Mobile games don’t always get their due when it comes to awards in the video game industry, but that’s slowly but surely changing with each passing year. The Game Awards, which are produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, are no …
Mobile games don’t always get their due when it comes to awards in the video game industry, but that’s slowly but surely changing with each passing year. The Game Awards, which are produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, are no exception.
Although we could tease The Game Awards for lumping mobile games in with handheld titles in the Best Mobile/Handheld category, we won’t, if only because handhelds probably couldn’t carry a category of their own at this point (sorry 3DS fans, but it’s true). In any case, the nominees were announced today, and three of the five were mobile games:
Yes, the list has an obvious slant toward big studio releases, and Pokemon Go is probably more notable for its cultural impact than actually being the “best” mobile game of the year by almost any standard. Yet it’s hard to argue that Clash Royale isn’t worthy of being nominated, despite its status as a cog in the unstoppable Supercell machine, and even though it debuted on the Vita, the mobile version of Severed was a favorite of multiple members of this site’s writing staff.
Also worth noting is that That Dragon, Cancer was nominated for the Games For Impact award, devoted to “exemplary games that take on real-world issues and advocate for social change.” While it was released for PC months before it popped up on mobile this fall, there’s little question that it’s an extraordinary (and emotionally draining) piece of art that deserves any recognition it gets. The Witness, one of the nominees for Best Independent Game, is reportedly still coming to mobile at some point as well.
A full list of all the nominees across all categories is available at thegameawards.com. the actual show will take place on December 1 from the Microsoft Theater in L.A., and will stream live on Facebook Live, PlayStation Network, Steam, Twitch, Twitter, Xbox Live, YouTube, Live in China in partnership with Tencent, IGN, GameSpot and on the Next VR app.
