I enjoy watching various game sites 'call' their Game Of The Year (GOTY)

it's kind of like the oscars in that it is really not a very scientific or accurate process, but it's fun to watch.

No, this thread is not intended to take these things too seriously...

With Fallout 4 not out yet, whether it will become the consensus winner remains to be seen, among tough competition,

but I thought I'd report on the results as they come in over the next few months.

The best source of information is the http://gotypicks.blogspot.co.uk/ which lists the GOTY awards from the various review sites.

Around 400 media outlets award a GOTY, between October and March, (about 3/4 reviewers choice and 1/4 players polls)

and the one that gets most is generally regarded as the 'consensus GOTY winner'.

(Though that doesn't stop anyone with at least one GOTY, releasing a GOTY edition)

So I thought I'd share when Fallout 4 gets a GOTY and keep tabs on the score...

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So first media outlet to declare GOTY is the Italian http://www.panorama.it/mytech/videogiochi/i-migliori-videogame-del-2015-top-10-e-video/#gallery-0=slide-11.

Fallout 4 clearly not in contention yet, interesting to see Metal Gear Solid V beat The Witcher 3 as far as those Italians are concerned.

Score:

1: Metal Gear Solid V

0: Everyone else

interesting, always wondered where those GOTY editions were getting the GOTY title from

And more than one game can legitimately release one.

Although Dragon Age Inquisition topped the chart with 134 GOTYs, releasing a GOTY edition (6th Oct)

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, came second with 49 GOTYs and also released its own GOTY edition back in May.

GOTY editions don't seem to be Nintendo's thing (Kario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros both with 28 GOTYs)

Far Cry 4 could have released a GOTY edition I suppose with 26 GOTYs but instead called it a 'Complete Edition'.

i think witcher 3,bloodborne,fallout ,and halo 5 are all games that have goty awards written all over them

blood borne best sony game i have played this year on the console.

what i have seen going on with halo 5 i think best xbox game this year.

and other two are just gonna have deathmatch i think for awards.

i think batman got punked buy Pc thing that whent on.

also im sure metal gear will get alot awards aswell no my cup of tea but looks fantastic .

Metal Gear Solid 5 is in the running for GOTY for me, and I've never even particular liked the Metal Gear series. But MGSV is so FUN.

Of course, Fallout 4 is going to be my GOTY when the chips fall, because it is going to consume my life on previously unheard of levels. My time in Bethesda open world games seems to be doubling with each release. It's kind of scary. Oblivion 200 hours. Fallout 3 450 hours. Skyrim 800 hours. Fallout 4 .... 1500 hours?!

I still think Fallout 4 will be the consensus GOTY, but it won't win by a significant margin IMO.it has redoubtable opponents such as the Witcher 3 and MSG V in direct competition, but this year there's such a depth of great games that may win the odd game of the year, such as:

Pillars of Eternity, Until Dawn, Life is Strange (my personal GOTY), bloodborn, Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocket League etc.

As it stands right now - Witcher 3 has my vote. Once I finally get the chance to sink my teeth into Fallout 4 there is a strong chance it could usurp TW3 as king of 2015, we'll see. TW3 has given me hours upon hours of enjoyment with more to come with NG+ and the Hearts of Stone expansion releasing Oct. 13th. Even if it becomes a stalemate in my mind, that's something I'm content with, considering my love for both game series. At the end of the day I'm confident that I'll absolutely love FO4 and that it will win plenty of GOTY awards, same goes for TW3.

One things for sure - It's going to be a heated debate with tough decisions come voting time for a lot of these game publications and sites, then of course you have the gamer polls. I've never been a big fan of MGS, I look forward to going back through the entire series before playing MGS V, what little I do know is that this will certainly help me out with the convoluted story from what I've heard. I only have a gaming PC so I cannot say anything for or against Bloodborne, however, I have heard good things about that game, particularly if you're a Dark/Demon souls fan. Ultimately I think it will come down to a battle between TW3, FO4 and MGS V. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'd love to see CD Projekt Red win or a large portion of the voting. They deserve all of the praise and accolades that come their way. * Not that BGS doesn't deserve it.

Don't bother. Trust me. Won't help. The Metal Gear Solid story is as convoluted and confusing as ever. MGSV is nothing like the other games anyway. Watch a summary video on Youtube of the previous games and dive in.

Thanks for the information and your advice. I'm for the most part the kind of gamer that has to go back and play the originals/prequels, it almost feels like I'm cheating/cheating myself. Which no kind of summary can take the place of experiencing a game on your own IMO. I've been meaning to buy the MGS collection for awhile now, between not having the extra funds, so many excellent current games to play combined with my already stacked backlog! There are far worse predicaments to be in! Fortunately I have a lot of great games to look forward to.

With out-dated engine Fallout 4 does not stand chance with Witcher 3 , unfortunatly. I doubt story will be better written too in Fallout ...so .,, NO GOTY for Fallout 4

i will take you up on that and do just that next summer when zero games to play again MGS V will fill that hole.

Cheers.

I think Phantom Pain, on top of being a great game in its own right, will gain some sympathy points due to the cluster that is Konami apparently trying to ruin it and run off Hideo Kojima, even if it lacked a proper ending.

The basics of the Big Boss storyline (MGS3, Portable Ops [possibly], Peacewalker, Ground Zeroes, and Phantom Pain) is fairly straight forward, as are Metal Gear-Metal Gear Solid. It's when you start getting into all the sprawling continuity things series wide (and Metal Gear Solid 2 in general) that things get really confusing.

He believes it,seems to like to poo poo on anything thats not Fallout 1 and 2

Fallout 4 will definetly be my GOTY... Hands down. I can feel it in the force. Arkham Knight was dissapointing, honestly. I mostly enjoyed TW3, mostly. I am currently really enjoying MGS5... Not for the story, I'm not 100% sure what's happening but the gameplay is amazingly fun...

When games like Skyrim and Dragon Age: Inquisition win "Game of the Year," it's not a title I take very seriously. But I expect that Fallout 4 will win many of its own. I think FO4 has a chance to be a decent game; Bethesda has bad writers but they're not generally incompetent game designers. I suppose time will tell.

Wait... people actually take Game Of The Year titles seriously? It's a joke, really.

Well, in my opinion it is neither a joke, nor is it deadly serious.

It's not a scientific assessment, but there are more than enough data points for this collective poll to have meaning.

Individual sites may vote based on a range of reasons both commercial and political, but the consensus across hundreds of sites will usually win out.

The 'winner' can be as much about the studio, the mood of consumer taste or the subject matter, as the technical competence of the game itself.

Whilst I very much enjoyed Dragon Age Inquisition last year and like much of what BioWare do,
I'd recognise that last year's GOTY (and a win is a win) was a bit of an 'open goal' in a year with some high profile duds...

This year however is going to be quite a tussle and that makes it much more interesting, regardless of the outcome.

I think it's going to be a close call between 3 or 4 games.

For all its flaws, Skyrim was undoubtedly the "Game of the Year." It was the most talked-about game of the year and even now 4 years later is the game all open-world games are compared to. You may love it or hate it, but Skyrim's impact on the game industry was huge.

If Skyrim has released a little later (which some would argue it should have been)

then 2nd place Portal 2 could well have been 2011 GOTY and Skyrim would have had to tussle with The Walking Dead, which I think it would have successfully done.

Thanks for the info! I was always baffled about the astounding number of GOTY titles out there, lol.