Microsoft hasn't had a multi GOTY-winning critical darling since 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved

dom · Jul 26, 2019

Here are the multiple GOTY winners from Microsoft with how many awards the game won and the percentage of total awards for that year.
2014
Sunset Overdrive - 5 1.22%
Forza Horizon 2 - 4 0.98

2012
Halo 4 - 20 5.19%

2011
Gears of War 3 - 5 1.24%

2010
Halo Reach - 4 1.37%

2008
Gears of War 2 - 8 3.92%
Fable II - 8 2.94%

2007
Halo 3 - 6 3.8%
Mass Effect - 4 2.53%

2006
Gears of War - 34 30.09%

2004
Halo 2 - 11 20%

Ohri-Jin · Jul 26, 2019

RedSparrows said:
So 'GOTY' is about emotions, and emotions only come from story. Got it. Why is 'wowed' purely down to story? Why is emotion purely down to storytelling? Surely you don't mean that? Why is this so limited? Why am I still here?

This is my take on it and my opinion. First of all it depends on how much empathy and apatahy an individual has and imagination.

So movies = Passive Media
games = Interactive Media.

Only games and VR games can suck you in and put you in control. It makes you believe you are in control and it is up to you to finish the goal and purpose of the game.

The game with the best implementation of purpose = satisfying.
I think story and emotional investment and all that jazz are just tools you CAN use, but in general it is about PURPOSE.
(the fact why you play games is a total different story altogether)

Like what is the goal of the game. What is the story about. How much in control are you? WHat are your options. Without purpose it is just chaos. You need to be moved.

IMHO I think this is why Gaming has trencended passive media and will continue to do so, until we can play games like Sword Art Online or Ready Player One etc.. of course this is just my own take.

Fisty · Jul 26, 2019

Rodelero said:
Perhaps Microsoft's new push with first party will make the difference, but their games haven't actually been getting better thus far. If anything the last period has been about as bad as ever.

I looked it up for another thread the other day, but only two Microsoft first party games this generation have a 90 or above on metacritic, FH3 and FH4. If that isn't dire, I really dont know what else you could call dire. Sony had three 90+ last year alone

Canucked · Jul 26, 2019

I am old and my memory is going but I remember Halo 3 being an EVENT.

Loveless · Jul 26, 2019

Ohri-Jin said:
It's not about GOTY's.
It's not about SALES.

It's about MAU and engagement. Also why isn't Mass Effect on that list? How outrageous. HUmphhh..

Sounds exactly like Microsoft's PR.

Cipherr · Jul 26, 2019

kpaadet said:
How is that any different from movies? How many scifi or horror movies have won best picture?

How is this a response? How many of us complain about the fact that scifi, horror and especially animated films don't win those awards? We do it all the time on offtopic? Why are the flaws of the film industry the 'standard' for the gaming industry? You don't find that absurd? Its wrong in film, and its wrong in gaming.

Seahawk64 · Jul 26, 2019

I enjoyed Forza Horizon 3&4 more than half of the games on that list.
Both are 90+ on MC.

So I'm good.

Loxley · Jul 26, 2019

Much like literally every other kind of award for popular media, GOTY awards should not be used as some definitive measurement of any game's quality or impact.

SuikerBrood · Jul 26, 2019

Age of Empires has to solve this.

Jiraiya · Jul 26, 2019

Phantom Thief said:
Speaking for myself, the answer is their services and value offering is fantastic. Of my favorite or most played Xbox One games, a grand total of zero are MS first party efforts.

And controller. I can align with your reasons though. I also think my most played would be third party. I can't really say it's a bad thing too...i don't even take advantage of Sony's efforts save for their top franchises. Hhmm..

rusty chrome · Jul 26, 2019

Cipherr said:
You aren't wrong. But the fact that this is true reflects poorly on the gaming industry IMO. VERY poorly. That there truly exists a silent "genre lock" on GOTY awards is absolutely embarrassing.

Yeah, I think it'll always be a RPG, an action shooter, or just something open world.

A racer would have to be extremely unique to even be considered. Definitely not something like Gran Turismo or Forza.

kpaadet · Jul 26, 2019

Cipherr said:
How is this a response? How many of us complain about the fact that scifi, horror and especially animated films don't win those awards? We do it all the time on offtopic? Why are the flaws of the film industry the 'standard' for the gaming industry? You don't find that absurd? Its wrong in film, and its wrong in gaming.

Could it be that some genre are just more niche than others? I don't like racing games, therefore I would never pick it as my GOTY. Is that wrong?

