What Does Game Of The Year Mean Now?

Featured 10 Comments 21 Votes 1090 Views 01/06/2012 Back to Blogs

Game Of The Year. Once a thing that was awarded to a game by magainzes, websites and shows which they feel was the best released game of that year. But what's happened to that?

With such a diverse of different gaming websites all holding there own form of Game of the Year how do we really know what game is the pinnicle out of the bunch? The answer is that we don't. Some of us may go by word-of-mouth or Gaming website choices (such as MMGN's own GOTY polls)

But the last year or so i've been seeing various developers re-releasing games as Game Of The Year. Rockstar have done it with L.A Noire (which was a massive 4-discs on the Xbox 360) and now Tru-Blu doing it with their AFL Live game ( http://ps3.mmgn.com/News/AFL-Live-gets-2012-update-with-Game-of-t ) It really brings the question to my mind of "what's happened to GOTY?"

To me, It seems like it's becoming a new fad amongst developers/publishers in order to get more sales. Now i'm not 100% sure on how the whole GOTY works (hell, this whole blog could be wrong, but i'm just going by what i feel) but it feels like the whole things becoming a joke.

Now i'm not against developers/publishers re-releasing GOTY edition games, As long as they keep including the DLC and other bonuses, But the problem i see is them slapping 'GAME of the year' on it. Maybe it's the developers own Game of the Year (best game they've released all year?) Personally, If they are really just putting out GOTY editions just for the heck of it, Why not have it something different to GOTY? "Developers Game Of The Year"? (change developer for actual names such as Rockstar for example)

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Blog written by: GreenThumb 92487 Kudos 01/06/2012

What Does Game Of The Year Mean Now? Comments

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Kudos: 92,487

GreenThumb

Another semi-bad GreenThumb Blog! [monkey]

Be gentle :'@

01/06/2012 / I have AIDS (Artifical Intelligence Defense System)

Kudos: 283,479

Gryllis

At retail it means "same shit you bought last year, includes DLC so we can still sell for full price".

On websites it means one person's opinion of the year's best game :P

01/06/2012 / The member formerly formerly known as ICC_06, formerly known as Ben.

Kudos: 207,627

M@ndyz

Ben said: At retail it means "same shit you bought last year, includes DLC so we can still sell for full price".
On websites it means one person's opinion of the year's best game

This^^. To me it's only a bad thing if the game doesn't interest me.. However I like the game of the year editions cause sometimes they work out cheaper IF you don't already have the game.. :P

01/06/2012 / Add me on steam........... bootie [mmgn] Or raptr.......... bootie101 Or wiiu. actually don't add me on wiiu im never on it :p

Kudos: 27,178

Lekkers

It's still a pretty prestigious award. If it's a game that can warrant a series, however didn't initially plan on it (like deadspace) it allows developers to further the story.

I reckon GOTY editions given by the developers THEMSELVES are complete bullshit

03/06/2012 / Melbourne, Australia

Kudos: 88,507

Pilkingbod

The only genuine Game of the Year awards are ones voted by gaming communities.

03/06/2012 / Melting pot of friendship

Kudos: 92,487

GreenThumb

Pilkingbod said: The only genuine Game of the Year awards are ones voted by gaming communities.

But isn't this a slap-in-the-face from developers? Bringing out their own GOTY games? It seems to me that they are making a mockery of what the genuine GOTY.

04/06/2012 / I have AIDS (Artifical Intelligence Defense System)

Kudos: 64,352

Leasha

Basically means "Here we have re packaged the game and added all the DLC"

So yeah, means a whole lot of nothing to me.

04/06/2012 / In your house stealing your stuff..

Kudos: 14,387

Foetoid

I'll lose all faith in web-based GOTY awards if Xenoblade Chronicles doesn't get a top-10 placing. Its still the highest rated game to be released in the US this year. It didn't get included last year by most websites because they're mostly US based, and they said the game wasn't out yet. If it gets overlooked this year because its 'technically' last years game, it'll prove how much hate the general internets has for Nintendo despite it being the highest rated game of the year so far.

12/06/2012 / Sunshine Coast

Kudos: 14,387

Foetoid

I stand corrected. It was the highest rated game of the year even 2 months after Mass Effect 3 came out. Some fanboy reviewers must have been pissed that a Nintendo game was Number 1 on gamerankings so they pushed out a few perfect scores to bump it up a little. Doesn't surprise me.

12/06/2012 / Sunshine Coast