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Astro Bot wins Game of the Year as director pays tribute to Nintendo-GameCentral-Entertainment – Metro
3D platformer Astro Bot has won the prestigious Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2024, but it wasn’t Sony that got thanked in the acceptance speech.
Now we know what Nicolas Doucet got for Christmas in 1989 (YouTube)
3D platformer Astro Bot has won the prestigious Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2024, but it wasn’t Sony that got thanked in the acceptance speech.
It might be called The Game Awards, but it’s the multitude of new game announcements and trailers that accompany the ceremony which most people are primarily interested in, which this year included everything from The Witcher 4 and an Elden Ring spin-off to the new game from The Last Of Us maker Naughty Dog.
The big exception is the hotly contested Game of the Year award, which is always the last to be handed out and which this year we thought to be a very open field, with no clear favourite.
That began to seem less true as the night went on though, as PlayStation 5 exclusive Astro Bot picked up multiple smaller awards along the way, before finally taking home the Game of the Year trophy as well.
The other nominees for the Game of the Year award were Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, and DLC Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Most of these won other awards themselves, such as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for Best Score and Music, Black Myth: Wukong for Best Action Game, Metaphor: ReFantazio for Best Art Direction and Best RPG, and Balatro for Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Mobile Game.
It was Astro Bot that won the most awards of the night though, picking up four for Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Action/Adventure Game, and Best Family Game. Since the latter trio were all announced first, it made its eventual win of the grand prize seem inevitable.
What was unexpected though, was the acceptance speech by director Nicolas Doucet (despite his heavy French accent Team Asobi is a Japanese studio based in Tokyo – Sony’s only remaining internal studio in Japan).
in what he claimed to be an unplanned tribute, he pointed out that ‘Even before PlayStation there were people making platformers. I remember I was a kid in 1989 – Christmas – and I got a grey box [a NES] and there was a game packed in, it was called Super Mario Bros. and it was really, really great.
‘So we are Japan, we are in Tokyo, they are in Kyoto [the location of Nintendo’s HQ] but I want to pay tribute to the company who really put platformers… and showed us innovation and quality consistently, and inspired us to actually make the game that we made.
‘So that’s also – and I’ve managed not to mention them, have you noticed? – but you all know who they are. And many other companies have inspired us over the years, so that’s very, very important. And we want to pay tribute to them tonight.’
He looked rather nervous saying all that, despite the loud applause from the crowd, but it’s unlikely Sony are going to be upset, given how much silverware he’s brought home for them.
It’s unclear what Team Asobi’s next project will be, but it seems fair to assume that both they and Astro Bot will return as soon as is feasible.
The Game Awards 2024 game winners and nominees
Game of the Year
Astro Bot – WINNER
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Game Direction
Astro Bot – WINNER
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Narrative
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Metaphor: ReFantanzio – WINNER
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Silent Hill 2
Best Art Direction
Astro Bot
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree
Metaphor: ReFantazio – WINNER
Neva
Best Score and Music
Astro Bot
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – WINNER
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Silent Hill 2
Stellar Blade
Best Audio Design
Astro Bot
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – WINNER
Silent Hill 2
Best Performance
Hannah Telle for Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Briana White for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Humberly González for Star Wars Outlaws
Luke Roberts for Silent Hill 2
Melina Juergens for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – WINNER
Innovation in Accessibility
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6
Diablo 4
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown – WINNER
Star Wars Outlaws
Games for Impact
Closer The Distance
Indika
Neva – WINNER
Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Tales Of Kenzera: Zau
Best Ongoing Game
Destiny 2
Diablo 4
Final Fantasy 14
Fortnite
Helldivers 2 – WINNER
Best Community Support
Baldur’s Gate 3 – WINNER
Final Fantasy 14
Fortnite
Helldivers 2
No Man’s Sky
Best Independent Game
Animal Well
Balatro – WINNER
Lorelei And The Laser Eyes
Neva
UFO 50
Best Debut Indie Game
Balatro – WINNER
Animal Well
Manor Lords
Pacific Drive
The Plucky Squire
Best Mobile Game
AFK Journey
Balatro – WINNER
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket
Wuthering Waves
Zenless Zone Zero
Best VR/AR Game
Arizona Sunshine Remake
Asgard’s Wrath 2
Batman: Arkham Shadow – WINNER
Metal: Hellsinger VR
Metro Awakening
Best Action Game
Black Myth: Wukong – WINNER
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6
Helldivers 2
Stellar Blade
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Best Action/Adventure Game
Astro Bot – WINNER
Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown
Silent Hill 2
Star Wars Outlaws
The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
Best RPG
Dragon’s Dogma 2
Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Metaphor: ReFantazio – WINNER
Best Fighting Game
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
MultiVersus
Tekken 8 – WINNER
Best Family Game
Princess Peach: Showtime!
Astro Bot – WINNER
Super Mario Party Jamboree
The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
The Plucky Squire
Best Sim/Strategy Game
Frostpunk 2 – WINNER
Age Of Mythology: Retold
Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess
Manor Lords
Unicorn Overlord
Best Sports/Racing Game
F1 24
EA Sports FC 25 – WINNER
NBA 2K25
Top Spin 2K25
WWE 2K24
Best Multiplayer Game
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6
Helldivers 2 – WINNER
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Tekken 8
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Best Adaptation
Arcane
Fallout – WINNER
Knuckles
Like A Dragon: Yakuza
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft
Most Anticipated Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Ghost Of Yōtei
Grand Theft Auto 6 – WINNER
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Monster Hunter Wilds
Content Creator of the Year
CaseOh – WINNER
IlloJuan
Techno Gamerz
TypicalGamer
Usada Pekora
Best Esports Game
Dota 2
Counter-Strike 2
League Of Legends – WINNER
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Valorant
Best Esports Athlete
33 – Neta Shapira
Aleksib – Aleksi Virolainen
Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon
Faker – Lee Sang-hyeok – WINNER
ZyWoO – Mathieu Herbaut
ZmjjKk – Zheng Yongkang
Best Esports Team
Bilibili Gaming (League Of Legends)
Gen.G (League Of Legends)
NAVI (Counter-Strike)
T1 (League Of Legends) – WINNER
Team Liquid (Dota 2)
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