(UPDATE: More Outlets Added)
Are you also tired about reading other people’s 2007 Game Of The Year lists?
Do you yearn to learn something of greater significance?
Well then I’d like to tell you what the Game Of The Game Of The Year is for 2007. See, in gaming, all accolades are measured as averages. So it is with Metacritic. So it is with the GOTGOTY. It matters not what any single outlet chose as the 2007 Game Of They Year winner was. It matters what, on average, they picked as GOTY.
You will find that out below. And then you will commend us on the wisdom of this new system.
So never mind that everyone isn’t done naming their GOTYs. I am sorry, Game Developers Choice awards, but I can’t wait until late February. I apologize, Interactive Achievement Awards. Early February is too soon as well. My best wishes to the Game Critics Game Of The Year Awards, for which even I participated. EGM, I’m sure you’ll announce your winners someday.
But time’s up and the law of averages is kicking in.
So, which 2007 video game was awarded GOTY status the most times? It was a close call…
The 2007 GOTY Winners
The Associated Press picked: “BioShock”
Destructoid picked: “BioShock”
Gamasutra picked: “Portal”
Game Daily picked: “Call of Duty 4″
Game Informer: “BioShock”
Gamepro picked: “Call of Duty 4″
Gamespot picked: “Super Mario Galaxy”
Gamespy picked: “Call of Duty 4″
Game Trailers picked: “Super Mario Galaxy”
IGN picked: “Super Mario Galaxy”
Joystiq picked: “Portal”
Kotaku picked: “Super Mario Galaxy”
The Los Angeles Times picked: “BioShock”
The Rocky Mountain News‘ Brian Crecente (aka editor of Kotaku) picked: “Call of Duty 4″
MTV Games picked: “Super Mario Galaxy”
MTV News (aka me) picked: “Desktop Tower Defense”
The New York Times picked: “Mass Effect”
Playboy picked: “BioShock”
The San Francisco Chronicle picked: ‘BioShock”
The Spike TV Video Game awards picked: “BioShock”
Time magazine picked: “Halo 3″
UGO — just barely — picked: “BioShock”
X-Play picked: “BioShock”
Yahoo picked: “Super Mario Galaxy”
***
Tally that up. Notice which game appeared the most times. That game is… “BioShock.” Ladies and gentlemen, that is your GOTGOTY. Anyone who picked anything else… just so you know, your vote was in vain. Mine too.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Why not just take the highest metascore of the year? I think that would put the plumber on top, though that wasn’t my pick either.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I think Metacritic pretty sums it up.
The most fun single player experience I had in 2007 was probably Portal or CoD4, but I haven’t played Bioshock (yet) so I can’t really make an informed opinion on it. Funny how God of War II got swept aside. That was an awesome game…
January 29th, 2008 at 12:06 am
BioShock rocks!
January 29th, 2008 at 1:47 am
No Gamespot listed? I just checked, looks like they choose Super Mario Galaxy… http://www.gamespot.com/best-of/gameoftheyear/index.html?page=2
Tie?
January 29th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Shauntu,
Sorry about that. We meant to have it in and just updated the post. Added some other outlets too, so BioShock still is the GOTGOTY
-Stephen
January 29th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I have to say, “Bioshock” was definitely fun, inventive, and wildly original, but the gameplay was really fairly lacking. I feel like I spent most of the game taking out the same types of baddies with the same types of tricks. A little too repetitive for my taste. “Mass Effect” on the other hand…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Yeah, that decision seriously kept me up at nights, which seems a little silly in hindsight. Then again, I guess I can only hope that everyone was as tortured. I mean, it’s not like someone in the Academy votes for Best Picture after thinking about it for 10 seconds (Shakespeare in Love notwithstanding), so the same should be said for voting for the best video game.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
You missed these publications that awarded Super Mario Galaxy GOTY:
Next-Generation:
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8357&Itemid=2
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/lm/R202CG6CQ8KJKY/
Edge Magazine (via Next-Gen):
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8382&Itemid=2
January 29th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Last time I checked, Amazon.com was not a publication.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Do you think maybe they paid off these media to have them choose a certain game as their game of the year? It’s possible. Can’t believe everything you hear.
I have to go with the average ratings and most people rated Galaxy higher than all the others. That should grant it the game of the year in my book. Second highest rated game of all time and it’s not THE game of the year? Yet Bioshock, just another cloned shooter (yes I’ve beat the game) gets game of the year from most? Just isn’t right.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:36 am
[...] Forget ‘Game Of The Year’ — Introducing The 2007 ‘GOTGOTY’ [MTV] [...]
January 30th, 2008 at 5:03 am
Independent websites like Destructoid wouldn’t get paid for choosing a certain game. Destructoid is pretty unbiased when it comes to that stuff, they are a community based website meaning most decisions are by the users themselves.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
bioshocks repetitiveness is highlighted when you recieve your ‘camera’ to identify weakspots of opponents
there are only 3 that attack you
plus big daddys
throughout the ENTIRE GAME
gg
February 1st, 2008 at 3:54 am
ahhhh… I think you noobs are forgetting about World of Warcraft, the single greatest game EVER…. as in EVERY YEAR since it’s release.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:19 am
that is so cool i think that you should make it a lot of people are going to by it you could get money on it