We live in a historic era of video games. When asked what was the best year for gaming, he often cite 2004, which produced Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, World of Warcraft, GTA: San Andreas, and more. prize. 2017 saw Fortnite, Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Resident Evil 7 and more. But from now on he looks back at 2023, and if it wasn’t the best year ever for video games, it would be hard to deny that it’s still not even half over.
With Summer Games Fest just a few weeks away, I’ve been thinking a lot about this year’s Game Awards, aka TGA, aka Golden Keighley’s. Like last year’s Elden Ring, Tears of the Kingdom had a lot of early Game of the Year talk. Despite having six nominations, last year’s GOTY Awards actually went down to his two games, Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok. This year’s competition is more intense than ever, and we may even need to expand our categories to include more games than usual.
The Game Awards held its first awards ceremony in 2014, when Dragon Age: Inquisition defeated Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls 2, Hearthstone, and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor to win Game of the Year. Dark Souls 2 fans were very disappointed, but I don’t think anyone was too surprised that Dragon Age brought home the gold. The same could be said the following year when The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt defeated Fallout 4, Super Mario Maker, Bloodborne and Metal Gear Solid 5. Again, I felt like this game was thrown between The Witcher 3 and Metal Gear Solid. Five.
The next two years saw only five candidates and two strong contenders, but in 2018 God of War, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Celeste, Marvel Spider-Man, Monster Hunter: World, God of War won Red Dead Redemption 2, which is still considered by many to be the biggest upset in TGA history.
From 2018 to 2022, the GOTY category has maintained six nominations, but I don’t think that’s enough for this year. In his first five months alone in 2023, it can be argued that he already has six strong contenders for Game of the Year. Tears of the Kingdom is clearly the frontrunner, but Resident Evil 4, Dead Space, Jedi: Survivor, Hi-Fi Rush, and, based on popularity, Hogwarts Legacy should also be considered. there is. We already have six, but we should also add Diablo 4 and Street Fighter 6 to that list in the coming weeks.
Perhaps these eight fall short of the only GOTY-worthy games available this year. Looking ahead, we still have Final Fantasy 16, Starfield, Baldur’s Gate 3, Spider-Man 2, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Alan Wake 2, Armored Core 6, and Hollow Knight: Silksong, but this is a fairly modest shortlist. . Also, Sea of ​​Stars, Homeworld 3, Mortal Kombat 1, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Immortals of Aveum, Remnant 2, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, and Silent Hill: Ascension will be GOTY quality and get the attention they deserve. I expect Narrowing this category down to six seems almost impossible.
After that, all the unknowns. What is Nintendo planning to release in the second half of the year? What big announcements will the Summer Game Fest make until December? It’s common for big, exciting games to be announced and released in the same year. Aside from that, just look at 2021’s Guardians of the Galaxy or, for that matter, Hi-Fi Rush. it happens.
So what are the numbers for the GOTY division this year? You can’t have 20 games without diluting votes and taking some of your prestige away, but I don’t think you can keep it down to 6 either. Previously, only five films were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, until 2009 when the maximum number was increased to ten. Will he get 10 nominations at The Game Awards this year, or is that enough? Even if the number of nominations in this category only increased from six to seven, it would be a reminder of what a monumental year this has been for new releases. If I were Mr. Keathley, I would try to file 15 lawsuits, and it may still be difficult for the jury to narrow it down.