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GAF's Best of E3 2014 Awards

....IGN's list

Biggest surprise:

Dead Rising DLC
Mass Effect 4
Conker in Project: Spark
Crackdown
GTA V on Next-Gen
Grim Fandango Remastered
LittleBigPlanet 3
Rise of the Tomb Raider Reveal
Rainbow Six Siege
Bloodborne

...no Splatoon? Not even nominated? Seriously? Wow!

When they first put their nominees up, the only games nominated for Best Wii U Game were Smash and Mario Maker. They've since added Yoshi's Wooly World, Captain Toad, and Xenoblade X. And still no Splatoon.

And yet people wonder why Nintendo doesn't make more new character-driven IP.
 

kurahador

Member
Best list is from GAF as usual.

WTF with IGN and Gamespot list though? Did they boycott Nintendo because they handled their PR through Treehouse or something?
 

gngf123

Member
Best list is from GAF as usual.

WTF with IGN and Gamespot list though? Did they boycott Nintendo because they handled their PR through Treehouse or something?

That's pretty much exactly what is happening, yes. Although I personally think they would have boycott anyway.
 

Kater

Banned
Fantasy Life has only 31 votes...

954913-bigthumbnailg1ruo.jpg


Splatoon in the Top Ten is good to see though!
 

massoluk

Banned
I dare say UKResistance would have been proud of this list. It has been a really long time that games with Blue Skies dominated E3 List.
 

ChipotIe

Banned
Best list is from GAF as usual.

WTF with IGN and Gamespot list though? Did they boycott Nintendo because they handled their PR through Treehouse or something?

I watched the ign day 0 cast. Even with a ninty fanboy with them they still treated it like the reveals ended there and acted like they forgot nintondo was on the next day. Once they did "remember" they joked around as if they had nothing new coming up and brushed it off completely.

Nice seeing 2 Zelda 1-2 inspired games take the top 2 slots. I just hope nintendo remembers its roots and not the mundane garbage it's been rehashing for every iteration passed that. Before Zelda U I swear Souls had more in common with the original Zelda games than the last 20 years of Zelda. With that said I have high hopes for you Zelda U!
 

RMI

Banned
Nice list. Awesome to see Splatoon in the top 10. I hope the developers of that game know how positive the response has been.
 

Ultimadrago

Member
It's because of how terrible Skyward Sword and mediocre Twilight Princess was that I'm not hyped about Zelda Wii U at all. The recent 3DS Zelda was great though.

That's what's keeping me on my toes. Though I'm really digging the art direction of it, I need to see more to know how exactly I'll feel about it leading up to the steps of launch. I never fell for Skyward Sword hype because of Twilight Princess and was vindicated.

This one creates more dissonance within me because of the wonderful visuals clashing against tempered expectations, but I'll be brought back down (or up) depending on future footage.
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
Surprised how high some of the games are considering how little we've seen for them. Also surprised to see Captain Toad make the Biggest Surprise list, I feel like I'm missing something about that game by not having a Wii U and SM3DW.

Really glad The Witcher 3, Batman: Arkham Knight, and Xenoblade Chronicles X made the top 10 as they're some of my most anticipated games. Also happy to see No Man's Sky get a lot more recognition after flying under the radar at last year's VGX reveal. Overall it's a good list and a good representation of this E3.
 

tanod

when is my burrito
Amazing job compiling this all together. There seemed to be quite a few more voting posts than what was originally expected.
 

Tomohawk

Member
It's because of how terrible Skyward Sword and mediocre Twilight Princess was that I'm not hyped about Zelda Wii U at all. The recent 3DS Zelda was great though.

If it wasn't for A link between worlds I would probably never of had zelda on my list. That game showed me Nintendo changed their frame of mind for Zelda even if 2d and 3d zelda might as well be different genres.
 
After glancing through the voting thread a couple times, did not expect Nintendo to do so well. Not that I'm displeased.

All the results look pretty reasonable, imo. Guess we're pretty well balanced on average.
 

Timeaisis

Member
When they first put their nominees up, the only games nominated for Best Wii U Game were Smash and Mario Maker. They've since added Yoshi's Wooly World, Captain Toad, and Xenoblade X. And still no Splatoon.

And yet people wonder why Nintendo doesn't make more new character-driven IP.

I think the problem with Splatoon and the media is twofold:
1) It's not "core" Nintendo. I.e. it doesn't involve a Mario/DK/Zelda character, it's not cute, and it's not as family-oriented as their other titles.
2) It's not mainstream enough: it's not adult, it doesn't involve killing people, it's not cinematic, it's not gritty, etc.

In that, it doesn't really fit anywhere squarely. It's not "Nintendo" enough, but, at the same time, it's not mainstream enough, either. It sits in this other area of games that hasn't been seen and the media doesn't really know what to do with it or how to classify it.
 

Gummb

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about Rayman Legends Wii U.
Yeah it's nuts but like you said, I think it may work out for them. It's going to be tough tho. A lot of gaffers probably don't think of themselves as super savvy or out of the ordinary but you'd be surprised at the numpties out there that are easily fooled. It's how rubish gets spread around. A lot of people will take everything these outlets report as gospel and that includes the lack of news which can be pretty damaging in terms of mind-share in and of itself.

