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If a racing game is seen as GOTY quality and then why isn't it rewarded as such?

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
While I agree that 3 is the best in the series, it's still extremely similar to 4. To take it to another level, they gotta do something new.

In which ways FH4 did stray away from the festival vibe? I thought that the festival theme was still prominent.

How many festival sites did you unlock and upgrade in Forza Horizon 4?
 

Shmunter

Member
well Sony's games are usually super shallow in terms of gameplay, which should be by far the biggest factor when it comes to rewarding a videogame
Which Sony game is super shallow in gameplay? What’s the point of comparison?

Sony may not be rolling out Skyrim based rpg’s but they release highly polished gameplay where any sign of jank is usually eliminated. The high polish adds to the contenders.
 
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kyliethicc

Member
Forza Horizon 5 has already been shown to have the best graphics in a game so far.
kanye west GIF by Danny Chang
 
Hipster journos don't get a hard on with racing games. Much better to have emotional sad dad simulators with cutscenes galore.

They long for that Hollywood cred... Stomping goombas and doing crazy stunts in an arcade style racing game would set gaming back to the dark ages in their eyes.

Also the company that is cool to hate from the big 3 is currently the best in class with racing games, that may have something to do as well.
Shit on journos all you want, but we all know there's no way a racing game would win a GOTY poll on this board either.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Not to diminish the accomplishment of making a great racing game or simulation, but the reality is that there are fewer ways to "fail" involved compared to several other genres of games. There's typically no narrative, no character-work or dialogue, nothing requiring dramatic timing, creating surprise or suspense. etc.

Its just a much narrower, more monotone experience. The same can be said for shmups and to a lesser degree fighting games.
 

Umbasaborne

Banned
Hipster journos don't get a hard on with racing games. Much better to have emotional sad dad simulators with cutscenes galore.

They long for that Hollywood cred... Stomping goombas and doing crazy stunts in an arcade style racing game would set gaming back to the dark ages in their eyes.

Also the company that is cool to hate from the big 3 is currently the best in class with racing games, that may have something to do as well.
This is incredibly accurate. Flight simulator is my game of the year, and it will never win that award for the exact reasons you stated
 

Topher

Gold Member
Hipster journos don't get a hard on with racing games. Much better to have emotional sad dad simulators with cutscenes galore.

They long for that Hollywood cred... Stomping goombas and doing crazy stunts in an arcade style racing game would set gaming back to the dark ages in their eyes.

Also the company that is cool to hate from the big 3 is currently the best in class with racing games, that may have something to do as well.

Weird take, but ok what about gamer votes? Don't see them disagreeing with those "hipster journos" much. Sims and racers are just not as popular among the gaming masses as other types of games. The same can be said for other genres such as strategy and JRPGs. That's just the way it is and really has nothing to do with your "company that is cool to hate".
 

MrFunSocks

Banned
The reality is that the games industry media want themselves and the games to be seen as on the same level as the movie industry. They don't like games being seen as "not art" and for kids, so they overwhelmingly try to champion the games that are the most movie like - ones with grand stories and high quality acting and voice work (though in reality are B-grade direct to tv movie quality at best), big spectacular set pieces, etc. Basically everything that a big hollywood blockbuster has. Have a look through all the "game of the year" award winners and you'll generally find the same thing - linear, cinematic, set piece driven, story driven, single player games. The ones that try the hardest to be serious movies.

Racing games are pretty much the complete opposite end of the spectrum to that, alongside multiplayer online shooters. There's really no story. There are no set pieces. There's no dramatic acting. There's no tugging on the heart strings. They're just pure gameplay. Really the only game that has ever broken the trend is Overwatch, and I'm really not sure how that happened tbh.

It's why I could not care less about "game of the year" awards and polls. To me they are basically "D-Grade wants-to-be-a-movie game of the year" awards and polls. Like with hollywood, the "movie of the year" is very rarely the most watched or enjoyed movie of the year.

