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[Zen_Arcade]

I don't agree but from what everyone has said about it it's not a bad pick. I also like how they actually gave it to a handheld game.

 

[Scrabble]

Are people really discussing that games need to have some more thematic or social significance than just being fun in order to be the worthwhile? I don't mind that sometimes, but I play games primarily to have fun and/or get absorbed in some fantasy.

For me? Absolutely, there's so much more promise and potential with this medium to explore facets other than just fun. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy a game like Zelda for what it is, but it will never stick with me. Or leave me thinking about it in the same a really good piece of art will. The Last of Us isn't my game of the year because it's some super gamey fun game, but because it provided me an emotional experience that could only be pulled off because it's interactive.

 

[Pseudo_Sam]

Nice choice. Such a good game.

 

[Codeblue]

Man, if so many people thought the writing in TLoU and GTAV was incredible, I wonder what you guys would think about something like Mother 3 or Earthbound.

 

[Seda]

I think the rental system was basically pointless, given the ease and considerable amount of rupees available, but I do think that having all the items from the outset provided one substantial benefit that's been kind of overlooked: dungeons can be designed to use the item from the get-go rather than having you complete "generic" puzzles up until the dungeon item. Is this worth each dungeon only using one item? I dunno, but there's no reason Nintendo couldn't just require multiple items for any given dungeon with the appropriate "challenges" provided at the entry of the dungeon to signal that going forward. I think the rental system could use an overhaul, but the basic philosophy definitely has some advantages.

I agree that within each dungeon, having the 'item-puzzles' from the onset was a change for the better, rather than getting the item halfway through. I suppose when I was finishing the game, I missed the complexity in late-game dungeons, akin to what you find in some of the earlier 2D Zelda games. I'm uncertain what specific changes I would make to alleviate some of this things and maintain a fresh structure for the series.

 

[Holy Order Sol]

That's an incredibly narrow view and definition of what games are supposed to be, and one I couldn't possibly disagree with more.


Someone should let the Supreme Court know this so they don't have to be considered an art form that is considered a protected expression of free speech, since they're just toys.

Games don't have to be art to use art.

 

[vulva]

The problem with Zelda winning GOTY is it doesn't provide any social commentary.

Nintendo's entire philosophy is to create games that temporarily draw you away from reality. Games that are essentially created in a vacuum. That's a perfectly fine sort of game to enjoy, and it's possibly why their franchises have aged so well, but they're so abstract nothing can really be gleaned from them.

There's no incite. The player isn't changed by the experience. You turn the game off and move on with your life. You won't hop on the subway and see an elf. You will see GTA 5's Trevor, but you won't understand him.

If in 50 years someone want's to get a feel for what gaming (and life) in 2013 was like, is Zelda really the best example?

Do people actually feel this about anything? What a ridiculous post.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

The problem with Zelda winning GOTY is it doesn't provide any social commentary.

Nintendo's entire philosophy is to create games that temporarily draw you away from reality. Games that are essentially created in a vacuum. That's a perfectly fine sort of game to enjoy, and it's possibly why their franchises have aged so well, but they're so abstract nothing can really be gleaned from them.

There's no incite. The player isn't changed by the experience. You turn the game off and move on with your life. You won't hop on the subway and see an elf. You will see GTA 5's Trevor, but you won't understand him.

If in 50 years someone want's to get a feel for what gaming (and life) in 2013 was like, is Zelda really the best example?

What the hell are you talking about? D:

 

[brandonh83]

The problem with Zelda winning GOTY is it doesn't provide any social commentary.

What games would you say do provide social commentary?

No wonder the Wii U is fucked. Nintendo is still under the absurd delusion that game development should be driven by smart game design instead of smart social commentary.

If I want social commentary, I won't play a videogame for it.

 

[ohlawd]

Good to see a handheld game take it.

