Hosted last night by Emmy Award winning writers from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, the New York Videogame Critics Circle celebrated the best in gaming at the 9th annual New York Videogame Awards at SVA Theatre in NYC. The organization bestowed its highest honor, the Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year, to The Outer Worlds. Games that won two awards each include Disco Elysium (receiving the Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game and the Herman Melville Award for Best Writing), as well as Sayonara Wild Hearts (winning the A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game and the Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game). Additionally, FPX (League of Legends) was awarded the Captain Award for Best Rookie Esports Team alongside a new award category for 2020, Joltin’ Joe Award for Best Esports Player of the Year won by Arslan Ash.
Full List of Winners: 2020 New York Videogame Awards
- Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year: The Outer Worlds
- Andrew Yoon Legend Award: Reggie Fils-Aimé
- Statue of Liberty Award for Best World: Outer Wilds
- Herman Melville Award for Best Writing: Disco Elysium
- Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game: Minecraft Earth
- Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game: Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game: Luigi’s Mansion 3
- A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game: Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game: Disco Elysium
- Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake: Resident Evil 2
- Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game: Courtney Hope as Jesse in Control
- Captain Award for Best Rookie Esports Team: FPX (League of Legends)
- Joltin’ Joe Award: Best Esports Player of the Year: Arslan Ash
- Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism: Khee Hoon Chan for their story in Rock Paper Shotgun: China Forced One Horror Game Publisher to Close, But the Whole Region Felt It.
Highlights of the ceremony included the presentation of the Andrew Yoon Legend Award to industry great Reggie Fils-Aimé, who playfully took a selfie with the audience last night. He helped change the gaming world with the Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo Switch. The Legend Award recognizes individuals and organizations that exhibit a significant, sustained body of work that shows exceptional achievement and innovation. Past recipients include Jade Raymond, Richard Garriott, Todd Howard, Rockstar Games and Ralph Baer.
When asked about the New York Game Awards in its 9th year, Critics Circle president and founder Harold Goldberg said, “what a great night celebrating the best in video gaming with industry greats that I admire for their commitment to the gaming industry. With a full house and hundreds of thousands of gaming fans watching our livestream, 2020 was our biggest awards show yet, but stay tuned later this year when we announce the 10th Annual New York Videogame Awards for 2021!”
About the New York Videogame Critics Circle
Based in New York City, the New York Videogame Critics Circle is a not-for-profit organization, stemming from the need for community in the often-cut-throat world of journalism. This multicultural group is comprised of the finest videogame critics, designers, writers, reporters, bloggers and videographers in New York City. Members of the New York Videogame Critics Circle give back to their communities with programs like at DreamYard Prep School in the Bronx, NY where the group offers mentoring, internships, lectures, job information and college scholarships for intelligent, but underserved students. The organization also holds community events, mentoring and classes in partnership with the Henry Street Settlement. At SVA Theatre, the group holds the annual New York Game Awards, which benefits their community service work. They also mentor seniors at O.A.T.S., Older Adult Technology Services at their tech center in NYC. The New York Game Awards Scholarship and Mentoring donors include Sony, Wizards of the Coast, HyperX, Samsung, MSK, and Ubisoft, with more to be announced.