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[StuBurns]

GOTG was Demons Souls for me. Nothing really grabbed me the way that game did last gen. 2nd place would be TLOU. 3rd place probably Red Dead Redemption.

We could do categories!

Most Influential GOTG - Modern Warfare
Best Graphics of the Generation - Crysis ( we including PC? Nah prob not ). So Beyond Two Souls
Most Overlooked GOTG - Folklore
Most Disappointing GOTG - Final Fantasy 13

Shit like that.

A good idea.

Before we get into more advance things, I think we should decide exactly what games should be entered.

I don't think it should done based on dates (with the exception of on PC, where it's unavoidable). I don't think the 3DS and Vita should be included, as I don't think the first couple of years of DS or PSP should be excluded. I'd rather just keep it to the pure platforms, as I don't want people to have to do research on release dates and things. Just look on their shelves, if they think Ouendan is the best DS game, vote for it, or whatever.

PC I think should be just 01.01.06 till 31.12.13. Some might argue it should start with the 360 release date, but I'd favor the simplicity of just the year windows, not down to specific months or days.

Cross-gen should count, if you played them on that platform. If you played King Kong on 360, that's fine. If you played Mordor on PS3, that's fine too. But to be clear, HD Remasters shouldn't be included, nor VirtualConsole titles, etc.

Anyone think of any other sticking points?

 

[Regiruler]

The secret real answer is Space Invaders Extreme 2.

Spoiler

I'm not joking

Spoiler

Maybe a little

I think regardless of categories, we should still have a top ten for the base list.
Alternatively, have a top 5 for each category.

 

[RowdyReverb]

I like the idea, but there are inherent problems with such a contest.

Are games to be judged for how good they were at the time of release, or compared to recent games? For instance, CoD 4: MW was a revolutionary (for better or worse) fps title last gen, but was eclipsed in quality by its successors. Which would be more worthy of the crown out of MW, MW2, or BLOPS 1/2?

Also, I think these votes tend to be hampered by availability bias. People will vote for the game experiences that were most memorable to them, but memories of recent good games tend to dominate. This is why you'll see a lot of people vote for their latest GoTY as the GoTG.

Lastly, many people only played on one console last gen and missed exclusives on the others. Would this make them less qualified to vote on what was the best of the entire generation.

The solution I see is to say favorite game for each console by year, or perhaps per 3 or 5 years to keep it manageable. I'm sure such a thread would foster good discussion about why people have the favorites they do. It doesn't seem possible though for somebody to crown a game as the "best" game released on any platform in the past decade.

 

[The Wheel of Fortune]

It's Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Screw the haters.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

The easiest way to do this is just years.

2005 - 2013.

Though I guess if we're including handhelds, it's 2004 - 2013.

 

[BRocknRolla]

I'd love to see this. More than just getting to see the top though, I'd love to see the general breakdown. See what Gaf's top ten would be by people voting for their fav. I'd personally say sticking with the years of the last console cycle (ps4, 360, wii) and then just whatever game you want from any platform as long as the game was released during that time is fair game. Some of the cross gen outliers that might defy the spirit of the vote probably wouldn't weigh heavily anyway. Sincerely looking forward to this if it comes to fruition!

 

[AniHawk]

How so? I don't get why you are thinking cross-gen games should count on the older and newer gen. Who the heck thinks of Titanfall as last gen? Or Shadow of Mordor?

I really don't think it should work that way. That seems contrary to the scope of the games' developments to count them on the older gen or the newer one, when clearly the definite tech ended up on the newer gen thanks to various effects and such they make use of on the newer gen versions.

that is also how marketing chose to frame those titles. persona 5 was started as a ps3 game. shouldn't that be considered only a ps3 game?

 

[StuBurns]

I like the idea, but there are inherent problems with such a contest.

Are games to be judged for how good they were at the time of release, or compared to recent games? For instance, CoD 4: MW was a revolutionary (for better or worse) fps title last gen, but was eclipsed in quality by its successors. Which would be more worthy of the crown out of MW, MW2, or BLOPS 1/2?

