with each unique ad, came the attention and speculation of thousands of Twitch and Twitter onlookers thinking some sort of surprise announcement for the game was about to be unleashed. But when each ad was revealed to be simply that – just an ad – it didn’t matter because at the end of each commercial the announcer would remind everyone that the release was only “MINUTES AWAY!“. The electricity that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brought to The Game Awards was tangible and downright awesome. Nintendo constantly reminded everyone that sure, there are games getting awards and new games announced, but you all get to play Smash TONIGHT! It was a brilliant play which no doubt stole just a wee bit of thunder from the awards show.
Three’s Company – Reggie, Shawn, Phil On Stage Together
This moment was huge for all gaming, but Reggie being there after teasing an announcement in the weeks leading up to the awards gave Nintendo more attention. Not only that, but Reggie was wearing a Ridley Super Smash Bros Ultimate shirt, and that got people wondering what Nintendo had in store. Was it going to be a Metroid Prime 4 reveal? The rumored Metroid Prime Trilogy coming to Switch? The fact that the three of them were on stage together was huge, but Reggie’s shirt caused buzz around the internet for the rest of the night.
EXCELSIOR! – Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, A Switch EXCLUSIVE?!
This was the biggest shocker to me. I have long wanted to play another Ultimate Alliance game, but never in a million years would I have dreamed it would be a Switch exclusive title. Ever since Marvel started hand picking studios and publishers to create games based on their licenses, fans have been clamoring to hear what was in development. Well now we know the game is in development by the folks at Team Ninja, which is amazing in itself as well. Not only is this game coming exclusively to Switch, it is coming in 2019, further solidifying an already stellar 2019 lineup for Switch. To be honest – Ultimate Alliance fits perfectly with the couch co-op focus of the Switch and this cannot excite me more.
It Has Begun – Mortal Kombat 11 is Coming to Switch
Mortal Kombat 11 was announced at the show, and the trailer was balls to the walls crazy. Blood and gore all over the place as Raiden and Scorpion beat the ever loving piss out of each other. When the trailer ended, my fingers immediately went to type up my excitement. I was so excited in fact that I missed the fact that this game is coming to Switch. The last screen on the trailer (pictured above) shows that lovely little Switch logo as a platform for the game and this cannot be any cooler! This will be the first Mortal Kombat on a Nintendo console/handheld since Ultimate Mortal Kombat on the DS in 2007.
Nice One, Joker – Persona Enters the Battle!
You’ll never see it coming. Seriously. Did you? Cause I sure didn’t.
When we learned that Nintendo had already selected its DLC characters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, we all assumed it would be first party characters from the rich history that Nintendo has at its disposal. Never in a million years did I think that Nintendo would go so far outside the box that they would include a character that was NOT on a Nintendo console at all…well, not yet anyway. And therein lies the genius of this move. Think about it: now that Nintendo has set this precedent, what other characters could be on the way? Nathan Drake? Master Chief? ToeJam & Earl?! The possibilities are endless here! That isn’t the only amazing thing to come out of announcing Joker as a new fighter – now people are speculating if Persona 5 is going to come to Switch. Again, Nintendo continues to dominate the conversation.
So that’s it. Those are the reason why, regardless of not winning a single award, Nintendo was still a big winner at The Game Awards. What say you? Let us know in the comments!
Nintendo didn’t dominate, and no amount of spin will change that.
I think you may be looking into the word “dominate” a little too much. It’s more like “dominated the conversation”.
I think you may be playing a little too loosely with the entire premise. You don’t at all corroborate your statement. You just say their ads dominated the conversation… but it seems like it’s only you talking. To have some veracity, you’d need to show that what you point out here was, indeed, the largest topic of conversation. Youtube views or articles about said ads/announcements or number of forum posts or twitter trends or google searches…
You have none of that.
I guess that is a fair point. I figured there was no harm in writing an opinion piece based on conversations I saw on a multitude of social networks, websites and the official twitch stream of the show that evening. As this was not a thesis or a research piece, I did not think it necessary to cite particular instances, beyond simple notation, that lead my to the conclusion that Nintendo was the talk of the show.