I mean Persona 5 Royal got a nomination, why not Elden Ring? If Elden Ring gets it, Persona 5 Royal should be awarded "Best Role Playing Game" post ceremony. Why? FF7 Remake got Best Role Playing Game in 2020 and FF7 Remake is not "one of the best games ever made", but P5R is., just like Elden Ring.
a DLC and remake should never be in that top list, even if one likes it just make a spotlight moment to say "check this out" but that's dumb its just "i like this game check it out its not needed, liking something doesn't mean put it into an award
@@Paraguai123 this time best "Ongoing" is more questionable than last year. Cyberpunk isn't really an ongoing game like Warframe or Path of Exile are, so I could understand the issue. This leads to this years nominees. Why for the love of god are Destiny 2 and Diablo 4 nominated, but the two games I mentioned before are being left out. With the success of Honkai Starrail you could make an argument to list it here too, but D2 and D4 would be the greatest sh*tshows of the year, if we hadn't Failguard, Dustborn. Concord, .... And then there is Helldivers 2, which isn't even a year old. Best way would be to define this category as "Best Ongoing/Dlc", so we would get the highlights of both sides.
@@SilverShot114 literally what I thought last year as well, why have games that aren't ongoing, meaning new content gets added in gradually, over month and/or years, when they only really had one big expansion. My basic premise is this: if what you've nominated isn't playable without the base game, how can we then separately judge it as it's own thing. Yes, it may be big and full of content, but it's literally meant to expand and enhance the experience of a game, not stand as its own thing.
DLCs and remasters should not be eligible for GOTY. One is extra content for a game that came out in years prior and the other is just an old title being sold again with touch ups. Remakes however should qualify as those are new games built from the ground up. Why can’t there just be a best DLC/expansion category? It’s not like it’s a struggle to come up with 5 worthy games that actually came out in 2024 and the fact that TGA suddenly bent over backwards to include Elden Ring DLC reeks of special treatment and nepotism.
The difference between a sequel and DLC is so vague without context as to be entirely redundant. Most sequels are just more of an old thing. Hell, From's games are basically all iterative versions of the same game, with the same assets, animations and models, with DS2 being the only exception in the Souls series. Even games like Bloodborne and Sekiro borrow heavily from previous games. Saying that DLC should not be eligible on principle is a very slippery slope. It has to be judged on a case by case basis to mean anything.
@@BigSmokePapa667 you’re just describing how games are marketed, not an actual meaningful difference. Shadow of the Erdtree is a game that released this year. I know because I bought it and played it the day it released. You can tell me it’s “technically not a game” till you’re blue in the face. It doesn’t matter. I already played the game and saw that it was, in fact, a game.
You should give more spotlight to the BAFTA awards when it comes around since that is basically what you want from the Game Awards. Recently watched the last year one and it was pretty much everything I want the Game Awards to be. Not focused on celebrities, game trailers, ads etc and just focused on the awards.
BAFTA definitely is better tbh. Don’t get me wrong, they be on some BS with their nominations too, but they’re definitely more fair and they nominate a lot of under the radar games that are great.
@Nanoqtran Depends on the fan base vote, the difference between Expansions and best live service of the year could be another section also. Expansions from Triple A Devs are usually a big deal when a company does it right. Best example I can think of is Phantom Liberty Cyber Punk
@@NanoqtranI doubt that will ever happen. Sure there’s not always erdtree level dlc released every year but there’s always some good dlc at least for smaller games.
@@Nanoqtran this is a silly question. There's never been a year of DLC when there was only skins. Might as well ask if we should have a GOTY category if we only get card games one year. You're creating a reality that will never exist.
that is so true, If there was a DLC worthy of GOTY it was Blood and Wine, it felt like a completely new game, it's still the highest rated DLC on Metacritic.
Kind weird to say that just because a dlc is long enough, it could be nominated as game of year, when there's truly incredible, very short games out there. I don't understand why we are judging this by the size of the dlc
And it also just wouldn’t be fun to see the same game win game of the year. Like, what if the extended version of Return of the King got nominated for Best Picture the year after the theatrical version won?
@@dalog9194 Doesnt matter imo. Same reason why BG3 didn't win best fighting game last year. It just not in that category. I think we should just put DLC and expansions in on going games, or their own category.
Pretty sure that would end any kind of sponsorship or advertisement deal they currently have... On second, why not, then we may see them end the Game Awards 😂
FromSoft is unique in that they're basically the only company now that makes DLCs that are basically full games (this was a lot more common for pc games in the 90s and early 2000s, they were called expansions. There are indie devs that offer DLC that's good bang for the buck like Dead Cells and Vampire Survivors), but in the AAA pretty much all DLC is trash. From is in a unique position, and I think it's completely appropriate to count their DLC as a full game.