Games are to be judged based on whatever criteria the GAFfer decides. I certainly don't think MW2 was better than the first, horrible verticality in the maps. I don't think as the generation went on, games generally got notably stronger or anything. GoW3 is much better than Ascension too.

Also, I think these votes tend to be hampered by availability bias. People will vote for the game experiences that were most memorable to them, but memories of recent good games tend to dominate. This is why you'll see a lot of people vote for their latest GoTY as the GoTG.

I don't think this will happen. I think Mario Galaxy, Mass Effect 2, Dark Souls, etc, are likely to make up the top ten. Nothing notably fresher than anything else.

Lastly, many people only played on one console last gen and missed exclusives on the others. Would this make them less qualified to vote on what was the best of the entire generation.

That problem exists for every GotY thread we have too.

The solution I see is to say favorite game for each console by year, or perhaps per 3 or 5 years to keep it manageable. I'm sure such a thread would foster good discussion about why people have the favorites they do. It doesn't seem possible though for somebody to crown a game as the "best" game released on any platform in the past decade.

That sounds like a very different thread.

 

[Kevin Shields]

The easiest way to do this is just years.

2005 - 2013.

Though I guess if we're including handhelds, it's 2004 - 2013.

I agree with this. I've been looking forward to this thread. Let's get the ball rolling. Gonna find many new games through this!

 

[StuBurns]

The easiest way to do this is just years.

2005 - 2013.

Though I guess if we're including handhelds, it's 2004 - 2013.

That would include lots of PS2 games. I would be really against that.

 

[AniHawk]

Would this mean Virtual Console & PS1/PS2 Classics could be voted for? What about ports like Sonic 3 & Knuckles o.o?

i think compilation games could count, especially since the orange box exists and reached #2 7 years ago. i also don't think there's much an issue with listing those games as long as it was the first time they were played for that person and on that hardware with those controllers. sin & punishment, the first one, was first experienced by americans and europeans on the virtual console, for instance.

 

[Scrooge McDuck]

Alien Isolation added things like Chromatic Aberration, various indirect lighting, shadows, etc. It was once intended for PC and last gen, but no way would I call that a last gen game for this vote. That just isn't what is being discussed here from my perspective. The newer system is where it should be voted on.

Oh, you meant visual effects. Hmm, well, both of us are viewing this in completely different lights, then. I was thinking about scale and stuff.

 

[StuBurns]

i think compilation games could count, especially since the orange box exists and reached #2 7 years ago. i also don't think there's much an issue with listing those games as long as it was the first time they were played for that person and on that hardware with those controllers. sin & punishment, the first one, was first experienced by americans and europeans on the virtual console, for instance.

Those games weren't made in the generation. I think including them is pretty stupid, although obviously none of them would make a dent on the top hundred, so it's hard to really care about it skewing results.

 

[Poimandres]

I like the idea, but there are inherent problems with such a contest.

Are games to be judged for how good they were at the time of release, or compared to recent games? For instance, CoD 4: MW was a revolutionary (for better or worse) fps title last gen, but was eclipsed in quality by its successors. Which would be more worthy of the crown out of MW, MW2, or BLOPS 1/2?

Also, I think these votes tend to be hampered by availability bias. People will vote for the game experiences that were most memorable to them, but memories of recent good games tend to dominate. This is why you'll see a lot of people vote for their latest GoTY as the GoTG.

Lastly, many people only played on one console last gen and missed exclusives on the others. Would this make them less qualified to vote on what was the best of the entire generation.

The solution I see is to say favorite game for each console by year, or perhaps per 3 or 5 years to keep it manageable. I'm sure such a thread would foster good discussion about why people have the favorites they do. It doesn't seem possible though for somebody to crown a game as the "best" game released on any platform in the past decade.

These problems are present in all "best of" lists, but I don't think they are huge issues.

For COD games, absolutely COD4 will get more votes than any other released last gen. I think it will rank substantially higher than any other COD game, for a number of reasons. It's generally held in higher regard than subsequent COD releases.

Availability bias might be an issue, but I'd say 2 years should be enough time to really start looking at things with some perspective. Games like Bioshock Infinite, GTAV and TLOU might be ranked higher than they otherwise would but that's sort of unavoidable and it's not like any of those games came out just a few months ago. It would be more of an issue if 2014 had provided any real contenders, but nothing from this year will rate. Time can be a blessing and a curse... witness the rise in popularity of Dark Souls over the space of a few years.

