N4G GOTY WINNERS! (and Amazon Gift Card Winners!)

SEQUEL FAIL:
Call of Duty Ghosts

BEST VOICE ACTING:
Troy Baker as Joel (The Last of Us)

BEST DLC:
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

BEST STORY:
The Last of Us

BEST SOUNDTRACK:
The Last of Us

BEST MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE:
Battlefield 4

BEST NEW VIDEO GAME CHARACTER:
Trevor Phillips, Gand Theft Auto V

MOST REPLAYABLE GAME:
Grand Theft Auto V

GAME WITH BEST INNOVATION:
The Last of Us

BEST NEW STUDIO:
Red Barrels (Outlast)

BEST HANDHELD GAME:
Tearaway

BEST IN-GAME MOMENT:
The Last of Us: The Beginning

BEST ART DIRECTION:
The Last of Us

BEST NEXT-GEN CONSOLE:
Playstation 4

GAMING NEWS STORY OF THE YEAR:
Playstation 4 priced at $399

BEST SINGLE PLAYER EXPERIENCE:
The Last of Us

BEST NEW IP:
The Last of Us

and finally...

THE N4G GOTY IS:

The Last of Us
_____________________________
Ballots cast: 2,681
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AMAZON GIFT CARD WINNERS:

$50 Amazon Gift Card Syaoron21
$25 Amazon Gift Card Satanas
$25 Amazon Gift Card MikePWV

You will be contacted by N4G ticket.
_____________________________ _________________________
As with all awards, there need to be some thanks:

Thanks to all the staff for helping with the categories, and special thanks to cgoodno for his help with the nominations.

Thanks to DragonFly for the slick poll integration, and to Sally for the banner/header design. Thanks to Dusty for believing in me. ;)

And of course...

Thank you to all of the members that submitted their nominations and to the even more that voted! Response to the poll was incredible and I hope you had fun.

[MEsh3L]

Well deserved !

[xHeavYx]

ND made a comment about how well TLOU did https://twitter.com/Naughty...

[GarrusVakarian]

That's awesome.

TLOU domination, well deserved! One of the best experiences ive ever had in gaming.

[pyramidshead]

Last Of Us pretty much cleaned up shop.

[ZeoN]

@spam are you hurt?

[Fluke_Skywalker]

Lol, it wasn't always like this SPAM, pre 2010 it used to be the exact opposite, but worse actually. And those of us who remember those days find it hilarious reading comments like yours.

[Gazondaily]

I voted for TLOU for most of the categories but best innovation? I'm struggling to think of what ND innovated? (seriously...I'm not being dismissive). Maybe comparatively it stood out? Who knows. What were the other games in that category?

Glad Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon won best DLC :D

But yeah, TLOU represents a watershed moment in gaming. Emotion; something which developers have struggled to invoke in players for years (apart from rage!) and ND made it look so effortless.

[UltraNova]

@Septic

Same here. Voted for all except for innovation. Gone Home takes that IMO

[goldwyncq]

@ Septic
Yeah, same here. What TLOU actually did was refinement, not innovation.

Smart decision awarding Tearaway the best handheld game. It's the Vita's best game so far and is a one of a kind experience.

[Army_of_Darkness]

Ni No KUNI should have won best single player! I love that game!

[Azmatik]

honestly IMO killzone shadow fall shoulda got best sound track

[Bimkoblerutso]

Much as I think TLoU quite easily deserves the GotY award, a few of these seem a wee bit slanted. For instance, art direction and innovation. Tearaway, for example, I think should have snagged the innovation award easily, and Rayman Legends is ridiculous levels of beautiful.

...and news story of the year...that seems like such a boring, mundane thing to choose for that kind of award.

[dedicatedtogamers]

Tearaway won best handheld game? Quite a surprise (but it is a really great game, so there's that)

[ELpork]

Still think Fire Emblem should have taken that.

[dedicatedtogamers]

@ ELPork

MMM FE Awakening was really great. It could've gone numerous ways. FE Awakening, SMT4, Mario & Luigi, Zelda LBW, KZ Merc, Pkmn X/Y, I know I'm forgetting others....there are a ton of handheld games that were awesome in 2013.

