The Game Awards 2019 – Five Key Takeaways

I didn’t believe in The Game Awards 2019 at first. When they began, I thought they were going to fizzle out. Now, they’re the place to watch for awards, reveals, and more. Check out our five key takeaways from this year’s event!

Five Key Takeaways from The Game Awards 2019

From Software is The Most Important Developer This Decade – Proven by Win at The Game Awards 2019

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is not for the faint of heart. None of the From Software library is easy, and the developer’s games are actually celebrated for their difficulty. We put together an entire list of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice tips and tricks just to try and help gamers out! Needless to say, the game’s win at The Game Awards 2019 only helped solidify the dev’s place in gaming. This decade, the Souls games have been so influential. A ton of games, even as recently as Jedi Fallen Order take from the Souls style of gameplay.

We know From Software loves to build a great payoff to beating a boss. We even know they see dying as part of the process. What we didn’t know was that a company that makes games that frustrate us endlessly would end up being the most important developer this decade. Do yourself a favor and play Sekiro, or maybe at the very least the remastered Dark Souls port from last year. 

Microsoft Cannot Name a Console, But They Sure Can Build One

Image Credit: Microsoft

The new Xbox was revealed at The Game Awards 2019, and the name is awful. Yes, that’s coming from a diehard Xbox fan. Still, who in their right mind would call a new console the Xbox Series X. People all over the internet are playing on the Series X name with quips like the “Sexbox”, “Xbox SeX”, and other innapropriate but pretty funny titles. The good news for Microsoft is that the thing looks great, and seems powerful as anything else in the home console gaming market. A 12 teraflop GPU and many other PC-level specs are built into the machine. This should mean slower load times, and we now know it means suspending games mid-session without closing them. 

The Series X is going to be a great console, but Microsoft still needs the games to back it up. They might not know how to name a console, but they sure can make one. 

E3 Is Now Less Important Thanks to a Boost in Popularity for The Game Awards

We saw a number of huge reveals at The Game Awards 2019. As mentioned above, we saw an entire new console debut. That’s unheard of in the age of E3 being the place to make reveals. Are we seeing a shift? Aboslutely. We already know E3 is not favored by Sony, who neglected to appear at all for any sort of conference presentation. We also know Nintendo doesn’t even do live events anymore on stage, opting for the Treehouse style presentation instead. So, is E3 dead?

No, simply because people still pay to go. If the money wasn’t there, companies would be tempted to abandon it, or save all their reveals for an event like The Game Awards. Still, tens of thousands show up to E3 every year. That means it’s not going anywhere. It also means that E3 is a little less important as viewership rises for The Game Awards.

We Saw the First Confirmed PS5 Launch Game at The Game Awards 2019

Image Credit: Sony

Godfall is known now to be the first confirmed PS5 game. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X will launch next holiday season. We saw Series X announcements today, but none had a date on them. Godfall, on the other hand, is confirmed to be launching with the PS5 for Holiday 2020. 

The game, a hack and slash action game a la Dark Souls, looks insanely good. PS5 owners know at least one reason to buy the game at launch after this killer announcement at The Game Awards 2019. Still, what else is bound to follow? Playstation and Sony have a lot of options here, and they’re coming off a win the last console cycle. The Microsoft team is stocking their studios, but Godfall still shows that Sony is the team to beat come 2020.

The Show is Officially a Hit

We don’t have official viewer totals yet, but thousands were watching the stream on Twitch, Mixer, and other platforms. The Game Awards started as this “maybe it will work, maybe it won’t” production, but they knocked it out of the park this year. If you didn’t see the full list of winners, it’s worth looking at. The lineup of winners is diverse, and the show does a great job of highlighting all the best parts of gaming. Thankfully, it looks like the show is only going to improve year after year. If it continues to debut great new games and consoles, it will become one of the hottest events in gaming. 

Also, because they are just great whenever they pop up, check out this skit featuring Bunsen and Beaker of the Muppets!

Did you watch The Game Awards 2019? Let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading Comic Years!

This post has been updated to add that Muppet-y goodness. 

Taylor is the Gaming Editor of Comic Years and a lifelong fan of video games. He holds two degrees in Political Communication and wrote a Master's Thesis on resistance movements, race, and the exploitation of college athletes. His wife and two Toy Australian Sheppards keep him sane.