Clearly not everyone has played everything, and there are assorted biases at play. But that's just part of the process. I don't think it needs to be complicated by having platform restrictions etc. For example, my favourite game of the gen was STALKER but I'd be happy if it made the top 50!

 

[Jamix012]

Persona 5 being on PS4 would disqualify that though no?

I wouldn't think so. Are Tomb Raider and TLOU off the cards as well?

 

[GnawtyDog]

TLOU's gonna rake those votes.

 

[StuBurns]

I wouldn't think so. Are Tomb Raider and TLOU off the cards as well?

Those games were Remasters. Persona 5 is multiplatform.

 

[Mass Effect]

It's still seems too early for a vote. It probably won't happen until next year. I can't see many other high-profile games coming after the first half of 2015 except for something like Call of Duty maybe.

GOTG was Demons Souls for me. Nothing really grabbed me the way that game did last gen. 2nd place would be TLOU. 3rd place probably Red Dead Redemption.

We could do categories!

Most Influential GOTG - Modern Warfare
Best Graphics of the Generation - Crysis ( we including PC? Nah prob not ). So Beyond Two Souls
Most Overlooked GOTG - Folklore
Most Disappointing GOTG - Final Fantasy 13

Shit like that.

Yeah, I hope the GOTG vote will be pretty comprehensive. Best new IP, best multiplayer, best graphics, best game for each platform, etc. It needs all of these categories.

 

[AniHawk]

Those games weren't made in the generation. I think including them is pretty stupid, although obviously none of them would make a dent on the top hundred, so it's hard to really care about it skewing results.

honestly if you're going to argue that cross-generational games get counted only on the most recent hardware, this is the logical conclusion to take. and i think it's fair to everyone. and it's also true that donkey kong country would make it to the top 10. but you know what, the first time i played it was due to the wii and if i wanted to consider it, i see no reason not to.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

Anything that came out on those systems should be eligilbe IMO. Plus PC games from the release of the first xonsole of that gen to the release of the last console of this gen.

Remasters and hd remakes will organically get overshadowed by the new IPs and sequels, I think.

 

[fuzzyreactor]

Would be hard to pick between:

Dark Souls
Demons Souls
Killzone 2
Portal
Fallout New Vegas
Uncharted 2

Spoiler

Dark Souls

 

[ShockingAlberto]

That would include lots of PS2 games. I would be really against that.

There's no way to please everyone with any one process.

Which is as much an argument for why such a vote doesn't make a whole lot of sense as anything else, really.

 

[Sez]

People here are going to laugh about me, also i'm not even a fan of this game but the GOTG has to be:

Minecraft.

With 54 million copies sold on PCs, 12 million on Xbox 360 and several millions more in PS3, PS4, X1 and Phones, it marked a Generation of Gamers. I really think that for a GOTG this should be the most important criteria.

 

[GamerJM]

honestly if you're going to argue that cross-generational games get counted only on the most recent hardware, this is the logical conclusion to take. and i think it's fair to everyone. and it's also true that donkey kong country would make it to the top 10. but you know what, the first time i played it was due to the wii and if i wanted to consider it, i see no reason not to.

I mean, the thing is, at this point it's not even a "Best game of the generation," vote. Like, the majority of games that would make a top 100 GAF of all-time list are probably playable on seventh generation platforms in some form. You might as well make it a "Favorite game of all-time," vote.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Making a poll that is just "BEST GAMES ON DS, PSP, PS3, 360, WII, AND PC DURING CERTAIN YEARS" is the only way to get the list you want.

Except that it prevents games yet to be released as potential winners, so again, you're going to make some people unhappy.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

People here are going to laugh about me, also i'm not even a fan of this game but the GOTG has to be:

Minecraft.

With 54 million copies sold on PCs, 12 million on Xbox 360 and several millions more in PS3, PS4, X1, Phones it marked a Generation of Gamers. I really think that for a GOTG this should be the most important criteria.