Overall however I feel Nintendo realised relying on such a fickle outlet to create and distribute your message is unreliable. It's ballsy and risky and could burn bridges but I still feel Nintendo doesn't mind being inclusive. Letting others stream the Digital Event and having games like Devil's Third revealed on IGN and even round tables helps keep some form of willingness to work with the likes of say IGN. It's almost like Nintendo is teaching everyone else how it's done, spoon feeding them like babies. With great power comes great responsibility and all that.

The Devil's Third reveal is a good point, but I feel IGN did a horrible job showing the title off. They sounded passive at best with its reveal, but that's just my opinion on the matter. I do hope that Nintendo can strike a balance.

Ultimately it comes down to sales and reception, right? For those who tuned into what Nintendo did at E3, I feel like it was a resounding success and will translate into some serious software sales. However, I am wondering how broad their impact was beyond those who already were Nintendo fans. I don't know, I suppose we will see. Mario Kart was a great lead into this format though. I hope Splatoon comes out this time next year for the same kind of lead up to E3.

Anyway..... good list GAF! It seems a bastion to be quite honest.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Great top imo. Seems like my taste align with the majority on here for once. All the top three games look fantastic and right now looks like must-play games for any gamer.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
last year was new and shiny next gen. 2013 was way back when the future was untold and the sky was the limit. now we're living in the future and it turns out video games are still video games. i blame watch_dogs.

It would be scary if video games were more than video games.
Like, you start playing The Division... and then half your friends die of some terrorist disease at Christmas.

Sounds like bad PR.
 

Eusis

Member
I don't see why Splatoon is so popular. Is it just that it's a Nintendo title that was revealed at E3?
It probably sounds ridiculous to put it like this, but... I'd say it's Nintendo's Titanfall. It's not a world changing game, it just looks to be a really fun MP shooter that does something sufficiently different enough to get our attention.
 

AdanVC

Member
Glad to see lot's of enthusiasm for Splatoon. That game will be tons of fun without a doubt. It has so much potential to be a serious competitive game. Zelda, Bloodborne and No Man's Sky, GAF has the best taste, heck yes! That Zelda reveal was just magical even if it was just a teaser trailer. It looks insanely beautiful, alive and detailed. Plus, the info about being open world with tons of stuff to do since the moment you grab the controller sounds like the Zelda game of our dreams. Overall just an awesome time to be a gamer. Lot's of excellent games coming (even if most of them are coming until 2015 or later.)
 

lamaroo

Unconfirmed Member
I think the problem with Splatoon and the media is twofold:
1) It's not "core" Nintendo. I.e. it doesn't involve a Mario/DK/Zelda character, it's not cute, and it's not as family-oriented as their other titles.

This is an interesting talking point. Aside from gamers clamouring for something new, the gaming press is always on Nintendo's case about churning out their established IPs all of the time, and never creating anything new.

They do create a new IP, one that has a lot of buzz, and creates a pretty good following almost right away, and it gets pretty well ignored by the gaming outlets.
 

Phediuk

Member
Like 90% of the Zelda coverage was a shot of an empty field. No indication of how the game played.

Does not deserve #1 at all.
 

Eusis

Member
Like 90% of the Zelda coverage was a shot of an empty field. No indication of how the game played.

Does not deserve #1 at all.
Reasonable expectations based on series history + that giant field (with at least one cottage I noticed) and some comments about game structure is enough to get excited, but despite throwing it on my list I do agree being in the top spot is kind of inappropriate. Other games like Bloodborne either showed actual gameplay, gave gameplay details, or both.
 
I'm a little surprised at the hype for Splatoon. I really don't think there will be a lot of appeal outside of GAF and will most likely have similar results to W101. Great top 5, though.
 
Like 90% of the Zelda coverage was a shot of an empty field. No indication of how the game played.

Does not deserve #1 at all.

It is Zelda, we know enough. We now get open world mixed with the best mix of action and puzzle solving in all of gaming. It is the perfect formula made better by what the series needed most, a true world that is fully explorable.
 

Timeaisis

Member
This is an interesting talking point. Aside from gamers clamouring for something new, the gaming press is always on Nintendo's case about churning out their established IPs all of the time, and never creating anything new.

They do create a new IP, one that has a lot of buzz, and creates a pretty good following almost right away, and it gets pretty well ignored by the gaming outlets.

Yeah, it confuses me, too. I'm probably playing the "Nintendo fanboy persecution complex" a little too much here, but it still seems weird to me.

I'll give some outlets credit, though. Joystiq seems to have a fair amount of press on it, as did Destructoid. I think my problem was the "big 3" (IGN, Gamespot, and Giant Bomb) had little to say about it.
 

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
Amazing job compiling this all together. There seemed to be quite a few more voting posts than what was originally expected.
Yeah, almost 500 more votes than I expected. I expected that last year was the peak voting time. ;-)
 

lt519

Member
Not super into bloodborne but great choices GAF. I didn't vote but if I did I probably would of left it to games that showed a bit more than a minute trailer like Zelda and UC4. Splatoon was 1 for me followed by No Man's Sky then Sunset Overdrive.
 

Draconian

Member
Top 10 games that SHOWED LIVE GAMEPLAY (tech demo's disqualified too):

1. Bloodborne
2. The Witcher 3
3. Super Smash Bros.
4. Splatoon
5. Batman: Arkham Knight
6. Xenoblade Chronicles X
7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
8. Bayonetta 2
9. Sunset Overdrive
10. Destiny

That looks much more deserving.

*writes a list of top 10 games based on gameplay*

*puts as #1 a game that showed no gameplay at E3*
 
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