 

[Scrabble]

They feel like toys because you've never been on gaming, but on "interactive experiencing".
You're one among milions that gained interest on videogames when they stopped to be proper videogames. In other words, one of the reasons this industry is heading towards simplified technology driven experiences and in my opinion, towards its own destruction.

fuck off, do you make it a habit to generalize about people you don't know? I expressed my opinion without attacking anybody, and respected those who differed from mine. Why can't you do the same?

 

[Kai Dracon]

I don't agree but from what everyone has said about it it's not a bad pick. I also like how they actually gave it to a handheld game.

This may be the important part a lot of folks are missing because they're focusing on like, Zelda not having great virtual actors. By selecting a game on a handheld, they're bucking the prejudice towards "epic" home theater experiences as the primary representation for gaming.

It shouldn't matter where a game is hosted or how it's presented.

 

[NomadFH]

Tearaway robbed

 

[Timeaisis]

A lot of people appear to be very psychologically and emotionally invested in gaming as a cause or movement. It's similar to film buffs who cannot stand the popularity of films which they consider "lowbrow" - which might include stuff like Star Wars.

It's understandable I think. If you are very invested in something you will feel elevated yourself by that thing being edified and elevated. But at the end of the day, it's all just reindeer games and people looking for approval.

The Last of Us and Zelda are both video games. Neither is more legitimate than the other, it's just that TLOU or even GTAV possess the attributes required to serve some currently trendy views of what gaming represents.

That's a good point. I hope I'm not coming across as someone who hated the "serious games" this year, because I agree with GS's nominations completely (albeit ranked differently). But I guess, for me, at the end of the day, I'm just looking for a fun game to play. If that comes in an thematically rich emotional experience, so be it. If that comes in a small handheld package with Link on the cover, that's fine too.

I do, however, think people are taking games a little too seriously at this point, and I do think the point you make about film is spot on.

For me? Absolutely, there's so much more promise and potential with this medium to explore facets other than just fun. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy a game like Zelda for what it is, but it will never stick with me. Or leave me thinking about it in the same a really good piece of art will. The Last of Us isn't my game of the year because it's some super gamey fun game, but because it provided me an emotional experience that could only be pulled off because it's interactive.

Well, that's fair. I do agree that there is much more potential to go for other than fun. So I guess it really depends on what you are looking for. Going back to the movie analogy, because it's working so well. I can see 10 movies in a year and have to pick one favorite. But one is a comedy that I had a lot of fun with, while the other is a gripping drama that is heartwrenching but also profound? Which do I select? It's tough, because they are totally different. The good thing about games at this point, is that they are satisfying more than one type of gamer and we can agree to disagree.

 

[BlackBuzzard]

Dont agree.

 

[LordOcidax]

Deserved. I love the quality of Nintendo games. They try hard to relase the games without glitches. ALBW is a great game. Congrats Ninty

 

[eliochip]

Gotta say of all the games listed, Zelda was perhaps the most fun to play.

 

[Levyne]

I do, however, think people are taking games a little too seriously at this point, and I do think the point you make about film is spot on.

I don't think it's an issue people taking games or gaming too seriously or not seriously enough, just some people need to learn to reconcile that they have opinions and other people also have opinions. Sheesh.

So Gamespot lists ALBW as their GOTY. You might have it second, or 5th, or last. So what?

 

[Agent Matt]

I like the reason they used for choosing it as GOTY which was: because it was fun. =3

 

[EmCeeGramr]

"InternetzHero" is a true Hero of the Web

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME.

What about The Last of Us with beautiful story telling and truly immersive gameplay or GTA V with its incredibly detailed open world with stunning visuals and depth. But no, you give it to the Legend of Zelda, a game that has outdated gameplay, no depth, outdated visuals and is no where near GoTY.

I've played through the last of us 5 times, I can assure you its no where near like Beyond: Two Souls. I actually think TLoU had the perfect balance.

EDIT: Conservative gamers are a cancer on the industry.

"True gamer". Fuck off, you delusional, hypocritical Nintendo fanboys are holding the industry back. You think games like Zelda and Mario deserve game of the year (THIS YEAR, 2013 NOT 1998, 2013) when both of those games have outdated gameplay,

"2013". If it was 1998 I would understand but it clearly says 2013.
Am I missing something here or is GameSpot on drugs again?