I certainly do and I'm sick of the revisionist history Cyberpunk fans spout. Fixing your shit and having a halfway decent expansion doesn't make it better than the ongoing support FFXIV, Genshin Impact, No Man's Sky or Path of Exile receive.
I really think people are missing the point of this. Like Skill Up said, we should just put Outer Wilds in every category. Game of the Year in our hearts.
Idk man it feels really weird the way people and especially reviewers have been treating Shadow of the Erdtree like a whole different thing from any other dlc in history just because of how big it is. It’s undoubtedly one of the best things that released this year but it’s still just a dlc and it’s still Elden Ring and I don’t see why it should get the spotlight when it already did the year it released. I love ER but I don’t like the special status people give to it and the dlc.
it shouldn't matter how long a DLC is, if it's a DLC that requires you to buy a game to play it, it's not a standalone game. therefore it should never have been nominated just make a "best DLC" category, the solution is simple and not doing that just makes the game awards feel even more like a giant advert
Unfortunately, not enough good DLCs exist in a single year to ever fit in a category. Sure, video game adaptations also kindof have this issue, but theres still a larger pool to pick compared to DLCs that actually count.
I mean Persona 5 (Royal) was technically a DLC (Royal DLC), but also purchasable as a complete game "Persona 5 Royal". It's an overhaul of the entire game from top to bottom and pushed the score from 7.5 / 10 to 9.5/10, to this day one of the highest scoring games (critics and users) of all time. Should that still be in a DLC category, if you basically get a new game because everything about the game was overhauled? Persona 5 Royal got nominated as "Best RPG" in 2020 and no one gave af. Why? Because ppl like you here in the comments are just screaming reddit nonsense into the void.
@@TheNerdfrom what I googled, that game has its own disk and is separate. DLC or not, you can launch separate from it’s original source. Thus, applying to the OP’s comment. You even elaborated as such when you mentioned “sold as a complete game.”
@TheNerd Persona 5 Royal was released as a separate game. Similarly, if we were talking about, say, Xenoblade's Torna expansion, that would be fine as it's available for purchase separately and can be played independently from the base game. Not only is Elden Ring's DLC tied to the base game from a purchase standpoint, you have to play to a certain point in order to even access it. I don't care about how big or long it is, it is not its own title, therefore it is not a standalone game that should qualify. If Fromsoft had released it as a standalone expansion, then it'd be different. But if we're sorting games by category, then consistency matters, and given Cyberpunk won best ongoing last year with a similarly expansive DLC, that should be the extent of Elden Ring's qualifications.
I'd argue it is partly Geoff's fault. Geoff is one of the main big wigs of The Game Awards and would have been one of the people to decide if DLCs and Expansions were allowed to be Game of the Year. It remains to be seen if he agreed to the idea or not, but I'm leaning on he did because it builds hype and gets money.
I'm sure this isn't the most popular part of your show but thanks so much for always taking the time out to mention a cool indie or upcoming project. I never would have heard of Miniatures otherwise and it's definitely something I want to check out.
@@MaidenlessScrub so you just ignored my entire comment and attacked straw man bad games. I agree many AAA need to up their game but the ones nominated all deserve to be there.
Answered the question when you said "Imagine if Shadow of the Erdtee was a standalone release". If you have to imagine scenarios to make a game eligible for a category, it should not be eligible for that category.
that doesn't fix anything because you still have the question of whether of not DLCs should be able to win GOTY. There is a separate category for best RPG but that doesn't stop RPGs from winning GOTY
@@bkirke then we should get a proper definition of "ongoing" first, cause just like Phantom liberty last year, one big expansion isn't the same as years of content in cases like Warframe.
Fromsoft is literally one of the smaller parts Kadokawa, for Sony trying to purchase Kadokawa Entertainment. The volume of Manga, Anime, and Lightnovels are the more major point. This is more like when Disney bought Marvel than if say another company was buying Ubisoft.
Yes, but nuance and objective facts doesn't give clickbait material. So... SONY IS BUYING FROMSOFTWARE AND IT'S GOING TO CHAIN MIYAZAKI IN THE BASEMENT AND MAKE HIM MAKE GAMES UNTIL HE DIES!!
@user-zp8kj2cl9g What nuance? Sony ARE essentially buying Fromsoft, which means Fromsoft games not coming to PC for years, and Xbox ever. This is just as bad as M$FT buying up everything. This is obviously what game focused channels are gonna focus on..
