Marvel's Spider-Man is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, it is inspired by the long-running comic book mythology and adaptations in other media. Set in New York City, players follow Spider-Man trying to stop the super-human crime lord Mister Negative from releasing a deadly virus across the city while dealing with the personal problems of his civilian persona, Peter Parker. When the game was announced in June 2016, it was widely anticipated. The game was nominated for Most Wanted Game at the Golden Joystick Awards in 2016 and 2017, as well as for Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards 2017.
It was released worldwide on September 7, 2018, for the PlayStation 4. Spider-Man received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic with a score of 87 from 116 reviews; it was Metacritic's thirteenth highest-scoring PlayStation 4 game of 2018. Spider-Man sold 3.3 million units in its first three days of release, making it the fastest-selling second-party video game release in Sony's history, narrowly beating 2018's God of War's 3.1 million. USA Today estimated the game made at least during this period, surpassing the North-American opening-weekend box office take of the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming. By November 2018, it became the fastest-selling superhero game in the United States. By August 2019, Spider-Man had sold over 13.2 million physical and digital units worldwide making it one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games.
Spider-Man garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for its story, characters, performances, and music. At the Gamers' Choice Awards 2018, the game received eight nominations and went on to win three awards: Fan Favorite Action Game, Fan Favorite Single Player Gaming Experience, and Fan Favorite Character of the Year for Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker / Spider-Man. At the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards the game received twenty-one nominations and went on to win three awards for Engineering; Game, Franchise Action; and Performance in a Drama, Supporting for Laura Bailey as Mary Jane Watson. At the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the game earned eleven nominations and won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Animation. At the SXSW Gaming Awards 2019, Spider-Man earned eight nominations and won the Excellence in Animation and Excellence in Convergence awards, and at the Game Critics Awards 2018 it garnered three nominations and won two awards: Best Console Game and Best Action/Adventure Game.
Spider-Man appeared on several lists of the top video games of 2018, being ranked in first place by Wired; second place by Apple Daily and Time; third place by Complex, Push Square, and Zero Punctuation; fifth place by Electronic Gaming Monthly; seventh place by GamesRadar+ and Giant Bomb; ninth place by Polygon and USgamer; and tenth place by The Daily Telegraph. Shacknews and The Verge named it "Game of the Year" and it was nominated for Game of the Year by Eurogamer, GameSpot, and IGN. A poll of 128 Japanese game developers by Famitsu magazine named Spider-Man as their game of the year.
Accolades Award Date Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Annie AwardsFebruary 2, 2019Character Animation in a Video GameMarvel's Spider-Man British Academy Games AwardsApril 4, 2019Artistic AchievementMarvel's Spider-Man Audio AchievementMarvel's Spider-Man NarrativeMarvel's Spider-Man D.I.C.E. AwardsFebruary 14, 2019Game of the Year Scott Michalek, Bryan Intihar, Ryan Smith Adventure Game of the Year Outstanding Achievement in Game DirectionBryan Intihar, Ryan Smith Outstanding Achievement in Game DesignCameron Christian Outstanding Achievement in AnimationBobby Coddington Outstanding Achievement in Art DirectionJacinda Chew Outstanding Achievement in CharacterPeter Parker/Spider-Man - Yuri Lowenthal, Jon Paquette, Christos Gage, Ben ArfmannOutstanding Achievement in Original Music CompositionJohn Paesano Outstanding Achievement in Sound DesignDwight Okahara, Paul Mudra Outstanding Achievement in StoryJon Paquette, Christos Gage, Ben Arfmann Outstanding Technical AchievementCameron Christian, Gil Doron Game Audio Network Guild AwardsMarch 21, 2019Audio of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Sound Design of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Best Interactive ScoreMarvel's Spider-Man Best Cinematic Cutscene AudioMarvel's Spider-Man Best DialogueMarvel's Spider-Man Best Original Instrumental"Spider-Man" The Game AwardsDecember 7, 2017Most Anticipated GameMarvel's Spider-Man December 6, 2018Game of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Best Game DirectionMarvel's Spider-Man Best NarrativeMarvel's Spider-Man Best Score/MusicMarvel's Spider-Man Best Audio DesignMarvel's Spider-Man Best PerformanceYuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker / Spider-ManBest Action/Adventure GameMarvel's Spider-Man Game Critics AwardsJuly 5, 2018Best of ShowMarvel's Spider-Man Best Console GameMarvel's Spider-Man Best Action/Adventure GameMarvel's Spider-Man Game Developers Choice AwardsMarch 20, 2019Best AudioMarvel's Spider-Man Best DesignMarvel's Spider-Man Best NarrativeMarvel's Spider-Man Best TechnologyMarvel's Spider-Man Best Visual ArtMarvel's Spider-Man Game of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Gamers' Choice AwardsDecember 9, 2018Fan Favorite GameMarvel's Spider-Man Fan Favorite Action GameMarvel's Spider-Man Fan Favorite Single Player Gaming ExperienceMarvel's Spider-Man Fan Favorite Character of the YearPeter Parker / Spider-Man Fan Favorite Male Voice ActorYuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker / Spider-ManFan Favorite Female Voice ActorLaura Bailey as Mary Jane WatsonFan Favorite Female Voice