This is why Xbox fans are better, at least most of them conceded that The Last of Us was a masterpiece, and at least agreed that it should be either GTA V or TLoU. But the delusional Nintendo manchild delusional hypocrite retard fanboys can't accept that their outdated Zelda and mario do indeed suck.

Thats adorable. The Delusional, hypocrites known as Kidtendo Fanboys think that this is a victory. I can't wait until the Wii U fucking sinks. At least Microsoft and Sony innovate, thats something Nintendo hasn't done in a very long time.
This game looks and plays as if it was from the fucking 90s and it gets GoTY.
Gamespot have really, really, messed up this time. This is by far the biggest fuck up I've seen them do.. ever.

gamespot, you committed a crime against gaming - nay, humanity - when you gave this award

 

[gastricacid]

The Last of Us deserves every GOTY award ever. Anyone who disagrees has simple never played the game or is underestimating its impact of gaming and their livelihood. Gamespot has forever lost its reputation awarding GOTY to a 2D handheld game. This is why IGN is more popular.

Jesus this is such a bad post. You're not representing naughty dog fans the way that they should be.

 

[brandonh83]

gamespot, you committed a crime against gaming - nay, humanity - when you gave this award

stop, I am somehow not seeing some of these posts and I don't want to, god I don't want to.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Haven't played it, and probably never will, but if the Zelda game is half the game A Link to the Past was (best Nintendo game ever), then it probably wouldn't be undeserved.

 

[LordJim]

Those comments remind me of 2011 and best sidekick award.
Some people take gamespot contests too seriously.

 

[brandonh83]

Haven't played it, and probably never will, but if the Zelda game is half the game A Link to the Past was (best Nintendo game ever), then it probably wouldn't be undeserved.

It's better in most ways.

 

[FranXico]

Wow.

Excellent choice.

 

[Sorcerer Supreme]

LBW is a good game but the all-purpose magic & stamina bar ruined it for me.

It's not GOTY material.

 

[Lingitiz]

What games would you say do provide social commentary?

No wonder the Wii U is fucked. Nintendo is still under the absurd delusion that game development should be driven by smart game design instead of smart social commentary.

If I want social commentary, I won't play a videogame for it.

There are plenty of games tackling interesting social issues and themes, but they are certainly not GTA V or The Last of Us. Games like The Stanley Parable, Papers Please, Gone Home, etc. are exploring those themes in actual nonviolent ways.

However I don't think those are required to be a truly great game. A game can be just as brilliant and and complete by having great level design, tighy mechanics, and being grand in scope like 3D World or ALBW.

 

[Majestad]

LBW is a good game but the all-purpose magic & stamina bar ruined it for me.

It's not GOTY material.

That's like one of the best new mechanics in Zelda games.

 

[Holy Order Sol]

gamespot, you committed a crime against gaming - nay, humanity - when you gave this award

Gamespot just shot themselves in the foot etc

 

[gastricacid]

I'm still waiting on underappreciated Mario 3d world to get a game of the year. =(

Edit: IGN, you're my last hope.

 

[puffyshirt]

The problem with Zelda winning GOTY is it doesn't provide any social commentary.

Nintendo's entire philosophy is to create games that temporarily draw you away from reality. Games that are essentially created in a vacuum. That's a perfectly fine sort of game to enjoy, and it's possibly why their franchises have aged so well, but they're so abstract nothing can really be gleaned from them.

There's no incite. The player isn't changed by the experience. You turn the game off and move on with your life. You won't hop on the subway and see an elf. You will see GTA 5's Trevor, but you won't understand him.

If in 50 years someone want's to get a feel for what gaming (and life) in 2013 was like, is Zelda really the best example?

What an odd post. I've rarely disagreed with someone more.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

The problem with Zelda winning GOTY is it doesn't provide any social commentary.

