There are several major events to happen in any gamer's year. There's E3, of course, and either flavor of the Penny Arcade Expo. The Game Developer's Expo is another, as is Germany's Gamescom. But the Spike Video Game Awards are increasingly a source of not only news about the industry, but also a celebration of some of the biggest and best names in the field. This year will mark something of a change, as part of a complete all-day event and a streaming video component.

The VGX event, set for December 7, will present a variety of new game trailers, many of which will be premiered for the first time. Additionally, there will also be a set of panels, as well as interviews designed to present further information about future releases, offering some substantial sources for news. Some reports suggest that there may even be an announcement about the next Fallout release, though these are early reports that may not pan out. The whole thing will culminate in the Video Game Awards, packed with more accompanying treats, like a look at the most anticipated game of the near future, the game of the year, the best indie release of the year, and several other categories besides, complete with “acceptance speeches.”

Naturally, the whole thing will run on the Spike cable channel, much as it has done every year, but those that miss out on the performance will have several options to get caught up. Spike will be showing highlights from the show starting November 9 at midnight. But beyond that, there's a newer component this year, as the VGX events will be streamed on a host of platforms. Not only will it be put up on the various game systems—both Xbox One and Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation 3—but also on both iOS and Android mobile platforms, the Twitch system, and at VGXLIVE.com. Further, it can be found on Yahoo Screen, Hulu (News - Alert), ComedyCentral.com, MTV.com, BET.com, and even GameTrailers.com, which ensures that those who want to catch the action will be able to do so on at least some level regardless of cable or satellite provider.

This is where things get interesting. It's a fairly major awards show with a streaming video component, thus opening up the floodgates for the widest possible audience to get in on the action. By like token, this is also an excellent demonstration of why streaming video components need to be considered in terms of viewership and viewer ratings, something that was recently seen in at least some progress with Nielsen. Viewership shouldn't stop counting when the television is shut off; the increasingly large numbers of online viewers should be factored in as well. Given how many users will likely see the VGX event by a source other than television, that point should be especially clear.

Regardless, however, of the medium used to view the event, the Spike VGX event and the Video Game Awards will make for some impressive watching, and are likely to give us a little insight in the next generation of gaming, which has now begun in earnest with the launch of the Xbox One. There's a whole lot of future to be had over the months to come, and we're going to catch every bit of it.