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Why can't a handheld game win Overall Game of the Year?

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Just like female game reviewers being unable to write about games without the fear of being taken out behind the chemical shed and skinned alive, once gamers growup then we can start to have nice things again.

Until then, we live in a world where EA is the worst corporation in America instead of Monsanto, Bank of America, BP, etc. That was a hell of an ending to Mass Effect 3, if it beat out genetically modified foods that are leading us towards that WALL-E future, morgage backed securities that brought most of the world to it's knees, or a company that caused one of the biggest oil spills since the Exxon Valdez.

When we all grow up, it'll be better.
 
Well in the past they were always inferior to console/PC games, no matter how good they were, but now? I'm not so sure. Console gaming has fallen so far this past generation that the argument could probably easily be made in favor of a handheld goty.
 
The problem with The Walking Dead is that it's multiplat. I guess they could award the GotY to the handheld version, but does anyone really believe that's the definitive SKU? I can play it on my PC with the 360 controller, and downsampled from 2160p.
 
I just can't really think of a year in which a handheld game has deserved GOTY over any game that got it. Last year with The Walking Dead was the rare time where it happened. This year, yes you could make an argument for ALBW, but imo The Last of Us has it locked up already.
 
pachuco said:
i-blame-the-whites-thumb.jpg


Just like female game reviewers being unable to write about games without the fear of being taken out behind the chemical shed and skinned alive, once gamers growup then we can start to have nice things again.

Until then, we live in a world where EA is the worst corporation in America instead of Monsanto, Bank of America, BP, etc. That was a hell of an ending to Mass Effect 3, if it beat out genetically modified foods that are leading us towards that WALL-E future, morgage backed securities that brought most of the world to it's knees, or a company that caused one of the biggest oil spills since the Exxon Valdez.

When we all grow up, it'll be better.
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What the hell is this post?

And a handheld game can win GOTY and will win several GOTYs this year. Whether that be Fire Emblem, Zelda, or Tearaway they will all be considered. The press knows that both handhelds are quality consoles with great games.

Every year though there are incredible console exclusive AAA titles that take the spotlight. This year was The Last of Us & GTAV... the rest are fighting for scraps.
 
ProtoCents said:
What the hell is this post?

And a handheld game can win GOTY and will win several GOTYs this year. Whether that be Fire Emblem, Zelda, or Tearaway they will all be considered. The press knows that both handhelds are quality consoles with great games.

Every year though there are incredible console exclusive AAA titles that take the spotlight. This year was The Last of Us & GTAV... the rest are fighting for scraps.
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Handheld games don't get the same type of consideration. I guarantee that many sites will have Tomb Raider as a GOTY consideration while not having a single handheld game considered. Simply saying that "such and such handheld game was good" isn't the same as considering it honestly among its various game peers with respect to its value as a video game.
 
one_kill said:
It's the press being biased against handhelds.

Similar to how the Academy Awards are biased against animated flicks.
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'Biased against' is maybe a bit too strong of a word.

It's more that console games tend to appeal and attract to readership within the male, 18-35 market and thus it gets the greatest focus. Handhelds (and animated films) tend to skew toward a younger and more gender diverse crowd which are far less likely to read gaming websites or care about things like the Spike VGAs. The people writing about video games would have less exposure to handheld titles, just as the Academy voters tend to only watch animated films unless accompanied by their children/grandchildren.

The OG DS sold like a maniac, had an incredible number of quality games and was heavily ignored by the press for things other than Pokemon. It's not that the press actively dislikes handhelds, it's just that it doesn't appeal to their target audience*.


*Of course there may be the occasional reviewer who just hates handhelds. They suck.
 
wizzbang said:
I know! but I just see them different, always have. I feel like I can have a deeply cinematic experience on a console (I'm very heavily SP focused) - I guess if I liked more casual or multiplayer / mechanics based games, I might like handhelds more - but as someone who focuses entirely on SP - no handhelds for me.
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I'm entirely focused on non-casual single player games as well. I'm still a massive fan of handhelds because that's where the games I want to play are.
 
wizzbang said:
I have an irrational dislike of handheld games.
Is it silly? Yes
Is it immature? Perhaps.
Are there more likely? Almost definitely.

