2010 VGAs grab 627k viewers - Report

Hosted by How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris, with numerous celebrity appearances from Tony Hawk to the cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a performance by My Chemical Romance, and a smorgasbord of hot news items, the 2010 Video Game Awards certainly packed a prominent punch. However, according to one report, the ratings did not follow.

According to entertainment trade industry magazine Variety, the 2010 VGAs pulled in 627,000 viewers for Spike TV on Saturday, December 11. That figure represents the fourth straight year of ratings decline, and a 3 percent decline (20,000 fewer viewers) over last year's haul. The 2010 overall take is expected to rise, though, as DVR playbacks will be tallied through December 18 according to the magazine. The Video Game Awards debuted in 2003.

However, despite the current total being down this year, Spike has some cause for optimism. Ratings were up for several categories over 2009's figures. The 18-49 age bracket was up 12 percent, the 18-34 market was up 5 percent, and males 18-34 showed the greatest spike, rising 15 percent year-over-year.

For more on the 2010 Video Game Awards, check out GameSpot's coverage of the event, which is linked below.

Trailer Breakdown Explosion.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim lands 11/11/11.

Uncharted 3 arriving November 1, 2011.

Resistance 3 firing up Sept. 6 2011.

Mass Effect 3 due holiday 2011.

Prototype 2, SSX: Deadly Descents, Insane confirmed at VGAs, Forza 4 due fall 2011.