I think sales and arbitrary "influence" measures aren't what makes the "GOTG." It might make it the "Most Important Game of the Generation," but I'm certainly not going to call that game the greatest quality game of the last 10 years.

There is a huge difference in game's importance and their status in "quality" or "rating" list.

 

[StuBurns]

honestly if you're going to argue that cross-generational games get counted only on the most recent hardware, this is the logical conclusion to take. and i think it's fair to everyone. and it's also true that donkey kong country would make it to the top 10. but you know what, the first time i played it was due to the wii and if i wanted to consider it, i see no reason not to.

I didn't argue that, I think counting for either is perfectly fine, I just think waiting another three years for P5 to release and settle is stupid, especially when it could count next gen if we do this then.

I was hoping to get this thread going soon after this year's GotY wraps up.

 

[BasilZero]

Dark Souls thread



But I think out of all the games that had the most social impact/sales/etc should go for it : Minecraft (as much as I dont like the game lol).

 

[IAmRandom31]

People here are going to laugh about me, also i'm not even a fan of this game but the GOTG has to be:

Minecraft.

With 54 million copies sold on PCs, 12 million on Xbox 360 and several millions more in PS3, PS4, X1 and Phones, it marked a Generation of Gamers. I really think that for a GOTG this should be the most important criteria.

Shit the game had like 25 million sales before it even officially launched lol. Beta was nuts.

 

[AniHawk]

I didn't argue that, I think counting for either is perfectly fine, I just think waiting another three years for P5 to release and settle is stupid, especially when it could count next gen if we do this then.

I was hoping to get this thread going soon after this year's GotY wraps up.

i think waiting is perfectly fine and that people could be too invested in recent things to let them have a fuller perspective of what they experienced.

we should really be doing a 1998-2010 gen one at this time. this board was around for basically all of that.

 

[Sez]

I think sales and arbitrary "influence" measures aren't what makes the "GOTG." It might make it the "Most Important Game of the Generation," but I'm certainly not going to call that game the greatest quality game of the last 10 years.

There is a huge difference in game's importance and their status in "quality" or "rating" list.

Is not just sales, it's the influence.

Minecraft shows that a game do not need 4k and 120fps to be good.
Minecraft is a very good MMO game, the social interactions are the best of the game in my opinion. It gives millions of different options to interact with others.
In consoles is probably the best splitscreen game, with almost every game dropping this amazing feature.
Etc.

I gave the game to my brother on his birthday, I tried one day with him and his friends in his world and it was an amazing experience. We all was laughing with the chaos I caused.

 

[DOWN]

that is also how marketing chose to frame those titles. persona 5 was started as a ps3 game. shouldn't that be considered only a ps3 game?

You are very focused on P5, as noted on the last page. That cross-gen game seems to be the biggest confusion because people think of how P4 was released and how P5 was initially only PS3.

Sorry, but it is cross gen for sure, and to me, that means in media and culturally it will be looked at as part of the era of games on the newest console it releases on. Last gen game sales have taken a massive dive since current gen started and thus there's little reason to associate Destiny, Alien Isolation, etc. with last gen only since they ended up becoming cross gen. Those are cross gen games that evolved to have more prominent use of the tech and audiences on current gen and thus I highly doubt we'll see them added to the "Top 25 Games on Xbox 360" kinds of lists.

They are being released into the culture of their newer ten because that's where sales are bigger now and where the developer got to enhance or aim the titles.

i think waiting is perfectly fine and that people could be too invested in recent things to let them have a fuller perspective of what they experienced.

we should really be doing a 1998-2010 gen one at this time. this board was around for basically all of that.

LAST GEN IS OVER. You are hanging onto a dated idea of P5 so hard. People are trading in those old systems for a reason. You can't count every lagging here-and-there release as the generation continuing. No one cares that FIFA 14 came out on PS2. That doesn't mean we should hang on while we let that sink in. It's been nearly a year since the companies moved on and wrapped up last gen. P5 is cross gen.

 

[Goldenroad]

Persona 5 is confirmed cross-gen, right? If so, I'm okay with doing this by the end of this year. AC: Rogue won't be a contender for GOTG, but it's only fair to give it a chance.