Nintendo's entire philosophy is to create games that temporarily draw you away from reality. Games that are essentially created in a vacuum. That's a perfectly fine sort of game to enjoy, and it's possibly why their franchises have aged so well, but they're so abstract nothing can really be gleaned from them.

There's no incite. The player isn't changed by the experience. You turn the game off and move on with your life. You won't hop on the subway and see an elf. You will see GTA 5's Trevor, but you won't understand him.

If in 50 years someone want's to get a feel for what gaming (and life) in 2013 was like, is Zelda really the best example?

No, but this post probably is. And they'll be glad they don't live in 2013.

 

[Ziek]

Excellent choice. It is my favorite 3DS game and the only game I have 100% without outside help in some time. There was average pay off for 100%, but it didn't matter, because I had fun finding all the secrets. I used to 100% games for an achievement or trophy and it was most often monotonous, therefor; ALBW was refreshing.

 

[Dorygrant]

ZELDA

Makes me happy. The only game I started a second playthrough (Hero) right after beating it.

 

[oti]

Best Gameplay of the Year won Game of the Year. Nothing wrong with that.

That being said, if the Award was called "Most Important Game of the Year", than TLoU should have gotten the crown. But it's not, so everything's cool.

 

[ab.aeterno]

Games don't have to be art to use art.

Having "art" doesn't automatically make something a protected form of expression, however. If games as a medium are toys, them they don't fall under First Amendment protected speech, as toys are not, IIRC, protected speech either.

If you're referring to specific games, then you're missing the point of what I'm saying. Not all works are art or high art, arguably, but whether games as a medium are toys or an art form is a crucial question.

 

[Prince Vultan]

And the common denominator is that all of his tastes have to do with being on a sony platform.

That's simply how the chips have fallen my friend. Sony have had a hell of a year for great titles.

I don't game on PC, so I can't speak for titles released there, but on consoles this year, I feel they've simply had the best output of any one company. Sorry if me acknowledging that is upsetting for you.

Literally the most shocking post of the thread. Keep the salt coming. Your damage control in the latter posts were comedy central as well.

Oh, hi Frillen! Why is it every time I read your responses to me I visualise someone with tears in their eyes angrily pounding at a keyboard?

I have nothing to damage control though, so that doesn't make sense. I simply tried a little honesty in a single post after it became clear a number of posters were holding a grudge because I make fun of Nintendo if that's what you're referring to, and if you're really going to shit on me for that, then quite honestly I think that makes you a bad person.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

Haven't played it, but principally speaking, good on Gamespot for not going with the safe choice and picking a Japanese handheld game because they think it's the best game of the year.

Not giving a fuck about the community's wishes (wankers probably would've selected GTA or some shit) - clearly Giantbomb's good influence at work.

Exactly how I feel. That downside is that many will see this as controversial

Never played the game either but my son is getting it for Christmas, might give it a try

 

[brandonh83]

There are plenty of games tackling interesting social issues and themes, but they are certainly not GTA V or The Last of Us. Games like The Stanley Parable, Papers Please, Gone Home, etc. are exploring those themes in actual nonviolent ways.

However I don't think those are required to be a truly great game. A game can be just as brilliant and and complete by having great level design, tighy mechanics, and being grand in scope like 3D World or ALBW.

I agree with all the above. I do like games with intelligence, but I would point toward something like Silent Hill 2 before GTAV or even TLOU. Intelligence and social commentary is welcome but not at the expense of game design. If both can be had equally that's great but I've yet to personally see any strong examples of that; of social commentary anyway. I've played games that I would deem incredibly intelligent but they're few and far between.

 

[freezamite]

fuck off, do you make it a habit to generalize about people you don't know? I expressed my opinion without attacking anybody, and respected those who differed from mine. Why can't you do the same?

And why it's a "disrespect" to say that you're not on gaming but on interactive experiences?
The problem I see there is that you are the first one to insult what you consider to be the "casual crowd" and so when someone tells you that you're a casual you get offended.