I simply don't class it as "serious" gaming, I barely have time to do stuff as it is with just 1 console. I'm sure the game is probably quite good and thoughtful and well designed but I literally don't even see them as consoles, more as toys. It's dumb but........ shrug? that's how I see it.

I think a lot of people don't take them seriously - maybe in Japan it's a different story but the west? nah.
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it's good that you can at least acknowledge it.
next step is to get over it.

in general quality comes in all shapes and sizes, and those who 'decide' what is quality and what isn't should NOT be left solely to man baby game journalists or the companies who pay them what to think & what to promote.

side note:
"game journalism"; it's like legalised fraud. :)
 
There have been a ton of good handheld games over the years but personally I don't think any of them have been game of the year contenders since the original WarioWare on GBA.
 
Counter question (hint - it's related to the answer to your question): Why don't the best studios and dev teams typically work on handheld games?

If it's a good game on a handheld, it could typically be better on a console. At the end of the day, production values and graphics count towards an overall evaluation.

People also need to get off this weird kick of considering handhelds to also be consoles. They aren't... they're handhelds. When Sony made the PSP people just whined that they were getting console ports instead of handheld experiences (ie - quick pick up/casual games), so its no wonder they don't typically stand up to their console brethren... they aren't designed to.
 
MRORANGE said:
If NeoGAF existed in 98/99 then Pokemon reb/blue would have most likely won.
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Against Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 2, Metal Gear Solid, Starcraft, Thief, Half Life, Fallout 2, Xenogears, Parasite Eve and Banjo & Kazooie? Not a chance. Pretty much every faction of gaf would have voted for one of those games instead. OOT probably would have won.
 
Vilam said:
Counter question (hint - it's related to the answer to your question): Why don't the best studios and dev teams typically work on handheld games?

If it's a good game on a handheld, it could typically be better on a console. At the end of the day, production values and graphics count towards an overall evaluation.

People also need to get off this weird kick of considering handhelds to also be consoles. They aren't... they're handhelds. When Sony made the PSP people just whined that they were getting console ports instead of handheld experiences (ie - quick pick up/casual games), so its no wonder they don't typically stand up to their console brethren... they aren't designed to.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handheld_console

There are plenty of handheld games that would not only not be better on a console, but wouldn't even work. Something like 999 could not work on a console, nor could many games that utilize the hardware like touch screen stuff. Many would argue that such games could be of "console quality" (whatever that means).
 
Balb said:
There have been a ton of good handheld games over the years but personally I don't think any of them have been game of the year contenders since the original WarioWare on GBA.
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It sounds like there's a few number of handheld titles this year that should be considered as contenders. They should be considered more than Tomb Raider at least.
 
Mario and Luigi 4 and Ace Attorney 5 get my vote.
...but people like realistic deep mature story with cinematic presentation over fun gameplay and fun crazy characters I guess.
Kappa
 
Rm88~ said:
Who cares about GOTY anyway? It's usually a super tired, obvious, high-marketing game.
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It helps with defending why I play "kiddy" systems at school. But people have learned to avoid arguing with me, as most of them don't actually know that much.

That's it, it's fun to show people that"kiddy" games are amazing
 
Usually console games are much better at least in my opinion. There are some standouts that should be nominated but I doubt would get much recognition due to being niche and Japanese.
 
Pyscho_Mantis said:
Usually console games are much better at least in my opinion. There are some standouts that should be nominated but I doubt would get much recognition due to being niche and Japanese.
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Lack of mainstream appeal should not harm an otherwise great video game from receiving due recognition, in a perfect world.
 
These days to dramatically improve your chances you need to be:

- A shooter
- Or an open world game
- Cinematic
- Pretty graphics
- Not Japanese

So I repeat, who cares about GOTY?
 
Because the gaming community doesn't take handhelds as serious as they do console games with better production values. There are people in this very thread that dismiss handhelds for one reason or another. If you had asked the general populace in 2005 for example it would have been something like Nintendogs.

If I were to make a list for every year since 2000 I'm sure I could come up with at least one overall GOTY contender that also happens to be handheld exclusive. This year has seen two for me already (Fire Emblem and Zelda) and I haven't even played Bravely Default or Tearaway yet.
 