Deleted member 249 · Jul 26, 2019

Jiraiya said:
And controller. I can align with your reasons though. I also think my most played would be third party. I can't really say it's a bad thing too...i don't even take advantage of Sony's efforts save for their top franchises. Hhmm..

Yeah their controller is incredible too (though this generation I feel all three have great controllers).

Raijinto · Jul 26, 2019

I mean Nintendo only have one game on that list too. What's the conclusion there? That Galaxy 1/2, Xenoblade Chronicles, Smash Ultimate, Fire Emblem whichever were all not worthy and Nintendo also need to up their game?

I think 'consensus GOTY' is kinda silly. Microsoft have released many great games this gen, never mind like nearly 20 years.

Deleted member 249 · Jul 26, 2019

Raijinto said:
I mean Nintendo only have one game on that list too. What's the conclusion there? That Galaxy 1/2, Xenoblade Chronicles, Smash Ultimate, Fire Emblem whichever were all not worthy and Nintendo also need to up their game?

I think 'consensus GOTY' is kinda silly. Microsoft have released many great games this gen, never mind like nearly 20 years.

But what was the last GOTY caliber game they released? Because since Halo 3, I don't think they have done that.

DailyCalmSpirit · Jul 26, 2019

Cipherr said:
You aren't wrong. But the fact that this is true reflects poorly on the gaming industry IMO. VERY poorly. That there truly exists a silent "genre lock" on GOTY awards is absolutely embarrassing.

It's not only a gaming industry issue. The last comedy to win best picture was Annie Hall in 1977.

Some genres just don't hit the general public the way others do. It's just the way it is.

SuikerBrood · Jul 26, 2019

Phantom Thief said:
But what was the last GOTY caliber game they released? Because since Halo 3, I don't think they have done that.

This generation only Forza Horizon 3 & 4 and Ori and the Blind Forest come close.

Phendrift · Jul 26, 2019

bane833 said:
No, not necessarily story. BotW has the same shitty story as every other Zelda game and yet it easily won 2017. It can be as much about characters, setting, atmosphere or just the world building in general.

I mean yes. I am a gameplay first person but contexualization of that gameplay needs to be in place for.

I actually don't need a strong, ever present plot. Just an interesting world, lore, characters. Great and expressive art style, music. BotW has all of those.

It's true that most racing, sports games etc. don't have that and that's why they're never really on my GOTY list

Rikucrafter · Jul 26, 2019

I'd absolutely love if Fable 4 could be this game.

Komo · Jul 26, 2019

So GOTY sorta means nothing now or then. I couldn't count how many times I heard or saw GOTY on a game back then.

Raijinto · Jul 26, 2019

Phantom Thief said:
But what was the last GOTY caliber game they released? Because since Halo 3, I don't think they have done that.

Well I really, really like Cuphead and Ori and the Blind Forest. They are certainly very recent. Lots of people also like Forza Horizons which I haven't played as much as I'd have liked but from what little I have I certainly don't doubt their qualities either. It's admittedly not a long list but again Ori 2 is out next year and that might be the most exciting confirmed 2020 game for me ATM.

I'm not saying it's great overall but this seems far too... arbitrary and inconclusive a premise for this discussion. Like few people would argue against the Galaxy games being platforming perfection yet they might as well not exist according to that list since they released in very, very competitive years. Kinda why lists are frowned upon in general I think.

Cipherr · Jul 26, 2019

kpaadet said:
Could it be that some genre are just more niche than others? I don't like racing games, therefore I would never pick it as my GOTY. Is that wrong?

Plenty of genres are Niche. Racing isn't one of them. And yes, it would be wrong if you were a reviewer choosing GOTY awards and you refused to consider entire genres of games based on their genres alone. I would hope if that was the case you would at least inform your viewers of that bias so they would know to ignore or take into account the fact that several games in the runnings quality doesn't actually matter due to their genre.

DailyCalmSpirit said:
It's not only a gaming industry issue. The last comedy to win best picture was Annie Hall in 1977.

Some genres just don't hit the general public the way others do. It's just the way it is.

I dont challenge that its more than an gaming industry issue. I just challenge that genres like Racing are Niche, and that the "General Publics" reception matters here. I don't think it does. MKWii sold 35+ million copies, and theres countless hugely grossing films the public like and drove up the box office charts that would never be considered for those awards.

I think its ridiculous.

BioDigital Jazzman · Jul 26, 2019

Goty awards have be on useless recently because essentially everybody is sucking the dick of certain genres of games is read if actually looking deeper. That's why I fuck with giantbomb. Where else is into the breach or Tetris effect going to get major goty hype. I swear people don't play many genre of games and try to just vote on the 3 things they played

Imo a racing game, point and click adventure, multiplayer shooter etc can all be goty

The oscars are bull shit for a reason. Don't turn games into that

tutomos · Jul 26, 2019

The ResetEra community has spoken.