ActorTara Platt as Yuri WatanabeGamescomAugust 21, 2018Best Action GameMarvel's Spider-Man Best PlayStation 4 GameMarvel's Spider-Man Golden Joystick AwardsNovember 18, 2016Most Wanted GameMarvel's Spider-Man November 17, 2017Marvel's Spider-Man November 16, 2018Best StorytellingMarvel's Spider-Man PlayStation Game of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Ultimate Game of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Harvey AwardsOctober 4, 2019Best Adaptation From a ComicMarvel's Spider-ManHollywood Music in Media AwardsNovember 14, 2018 Original Score – Video GameMarvel's Spider-Man Italian Video Game AwardsApril 11, 2019People's ChoiceMarvel's Spider-Man Game of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Best Game DesignMarvel's Spider-Man Best CharacterPeter Parker / Spider-Man Japan Game AwardsSeptember 12, 2019Award for ExcellenceMarvel's Spider-Man New York Game AwardsJanuary 22, 2019Big Apple Award for Best Game of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a GameLaura Bailey as Mary Jane Watson Nickelodeon Kids' Choice AwardsMarch 23, 2019Favorite Video GameMarvel's Spider-Man SXSW Gaming AwardsMarch 16, 2019Excellence in ArtMarvel's Spider-Man Excellence in AnimationMarvel's Spider-Man Excellence in GameplayMarvel's Spider-Man Excellence in Technical AchievementMarvel's Spider-Man Excellence in NarrativeMarvel's Spider-Man Excellence in ConvergenceMarvel's Spider-Man Trending Game of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Video Game of the YearMarvel's Spider-Man Visual Effects Society AwardsFebruary 5, 2019 Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time ProjectOtto Octavius / Doctor Octopus Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time ProjectMarvel's Spider-Man Writers Guild of America AwardsFebruary 17, 2019 Outstanding Achievement in Videogame WritingMarvel's Spider-Man
Other awards Spider-Man received a range of awards and nominations from media publications and other game awards shows.
Best Game awards and nominations Spider-Man appeared on several lists of the top video games of 2018, being ranked in first place by Wired; second place by Apple Daily, Hot Press, Maxim, Stuff, Time, and Troy Daily News; third place by Complex, France Info, Igromania, Morning Star, Push Square, The Ringer, and Zero Punctuation; fourth place by Gry Online, The Michigan Daily, National Post, and NRK P3; fifth place by Electronic Gaming Monthly, Libertad Digital, and Vulture; sixth place by IGN Italy and Rolling Stone Italy; seventh place by GamesRadar+, Giant Bomb, Knack Focus, The Mercury News, and The Star; eighth place by HuffPost Brazil; ninth place by Polygon and USgamer; and tenth place by The Daily Telegraph. Shacknews and The Verge named it "Game of the Year" and it was nominated for Game of the Year by CNews, Eurogamer, Fox Sports Asia, GameSpot, IGN, and news.com.au. A poll of 128 Japanese game developers by Famitsu magazine named Spider-Man as their game of the year.
Other categories Game award shows The Australian Games Awards and Brazil Game Awards nominated Marvel's Spider-Man for both Action/Adventure Title of the Year and Game of the Year. The Brazil Game Awards also nominated it for Best Original Game, Best Console Game, Best Soundtrack, Best Voice Acting in Portuguese, and Insomniac was nominated for Best Studio. The Global Game Awards nominated it for Game of the Year (sixth), Best Action (second), Best Open World (third), Best Visuals (fourth), in addition Insomniac won Best Developer. At the New York Game Awards the game was nominated for The Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year and Laura Bailey's portrayal of Mary Jane Watson gave her a nomination for Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game.
The game was nominated for 22 categories and won three at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards 17 of these were: Game of the Year; Animation, Artistic; Animation, Technical; Art Direction, Contemporary; Camera Direction in a Game Engine; Character Design; Control Design; Costume Design; Design, Franchise; Direction in a Game Cinema; Graphics, Technical; Lighting/Texturing; Original Dramatic Score, Franchise; Sound Editing in a Game Cinema; Sound Effects; Writing in a Drama. In addition, it won the awards for Game, Franchise Action and Engineering. Also it received nominations for its voice actors including: Performance in a Drama, Lead (Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker / Spider-Man); Performance in a Drama, Supporting (Laura Bailey as Mary Jane Watson); Performance in a Drama, Supporting (William Saylers as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus). Bailey went on to win her nomination.
Media publications It received a "Silver" award (equivalent to third place) by PlayStation Blog in the following categories: Best Narrative, Best Graphical Showcase, Best Sound Design, Best Soundtrack, Best Performance, Best PlayStation 4 Game. It also received a "Gold" award (equivalent to second place) by PlayStation Blog for Best PlayStation Console Exclusive. Its developer, Insomniac Games, received a "Silver" award for Studio of the Year.
Spider-Man won Best Game Narrative from Digital Trends and was nominated for Best Story by Giant Bomb. Additionally, it was nominated for Best Video Game Story as well as Best PlayStation 4 Game and Best Action-Adventure Game by IGN. It was a runner-up in four categories by IGN Australia these are: Best Audio Design, Best Game Design, Best Storytelling, and Game of the Year. It was nominated for four awards by The Games Machine these are: Best Action Game, Best Open World, Game of the Year, Tell Me a Story. It won the award for Best Action/Adventure Game by Inner Circle Games Network. It won an Excellence Prize from Famitsu Awards.
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