[Christopher]

Was not surprised at Tearaway's win.

During the process of asking the community for the nominations that were utilized, the only other category that beat out the "popularity" of Tearaway in this one was TLoU for GotY.

[-Foxtrot]

I'm glad it did, it's fantastic and it's a fresh new IP.

I honestly thought Zelda was going to win to be honest.

[Kevlar009]

Sony fans make up the majority of N4G's user base. Not to take away from Tearaway, but the voting was biased.

[GribbleGrunger]

Yes, but that in of itself proves something doesn't it? Doesn't it prove that the PS brand is far more popular now because of games like TLOU? One leads naturally onto the other. I see comments like this and scratch my head. This is essentially what you are saying: "The only reason Sony is winning is because they have more Sony fans." Just give it a thought.

[ZombieKiller]

I'm so happy to see intelligent gamers on this site. Seeing these nominations and NOT seeing COD on that list makes me think there is hope for us all!

It bothers the hell out of me that thousands (if not, more) actually consider COD to be the best game ever when games like TLOU deserve the spotlight.

I was also really itching to find out what everyone thought about 2013 games. The gamers, not casuals.

Thanks for all that participated!

[Stick89]

So...The Last of Us did alright

[WeAreLegion]

Awesome! Good choices, everyone.

[Blastoise]

Call of duty didn't deserve the sequel fail. Not when it was up against games like Battlefield 4 and SimCity which both had major problems and terrible launches

[porkChop]

BF4 is an amazing game when it works, and with patches the games stability and performance will improve. Ghosts works just fine, the problem is that the game itself just isn't very good. No amount of patching will fix that.

[Christopher]

Really disappointed Ni No Kuni didn't win Best Art Direction :(

Glad Tearaway did well.

[majiebeast]

Actually agree i picked Tearaway for best artstyle with Ninokuni as close second.

[Irishguy95]

And for the generic art direction of TloU too.

Not surprised in the slightest

[-Alpha]

The hand-drawn facial animations are really something, though I do think Ni No Kuni should have taken that category

[69hungdaddy69]

Art style doesn't always have to mean 2-D. Any form of media is art. Hell,gave you seen how beautiful the Last of Us is? The run-down cities and suburbs are sure as hell art to me. Yeah, it's subjective, but don't tell me it isn't art.

[Hellsvacancy]

Ni No Kuni got my vote

[MightyNoX]

It's still in my backlog so I couldn't blindly vote for it. Sorry :(

[HappyWithOneBubble]

I voted for it. Great game. Congrats to the winners.

[-Foxtrot]

Yeah same, I mean does the Last of Us have an art direction...it's more realistic then art like

Zelda Link Between Worlds
Super Mario 3D World
Terraway
Ni No Kuni

They are games with art direction in my opinion

I always assume games like The Last of Us, Crysis, Halo, Metal Gear Solid use more of a realistic direction then an art one.

It's hard to explain, The Last of Us is art in my opinion but dosen't really have an art direction

[MysticStrummer]

It's ok. You just need to look up what art direction means.

[-Foxtrot]

Not really, it can be interoperated in many ways

Oh god look at that....all because people have seen my comment in "attacking" the Last of Us...jesus christ.

[ChickeyCantor]

LOL @ "Yeah same, I mean does the Last of Us have an art direction...it's more realistic then art like "

Art-direction has everything to do with the visual presentation.

"Not really, it can be interoperated in many ways "

No it can't because Art-DIRECTOR is an actual job.

[WildArmed]

*teardrop*

Oh well, there's always next year. I'll remember to nominate Ni No Kuni again :O

[Gazondaily]

Nino No Kuni got mine too :( Don't see how the art direction of TLOU is all that. Yeah it looks good in terms of raw visual fidelity but I dunno. Ah well

[NeoTribe]

Yeah I think I agree completely. Ni no kuni reminded me of windwaker graphics. Was just pleasant to look at.