ResetEra Games of the Year Awards 2018

OVERALL | GENRE | PLATFORM | CENSUS | DATA Notes: Big thanks to Muzy, BeardedMan01, Rösti, OneAndOnly, Hecht, ratrosaw and all of the site staff for assisting in this year's GOTY effort. This year's trophy was designed and created by Rösti. Thank you community for voting and commenting...

www.resetera.com

ResetEra Games of the Year Awards 2017

OVERALL | GENRE | PLATFORM | CENSUS | FULL DATA Notes A special thank you to the amazing team behind this year's GOTY voting: BeardedMan01 and Muzy who helped with ballots, Hecht and OneAndOnly who created the scripts for vote counting and tabulation, ratrosaw for creating VoteBot, Rösti who...

www.resetera.com

In the GOTY threads for the last two years, Sony and Nintendo alternate between 1st and 2nd for best publisher, while Microsoft is 12th in 2018 and not on the list in 2017.

Edgar · Jul 26, 2019

BioDigital Jazzman said:
Goty awards have be on useless recently because essentially everybody is sucking the dick of certain genres of games is read if actually looking deeper. That's why I fuck with giantbomb. Where else is into the breach or Tetris effect going to get major goty hype. I swear people don't play many genre of games and try to just vote on the 3 things they played

Imo a racing game, point and click adventure, multiplayer shooter etc can all be goty

The oscars are bull shit for a reason. Don't turn games into thay

Giant bomb is as biased towards particular genres and types of games as other publications are towards narrative driven stuff. The only difference is that they like and talk about games you like. That's it

ThisIsBlitz21 · Jul 26, 2019

I mean its nigh impossible to win consensus goty unless youre in the few mainstream genres.

No matter how good Forza is, or how good AoE 4 turns out to be, they aint winning anything.
Ori 2 might take a couple but its not gonna have a chance of majority, for sure.

And while first party had been lackluster, this "consensus goty" is the thing they have to worry least about. It means very little.

tutomos · Jul 26, 2019

BioDigital Jazzman said:
Goty awards have be on useless recently because essentially everybody is sucking the dick of certain genres of games is read if actually looking deeper. That's why I fuck with giantbomb. Where else is into the breach or Tetris effect going to get major goty hype. I swear people don't play many genre of games and try to just vote on the 3 things they played

ResetEra did give props to Into the Breach and Tetris Effect. #11 and #13 on 2018's GOTY thread.

DriftingSpirit · Jul 26, 2019

RedSparrows said:
So 'GOTY' is about emotions, and emotions only come from story. Got it. Why is 'wowed' purely down to story? Why is emotion purely down to storytelling? Surely you don't mean that? Why is this so limited? Why am I still here?

It just needs to have a lasting impact. How each game goes about doing that will vary.

Halo was once a GotY contender/winner and I think that was more because of the MP and how it really stuck with folk. Never mind the impact it had on MP gaming in general.

Karateka · Jul 26, 2019

Ohri-Jin said:
Well I never played Bioshock myself, but yeah.. Some years games can TIE in a sense imho when it comes to GOTY.
Also I think everyone knows ME isn;t an MS game, but I am failing to see your point in that regard? Am I missing something here lol? :p

Mass effect was published by MS... How is it not a MS game?

Deleted member 41520 · Jul 26, 2019

Silky said:
Go bathe

Did a spit take at this comeback

Ohri-Jin · Jul 26, 2019

Karateka said:
Mass effect was published by MS... How is it not a MS game?

Yeah but made by Bioware and MS never owned Bioware right? I know the game was exclusive at the time, but still. Maybe at the time you could claim it was a MS game sure. Like Splinter Cell?

Meg Cherry · Jul 26, 2019

Karateka said:
Mass effect was published by MS... How is it not a MS game?

Because it's generally liked by Era, and thus could in no way be associated with Microsoft?

OldBenKenobi · Jul 26, 2019

Halo 2 and 3 were my personal GOTY for their respective years.

I still can't fathom how many hours I put into those two games my late teens through my early college days and mid twenties.

Angie · Jul 26, 2019

Neat

SuikerBrood · Jul 26, 2019

So… Microsoft's best years were without a GOTY winning game? ;) (The 360 time)

Neat · Jul 26, 2019

Pryme said:
Based on your list, Halo 3 was 'overshadowed' by Bioshock. Lol.

Not my list, but even I'd say that Halo 3 didn't quite have the same splash as BioShock did.