People want a good story. That’s all.
Some do. Most don't. People aren't playing Minecraft, Warzone, Fifa, Madden, PUBG, Fortnite, and all the rest of the most played and highest selling games for the story. Critics do, because of aforementioned reasons.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
The reality is that the games industry media want themselves and the games to be seen as on the same level as the movie industry. They don't like games being seen as "not art" and for kids, so they overwhelmingly try to champion the games that are the most movie like - ones with grand stories, high quality acting and voice work, big spectacular set pieces, etc. Basically everything that a big hollywood blockbuster has. Have a look through all the "game of the year" award winners and you'll generally find the same thing - linear, cinematic, set piece driven, story driven, single player games. The ones that try the hardest to be serious movies.

Racing games are pretty much the complete opposite end of the spectrum to that, alongside multiplayer online shooters. There's really no story. There are no set pieces. There's no dramatic acting. There's no tugging on the heart strings. They're just pure gameplay. Really the only game that has ever broken the trend is Overwatch, and I'm really not sure how that happened tbh.

It's why I could not care less about "game of the year" awards and polls. To me they are basically "D-Grade wants-to-be-a-movie game of the year" awards and polls. Like with hollywood, the "movie of the year" is very rarely the most watched or enjoyed movie of the year.

That is not the reality. The reality is many video game makers want to make their games from compelling stories. And they always have. Storytelling in video games has been around since the very early days. The first video game I ever played on PC was King's Quest. That is just as much of a story-driven game as any there is and it was wildly successful. What you describe as games trying to be "serious movies" is really just the evolution of the technology that has enabled video game developers to tell stories in a more modern way. So you can downplay those games as "wanna be movies" and deride them as "D-grade" if it makes you feel better, but none of them would be game of the year without compelling gameplay. Otherwise, how was The Order: 1886 not a shoe-in when it was released? How about Quantum Break? Those games check all the boxes you provided but somehow didn't make the cut to GOTY.

So what is the gaming world's equivalent of Hollywood's "most watched or enjoyed move of the year"? Most played game of the year? Well that still isn't going to be a racing game so what point is there in rehashing all this angst about "movie games" that has been done to death so many times?

Some do. Most don't. People aren't playing Minecraft, Warzone, Fifa, Madden, PUBG, Fortnite, and all the rest of the most played and highest selling games for the story. Critics do, because of aforementioned reasons.

You didn't list a single racing game or sim.
 
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MrFunSocks

Banned
Because the same way we don't give Oscars to football match or tik-toks, or Emmys to voice messages or phone rings, there's no reason we should give a GOTY to a sport/simulation game or a puzzle/gatcha "game".

That doesn't mean there aren't great or even a few select "best" sport/simulations games, but that these are not games as art but pure products. That's why GOTY have never been awarded to Tetris, Fortnite, Candy Crush or PUBG despite their popularity...
Why not? Surely if they're the best game of the year they should be awarded with the "game of the year" award?
 
We'll just have to wait and see, if FH5 ends up being the best game of the year it will earn its fair share of awards from some outlets, even from the Xbox centric ones.
 

T0minator

Member
You are just typing to type my man. Go ahead and list all the super shallow games bc they don’t exist
I hate to give the guy any attention but that comment got me to think, do they have shallow games though?

I can't think of any. They produce some quality games. I've gotten to the point now when anything released by Sony now I'll instantly anticipate. Microsoft hasn't gotten their yet but I can see them being the same soon
 

Dream-Knife

Banned
This is actually a really good question. I think racing , sports, and mostly FPS games aren't viewed in the same light as other great games, more than likely due to it's lack of story. This is actually a bias I have. I love Forza Horizon 4, F-Zero, etc, but as long as games like OoT, Persona 5, Xenoblade 2, etc come out, I personally wouldn't consider them GOTY.

That being said, GOTY is largely a popularity contest by the people of gamestop, and gaming "journalists". It doesn't mean anything, so who cares?

Example: last year. HL: Alyx should have won, but because the base they draw to such an award didn't play it, some other games beat it.
 
Yes that must be it, I’ve heard great things about the story in Overwatch!
Overwatch come out at a time when hero shooters were Uber popular. Not only that, but it’s not like Uncharted 4 didn’t win a fuck ton of game of the year awards.
casuals out here really invading the gaming landscape in force I see -_- sad days indeed
How is one a casual for caring about story? That’s just ridiculous.

