How Bias Effects Game of the Year Winners

Are Game of the Year awards biased? The only way to critically assess this is by using a real example. So we will go through one gamer's 'Game of the Year' winners for the last 15 years.

[opinionated]

“Why do we all have such different opinions when it comes to Game of the Year?”

I’m glad you started off with that, I knew to close it.

[AspiringProGenji]

I believe the definitive GOTY should be the one with the most GOTY awards across all gaming sites/events. But, the definitive GOTY may not me Mine, yours, or his/her. That is where everyone can still have their own games as GOTY or opinions.

[Kribwalker]

agreed

[addictedtochaos]

Well said.

[roadkillers]

After seeing Journey win Game of the Year and Undertale win Best Game of All Time, there really is no outright winner. I always say my favorite game of all time is Conker's Bad Fur Day, but honestly that may be blinded by Nostalgia because I haven't played that game since the re-release on Xbox. If I played it now, I would probably think it is immature.

There's a battle in my heart. I really enjoy want games that do not get recognition to win. Yet, I will cheer for Red Dead Redemption even-though it has won every award it could. It's telling the developers that put their heart into the game to keep trying and it showing people who the best are.

My List:
2000: Pokemon Gold/Silver
2001:Grand Theft Auto 3
2002: Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance
2003: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
2004: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
2005: Resident Evil 4
2006: Guitar Hero 2
2007: Call of Duty 4
2008: Grand Theft Auto IV
2009: Demon Souls
2010: Red Dead Redemption
2011: Portal 2
2012: Max Payne 3
2013: Last of Us
2014: South Park Stick of Truth
2015: Undertale
2016: Uncharted 4
2017: Fortnite
2018: Haven't played any yet, but SotC Remake looks great.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Bruh, I know 2001 was a hard one for you to decide on! So many amazing games came out 2001 Smash Brothers Melee Halo Final Fantasy 10 Metal Gear Solid 2 etc

[roadkillers]

Hell yeah, I had to go with GTA3 though. FFX was amazing, my second PS2 game and second Final Fantasy. I never played a Metal Gear until 2005 when I rented MGS3. So glad I did because I would never have enjoyed MGS2 without playing 3 first.

Something for debate, 2004 and 2007 were the best years in gaming.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@road-absolutely I think any of those games mentioned is completely understandable as 2001 was just an unbelievable Year from Megaton classics.

Oh absolutely Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Doom 3 Half-Life 2 Halo 2 Metal Gear Solid 3.

Trust me I won't disagree with any person that says 2004 was one of the best years in gaming. 2001 and 2004 are just those rare occurrences with Megaton blockbusters.

[UnHoly_One]

How the hell do you guys just know off the top of your head what games came out 17 years ago?

I couldn't tell you half the games that came out last year.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@unholy - lol well I was in grade school when those games came out and I just had so much more time to dedicate the gaming so remember those years more clearly.

[Mr Marvel]

Monster Hunter World is the standout for me so far in 2018.

[Profchaos]

Max Payne 3 fully agree it was grossly under rated

[BadElf]

Opinions. Such a wild concept!

[LOGICWINS]

I need to pick up Prey. I've heard too many good things about it.

[Vegamyster]

If you liked the Bioshock 1 & the last couple Dues Ex games you should love it, starts off slow but gets better the more you play.

[porkChop]

Bias? What? It's called having an opinion. There is no factual best game of the year. It's all about your preferences and how you feel about different games. My GOTY is just that, my own personal GOTY. It's not a fact.

[QuietStories]

That is the entire point of the article.

[porkChop]

So your article is stating the opposite of your headline and deck?

Bias and opinion are not the same thing. Awards are based on opinion, not bias. Bias is an irrational gravitation towards one thing over another. That's not the same thing as having an opinion.

Publications choose award winners based on the discussion of a group of writers, not just one person. One person's supposed "bias" does not dictate the winner.

[Avengerz43]

If you take 50 gamers across all different backgrounds and make them play Zelda BoTW and any other 10-15 games you see fit in the running for GoTY. I guarantee you over 70% of that group would pick BoTW. There's a reason it won nearly every GoTY award, it's a once a decade or more game. The travesty is that a game as great as Horizon had to run up against it because Horizon is the best game of the PS4/XB1 generation thus far.

[Rachel_Alucard]

I have been playing botw and I made it to ganon and I do not like the way it's handled. The shrines are just 1 room dungeons that all do the same exact thing with rewards, looks, enemies, barely any enemy variety, actual dungeons are tiny, the weapon durability system, the combat is watered down heavily from previous games, the enemies themselves are just massive damage sponges, and I could go on. This game is prime example of the word repetitive, its not the fact that I am doing the same thing over and over, but the fact I know I'm going to be doing the same thing over and over with its content.

[LandoCalrissiano]

Actually, out of those 50 gamers most of them would rather be playing Odyssey than botw.

[UnHoly_One]

Sorry, not a chance. BotW is not even good, but much GOTY.

[senorfartcushion]

.......what!? GOTY is a subjective choice - as in DRIVEN BY BIAS.

Christ, are you trying to tie some objective truth to the opinions of other people?

What a moron.

[QuietStories]

If you read the article, that is the entire point.

[Mr Marvel]

GOTY is up to each individual.
Horizon: Zero Dawn was easily GOTY 2017...imo.

[Gh05t]

Redacted

[Skankinruby]

They gave Overwatch goty over Uncharted 4, that alone will never allow me to take these awards seriously again

[quent]

[Opinion of the Year]

[Tross]

Opinions on subjective topics are always biased. I don't think we should give the opinions of one group more weight than any other, but there is usually a good reason why some games are 50 or 100 times GotY winners. Still, opinions are opinions which is why I personally don't care much about the whole GotY thing and think it's a tad overrated. On the other hand, it can be a useful tool to decide what games from the past year to invest in so I guess it's not completely without merit.

[Profchaos]

Such a garbage article I've taken shits older than this author.

[xtheblackparade]

Author may want to know read more about the term "scheme" in psychology (or "Schema" as wiki refers to it). Because that's basically the word you use in psychology to sum up what the article tries to give a practical example of. I think you did a fine job. The jump to Red Dead Redemption isn't as obvious as some of the other games, but I can see how the freedom links to Infamous.

Yea in the end the awards are nothing more then the opinion of a certain percent of people wanted to vote on it in the first place, second it's only a really small percentage that votes for the winner. If you have 100 games to choose from as a winner, that means if all other games get voted 1% or <1% and the winner gets voted 2%, that two percent agree with the winner, the rest of the people does not so it's very relative these kinds of contests.

[GrubsterBeater]

*affects