[DragonKnight]

Ah the Last of Us. Such an experience. Very well deserved.

[Infamous298]

why dislikes??

[DragonKnight]

A few reasons.

First, it's N4G.

Second, they disagree that The Last of Us is either an experience, or that the awards are very well deserved.

Finally, it's me. People track me so they can disagree with me. This comment is going to get disagrees.

[deSSy2724]

They disagree because you are bias. Sure, Last of Us s a good game but to call it the most innovative game?, best art?

Cmon, thats just bias....

[DragonKnight]

I think you're the one that's showing actual bias here.

[deSSy2724]

Soo... Last of US is the "BEST GAME EVA"???? Thats not bias? You know what art and most imprtantly innovation means?

[FogLight]

Tearaway didn't win Art Direction?! Damn it! -.-

Well, congrats to the winners and the games that won :3

[GentlemenRUs]

That is my list in my head, All of that there is correct!

Inb4... Inb4...

[zerocrossing]

Pretty much how I thought it'd go.

Anyway, congrats to the winners and thanks everyone for contributing :)

[porkChop]

I agree with everything except Best Art Direction. I think Ni No Kuni deserved that, Tearaway did too.

[Starbucks_Fan]

Glad Tearaway won something

[LostDjinn]

Yeah, just look at that for bias. This whole thing was rigged.

I SHOULD HAVE ONE GAME OF THE YEAR.

Wait...am I doin' it right?

[gigoran]

Was the spelling mistake part of the joke?

[LostDjinn]

Haha. You almost got it. It's to illustrate that people who's platform of choice isn't represented will complain.

The fact beans took it to mean "won" in the post below was just gravy.

[gigoran]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh
actually that was pretty accurate. Let em complain. The truth has been spoken, and the truth just happens to be littered with Sony all over it hahaha

[coolbeans]

Congrats to GOTY winners and prize winners. Best Innovation and Sequel Fail are a bit surprising, but overall a rather expected list. *Looks at GOTY winner*...so much for getting a free coke. :(

I'll admit I was kind of cornered into giving TLOU the prize in many categories simply b/c that's the only one I've honestly been able to play (and LostDjinn wasn't an option). Biased fanboy mod confirmed.

Edit: @Cat

What was the total numbers of users that voted?

[LostDjinn]

See. There wasn't even an option. Robbed I tell ya.

I should say congratulations to the users who won prizes though. Good work guy/girls.

[Cat]

Edited to include the number above!

Total ballots cast: 2,681!

[pandehz]

Big amount

[Christopher]

Mucho votos!

/end_bad_Spanish

[Mr_Luke]

Grats again to Naughty Dog! They're winning about everywhere...

[PhantomTommy]

Last of Us most innovative? It's a terrific game but it's just a refinement of what came before! Tearaway deserved that award, and best art direction. I am FURIOUS!

[coolbeans]

Well...the phrasing with "Best Innovation" does throw off the original intention of what that category is about. Here's the description in the GOTY nominations call:

"Moving a genre forward in either big ways that challenge conventional thinking or through subtle, nuanced techniques to a standard visual/gameplay/storytelling formula is what this selection is all about. These games have done that to varying degrees of success. How successful it's been implemented should be of less importance in comparison to the idea that simply captivates you the most."

It's why when I brought this one up I had it titled "Most Interesting Gameplay Innovation."

[Dee_91]

phantom
I think you confuse originality with innovation.I havent played tearaway yet so I can't relate to your anger or disagreement over the majorities opinion..

[PhantomTommy]

I'm not actually angry! I absolutely loved The Last of Us, and after reading Coolbeans' comment, I can understand why it won.

[BitbyDeath]

I voted for GTAV for most innovative cause of the character switch technique. That and the weapon wheel are probably the best innovations I've seen this entire gen.

[Bathyj]

You realise GTA didnt invent either of those?

[BitbyDeath]

Weapon wheel I was referring to Resistance FOM.
What other open world game does the aerial/google view character switching?