 

[Sydle]

Spoiler

it's uncharted 2

Well, I guess Minecraft makes sense as a contender.

 

[AniHawk]

You are very focused on P5, as noted on the last page. That cross-gen game seems to be the biggest confusion because people think of how P4 was released and how P5 was initially only PS3.

Sorry, but it is cross gen for sure, and to me, that means in media and culturally it will be looked at as part of the era of games on the newest console it releases on. Last gen game sales have taken a massive dive since current gen started and thus there's little reason to associate Destiny, Alien Isolation, etc. with last gen only since they ended up becoming cross gen. Those are cross gen games that evolved to have more prominent use of the tech and audiences on current gen and thus I highly doubt we'll see them added to the "Top 25 Games on Xbox 360" kinds of lists.

They are being released into the culture of their newer ten because that's where sales are bigger now and where the developer got to enhance or aim the titles.

sorry duder. i ran the goty threads for years last decade and i learned the hard way not to discount anyone's choices on what were arbitrary means, despite what i thought were fairly technically sound rules.

 

[Anth0ny]

i think waiting is perfectly fine and that people could be too invested in recent things to let them have a fuller perspective of what they experienced.

we should really be doing a 1998-2010 gen one at this time. this board was around for basically all of that.

This. It would be better if we waited a few years so we can fully reflect on the entire gen.

If we did a GOTG vote at the end of last year, is there any doubt that TLOU would have taken it? Hype was too high at that point, and with the Remastered version that just released, hype is probably still too high.

A GOTG vote for the PS2/GC/XB/DC/GBA gen would be interesting.

 

[AniHawk]

LAST GEN IS OVER. You are hanging onto a dated idea of P5 so hard. People are trading in those old systems for a reason. You can't count every lagging here-and-there release as the generation continuing. No one cares that FIFA 14 came out on PS2. That doesn't mean we should hang on while we let that sink in.

the platforms are still being supported and big franchises are still coming out for them. i'll tell you something - i am getting a ps4 when it hits $300 and when it has at least 3 good games that interest me. until then, i look at the evil within, destiny, dragon age 3, mgs5, persona 5, and alien isolation and all i see are ps3 titles.

when i was doing the goty threads, i seem to recall the ps2 version of a game had slipped into the next year. i think it was fine to vote for it in those circumstances, if it was the ps2 version of the game you had enjoyed, and not the one on other platforms. and it's a totally valid way to experience a game.

 

[GamerJM]

Here's an idea I have:

How about we do Game of the Generation at the end of this year after GotY votes. But if in two years or so a game or two comes out on seventh gen platforms that people consider to be GotG-tier, or if enough people just felt like they've changed their minds and want to do it again, then we'll do a do-over, like we did for the 2008 GotY awards.

 

[DOWN]

sorry duder. i ran the goty threads for years last decade and i learned the hard way not to discount anyone's choices on what were arbitrary means, despite what i thought were fairly technically sound rules.

Now I'm just disagreeing with the even more absurd suggestion we wait for P5 just so we can count one version of it despite it being likely that this board is going to be playing by far on PS4 for the title. That game is not a reason to wait or evidence that we need time to let last gen sink in so that P5 can shake my PS3/360 lists to the core.

 

[AniHawk]

This. It would be better if we waited a few years so we can fully reflect on the entire gen.

If we did a GOTG vote at the end of last year, is there any doubt that TLOU would have taken it? Hype was too high at that point, and with the Remastered version that just released, hype is probably still too high.

A GOTG vote for the PS2/GC/XB/DC/GBA gen would be interesting.

and if nothing else, it would provide a good groundwork on how to do something of the sort moving forward.

or we could bypass all of that and just use 'game of the decade.' of course, that doesn't bring all the fun of a console war into it.

 

[Arc Christelle]

Is it too late too nominate The Last Guardian?

 

[Soulflarz]

Yes please, I want to vote MGS4 for humors sake.

 

[Eusis]

You're never going to get an even distance though. Persona 5's European release could easily be summer '16, if you then leave it a year, I think we're too far removed from the main pack of games and we're still substantially closer to P5 than any other candidate.

