December 12, 2024, was a special night for the gaming industry at large. Geoff Keighley hosted his 10th annual Game Awards show to an overwhelmingly positive reception online. In case you don't know, the show has previously been criticized for its fixation on advertisements in place of deserved screen time for the game developers it is supposed to celebrate.
Last year, there was a peculiar issue where a teleprompter in the theatre showed a message clearly telling award winners, “Please Wrap it Up.” This went viral for good reason, but it's clear Keighley and The Game Awards took viewer feedback from that show to heart and made some changes this year.
As for The Game Awards 2024, it was a genuinely surprising and enjoyable time from the moment it started to when it ended. We got to see incredible reveals such as Elden Ring Nightreign, a new cooperative roguelike spin on FromSoftware's souls-like gameplay formula. There were also many other reveals that excited the online crowd, like Hazelight Studio’s Split Fiction, a new and exciting cooperative experience with unique mechanics and varied settings splicing into one another throughout the story. It's not too dissimilar to their previous title, It Takes Two, which won Game of the Year at The Game Awards in 2021. Basically, if you wanted to tune in to The Game Awards for grand reveals, you got exactly what you wanted this year.
But two of the biggest surprises were, first, The Game Awards allowing developers and award winners to have generous screen time. For instance, Swen Vincke, the Founder and CEO of Larian Studios, the developers of Baldur’s Gate 3 (which won a Game of the Year at The Game Awards in 2023), made an important introspective speech on what makes a game resonate with the wider gaming community. He also offered a human perspective that calls out the missteps of the rest of the industry in one condensed speech (a clip of his speech was posted on X by @Rurikhan).
Due to some strange oversight, #TheGameAwards forgot to make a highlight clip of @LarAtLarian - Swen Vincke's Speech on the official channel.Surely this wasn't a deliberate mistake, so I made one myself. We should probably retweet and repost it far and wide for good luck. pic.twitter.com/FCviF1Ecp3December 16, 2024
The second surprise was Team Asobi and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Astro Bot winning the Game of the Year 2024 award whilst standing against giant titles like Black Myth: Wukong, which sold 18 million copies in just one month and won the “Player’s Voice” award. This sends a message that Astro Bot is yet another game that uses gaming industry roots to resonate with critics and gamers alike to take home the gold. However, it is also a wake-up call for Microsoft and Xbox. Despite covering various genres, Xbox is missing just one cornerstone that Sony has been rewarded for with its Astro Bot gambit.
The Missing Piece in the Variety Puzzle
Astro Bot is a very expertly crafted third-person platforming game that takes direct inspiration from Nintendo’s iconic platforming series, Super Mario Brothers. It is a simple game by design but masterfully uses various aspects from various entries in the Super Mario series — The moment-to-moment gameplay feels like a combination of Super Mario 3D World and Sunshine, with a Pikmin-esc twist, where you collect fellow Bots across diverse levels to achieve goals in the main hub world of the game.
These Bots can either be blank slates like Astro or references to other video game franchises. Some will be more recognizable, like Kratos from God of War, Raiden from Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance, or Crash and Aku Aku from Crash Bandicoot. Meanwhile, others are more obscure, such as the main character from Alundra (a game that flew under the radar in 1997) or Dart (from The Legend of Dragoon back in 1999). These little callbacks eventually form a nostalgic museum that celebrates PlayStation's 30-year history in the gaming industry.
Astro Bot itself is a game with a distinct style and charm, with an emphasis on the fun factor.... It is the necessary variety that Microsoft and Xbox sorely lack in their various offerings.
While Sony Interactive Entertainment has specialized in creating third-person action-adventure games with a heavy emphasis on photorealism and movie-like storytelling, the Game of the Year winner is rather different. Astro Bot itself is a game with a distinct style and charm, with an emphasis on the fun factor. This game allows anyone of any age to pick up and enjoy the game from start to finish, and it is the necessary variety that Microsoft and Xbox sorely lack in their various offerings.
Microsoft and Xbox carry the torch for more niche franchises, like Age of Empires, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Wasteland, but despite owning about 40 game studios (with even more teams within those studios), no big budget, third-person platform has been revealed by Microsoft recently. This is especially strange when you consider their treasure trove of classic franchises that they could pull from.
Pluck the Banjo, or Unfurl a Squirrelly Friend
On June 11, 2019, Banjo and Kazooie were announced as fighters in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighter Pass. This was a great surprise considering that developer Rare was acquired by Microsoft in 2002, and the last Banjo-Kazooie title, Nuts n Bolts, was released back in 2008 for Xbox 360. This announcement rightfully excited fans who were nostalgic for Rare’s iconic 64-era 3D platformer. With an updated 3D model debuting on Nintendo’s iconic fighting game series, it proved there are still people who want this platformer series to exist.
