No doubt that Fallout 4 will take many many honors when it releases. For me it will be game of the decade. My wife said just the other day:

"When does Fallout 4 come out again?"

"November 10th honey"

"I'm going to miss you..."

I agree it's had a major impact. A negative one. In fact, if I were to sum up what was wrong with Dragon Age: Inquisition I'd say that it was trying (and failing) to be Skyrim. But, since Skyrim was a major (indeed, astronomical) financial success, I suspect that I look for something different in games than many gamers, which is also probably why I don't find many AAA titles appealing.

so your blaming the decision a seprate studio made because of the success of another? I mean thats how it works isn't it? If a game is succeful studios use or make certain decisions based on what worked on that game.

Yet, if AAA game development was as simple as copying 'x', then there would be 20 games vying for GOTY,

Technology, player expectations and competition are all moving targets.

To a certain extent. The developers of BioWare frequently cited Skyrim specifically as an inspiration, and it's quite visible in game. But they bungled their attempt at an "open-world"--the areas are still limited in scope (simply larger than in the past) and yet are also very empty. Also, their attempt to introduce steeds was even more poorly implemented than Skyrim's or even Oblivion's. Of course, DA:I also has many problems that aren't a result of Skyrim's influence--bad gameplay, simplified RPG mechanics (despite that this was also a problem in Skyrim, I'm pretty certain that these problems are independent of each other), and a weak story (also a common but independent problem with Skyrim), for example. That DA:I was one of BioWare's weakest games to date cannot solely be blamed on Skyrim, of course; that's not what I'm saying. But some of the game's poorer features certainly bear the stamp of Skyrim's influence as directly cited by the developers. When a game sells as well as Skyrim, its competitors will naturally take notice.

(On something of a tangent, BioWare is often criticized for the linearity of their games, citing open-world model of The Elder Scrolls as an alternative. Personally, I think there's nothing wrong with a linear game; both linear and open-world games have their advantages and disadvantages. BioWare has always been better at linear or semi-linear stories, and I personally think they should stick with that instead of trying to compete with Bethesda.)

Witcher 3 was great, but has no replayability. Fallout 4 not only has mods to expand the scope of the game, but this time built in its own game extension with the town building thing. It's going to be hard to beat, unless the game somehow does not deliver.

Both games were very good and I enjoyed both games a lot. Not everyone liked those games and that is fine since there is no game that is loved by everyone.

I think for me GOTY will be Rebel Galaxy by Double Damage Games based on the few videos I have seen when it was in press release beta a few months ago. The game will be out Oct 20th so a few weeks I will find out. Fallout 4 likely will be in contention for me as well.

My personal game of the year last year would hands down be Transistor; this year's top contender so far is Pillars of Eternity. Next year's I'm already calling as Silence: The Whispered World II.

Last Year it was likely DA:I since I think that was the only game I bought last year which was new. Since most of the games I but are usually a few years old. This year not so much since I do now have an X1 and I need a few games for that system.

The dated graphics, dated creation engine, map same size as Skyrim, voiced protagonist that is combined with bethesda known history of lacking writing skills, I'm leaning that it won't be Goty since Witcher 3 delivered greatly.

I played Witcher 3... for about 2 hours tops and haven't picked it up since. The cutscenes were probably the biggest drawback for me. I like being able to click along the dialog as I often read it faster than it is spoken, and the lack of an option to do this is just one of many reasons I disliked the game. I tried to like it as I think Geralt could be a fascinating character, but the game just wasn't for me. So with that said, every time I read a rave review of Witcher while denigrating BGS games it makes me chuckle. Fallout 4 will win many GoTY awards, and I predict it will be far more than Witcher 3 wins.

It's a joke if one tries to discern any objective quality or merit from such an award.IMO GOTY awards are in essence, opinion polls that offer an insight into the gaming sphere and what people value at any given time (interesting but nothing more).

I agree with this.

Sadly Fallout 4 is a game almost beyond criticism, pardoned at every opportunity. Evidenced by the fact that BGS is one of the few developers to not get excoriated for their bugs, while Arkham Knight was ridiculed and is soon to be forgotten for the same faltering.

It's almost predictable the flaws Fallout 4 may have, but whether FO4 is flawed or flawless it will be the consensus game of the year largely due to hype and successful marketing.

Edit:

Personally I hope Life is Strange garners some attention and wins a GOTY award, I love the Fallout series but I doubt Fallout 4 will be able to engender such an emotional and poignant experience; even with Bethesda's increasing focus on 'emotional beats'.

To be fair, Skyrim did get raked across the coals quite a bit for the cluster that was the PS3 version. Not NEARLY enough in my opinion, but I do remember quite a few news outlets speaking very critical of Bethesda's shoddy workmanship, poor communication skills, and false claims about the game's performance on the system for a longer period of time than Arkham Knight's shaming.

Personally I think Fallout will do well and for me it will be GOTY. Plus with PS4 seemingly winning the console war. I think that Bethesda will have more or less the same quality release on all 3 platforms. All that including the improvements they are making with the system, and the voice actors which I think will help the story's a lot. I figure we are in for a game that is on a whole other level from what they have done in the past.

