Over the last few years, ratings for The Game Awards have been steadily increasing, while viewers have been tuning out the Academy Awards. In a startling comparison, video game industry analyst @BenjiSales stacked the two award shows against one another to compare the number of viewers. The Academy Awards this year saw a steep decline over last year's show, with 9.8 million viewers tuning in compared to 2020's 23.6 million. Comparatively, The Game Awards brought in 80 million viewers in 2020, up from 45.2 million the previous year. It's a surprising trend, and one that shows the way overall interest in gaming continues to grow.
The numbers can be found in the Tweet embedded below.
The Oscars vs The Game Awards ratings
Oscars
2021: 9.8m
2020: 23.6m
2019: 29.6m
2018: 26.6m
2017: 33m
2016: 34.4m
2015: 37.2m
2014: 43.7mTGAs Livestreams
2020: 83m
2019 : 45.2m
2018: 26.2m
2017: 11.5m
2016: 3.8mThe shows are headed in completely opposite directions pic.twitter.com/OiyU5baEZb
-- Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) April 26, 2021
This isn't the first time The Game Awards and the Oscars have been pit against one another, but there are several factors readers should keep in mind when viewing the figures. In a follow-up Tweet, @BenjiSales points out that The Oscars looks at average viewers, while The Game Awards posts total viewers. There's also the pandemic factor: a much smaller number of films were released last year, and a lot of the spectacle was absent in this year's show.
Of course, it's worth noting that a lot of the people watching The Game Awards are far less concerned with the actual awards and more in the announcements that are made. In 2019, The Game Awards saw the Xbox Series X make its debut, while last year's show saw Sephiroth announced as a new fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The hype factor has played a large role in the success of The Game Awards, just as it has for industry events like E3.
It's interesting to look at the numbers to see how the Academy Awards and The Game Awards stack up, but there's clearly a lot of factors that make it hard to fairly compare the two. Last night's presentation of the Academy Awards did have one thing for gamers to appreciate, however, as a documentary filmed for a video game took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject. That award is something both sides can celebrate!
Are you surprised by viewership for the two award shows? What do you think of the comparison? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!
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