After the new game announcement, the ceremony quickly moved on to the Game of the Year awards.
A series of awards were handed out, interspersed with performances and new game reveals, so it never felt dull.
Among them, Tales of Berseria naturally reaped a rich harvest. In addition to Best Action Game and Best RPG from earlier, it also successfully secured Best Narrative and Best Music.
It could be said that aside from Game of the Year, Tales of Berseria was the biggest winner of this TGA, and without a doubt, the most talked-about studio at the end of the year.
Moreover, this wasn't some long-established giant like EA or Rockstar, but rather a rising studio that had only emerged in recent years. This undoubtedly had an impact on the previously stable structure of the game industry.
Back when they developed Persona, some major companies had already taken notice of this emerging studio. Even companies like Microsoft and Sony had considered acquiring them.
However, by that time, Ichin had already built a solid foundation, and his cooperation with Nintendo had been going very smoothly. Both sides benefited from the partnership, so he simply ignored those acquisition offers from the big corporations.
Then, after Persona surpassed ten million copies in sales, followed by releases like Dark Souls, Titanfall, and Apex Legends, their revenue and development capabilities were fully on display. Ichin firmly established himself in the industry, securing his own place that no one could ignore. Naturally, being acquired became even more impossible.
With a steady yearly output of games, whether large-scale single-player titles, smaller indie-style projects, or online multiplayer games, and with all of them maintaining high quality, this level of productivity was something many studios nowadays simply couldn't achieve.
Even a pipeline-driven company like Ubisoft couldn't release new entries for its IPs every year anymore. Take Assassin's Creed Valhalla for example, after its release, it was continuously updated and operated for nearly four years, adding bits of new content each quarter along with seasonal events.
The transformation of the Assassin's Creed series was indeed quite successful, shifting from stealth assassination gameplay to the mythological trilogy-style ARPG. The open-world scenery remained top-tier as always, and the "map markers" had been significantly optimized, greatly improving the overall experience.
However, the speed of releasing new titles was undeniably too slow. Just because Valhalla generated strong revenue didn't mean it should be stretched out like that.
In contrast, over here, single-player games didn't rely on long-term live service models. Dark Souls quickly released its two DLCs after launch, and afterward only received occasional updates for bug fixes. There were no restrictions on player-made mods either. Even without new official content, the game still maintained a massive player base, with players engaging in PvP or experimenting with all kinds of creative mods, forming a completely healthy community ecosystem.
There really weren't many studios that could achieve something like this anymore. The only one that came to mind was Capcom.
But unfortunately, Capcom still insisted on rehashing old content. This time at TGA, they announced a remake of Resident Evil 4, still holding back on releasing a new title.
They had already announced a new Monster Hunter, yet still no new Resident Evil. No news about a new Devil May Cry either, and Dragon's Dogma 2 had only been teased as "in development" earlier in the year. Even at this TGA, there was still no update. Who knew what they were holding back for.
Rubbing his chin, Ichin muttered, "Yeah… when I get back, I should pay Capcom a visit. I need to know how Dragon's Dogma 2 is coming along."
"Didn't they send people here today?" someone asked.
"It's useless cornering them here. Going to their company is more effective. Their studio is right there. As long as I get in, I'll definitely find out something."
Ichin had already made up his mind to check on the development progress. After all, he really liked Capcom's games.
"Oh right, I should also ask about Street Fighter 6. They didn't reveal anything about it this time either. Looks like I'll have things to do after I get back."
Clapping his hands, he added another item to his list.
While Ichin was chatting, the awards for Best Ongoing Game and Most Anticipated Game were also announced.
For Best Ongoing Game, Apex Legends unfortunately lost to Final Fantasy XIV, which was understandable.
As for Most Anticipated Game, since Bloodborne had only just been revealed for the first time at this TGA, it wasn't nominated. The award ended up going to Final Fantasy XVI, giving Square Enix a double win.
Finally, for Game of the Year, although Tales of Berseria was nominated, the evaluation criteria for this award were quite different. Besides gameplay quality, innovation was also a major factor.
And in that regard, Tales of Berseria didn't really stand out, as it was built upon existing technical foundations rather than introducing groundbreaking innovations.
In the end, as expected, the award went to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. In its sequel, Nintendo once again delivered rich gameplay content and an expansive world to explore, along with many new gameplay mechanics. Even though it was a sequel, it differed significantly from the original.
The only similarities were how incredibly fun it was and its equally terrifying sales figures.
On its first day alone, it surpassed six million copies sold. Especially considering Zelda is a Switch-exclusive title, it went on to exceed ten million copies within a month.
At this point, it could be said to have achieved both fame and fortune.
Its Game of the Year win was widely accepted by both the live audience and viewers watching the stream, with almost no controversy.
However, after this award was announced, there was still a final segment of new game reveals, and this part directly made Ichin's blood pressure rise.
The remake of The Last of Us Part I was announced.
The first game itself wasn't the problem, but what really made Ichin's blood pressure spike was that the person presenting it on stage was Neil—the very guy behind the second game.
Shaking his head, Ichin muttered under his breath, "This guy…"
The others were amused by his reaction.
Yagami Kō suppressed a laugh and said, "If you don't like it, you can just not play it, right? Besides, it's just a remake. It shouldn't have any issues."
"Who says that?" Ichin shrugged. "Take a look at who's up there talking. I don't believe for a second that he won't pull something weird."
Spreading his hands, he said calmly, "I'd bet on it. This game is definitely going to have differences from the original. Just wait and see."
Fortunately, after The Last of Us Part I was announced, Bethesda took the stage as the finale and revealed the release date for Starfield.
It was set for August 22 next year, about eight months away.
This news finally helped calm down the players whose blood pressure had just spiked.
...
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