The Unknown BAFTA

Did you watch the BAFTA's; difficult to miss I suppose - red carpet coverage, award-winner speeches, post-party coverage and then the next day front-page headlines and analysis in all the papers. What do you mean I'm a bit late? Did you think I was talking about the Film awards that happened on the 10th of February? Oh and no I don't have a crystal ball to watch the Television awards that will happen on the 12th of May. I'm talking about the Game awards that occurred last night.

What awards? Well yeah exactly.

So why exactly is it that when the Film and Television awards appear it's almost impossible not to notice, but the Game awards float just below awareness beyond those in the industry itself?

Cynically I could say that in the case of broadcasting them the broadcasters get nothing from the deal; no 'look at our great award winning programmes' no 'we've showing this award-winning film'. But shouldn't the print media be less grabbing? Well sure, but by definition they need to print something and what is there to print?

In terms of recognition the red carpet is a little dull. Stars don't often lend their likenesses to games merely their vocal talent and not that often either. Head through the red carpet photos and it's a lot of "guest/s arrive/s". Of the 28 pictures I recognised by sight three of the people appearing in them and maybe two by name.


Yet video games is a huge money-making operation particularly in the UK and in this time of economic depression shouldn't an industry that is still growing be rewarded beyond a by-the-way column somewhere in the paper or a 30-second section on a news channel?

There's little excuse. The awards have been going on since 2007, and the current generation all play video games. It's no longer some 'loser/geek/nerd' laughable thing for anyone to play these things now. Yet it still seems that from the mainstream media's point of view video games are for children or immature adults despite the fact that they themselves play them.

Given all the coverage of the film and television versions and the repeat, repeat, repeat of the schedules having a live event to cover that fills in a gap should be a simple decision to make. Not only that, but by being televised it would encourage all those 'stars' the media love to attend as a boost to their facetime. Win - win.