[Yep]

Oh, would you look at that. The entire list is dominated by Sony games where possible.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Are you surprised? Last of Us is excellent but that is the reason why I never even bothered looking at this until now. Such a slanted sight like this having GOTY awards is laughable.

[Christopher]

So, you didn't bother nominating non-Sony games during that process and that helped fix the slant how?

The problem isn't the slant, it's that only certain people got involved.

[DragonKnight]

Oh for the love of.. would you people stop crying like a bunch of pseudo-oppressed minorities?

"Waahhh, the Xbox didn't have games to nominate even though I had plenty of chances to nominate games in the previous blog post that asked for people to nominate games."

Like cgoodno said, if more Xbox fanboys would have participated in the nomination process, maybe there would have been more Xbox games.

[MRMagoo123]

Look anywhere giantcrab and all the others complaining about it being a Sony site, go to any gaming site besides ones dedicated to only Xbone and you will find MORE Sony fans , not because of some conspiracy or magic/voodoo but for the simple fact there are more Sony fans in the world than there are MS fans, its really that simple, it may seem biased but its not there is just more Sony fans in general..............and there is a good reason but i wont get into that, but please just stop with this sites being biased crap.

Ill make it more simple too just in case

(GAME WEBSITE NAME HERE)

Sony fans Xbone fans

more less

when a vote gets cast being the fact there are more fans of Sony , there will be more votes cast towards Sony. Hope that finally sinks in ffs.

[Orionsangel]

Great list!

[DoggyBiscuit]

I like last of us but I don't feel like is game of the year, GTA5 & Bioshock infinite are better games

[pandehz]

I agree. I managed to play it recently and its good but not even close to Bioshock Infinite.

I was sure atleast in story Bioshock Infinite would win. TLOU story was mediocre while Infinite competes with some of the good films and books out there. The quality of writing voice acting, audio journals and overall story was a behemoth in storytelling last year.Also in game moment and ending should be Infinite. If people have played it theres no way they wouldnt vote for it. ...BUT I guess they didnt.

This only reflects the site and its readers not the best way to judge a text. If only Oscars and Baftas were public votes too. We would see GI:Joe winning.

[SeanScythe]

I played BS:I and it is no where near GOTY compared to TLoU and it's story and gameplay.

[Cat]

Oh, man, I thought the only good part of Bioshock Infinite was like the last 1/10... But yes, the ending was fantastic.

[DragonKnight]

GTA5 better than TLOU? Wow. Just wow.

And to call TLOU's story mediocre? Geez, is there a full moon or something out?

[GribbleGrunger]

I think the problem people have with expressing their views on 'stories' in games is that SOME people only see the bare bone plot while others are drawn deeper into the subtext and characterisations.

This is where TLOU goes beyond any other game in history. This is also why some people can never pick a potential Oscar winning film. They'd pick Rambo over Hurt Locker or Rocky 2 over Billion Dollar Baby.

The subtlety of expressing emotion or intent in TLOU had me vocalising astonishment even when there was with no one else in the room. If other developers embrace what ND has brought to gaming, this generation is going to be extraordinary.

[nathan spencer]

Bravo TLOU!it was simply one of the best games i have played in 20 years of gaming.Brilliant Masterpiece.Thank you Naughty Gods ;)

[CerealKiller]

Ima let u finish, but rockstar games had the best game of all time! ALL TIME!!

[SilentNegotiator]

Pretty predictable winners, for the most part.

[WikusVanDeMerwe]

Saddening nothing from BS:I didn't make it. The ending to that game was so good.

I still haven't played TLOU but just not interested for some reason. :/

[king_george]

Play it! U wont regret it :)

[Goro]

So TLOU won in every category except best character because it split the fans with a Joel & an Ellie option.

[KingKevo]

That's exactly what I thought^^

[GribbleGrunger]

I'd agree with that. I personally voted for Ellie simply because it was a female character but not once did the game make concessions because of that. It dealt with every character in the same way. Bill would be the perfect example. Being gay was sub-textual and never once betrayed the story by opting to sensationalise that fact. I can see why Joel would get many votes too. He had many layers, and even though it was a story of his redemption, some of those layers openly questioned his motives and methods.

