Now that the Spike Video Game Awards are a faint recollection, Variety reports that the quality piece of programming was way down in the ratings. This year's event sideshow was down 26%, with about 680,000 viewers, says the high lord of television ratings, Nielsen. It's the second lowest (a little above 2006's 618k) rated year since the show started in 2004, which was its most impressive with 1.23 million viewers.

It gets worse: Spike caters to the key 18-34 male demographic, which was down 29% from the prior year, with its lowest ever figures of 229,000 viewers.* Boys 12-17 were up by 30% to 199k. Variety does note that this year's show did go against some program called the Cowboys-Giants football game on NBC, which was the highest rated Sunday Night Football game ever. Still, those Spike numbers aren't too hot in a year that could become the biggest sales year in gaming history.

*Fun fact: 34,000 women aged 18-34 watched.

In a lot of ways, last night's Video Game Awards were the most promising and yet, the most frustrating. It was a far cry from 2007's awards, a two-hour long cringe made bearable only by the occasional exclusive trailer. This year, there was real entertainment to be had, as well as a better sense than ever before of how to appeal to gamers. There were even some good gags. But that made the areas where the show stumbled, both big and small, even harder to swallow.

Fear not, the internet, we at Joystiq are ready to spring to the rescue and humbly provide our suggestions to help the VGAs reach their full potential (without the use of topless girls). Which brings us to tip number one:

True to our word, we've returned with the second string of Video Game Award 2008 videos -- the "B" squad, if you will. It's not that these clips aren't exciting, they're just ... less so. Right after the break check out Dante's Inferno, Watchmen, Terminator Salvation, Mafia II and Fight Night Round 4.

So, what's the verdict? Do these clips have you pumped for 2009? Or are you holding out judgment until you can see a little more gameplay and fewer cinematics?

If you missed the VGAs last night, you needn't worry, we've prepared the full virtual experience for you this morning. First, go read our liveblog of the event. Then, watch the delightful batch of trailers we've got for you after the break. Finally, imagine Jack Black is yelling at you in his underwear. You are there!

Enjoy this first crop of media from Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, God of War 3, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Brütal Legend. We'll have the rest of the media for you in a bit.

There were plenty of stellar Wii games to release this year, but, as far as the last night's Spike VGAs goes, you should look to Boom Blox as this year's best Wii game. The game certainly deserves the recognition (and sales figures), but we're not sure we'd go and say it is the Wii game of the year. What about Brawl? What about World of Goo? Oh, and how about that little game No More Heroes?

So, you agree, or would you name something else as your Wii game of the year?

It seems like Spike Video Game Award judges and Time magazine now have something in common. The Spike VGA Game of the Year was just announced and it was ... wait for it ... drumroll please ... more drumroll, please ... that's better ... Grand Theft Auto IV. The announcement was preceded by the latest Brutal Legend trailer, so we almost missed it basking in the awesomeness of Tim freaking Schafer. Congratulations to Rockstar.

Curious which games won – and, by proxy, which ones lost – in the rest of the categories? Find the full list of winners after the break.

Forget reading! Here's our video stream.

We literally don't know what channel Spike is.

It's not the most noble start to our annual VGA liveblog, but it's the best we've got. We hope you'll hang in there with us as we detail all the ... well, whatever it is. Our man Kevin Kelly is inside, and he'll be giving us the dog's eye view.

And away we go!

An "exclusive" from Geoff Keighley, who likely read that line from a teleprompter while presenting live from the Spike VGAs: Pearl Jam's "Ten" album is coming as a Rock Band downloadable album in March. That should be just enough time for you to find the appropriate amount of flannel to wear while you play.

This just in from the Spike VGA Awards: Gears of War 2 Combustible map pack, which includes Flood, Gold Rush and Fuel Station, will be available tonight at 3AM ET. No price mentioned. Now back to the liveblog ... Update: According to a source speaking to X3F, the map pack will be 800 points / $10.

If Gears of War goes down to a Bethesda game again, Cliff Bleszinski's getting schoolyard. Live at the VGA red carpet, he just told us "Well, last time we lost Game of the Year to Oblivion and this year we might lose to Fallout 3. So I slit the tires on [exec. producer] Todd Howard's car."

With his considerable delts/pecs/biceps, we'd think Cliffy B. Young Cliff could just rip those tires asunder. We're a little disappointed.

This won't come as a surprise, but we're betting it'll do your spirits well. Will Wright just told us, "I'm working on a big new project that I'm very excited about, but I don't want to talk about it yet because if it takes three years to come out I don't want people saying 'Wow, he's been talking about that for a loooong time.'"

Jeez Will, you sound like a guy who's had a little (read: a decade) of experience with that.

Our man Kevin Kelly is grilling celebs on the red carpet at the VGAs, and in addition to Kevin's standards ("Where's the cool party after the show?" and "Can I have a ride home?"), he's also asking about a few more substantial topics. This first nugget comes from Alex Evans of Media Molecule who said: "The LittleBigPlanet packs are going to be a lot more than what people are thinking they will be. They will be very substantial."

That's all we've got for you at the moment, but stay put for all the latest updates.

Did you forget? The Spike Video Game Awards are tonight and will include some very special guests. Not only is Jack Black hosting the show, but there will be new trailers for some of our most anticipated 2009 titles. While the awards themselves may not excite you, perhaps the chance of seeing some footage of Watchmen, Brutal Legend, God of War III and Uncharted 2 will get you to tune in at 9PM EST tonight on Spike.

If you're based in Europe then chances are you'll be asleep for the show, but Gametrailers will have all the trailers up for you to see when you wake up in the morning. 2008 hasn't ended yet and already the hype for some of 2009's biggest games has begun in earnest. We love it.

We here at Joystiq typically try our best to make you, our dear readers, feel as appreciated as humanly possible, so forgive us for breaking form as we reveal to you that we hate your stupid guts sometimes. Our disdain stems from admittedly flawed logic -- if it weren't for you, we'd have no audience, and the brothers McElroy would have no reason to watch and liveblog the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards show tonight. Instead, we'd be out performing activities preferable to watching the VGAs -- activities like eating light bulbs, throwing ourselves in front of trains and ritual self-immolation.

However, you're here, and your cacophonous demand for VGA coverage has fallen on attentive, spiteful ears. Tune in tonight at 9 p.m. EST -- we'll be reprising our liveblogging roles of yesteryear (now with streaming video) to keep you in the loop about the grim events that unfold in the name of video game adjudication. We've got our fingers crossed for the following: Ravi Drums, drug-related humor, subtle judgment of our chosen hobby, painted ladies, celebrities pretending to know what the hell they're talking about, and the sweet, sweet embrace of death.