Should sales be a major contributing factor to a game of the year award?

DryvBy

DryvBy

Member
I was thinking about how many nominations Alan Wake II got and how it barely sold anything. They still haven't recovered from it, yet it was nominated for awards. How exactly is that a game of the year if no one bothered to play it? I see this stuff a lot and it's why I find award shows to be annoying. And award websites. Some no-selling trash ends up GOTY while they snub games that gamers actually wanted. Financial failed games don't deserve awards like this.

I'm not talking about personal awards. I play a lot of games and my GOTY is usually just the game I had the most fun with overall.

Edit because I don't think people read past the headline. I AM NOT SAYING IF GAME SOLD WELL, THEN IT'S GOTY. I'm saying it should be part of what factors into a Game of the Year. IN other words, it played well, it looked good, it was a ton of fun, and it sold well.

tl;dr - Wouldn't one of the complaints you had if Concord won GOTY 2024 is that it died instantly due to lack of sales? It's one of many problems with that game.
 
Last edited:
I get what you mean but Mario Kart 8 and GTA 5 would be battling it out year after year. COD and FIFA duking it out over and over.
 
Last edited:
John Candy No GIF by Laff
 
The sales of a game shouldn't impact the GOTY choice, but by virtue of being considered for the GOTY, it should be a game that has sold at least decently well.
 
Dacvak said:
The sales of a game shouldn't impact the GOTY choice, but by virtue of being considered for the GOTY, it should be a game that has sold at least decently well.
Click to expand...

Decently well compared to the game it is? Decently well on which standard?
 
No, if anything it should be less of a factor then it already is.

We don't need an award show to reward products for being popular. Capitalism already handles that.
 
I'd like GOTY awards to be open to any game from any previous year, voted for by joe public. If a game from 5 years ago is still what everyone loves playing in 2024, then let it win again.
 
Marginalized masterpieces should be the main focus, who cares about sales numbers when you knew big numbers belongs to dumb demographic. That way, you're giving creativity another chance and save the industry.
 
Last edited:
tacos-de.gif


There are some great niche games that haven't sold that well but deserve consideration for some of the categories.
 
No, you can have amazing games that aren't top sellers.

Titles like Returnal, Bayonetta, Xenoblade, Astrobot or Flight Simulator shouldn't miss out on recognition justvbecause they aren't huge mainstream

Additionally, this would be very hard to implement as global sales data isn't shared.
 
Last edited:
Should Taylor Swift should win every single music award because reasons? Popularity and quality are often not the same thing (not that I have anything against Taylor because if you guys knew the shit I listen to then ..... but a lot of people seem to hate her)
 
Last edited:
No. Pokemon for instance is absolute hot garbage. It has The Last Hope type of presentation and still sells absurdly high.
 
Last edited:
The only value of game awards is to highlight games worth playing. Paying attention to sales in general is cringe. Awarding games based on sales is perverted.
 
sales shouldn't matter at all really, but a great game will not totally flop.
 
Last edited:
Weird I thought this thread was going to go the opposite way and be about Black Myth Wukong mainly getting noms because it was a massive seller.
 
Woopah said:
No, you can have amazing games that aren't top sellers.

Titles like Returnal, Bayonetta, Xenoblade, Astrobot or Flight Simulator shouldn't miss out on recognition justvbecause they aren't huge mainstream

Additionally, this would be very hard to implement as global sales data isn't shared.
Click to expand...
So should Alan Wake II be awarded game of the year when no one played it?

And I think a lot of people are missing something here and I'll edit OP about this. This isn't about if a game sold well, therefore it's GOTY. I'm saying that, along with bugs, fun factor, etc is a contributing part of the GOTY process. It's weird to think "This was the best we had this year" when it sold like absolutely garbage. Imagine if Concord won GOTY this year from every publication. It's clearly BS at that point.
 
DryvBy said:
So should Alan Wake II be awarded game of the year when no one played it?

And I think a lot of people are missing something here and I'll edit OP about this. This isn't about if a game sold well, therefore it's GOTY. I'm saying that, along with bugs, fun factor, etc is a contributing part of the GOTY process. It's weird to think "This was the best we had this year" when it sold like absolutely garbage. Imagine if Concord won GOTY this year from every publication. It's clearly BS at that point.
Click to expand...
If a someone really enjoyed a game, they should vote for it as GOTY. I don't think their vote should be affected by sales.

Let's say someone had a great time with Astrobot. Do you think their decision to vote for it for GOTY or not should take into account the fact it sold less than 2 million copies?

I do not.

I think their decision should be purely based on their experience with the game.
 
Eww good sales are just indication that someone bought the product. You think that might actually be related with quality but the proof that is not is in front of us in all media
 
DryvBy said:
I was thinking about how many nominations Alan Wake II got and how it barely sold anything. They still haven't recovered from it, yet it was nominated for awards. How exactly is that a game of the year if no one bothered to play it? I see this stuff a lot and it's why I find award shows to be annoying. And award websites. Some no-selling trash ends up GOTY while they snub games that gamers actually wanted. Financial failed games don't deserve awards like this.

I'm not talking about personal awards. I play a lot of games and my GOTY is usually just the game I had the most fun with overall.

Edit because I don't think people read past the headline. I AM NOT SAYING IF GAME SOLD WELL, THEN IT'S GOTY. I'm saying it should be part of what factors into a Game of the Year. IN other words, it played well, it looked good, it was a ton of fun, and it sold well.

tl;dr - Wouldn't one of the complaints you had if Concord won GOTY 2024 is that it died instantly due to lack of sales? It's one of many problems with that game.
Click to expand...
"I play a lot of games and my GOTY is usually just the game I had the most fun with overall."

Quoting you Op. That's all that really does matter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Dustborn wins "Shitty Ass Game Of The Year Award"
2
76
5K
hemo memo replied
Paul Tassi: Marathon needs to be in the top 5 NPD sales for the year, to be a 'success'
Rumor  2 3
100
143
wipeout364 replied
GDC & IGF Awards 2025 | Game of the Year winners
3
394
ShaiKhulud1989 replied
  • Poll
The Game Awards 2024 Game of the Year prediction
Hype  2
84
6K
GateofD replied
Bandai Namco Console Game Sales Up 42.6% Compared to Last Year, Thanks to Shadow of the Erdtree and Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO
Business 
4
52
Fake replied
Top Bottom