While most punters seem surprisingly pleased with Geoff Keighley’s latest instalment of The Game Awards (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s robbery aside), it appears at least one executive took home sour grapes in place of a hoped-for statue.
Game Science CEO and Black Myth: Wukong producer Feng Ji went on an impressive, extended scree on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, declaring, “I came [to The Game Awards] for nothing”, as well as taking umbrage with the allegedly wishy-washy criteria for how Game of the Year is selected.
It is the inevitable result of a collision between Chinese culture, Chinese talents, China’s business environment, China’s game industry and the vast number of players worldwide.
Former IGN and Sony Santa Monica writer Alanah Pearce alleges that at least one Game Science developer could be seen weeping from her seat in the front row of the Game Awards audience.
Was Black Myth: Wukong robbed of its rightful Game of the Year award by Team Asobi and Astro Bot?
Even though the majority of gamblers appear to be quite happy with Geoff Keighley’s most recent installment of The Game Awards (apart from the robbery in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth), it seems that at least one executive took home sour grapes rather than the statue they had hoped for. Feng Ji, the CEO of Game Science and the producer of Black Myth: Wukong, made a powerful and lengthy statement on the Chinese social media site Weibo, writing, “I came [to The Game Awards] for nothing” and criticizing the allegedly ambiguous selection criteria for Game of the Year.
It can be challenging to understand the precise tone of the seven-paragraph tirade at times, as it occasionally references literature and poetry as well as the current state of China’s economy (thanks to TheGamer for machine translation and clarity editing). However, there are some quotes that are so stark that we can’t imagine the overall meaning is lost. It’s important to keep in mind that Wukong received more recognition than most games do—it was awarded Player’s Choice and Best Action Game after being nominated for five awards.
Ji claimed to have written his victory speech two years ago and expressed bewilderment at TGA’s selection process for the Game of the Year category. He also expressed regret not being able to speak onstage. Ji invoked the power of the Player’s Choice award when he stated: “I have also observed a lot of players’ comments expressing strong dissatisfaction, unwillingness, and unhappiness, most of which are hilariously humorous and deconstructive. “.”.
Wukong’s unquestionable commercial success, according to Ji, was all planned for and an inevitable outcome of the studio’s culture: “Some people say that a team that has achieved such results with its first stand-alone game is a small probability, an accident, and it is difficult to copy in the future,” Ji says. I want to clarify that this is not a coincidence. It is the unavoidable outcome of a collision between the enormous number of players worldwide, Chinese culture, Chinese talent, China’s business environment, and China’s game industry. It’s a ride rather than a wager. “.”.
According to Alanah Pearce, a former writer for IGN and Sony Santa Monica, at least one Game Science developer was spotted crying from her front row seat during the Game Awards. This act is acceptable in and of itself; at Push sq\., we are free to cry as much as we want. However, when Keighley introduced the trailer for the Okami sequel on the main stage, he was obviously overcome with masculine emotion. It does, however, undermine the spirit of good sportsmanship and camaraderie that these events are meant to foster and raise the possibility that the developers had their expectations set a bit too high.
In the comments section below, share your thoughts on whether Team Asobi and Astro Bot denied Black Myth: Wukong its justifiable Game of the Year honor.