As far as The Witcher 3 goes. I found it to be unplayable. It seemed as if its most early systems were designed more to get in the way of the player rather than to be enjoyable. I just don't have the time to play a game that isnt fun at least within the first few days of gameplay. I in fact just sold it to fund the Nathan Drake Collection..... Best decision I ever made with that farce of a video game. I will however read the wiki for the story just in case there is anything interesting.

The only Uncharted game I've ever played was the third one. Easily one of the most miserable experiences in my entire life of gaming.

Surprised to see some dislike of Witcher 3 in here. Before playing Witcher 3, the only game that ever emotionally moved me was Majora's Mask when Link parted ways with Skull kid, Tatl, and Tael. Even though it was just text, the eerie silence, the parting words of the happy mask salesmen, the carving in the stump, and Tatl's whispered thank you, really wrapped that game up nicely.

In Witcher 3, the ending slides really tied up Geralt's adventure, and it was nice touch to see how, conversationally, you could instill confidence in Ciri and ultimately guide her towards the right path. The game instilled a deep sense that Ciri was the daughter that Geralt always wanted but never had. It didn't just tell you that that was the case, it reinforced it and I ultimately ended up really caring for Ciri in the end. It's the kind of ending that's needed for such an epic journey (Witcher 1-3), and very few games can really end a story arc on a high note like that.

Unless Fallout 4's story can emotionally move me, Witcher 3 is my GOTY for 2015.

Witcher 3 was a good game, but it never drew me in enough to buy the DLC. After finishing the main line, I could never get motivated enough to finish the few remaining side quests.

Now, MGS5 will carry me until Fallout 4 comes out. Maybe. MB and FOB maxed, all development done, and I don't like the ending well enough to get there.

The Fallout 4 Season pass I will buy, and expect to keep playing for multiple years. Until ES 6 probably. Nobody beats Bethesda for hours of pleasure per dollar spent.

Out of curiosity, how old are you? Also, what do you mean by "emotionally move" you? Do you mean at all? Because it seems odd that you'd keep playing games if they didn't make you feel anything. If you mean literal crying, that's a bit of a rarity for me too, and is mostly, if not exclusively, limited to games from Japanese developers.

I remember hanging out in Kakariko Village in A Link to the Past, just to listen to its https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw1O6-LjfeA. It was so gentle and soothing. Then, after you get the Master Sword, the music in Kakariko becomes just like the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR5CUynSSis in the majority of the over world. I remember that had a profound impact on me, even though I was no older than four when I played it. It just became clear to me that the world was no longer the same, and that the innocence and peace wouldn't return until I beat the game.

Fallout 4 will likely win GOTY, simply because its a Bethesda game, and each one has gotten more awards then the last.

MGS5 and Witcher 3 are the only really serious competition I can think of, but I don't see them winning for various reasons.

I'm 24. Emotional for me is moved to tears but not crying. It's really a general feeling of deep satisfaction with how something ends. The only thing that ever made me fully cry was the first 20 minutes of Up.

I played Majora's mask when I was around 10 or 12, hard to remember, but I was very young. Only playing it much later did it get a better emotional reaction from me because I was more emotionally developed and mature. I can't really describe the feeling that Witcher 3 left in me outside of me needing to take a moment and just take in what had happened. *Spoilers ahead* When Ciri said farewell Geralt at the end it was a blast to the past and a deep reminder of Tael's farewell to Link in Majora's mask. Everything just felt right at that moment.

eh, dont care too much for GOTY. Will it get at least one? of course.

But GOTY is like vehicle of the year. Some may choose a sedan, others may prefer a pickup or ute or a family car. People will prefer different vehicles for different uses and some may prefer one brand over another. With games you have all these different gamers with different tastes, so how can one just be better than all the rest? I personally think MGS V is crap and dont enjoy it. Others feel the same about every single other game released this year and years before.

At the end of the day, as long as I enjoy the game, I dont give two [censored] as to what any other person on this Earth thinks.

This is an interesting one, members of this forum are probably too invested in the series (myself included) to truly be able to judge what the wider customer base reaction will be.

If you look at other games releasing near Fallout 4's launch window, so: Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5, Star Wars Battlefront, etc. I'd say all of them have put out more trailers, more gameplay and more interviews than Bethesda.

Honestly, I'd be surprised if Bethesda didn't have the smallest marketing team compared to Ubisoft, Square Enix, Microsoft and EA.

Heck, Bethesda are putting out short interviews from E3 and it's huge news.
They share the game's file size and it's huge news.

For all the hype no-one is guaranteed a GOTY or consensus GOTY, as JHE says very well, 'GOTY awards are in essence, opinion polls that offer an insight into the gaming sphere and what people value at any given time' and yes, to me that's fascinating.

But in my opinion, the marketing, though that has been very well handled, isn't the whole story.

Wait, are you saying that they prefer an unfinished game game over one done 10 times better? I think I want to leave Italy now.

Oh, and, Life Is Strange GOTY forever.

Good to know I'm not the only one!

It's not just that, people love Bethesda games, so much that they'd be ready to buy any of their games, without caring about the flaws (I mean, how many people fell in love with using horses to climb cliffs and putting buckets in people's heads?): like everyone says, ''mods will fix it'': but if you need mods, then there's actually something to fix...