Portable games probably needs less cash to break even, so they need to pay less advertising, therefore it's not as important as Titanfall to the eyes of game journalists.
 
It may happen eventually, but this year? Consensus is gonna be GTA V or maybe The Last of Us.

There is this feeling that devs have to work around more constraints when developing for a handheld, and it's not entirely unwarranted. It's like working on the equivalent of last-gen hardware. Speaking for myself, even if it's great you can't help but wonder how much better it might be if it were developed for a console with better capability and in many cases (the peculiarities of DS excepted) better control scheme, better online infrastructure, better resolution etc.
 
King Tubby said:
It may happen eventually, but this year? Consensus is gonna be GTA V or maybe The Last of Us.

There is this feeling that devs have to work around more constraints when developing for a handheld, and it's not entirely unwarranted. It's like working on the equivalent of last-gen hardware. Speaking for myself, even if it's great you can't help but wonder how much better it might be if it were developed for a console with better capability and in many cases (the peculiarities of DS excepted) better control scheme, better online infrastructure, better resolution etc.
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Are you wondering how much better GTA V and The Last of Us would be on a 2013 gaming PC?
 
Most major gaming sites just don't have the balls to do it. Some of the best games of the year are usually on handhelds. My GOTY for this year is Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and last year's was Kid Icarus: Uprising.
 
Tookay said:
Not really. The existence of an exception doesn't invalidate the notion that there's a perceptible, general bias against handheld gaming in the western press.
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an exception?
The question is "Why can't a handheld game win Overall Game of the Year?"

and it did.
 
If Fire Emblem Awakening doesn't score any prizes I will be a bit mad, honestly.
Fire Emblem Awakening and LoZ:LBW. Maybe Bravely Default as well.
 
IdreamofHIME said:
an exception?
The question is "Why can't a handheld game win Overall Game of the Year?"

and it did.
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You and I both know that there was an implied definition that a "handheld game" was something designed exclusively for handhelds, and not a PC/console port. Don't play dumb and don't "/thread" over it.

And, besides, the thread is more about the general bias against handheld titles in GOTY nominations; the thread title is just an imperfect summation of that. You'd know that if you had posted beyond just your kneejerk reaction to the thread title though.
 
Anth0ny said:
I hope someone gives it to Zelda. I've already heard a lot of people enjoying it more than Mario (myself included).

But yeah, I have a hard time picturing it winning GOTY over something like TLOU.
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It is better than Mario, IMO.

Link Between Worlds is a wonderful refinement and much needed revamp on Zelda and it's outright better than LttP.

3D World is a pretty good sequel to 3D Land with all the same faults and iffy multiplayer, it's still really good, it just ain't blowing me away, nor is it as good a sequel as ALBW.

Handheld games should totally be up for goty awards, I wouldn't pick them for mine this year but it seems lame to not consider, several great ones this go around
 
Among the most recent handheld games, Virtue's Last Escape was the one which had the ingredients to become the GOTY of at least one publication. And it didn't get anything at the end.

ALTHOUGH (!) Kotaku nominated it (2012).

Virtue%27s_Last_Reward_3DS_Boxart.jpg
 
Not enough high-budget western eye-candy AAA cinematic TPS with or without Zombies or open world structure

the 3DS has constantly delivered great games throughout the year, more so than any home console imo

and Vita got Tearaway <3
 
There isn't same kind of advertisement money to be had with handheld games, so of course the gaming sites aren't going to pick them. But luckily to gaming public these GOTY awards are meaningless. Who the hell cares if the game you played earlier this year won a GOTY award or not...
 
pachuco said:
i-blame-the-whites-thumb.jpg


Just like female game reviewers being unable to write about games without the fear of being taken out behind the chemical shed and skinned alive, once gamers growup then we can start to have nice things again.

Until then, we live in a world where EA is the worst corporation in America instead of Monsanto, Bank of America, BP, etc. That was a hell of an ending to Mass Effect 3, if it beat out genetically modified foods that are leading us towards that WALL-E future, morgage backed securities that brought most of the world to it's knees, or a company that caused one of the biggest oil spills since the Exxon Valdez.

When we all grow up, it'll be better.
Click to expand...
What the fuck? Am I high right now?
 
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