But that's not my case. I've already said it tons of times, everyone is free to play videogames for whatever reasons they want to play them. To me it's fine if you play for other reasons besides gameplay (to experience a good plot, to evade from reality, whatever), it's just that a hardcore gamer is someone who plays because he likes to play, and a hardcore experiencer is someone who plays because he likes to experience.

In other words, when you say that games that don't focus on "a good plot" or on "technology" feel like toys to you, you are explaining us that you consider them inferior experiences based on your tastes.

On the other hand, as a hardcore gamer (which is not anything positive nor negative, just a matter of tastes) I'm telling you that for other people that's not the case.

Maybe what you found offensive is the bit about the industry heading towards destruction. Well then, that's not even an opinion, this technology focused trend has destroyed tons of studios due to the increasing costs of that kind of approaches, and the fact that the prices of the games hasn't grown accordingly.

 

[Linkhero1]

What the fuck Gamespot? How can they do this to TLoU? My life depended on their GOTY choice.

 

[phanphare]

They reserve that for Gaming Social Commentary of the year.

I lol'd

nicely done

 

[Cert.in.Death]

He's actually made a blog post talking about how Link Between Worlds is his third favorite Zelda of all-time now, BECAUSE of his deviations from the formulaic conventions so...

I was just wondering. His recent history has been rife with shitting on Zelda games. And that's his general reputation, shitting on otherwise pretty good games.

I also can't vibe with his love for Beyond: Two Souls.

 

[dragonlife]

The Last of Us is the only game from the nominee list I've played. I'm probably one of the few who thought it wasn't anything spectacular, however. It was good, but pretty predictable, I thought. I'm not surprised to see almost everyone wanting it to win, though.

It's always interesting seeing reactions to GoTY winners/nominees because I seldom play games that are usually in the running for it. Being broke nearly all the time and buying slightly older games does that, I guess, and I always feel out of the loop this time of year because of it.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see Zelda win. I've never been invested in the series, but I can't lie and say that all the excitement around ALBW hasn't made me want it.

 

[Spehornoob]

Hey guys, I think both The Last of Us and Super Mario 3D World are masterpieces, for different reasons.

Is something wrong with me? Should I see a doctor?

 

[Holy Order Sol]

Having "art" doesn't automatically make something a protected form of expression, however. If games as a medium are toys, them they don't fall under First Amendment protected speech, as toys are not, IIRC, protected speech either.

If you're referring to specific games, then you're missing the point of what I'm saying. Not all works are art or high art, arguably, but whether games as a medium are toys or an art form is a crucial question.

I thought the question had already been settled legally speaking, but I don't have a problem with the Supreme Court considering games as art if that warrants falling under the First Amendment and leaving it at that, while the rest of the world doesn't give a shit.

Basically let them, it's convenient if it's just from the law's POV and doesn't extend beyond that.

 

[eighty(one)]

That's a good choice. I love that game.

I am glad the game won. I was secretly hoping for Tearaway, bit I'm more than OK with ALBW winning ^_^

 

[Clefargle]

The nominees were:

- Tearaway (PS Vita)
- The Last of Us (PS3)
- Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (PS4 / Xbox One)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
- Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360)
- Path of Exile (PC)

And the winner is...

Spoiler

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

.

Unprecedented really, good on ya gamespot

 

[JeffGrubb]

The problem with Zelda winning GOTY is it doesn't provide any social commentary.

Nintendo's entire philosophy is to create games that temporarily draw you away from reality. Games that are essentially created in a vacuum. That's a perfectly fine sort of game to enjoy, and it's possibly why their franchises have aged so well, but they're so abstract nothing can really be gleaned from them.

There's no incite. The player isn't changed by the experience. You turn the game off and move on with your life. You won't hop on the subway and see an elf. You will see GTA 5's Trevor, but you won't understand him.

If in 50 years someone want's to get a feel for what gaming (and life) in 2013 was like, is Zelda really the best example?

The problem with jazz is that it doesn't provide any social commentary.