Angie22 said:
Neat

Hahaha

SuikerBrood said:
So… Microsoft's best years were without a GOTY winning game? ;) (The 360 time)

Lots of great games but no killer first party offering I'd say.

ThisThingIsUseful · Jul 26, 2019

Mushroomer25 said:
Again, it largely tied UC4 in total GOTYs. It won more GOTYs than the vast majority of games on this list. It's only excluded from this list, because of the arbitrary decision that the top GOTY winner is part of the list.

Putting the top GOTY game as the one with the most GOTY wins is as not arbitrary as I can think.

Servbot24 · Jul 26, 2019

Kyle Barrett said:
Just bizarre how many Naughty Dog games are there. While other games are focusing on improving the "gameplay" of their games, Naughty Dog relies on telling stories fantastically and that continually resonates with people.

Obviously they've improved the gameplay of their games, but they're still pretty reliably a 3rd person shooter that is completely dependent on it's story telling chops.

For the record I am 100% on board with that.

Also Naughty Dog gameplay is really underrated. Not the absolute top tier, but still tons of fun.

Paz · Jul 26, 2019

Dragon age inquisition being on the list in the OP invalidates the very concept of this thread being meaningful imo.

efr · Jul 26, 2019

You can flip this to the other console makers too, even PC storefronts and developers. There's just a lot of great games released every year.
Sony hasn't had a GOTY not made by Naughty Dog besides God of War in this time frame.
Nintendo hasn't had a GOTY besides BOTW in the same time frame.
Valve hasn't had a GOTY since HL2
Lots of third party games that are on all three consoles along with a few that were console exclusive until recently.

I understand the questionable Microsoft output, but Nintendo has a larger output of games with less GOTYs % and Sony has 1 without Naughty Dog.

Karateka · Jul 26, 2019

Ohri-Jin said:
Yeah but made by Bioware and MS never owned Bioware right? I know the game was exclusive at the time, but still. Maybe at the time you could claim it was a MS game sure. Like Splinter Cell?

Splinter cell was never published by ms afaik and Mass effect was. Mass effect was a ms game just like sunset overdrive was or just like any ready at dawn game or game like detroit become human is a sony game. They paid a significant amount to fund its development and had people from MS working on the game in partnership.

TheUnsungHero26 · Jul 26, 2019

Ohri-Jin said:
Yeah but made by Bioware and MS never owned Bioware right? I know the game was exclusive at the time, but still. Maybe at the time you could claim it was a MS game sure. Like Splinter Cell?

Nah, Splinter Cell is a Ubisoft game. Mass Effect is a game that was published/funded by Microsoft and developed by BioWare. It's part of their output as a publisher. It's the same way you would say that Spider-Man is a Sony game.

behOemoth · Jul 26, 2019

Denamitea said:
The same list implies Nintendo has only had one in the last 18 years, too, which is even more crazy though.

Nintendo ok the other Hand had extreme critical heavy hitters like Galaxy.

jotun? · Jul 26, 2019

To make up for it they bought Minecraft, game of the decade

Piston · Jul 26, 2019

Microsoft has had a blind spot in the true AAA action/narrative genres that tend to win these awards for a while, but I think Cuphead and Ori both came away with a few GOTY wins. Forza is not something I would play, but they are consistent, high-scoring games that theoretically should be in the running if racing games were ever considered at the end of the year.

We have known this though. That is why they are buying up studios left and right to find some prestige of their own beyond the Halo franchise.

Martinski · Jul 26, 2019

Goty awards obviously favours narrative heavy driven games only Botw being an outlier recently. Which is kinda bullshit when games such as Dark Souls gets completely glossed over even though it has been massive when it comes to inspiring new types of ideas in games.

That's when you question how relevant a "consensus goty" is. It's kinda same bullshit as when the oscars pick that Shakespeare movie over Saving Private Ryan .. examples are almost endless but anyway. Grammys are problematic in the same way lol

Karateka · Jul 26, 2019

Also 2007 was a crazy year... The fact that halo 3 has like a 94% metacritic but only 6(which is multiple) gotys is crazy.

And to be fair turn 10 or playground has one racing goty like every year even when a granturismo game has co e out since like forza 4.

Rosebud · Jul 26, 2019

One of these things is not like the others

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dabi3 · Jul 26, 2019

Pryme said:
Based on your list, Halo 3 was 'overshadowed' by Bioshock. Lol.

Well... yeah... BioShock was the better game.

Betty · Jul 26, 2019

If Gears 5's campaign is as good as many hope it could be GOTY worthy.

Microsoft hasn't had a multi GOTY-winning critical darling since 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved

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