Game Of The Year 1980 Through 2020

[evernessince]

If I had picked the GOTY Titles then there would be a few changes but they are what they are I guess.

I think it'd down to the fact that there really was no decent Game Award organization until just very recently and even then The Game Awards (the organization) is still very much in it's infancy. GOTY used to be issued on a per publication basis. There was also the spike game awards but those were really not that good and the precursor to The Game Awards. I think we are in a decent place now at the very least.

It was basically a popularity contest until just recently (and to a degree still is). Like how did Pro Skater 2 win over Baldur's Gate 2 in 2000?

Pretty good ones there, but I'm shocked that not a single Final Fantasy title is there.

Games released earlier in the year were at a disadvantage because GOTY used to be a simple popular vote. FFVII lost to Goldeneye 007 and while both are good games FFVII is definitely the better.

What's crazy is that they were releasing FF games at a clip of almost 1 game per year. It's crazy to think how much game production times have increased since then.

 

[Frick]

I think it'd down to the fact that there really was no decent Game Award organization until just very recently and even then The Game Awards (the organization) is still very much in it's infancy. GOTY used to be issued on a per publication basis. There was also the spike game awards but those were really not that good and the precursor to The Game Awards. I think we are in a decent place now at the very least.

It was basically a popularity contest until just recently (and to a degree still is). Like how did Pro Skater 2 win over Baldur's Gate 2 in 2000?



Games released earlier in the year were at a disadvantage because GOTY used to be a simple popular vote. FFVII lost to Goldeneye 007 and while both are good games FFVII is definitely the better.

What's crazy is that they were releasing FF games at a clip of almost 1 game per year. It's crazy to think how much game production times have increased since then.

CRPGs were niche back then, and awards like this should definitely partly be about mass appeal. Is BG2 better than Deus Ex, that came out in the same year? Does it even make sense to compare them? Which is why the mass appeal element makes sense.

 

[Fizban]

No UT, no BF, no CoD

Why would any of these be there? They're copy-pasted cookie cutter games that come out year after year with very minor changes from the release before them.

 

[KrazyT]

Why would any of these be there? They're copy-pasted cookie cutter games that come out year after year with very minor changes from the release before them.

Ok now, but back then, the first iterations of COD & UT were a blast !

 

[Fizban]

The first Call of Duty launched in 2003. Terrible game? Maybe not, but I'd absolutely say I consider it inferior to Knights of The Old Republic which is the 2003 title listed as GOTY.

 

[64K]

I agree. KOTOR is a classic. We need more Star Wars games of that caliber. The first CoD was definitely a good game and fun for me and I still replay it occasionally but I would still rank KOTOR above it.

 

[Vario]

Don't really like half the games on that list but there's no accounting for taste.

 

[evernessince]

CRPGs were niche back then, and awards like this should definitely partly be about mass appeal. Is BG2 better than Deus Ex, that came out in the same year? Does it even make sense to compare them? Which is why the mass appeal element makes sense.

Such a statement goes to show how assigning awards based on mass appeal is a very flawed concept. If awards are to demonstrate excellence in an industry, by extension any awards based on popularity fail to show that and thus are meaningless.

No assignment of value to certain game characteristics is going to be perfect but if someone has to weigh then, it should be the most experienced among us. Specifically people with experience in the industry. Of all the imperfect outcomes that are possible the best solution would be one that weighs the voice of industry experts over that of the popular vote. Maintaining some component of popular vote is someone important to balance the system.

 

[gffermari]

Is it a console GOTY list?
Most games do not exist for PCs or are not even multiplatform.

 

[Nater]

The first Call of Duty launched in 2003. Terrible game? Maybe not, but I'd absolutely say I consider it inferior to Knights of The Old Republic which is the 2003 title listed as GOTY.

If it had the United Offensive expansion content from the get go I'd give it the edge. I honestly never played KotOR probably because I spent all my time in CoD and CoD:UO.

I'm shocked more Blizzard games aren't on the list. Red Dead 1 is on the list, and I'm betting almost zero PC gamers touched that game with Starcraft II and WoW running wild. (I had never even heard of it till Red Dead 2 came out)

 

[Deleted member 57642]

Depends, since It's also a matter of taste. And GOTY has a lot to do with mainstream taste... even less than that. I mean, what did they took into account for this title? Most Sales (if so - then the general influence had a saying too, as in - "going with the heard" - where even as low as 20% - probably loved or finished those given titles)?

That being said... GOTY is more like - "just one of titles released in a given year - that's good enough for most gamers (casual in particular)". Cause if you get into specific tastes (not necessarily refined) - then you can have:

- Best Turn Based RPG,
- Best Hack & Slash RPG,
- Best Adventure Game,
- Best Shooter,
- Best Real Time Strategy,
- Best Turn Based Strategy
- etc

Personally, i finished and enjoyed more than 80% of the games from that list (used to be a hardcore gamer - once upon a time... but then i took an arrow to the knee). Some were even all time favorites (Street Fighter, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Witcher Saga, Dragon Age Saga and TES Saga ) - while most of the other I finished, well... there was nothing better around (finished them hardcore style - but my enthusiasm was more fitting for a casual gamer... chasing the dopamine hit from every victory be it small or big like finishing the game... didn't took my time to enjoy the experience - as i did with all time favorites).In this sense - yes, even PacMan was... good enough (better than playing with rocks or oddly shaped plastic toys).

 

[Fizban]

Is it a console GOTY list?
Most games do not exist for PCs or are not even multiplatform.

Most games aren't on console. PC has by far the largest gaming library. There are a little over 3300 games for the PS4. There are over 50000 games on Steam.

 

[Frick]

Such a statement goes to show how assigning awards based on mass appeal is a very flawed concept. If awards are to demonstrate excellence in an industry, by extension any awards based on popularity fail to show that and thus are meaningless.

No assignment of value to certain game characteristics is going to be perfect but if someone has to weigh then, it should be the most experienced among us. Specifically people with experience in the industry. Of all the imperfect outcomes that are possible the best solution would be one that weighs the voice of industry experts over that of the popular vote. Maintaining some component of popular vote is someone important to balance the system.

Wouldn't that depend on what the point of the award is? This list tells me it leans more to "game people talk about and therefore it is important" than "game 'experts' think is cool"*. People at my school talked about Pro Skater 2, they didn't give a toss about Deus Ex, and as such, in that specific time and place, Pro Skater 2 was more important than Deus Ex.


*For funsies, name what you think Game of the Year 2000 should have been.

 

[64K]

*For funsies, name what you think Game of the Year 2000 should have been.

The Longest Journey

but I've got a weakness for Point-and-Click Adventure games with a great story. I don't pretend it had even a snowballs chance in hell of winning.

 

[Ruru]

The Longest Journey

but I've got a weakness for Point-and-Click Adventure games with a great story. I don't pretend it had even a snowballs chance in hell of winning.

Loved it as its sequel Dreamfall. Yet still haven't finished Dreamfall Chapters though.

 

[Frick]

Loved it as its sequel Dreamfall. Yet still haven't finished Dreamfall Chapters though.

Dreamfall is good but the controls are atrocious, even with a gamepad

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

Surprised Warcraft III didn't make it over Metroid Prime.
Pretty sure former has MUCH greater legacy than latter, when it literally spawned whole genres (MOBA, tower defense...)

 

[FreedomEclipse]

No left for dead? What is this shit?

 

[Vario]

*For funsies, name what you think Game of the Year 2000 should have been.

Diablo 2