Banjo Kazooie is one of the more obvious picks that Microsoft and Xbox could go for. It is a lighthearted series that sticks to the basics. But in the same Rare vein, a more adult-themed beloved platformer series is also awaiting — Conker the Squirrel is ripe for the picking despite being a riskier choice. While Conker is most known for Bad Fur Day, and Live & Reloaded — which were rated M for Mature at the time of their respective releases — the first entry in Conker’s journey, Pocket Tales, was a family-friendly title on Nintendo’s Game Boy Color handheld system back in 1999.
Banjo-Kazooie had a great start but fizzled out after Nuts & Bolts. Even so, the bear and bird duo have stayed in the hearts and minds of many. Meanwhile, Conker had a rough start with Pocket Tales before getting a new lease on life with Bad Fur Day as its more memorable entry. The challenge for Microsoft and Xbox, however, is how they approach a revival of either of these series.
Banjo-Kazooie has a lot of nostalgic fans who may end up feeling skeptical about a more modern approach to the games. And Conker fans might feel wronged if they go for an E for Everyone approach instead of the risqué material from the more notable releases they hold dear.
But if Microsoft and Xbox were to try and capture the same magic Astro Bot has, they still have one series they could potentially put all their chips into, thanks to their acquisition of Double Fine in 2019.
Time to Gamble Like a Psycho Nut
Psychonauts 2 was released in 2021 after initially betting pushed back from 2019, and 2020 in order to allow the developers to add in content that was otherwise unavailable before the acquisition, such as its big boss fights. Thanks to Microsoft and Xbox, Double Fine was able to deliver one of 2021's biggest third-person platformers of that year, rivaling Insomniacs Rachet and Clank: Rift Apart in critical reception. The game was even nominated for several awards at The Game Awards of that year.
This proves that Microsoft and Xbox can produce high-quality third-person platformers with the right team and a generous development cycle. Double Fine is currently working on unannounced new titles. Who knows. Maybe this could give them a chance at the spotlight, similar to Astro Bot winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards.
But if all else fails, thanks to a newly announced partnership with Toys for Bob, Microsoft and Xbox might have the right team to capture the nostalgic magic Astro Bot has. Toys for Bob is known for the recently released new entry for Crash Bandicoot and the remake of the Spyro the Dragon trilogy. It's worth noting that both Crash and Spyro have references in Astro Bot since both series were originally created by PlayStation’s legendary studios, Naughty Dog and Insomniac, in the late 90s.
While the IPs were sold off to Activision following the different directions that both studios went, Naughty Dog went on to focus on their cinematic third-person action-adventure Uncharted games and The Last of Us. Meanwhile, Insomniac is currently focusing on new entries in their widely popular Spider-Man series with Wolverine games on the horizon.
While Crash had a new game called It’s About Time in 2020, Spyro hasn't seen a new game since 2008 (if you aren't counting the remastered Spyro trilogy from 2019). If Microsoft and Xbox wanted to go for a new third-person platformer that is suitable for all ages, they can soar with a proper continuation of the original trilogy's story or start anew with a reboot that reimagines Spyro’s adventures.
Or Just Copy Astro Bot
There are dozens of IPs that Microsoft and Xbox can use to fill the missing "all-ages" niche in their expansive catalog. They could kickstart a new journey with either Crash or Spyro and appeal to fans who have been clamoring for a new entry. The same would be true of Banjo-Kazooie and Conker fans. Of course, Double Fine could also become their big platformer development studio. On the other hand, they could create original new games, but launching new IP can be a risky business.
Astro Bot itself is a relatively new IP, with the cute little robot first appearing in The Playroom, which released in 2013. Still, the series has been able to rely on a staggering number of already existing IPs to tug on different heartstrings. So, with the wealth of IP that Microsoft and Xbox now own, why not try and replicate a similar experience? They could create a whole new mascot character for the next Xbox console and make a fun third-person platforming experience filled with small references like Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Raz, or more. Having an Astro Bot-esc version of Master Chief from Halo or Tracer from Overwatch could sew a distinct feeling of joy with levels themed around games from the original Xbox, the 360, or Xbox One.
While this would be a massive undertaking for Microsoft and Xbox, it could pay off. After all, Astro Bot doesn't just reference characters from PlayStation's history for the sake of it; the game celebrates PlayStation's entire 30-year history. In a few years, Xbox will have been in the market for 25 years. Why not also try and show your pride in the games that built your legacy?