It's never going to be a perfect set of entry criteria, although I think we could iron them out to be pretty comprehensive. But realistically, in GAF, what is going to be the PS3/4 split on P5 players? I imagine it will be colossally in PS4's favor.

Well, it probably IS generally safe about, say, two years after all system launched, or possibly the start of the year following that. If we were to do it at this period last gen we'd have P3 cutting it close, if we were to do it just a bit over two years later you'd have P4 out and more or less all games accounted for outside of some extraordinarily late localizations (Yakuza 2) and typical NISA stuff. And the specific example of P5 is actually safe to ignore in my eyes owing to being cross-gen; even if it got the short stick for last gen it'd be good for whatever votes this gen spawns.

Then again I think at this same point we had Devil Summoner 2 to look forward to on PS2, so that was just kind of insane really. I don't THINK we'll see that repeated this time though. And at any rate better late than early, if you were to go "nope gen's over new systems are out TIME TO VOTE ON BEST OF THE GENERATION!" you'd have easily missed Dark Souls II, factored out quite a few JRPGs for that category, Gran Turismo 6 wouldn't be up for at least racing games... it really would be kind of insane.

You are implying that The Last of Us's gameplay is not exceptional. On the contrary, the gameplay is one of the best aspects of the game.

Well, some people considered the gameplay mediocre so that's what I was getting at there, and you could probably argue you could make a better survival game with a more open structure. Still, I think for this sort of linear AAA game it was about as good as it could get, reminding me more of my time with games like Max Payne and Half Life 2 rather than CoD.

 

[DOWN]

and if nothing else, it would provide a good groundwork on how to do something of the sort moving forward.

or we could bypass all of that and just use 'game of the decade.' of course, that doesn't bring all the fun of a console war into it.

Game of the Decade would be the same exact thing as this thread is saying basically. 2005-2014 (based on that favorite decade of gaming thread, I unfortunately have to tell you all that a decade does not run 2004-2014. That's 11 years y'all).

 

[AniHawk]

Game of the Decade would be the same exact thing as this thread is saying basically. 2005-2014 (based on that favorite decade of gaming thread, I unfortunately have to tell you all that a decade does not run 2004-2014. That's 11 years y'all).

i was considering 2001-2010/2000-2009, actually. that has its own host of problems, but it at least solves the issue regarding pc.

 

[Famassu]

Pretty sure it's been discussed a couple times around. Don't know about an OT or anything. But yeah, I think last gen is pretty much over now.

I don't think it's over. Wii is dead and Xbox 360 ain't getting much exclusives anymore, but both PS3 & 360 are still getting quite a lot of multiplatform games (some of which are even exclusive to last generation, at least for now) and PS3 still has some stuff like Tales of Zestria, Persona 5 & KH2.5 HD ReMix coming.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

Game of the Decade would be the same exact thing as this thread is saying basically. 2005-2014 (based on that favorite decade of gaming thread, I unfortunately have to tell you all that a decade does not run 2004-2014. That's 11 years y'all).

That'd include RE4. We wouldn't even need a poll.

 

[DOWN]

i was considering 2001-2010/2000-2009, actually. that has its own host of problems, but it at least solves the issue regarding pc.

I think that thread would be fine, butI'm much more fond of covering the platform generation so I don't think that your version of a decade thread would really cover what OP was talking about.

That'd include RE4. We wouldn't even need a poll.

That's why knowing what the thread is actually referring to, it should be the previous gen platforms era until new gen began (count your sparse random cross-gens if you must, but you all surely are smart enough to get the idea of what a console gen is).

 

[DOWN]

double

 

[zero shift]

It's really down to TLOU, GTA V, and Dark Souls. I can't imagine any other game winning.

Game of the Decade would be the same exact thing as this thread is saying basically. 2005-2014 (based on that favorite decade of gaming thread, I unfortunately have to tell you all that a decade does not run 2004-2014. That's 11 years y'all).

Pretty much. I mean even if you narrow it down it's a lot of titles to pick from. Even if you do it by console it's still crazy. Only right now has the PS3/360 died down nearly ten years on the market. The DS had a decent lifespan as well. Then there is also PC...