The reality is that the games industry media want themselves and the games to be seen as on the same level as the movie industry. They don't like games being seen as "not art" and for kids, so they overwhelmingly try to champion the games that are the most movie like - ones with grand stories and high quality acting and voice work (though in reality are B-grade direct to tv movie quality at best), big spectacular set pieces, etc. Basically everything that a big hollywood blockbuster has. Have a look through all the "game of the year" award winners and you'll generally find the same thing - linear, cinematic, set piece driven, story driven, single player games. The ones that try the hardest to be serious movies.
Racing games are pretty much the complete opposite end of the spectrum to that, alongside multiplayer online shooters. There's really no story. There are no set pieces. There's no dramatic acting. There's no tugging on the heart strings. They're just pure gameplay. Really the only game that has ever broken the trend is Overwatch, and I'm really not sure how that happened tbh.

It's why I could not care less about "game of the year" awards and polls. To me they are basically "D-Grade wants-to-be-a-movie game of the year" awards and polls. Like with hollywood, the "movie of the year" is very rarely the most watched or enjoyed movie of the year.


Some do. Most don't. People aren't playing Minecraft, Warzone, Fifa, Madden, PUBG, Fortnite, and all the rest of the most played and highest selling games for the story. Critics do, because of aforementioned reasons.
Yes but, we’re talking game of the year. If the highest selling games got GOTY, it be a fight between what, like 5 games?
 

Aenima

Member
This is actually a really good question. I think racing , sports, and mostly FPS games aren't viewed in the same light as other great games, more than likely due to it's lack of story. This is actually a bias I have. I love Forza Horizon 4, F-Zero, etc, but as long as games like OoT, Persona 5, Xenoblade 2, etc come out, I personally wouldn't consider them GOTY.

That being said, GOTY is largely a popularity contest by the people of gamestop, and gaming "journalists". It doesn't mean anything, so who cares?

Example: last year. HL: Alyx should have won, but because the base they draw to such an award didn't play it, some other games beat it.
Half Life - Alyx did won a bunch of GOTY awards in the VR cathegory.

If GOTY was a popularity contest then CODs and Fifas would win every year. Hades won a bunch of GOTY awards as well and alot of ppl only got aware of that game after it receiving so many nominations and awards.
 
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Dream-Knife

Banned
Half Life - Alyx did won a bunch of GOTY awards in the VR cathegory.

If GOTY was a popularity contest then CODs and Fifas would win every year. Hades won a bunch of GOTY awards as well and alot of ppl only got aware of that game after it receiving so many nominations and awards.
Alyx didn't win GOTY, which is what I'm saying it should have. Alyx won "best VR game", segmenting it from consideration as the actual GOTY. It wasn't even in consideration for GOTY. Isn't this the problem the OP was talking about? "Best racing game" is a category, but a racing game will not be considered for GOTY.

CODs and Fifas would win if the people that played those games cared about other games, much less an awards show. I loved MW2019. It wasn't GOTY though.
 

Damigos

Member
The reason why racing games are not GOTY anymore can be seen when rewards are given. Racing games are at the sports/racing category, so they are seen as something yearly (like fifa or madden).
This has some truth in it, like F1 or NFS or Nascar, but its a pity for so many other racing games that dont release yearly, like GT.
 

Aenima

Member
Alyx didn't win GOTY, which is what I'm saying it should have. Alyx won "best VR game", segmenting it from consideration as the actual GOTY. It wasn't even in consideration for GOTY. Isn't this the problem the OP was talking about? "Best racing game" is a category, but a racing game will not be considered for GOTY.

CODs and Fifas would win if the people that played those games cared about other games, much less an awards show. I loved MW2019. It wasn't GOTY though.
Thats your opinion.

  • Half Life: Alyx - 11
    • Media Outlets: 11 | Readers' Choice: 0
Even being a VR only game still manage to get 11 GOTY awards from publications.

Assassins Creed is a much popular franshise and only got 6 awards. Some of you just have a hard time acepting TLOU2 as GOTY, but when a game gets more than 300 GOTY awards is because it did something good. And My GOTY was Ghost of Tsushima.

https://www.gameawards.net/2020/09/2020.html
 

arvfab

Banned
casuals out here really invading the gaming landscape in force I see -_- sad days indeed

Right? They want sports and racing games to win GOTY 😂 What next? COD?