[KingKevo]

Cool.

[Software_Lover]

Best innovation...............The Last Of Us???????

[Emilio_Estevez]

see cb's comment @#16.1

[SeanScythe]

Yeah is that to hard to wrap your mind around? Play the game it Innovated in story, gameplay and characters.

[SneakyDoo]

gameplay? Yeah, right- not a chance buddy. The gameplay is repetitive, and is just another slice of Resident Evil's cake. Characters aren't innovating, or the story's plot. Now, the voice acting is exceptionally well, but that doesn't allege any innovating towards a game, its been seen before in Uncharted.

[DragonKnight]

I'm sure you thought GTAV was the most innovative.

[Software_Lover]

Actually no. I didn't think the Last of Us was innovative either. Did it tell a great story, yes.

[GribbleGrunger]

It was HOW it told the story that was 'innovative'. Bill was gay but how do we know? Joel was getting more emotionally attached to Ellie, but how do we know? Joel was afraid of getting too close to Tess, but how do we know? It's easy to know these things but not consider how. It's the 'how' or 'method' you should be considering, not the knowledge you've gained unknowingly whilst playing. THAT'S the genius of TLOU. Nearly everything was fed to us subliminally, and that takes guts to attempt. David Cage needs to take note.

[bub16]

Last of us really deserved it!!!!

[Urbz7870]

Congratz to the winners well deserved.

[NeloAnjelo]

Playstation Domination

[Yep]

Not saying much considering this is N4G

[Bill_Willson_CIA]

And the other 200+ sites/magazines that chose TLOU are sony sites too?

[deSSy2724]

The fact remains.... N4G = bunch of Sony fanboys.

[carlosjrix]

this is n4g

[AceBlazer13]

Bf4 won best onlineexperience ?

[CuddlyREDRUM]

Uncharted Zombies GOTY? Man. BF4 best multiplayer?

[sAVAge_bEaST]

NO KIDDING!, with an outcome like that,,! ya would.a thought a bunch of GAMERS, Voted on it.

[Tatsuya]

I voted for the ultimate gaming machine and I'm glad to see PS4 is the winner :)

[gigoran]

Seeing lots of Sony and no Microsoft hahahahaha

[SneakyDoo]

Obviously TLOU is gonna attain GOTY On this site, considering everyone's a hard on Sony fanboy and worship the game lol. Congrats ND, but the game still has crap AI.

[SneakyDoo]

How the hell did TLOU get best innovation? GTA V deserved that far more.

[MasterofMagnetism]

TLOU won N4G GOTY? Shocking!!! lol Congrats to all the winners.

[TheMapleNerd]

My List.
(No Last of us since i havent played it :/ )
SEQUEL FAIL:
Battlefield 4 (Bf4 had more flaws than Bf3, and people know that cod is a fail)

BEST VOICE ACTING:
Troy Baker as Booker DeWitt.

BEST DLC:
Burial at sea. (They are reviving Bioshock 1 for god sake!)

BEST STORY:
Metro: Last light (Give them some credit, such a unknown studio makes a AAA game.)

BEST SOUNDTRACK:
Bioshock Infinite.

BEST MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE:
Heart Of The Swarm.

BEST NEW VIDEO GAME CHARACTER:
Booker DeWitt - Bioshock Infinte.

MOST REPLAYABLE GAME:
Bioshock.
(Dlc+)

GAME WITH BEST INNOVATION:
Bioshock Infinite - A city you can't live in...

BEST NEW STUDIO:
Got no-one here.

BEST HANDHELD GAME:
Pokemon X/Y.

BEST IN-GAME MOMENT:
Metro Last Light: Ending.

BEST ART DIRECTION:
Metro Last Light.

BEST NEXT-GEN CONSOLE:
Playstation 4

GAMING NEWS STORY OF THE YEAR:
Bioshock Infinite: Burial at sea.

BEST SINGLE PLAYER EXPERIENCE:
Metro Last Light.

