Created by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), the two-hour event was broadcast live on TBS on November 5, 1994, with Leslie Nielsen and Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the hosts.

As Zucker believed that the video game industry would experience a similar growth in the future, he established the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) later in 1991.

[1] The academy announced its first foray into awards ceremonies, to be named the "Ajax", in June 1993, aiming to distribute them at a self-funded event in April 1994.

[1] Zucker planned the television strategy with ICE Integrated Communications & Entertainment, the only company he knew that produced award shows in addition to making video games.

[13] Awards in twelve categories were handed out by a range of lesser-known celebrities, interlaced with acts like jugglers, wrestling, and dancers performing to music by Herbie Hancock, as well as comedic clips about the gaming scene.

[6][12][14] Televoting over an 800 number was used to determine the "Best Overall Game", with votes tabulated on a backstage computer in a process audited by Price Waterhouse.

[6][15] According to a representative, the company considered its products winning awards on national television "worthwhile" as a marketing strategy and morale boost for its employees.

[14] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly described the ceremony as "a low-rent whack at the MTV Video Music Awards without the faintest whiff of Oscar's legitimacy".

[16] Jeremy Berg of Computer Player criticized the AIAS for prioritize profiting off the entry fee over nominating games based on merit.

[6] Additionally, Kunkel believed the AIAS had advantaged Philips Interactive Media with its many wins and nominations such that it appeared "more important to the industry than Sega, Nintendo, 3DO and Atari combined".

[20] Geoff Keighley, at the time a teenager writing for a video game magazine, was part of the Cybermania '94 production team through a connection between his father and Hayman.