I think this year GOTY will go to Returnal, Ratchet and Clank, Metroid Dread or maybe even Resident Evil 8. Don't see anything else worth it this year.
 

TonyK

Member
If you can't get out of the car and explore, it can't earn a Goty. And this is the same reason because racing game graphics don't impress me.

Racing games looks incredible since PSX1 because they show only cars and a scenario that goes blurred at full speed, so developers can use a lot of tricks to hide rough spots. Probably, if you could get out of any car in a racing game and walk, they will look like shit.
 

Lupin25

Member
Racing games are probably too one dimensional for most critics to hoist them as GOTY’s.

In GTA (for example) there’s a narrative, but with an entire open-world full of endless activities. Comparing it to just an arcade racer (even though a great one at that) seems illogical.

And since they’re a subsidiary to Sports games, they’ll never receive that kind of recognition.
 
If you can't get out of the car and explore, it can't earn a Goty. And this is the same reason because racing game graphics don't impress me.

Racing games looks incredible since PSX1 because they show only cars and a scenario that goes blurred at full speed, so developers can use a lot of tricks to hide rough spots. Probably, if you could get out of any car in a racing game and walk, they will look like shit.
Horizon has a free camera to move right around the environment, and it still looks incredible.
 
Racing genre in gaming is like horror genre in movies. Overlooked because some feel it's easier to make? Thrills only? Fun but doesn't have anything to say. Ridiculous.
 

ZywyPL

Banned
GOTY is mostly all about story telling, hence why a racing game will probably never get that many awards. for example, I'm pretty sure Hades would't get so many titles just for its core gameplay if it wasn't for the phenomenal writing and voice acting.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
F-Zero X (1998) is not the same game as F-Zero GX (2003). F-Zero GX is GotY 2003, but it is the only racing GotY, even though F-Zero X is the better game, because F-Zero X released in the same year as Banjo and Zelda.
 
Not enough story/cutscenes. In the 80s/90s most games were all about gameplay, "Mario please save me" was enough story. Times change and now story/cutscenes is everything.

But who cares about GOTY awards? A few people want to tell millions what the best game is? I find that stupid. Just look at the Oscars. Do the blockbusters that people actually like ever get Oscars? No, you will never see a Transformer/Marvel/Fast & Furius and so on win it, just movies some wannabe elitists like.

IF FH5 is your GOTY then that's all you should care about.
 

Great Hair

Banned
748140.jpg

Because they know nr6, 7 etc. are around the corner. If 5 is GOTY, then what are 6, 7? Fart Dry 6, 7, 8 will never win a GOTY. Regurgitated doodoo_french_ices should never be considered GOTY (no matter what their quality is).
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Let me ask you guys something, did you enjoyed the game? If you did why does it matter if wins GOTY award or not?

I remember Overwatch winning bunch of awards but that still didn't make me want to play the game.

Currently these awards show is less about actual awards and more about Ads for upcoming games.
 
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DonJorginho

Banned
Everyone always wants to cry conspiracy and dodgy dealings in the industry but the real truth is, Racing games are just one of the unfortunate genres that are still a bit too niche for the overwhelming majority of users. Same goes for the likes of the Strategy genre or the JRPG genre.

Forza Horizon 5 will probably be a great time just like the prior titles, but if it doesn't get GOTY nominations or a win I don't think that means there's some grand conspiracy behind it.

I hope that changes someday and all genres are equally received but it's just not the case atm.
 

Dream-Knife

Banned
Thats your opinion.

  • Half Life: Alyx - 11
    • Media Outlets: 11 | Readers' Choice: 0
Even being a VR only game still manage to get 11 GOTY awards from publications.

Assassins Creed is a much popular franshise and only got 6 awards. Some of you just have a hard time acepting TLOU2 as GOTY, but when a game gets more than 300 GOTY awards is because it did something good. And My GOTY was Ghost of Tsushima.

https://www.gameawards.net/2020/09/2020.html

The Game Award nominees for Game of the Year have been narrowed down to just seven titles voted on by fans ahead of the live stream:


  • Doom Eternal
  • Final Fantasy 7 Remake
  • Ghost of Tsushima
  • Hades
  • Animal Crossing New Horizons
  • The Last of Us Part II – Winner

Perhaps it was due to its zero reader awards, which is my point?
 
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