BEST NEW IP:
- Dunno -
_________________________

[tigertron]

TLOU took pretty much every category, well deserved.

Though I'm shocked about BF4 getting best multiplayer experience. Really?

[Mr Marvel]

TLoU... easily my Game of the Generation and one of top best gaming experiences I've ever had.

Insanely well deserved.

[Picnic]

Oh piss off!

BEST IN-GAME MOMENT:
The Last of Us: The Beginning

Oh you mean that bit that anyone with a brain could foresee knowing that Ellie is not his daughter?

That opening so reminiscent of The Walking Dead.

What did the daughter serve:
1) To show that Joel is not, for a second, going to think any funny business with Ellie because she is now, in essence, his surrogate daughter instead.

2) To make protecting Ellie more important to him.

I love PS3 games but if anything ever showed how heavily Sony biased this site is it's this.

NOTHING beat the skyhook in the face after the ball throw in Bioshock Infinite.
However the lack of any real choice in the ball throw itself might help to explain why that scene - indeed that game- did not get the votes that it might have. A game deliberately of about zero different choice outcomes outside of what combat to use. But is that massively any different from The Last of Us?

GAME WITH BEST INNOVATION:
The Last of Us

Are you even sure about that? Innovation being whether or not you creep around and sprint at opportune moments in order to survive or whether you don't and die.

It's best 'innovation' if you can call it that was simply being extremely scary in its one hit kills from the creepy clickers and from the way that the level design made you at the mercy of many maniacs.

I don't mind it getting art direction although I think that the 'art', beautiful in interior scenes and facial animations, is better than the 'direction'. 'Art direction' should probably be Infinite's.

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

Best art direction should have gone to Bioshock Infinite. The creativity and imagination that went into it is on a whole other level than any other game in my opinion.

[Geobros]

There are many fans of tlou here, it won 8 categories, lol!! I mean ok...nice game but there are so many wonderful games to play someone in 2013.

[alexkoepp]

Entire thing is obviously bull**** if battlefield 4 won best multiplayer experience LoL, gonna go ahead and call this entire survey invalid

[MxRBrobaFett]

And the winner of the "company with the most people on their package“ is Sony. Get that chapstick ready boys your lips are going to be chapped

[SSJBen]

Most innovative game is TLOU... really? Like, seriously? Teraway is by far and way more innovative than TLOU.

People need to open their eyes and not just look at AAA games.

[Metallox]

This is my list:

SEQUEL FAIL:
Battlefield 4

BEST VOICE ACTING:
Troy Baker as the Joker.

BEST DLC:
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

BEST STORY:
BioShock Infinite

BEST SOUNDTRACK:
Super Mario 3D World (yeah, dudes)

BEST MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE:
Super Mario 3D World

BEST NEW VIDEO GAME CHARACTER:
Elizabeth, Bioshock Infinte.

MOST REPLAYABLE GAME:
Pikmin 3

GAME WITH BEST INNOVATION:
Eghhh... I don't have here.

BEST NEW STUDIO:
I don't know

BEST HANDHELD GAME:
Tearaway

BEST IN-GAME MOMENT:
BioShock Infinite's ending

BEST ART DIRECTION:
Super Mario 3D World

BEST NEXT-GEN CONSOLE:
I only own the Wii U, so that one

GAMING NEWS STORY OF THE YEAR:
Dunno

BEST SINGLE PLAYER EXPERIENCE:
Pikmin 3

BEST NEW IP:
Don't know

[Masterman280]

How the hell did BF4 win best multiplayer experience? It's unplayable!

[Masterman280]

I can smell the Sony fanboys from that list.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

terrible awards

[Bobby Kotex]

Boring

[rammstein91]

am i the only one who cares about the bioshock infinite!

[deSSy2724]

I can understand everything, i can even agree mostly with everything but there is one thing i just cant understant:

GAME WITH BEST INNOVATION:
The Last of Us

REALLY??????????????????????? ????????????????????????????? cmon!!!!

Conclusion: Sony fanboys voting (obiviously)