Nicolas Doucet, the Frenchman at the head of the Japanese studio Team Asobi, creator of “Astro Bot”. It brought Sony and PlayStation the title of game of the year, the supreme reward of the Game Awards.
AFP
“Astro Bot”, a game in the form of a tribute to the flagship heroes of Sony consoles, won the title of video game of the year on the night of Thursday to Friday during the Game Awards 2024, a central annual ceremony in the video game industry.
On stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Frenchman Nicolas Doucet, director of the Japanese studio Team Asobi, thanked his team for their “generosity”.
The Game Awards 2024 ceremony in its entirety.
YouTube/thegameawards
“They are not in the calculation”
“They’re not in the math, they’re just thinking about the kids, because we have the immense privilege of potentially being the first game in their hands,” he said.
The platform game, which features the space adventures of a small robot, also won the titles of “best family game”, “best production” and “best action/adventure game” – major victories for the studio for 65 people.
Sold more than 1.5 million copies according to Sony (owner of Team Asobi), “Astro Bot” received the best rating of the year on the review aggregator site Metacritic, with 94 out of 100, ex tied with “Metaphor: ReFantazio” and “Elden Ring: Shadows of the Erdtree”, two nominees for the supreme title. We note that this last title returns empty-handed from the ceremony.
The latest from the director of the “Persona” saga, Katsura Hashino, “Metaphor: ReFantazio” did not leave empty-handed.
This medieval-fantasy adventure from the Japanese studio Atlus, published by Sega, received the awards for best role-playing game and best narration.
As for “Balatro,” another favorite – a poker game powered by popular streamers – it bagged “best indie game” and “best mobile game.”
For its eleventh edition, the Game Awards invited several celebrities to participate, including actor Harrison Ford and rapper Snoop Dogg, who performed a song from his new album “Missionary”.
Upcoming games revealed
The ceremony also gave pride of place to announcements of new games, including “Intergalatic”, by the Naughty Dog studio, director of “The Last of Us”.
Trailer for “Intergalactic”, a new production from the renowned Naughty Dogs studio.
YouTube/PlayStation
Josef Fares, the founder of Hazelight Studios and creator of “It Takes Two”, presented with great enthusiasm and swearing “Split Fiction”, a game between science fiction and fantasy.
Trailer for “Split Fiction,” a game led by the helmsman of “It Takes Two.”
YouTube/ElectronicArts
His previous title, “It takes two,” sold more than 20 million copies and won the highest award in 2021.
First images of the next “The Witcher IV”, a game which should not be released before 2017.
YouTube/TheWitcher
Other big games to come include the first trailer for the highly anticipated “The Witcher IV,” a new game “Elden Ring” and a new title from Fumito Ueda, a renowned talent responsible for the very high level of games such as “Ico”, “Shadow of the Colossus” and “The Last Guardian”.
First trailer for the next title by Fumito Ueda. Its title, apparently provisional: “Project: Robot”.
YouTube/PlayStation
Geoff Keighley, host of the Game Awards, also returned to the wave of layoffs which hit the sector this year, a “sad reality”.
He presented a new award, called “Game Changer” (“the game changer”) to Amir Satvat for his support of many unemployed developers.
“Over the last three years, we have lost more than 34,000 jobs,” lamented the influencer on the verge of tears. “This has consequences. You can’t make great games without great people.”