Sony possibly purchasing Kadokawa should really worry people more, and it has nothing to do with them acquiring FromSoftware. What Sony really wants is the vast amount of anime, manga, and light novel rights they would get from Kadokawa, FromSoft would just be icing on the cake. Sony already owns Crunchyroll, Funimation, Aniplex, and Rightstuf. If you live in the west and watch anime, there’s a good chance Sony is somehow involved. And with Kadokawa under their wing that would only further increase their domination in that space. I’m not saying Sony would be a full on monopoly in regards to anime distribution, but they’re creeping closer and closer to becoming one.
@@altramen7045 Since you've apparently been living under a rock, monopolies are bad. And Sony basically controlling the anime/manga industry, or at the very least a majority of it, is very bad. Sony buying Kadokawa is similar to Disney buying Fox.
about the elden ring dlc debacle.. you said "pretend this was a standalone release" and you lose your argument right there.. its not a game on its own, its content for a game and thus should not be eligible for game of the year, no matter how good of an added experience it is for elden ring
I understood many reasons for helldivers 2 not winning game of the year but not even being nominated is crazy imo. Was probably the largest buzz in gaming of this year. For like 4 weeks straight everything was helldivers on social media. Haven't seen any other game this year take up that much time in the spotlight. Crazy to see some of these other games on here instead.😅
They have taken several major hits to their community, what with the PSN debacle, constant nerfing and most recently the Space Station killing divers more than bugs or automatons.
I know Fromsoft is on people's mind, but buying Kadokawa would get Sony access of so much of the anime/manga industry. Its basically the Japanese version of Disney buying Fox.
"Pretend this was a standalone game" let me stop you right there. If we have to pretend then the argument already falls apart. The reality is that it is still an expansion to an older game. No matter how large or how great it is, it is DLC. Yeah the DLC is worth a lot of standalone games combined, but the fact remains. People have said the same thing about Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion, but no one ever questioned whether that should be nominated for GOTY in 2016. No one even considered such a ridiculous notion. Rules and principles matter. Consistency matters. Only full standalone games released the same year are nominated. Not older games, not DLCs. Hell, even remakes should be called in to question over whether they should be considered new games.
Gaming wasnt 90% cashgrabs on 2016. The industry had some fcking principals. Now they dont. Now half the game nominated are live service slop. Anything not live service slop, even a dlc, is a better pick than much of the garbage we get sold these days. Lets stop acting like the industry is even remotley the same as it was 8 YEARS AGO! The entire industry has made a MASSIVE shift if that time.
Wrong. Many people said Blood and Wine should get nominated for GOTY. There were many people that also said the same of Cyberpunk 2077's DLC. And even Outer Wild's DLC.
I think remakes, if they are remaking the game from the ground up, of course should be included. Demon Souls for example would have been a legitimate nomination.
The boundary line for remakes is a bit iffy tho. For example dead space remake is pretty much just an enhanced version of the original. Better graphics, more quality of life etc. But if someone already played through the original then they aren't missing out on much. The same cannot be said for something like FFVII or the resident evil remakes. They are VERY much their own thing and have completely separate gameplay from the originals
Having played all 6 goty nominees, I would not be surprised SOTE wins. However, a DLC should NEVER be considered for GOTY, I don't care how good it is. A best DLC and best remake category should be made. It is far far easier to make a remake of a good game and a DLC to an already recognized game than it is to start a brand new IP from scratch and that should be celebrated more.
Do you think sequels that use the mechanics, assets, and world of the prior game as a foundation should also not be contenders, then? Something like Tears of the Kingdom.
A final fantasy remaster for a game from almost 30 years ago did too. Be mad about both if youre mad about 1. They got 30 yeats of nostalgia behind that nomination.
@ Tbf anything like Final Fantasy just goes in one ear and out the other. I literally couldn’t care less about those games. But yes I’m angry about that as well. Remasters shouldn’t be eligible
@@crispy_338ff7 isn’t a remaster it’s a complete remake, a completely different game that even follows a different story, it definitely should be allegeable for goty and that comes from someone who hasn’t played a single ff game ever
With Regard to the Elden Ring DLC, Hard disagree skill up. The DLC did not earn it's place on its own merits. As a DLC attached to the base game of elden ring and as you said requiring a significant portion of the game to be completed prior to even starting the game, its experience is indivisible from the base game experience. It inherits the level progression, lore and mechanics from the base game. The majority of the enemies outside of the bosses are reskins of enemies from the base game or from prior darksouls games. I'm not saying its bad but they definitely didn't reinvent the wheel here and while large I dont believe that DLC required anywhere near as much effort as creating a whole new game from scratch. If you feel this DLC deserves an award, there needs to be a DLC category otherwise you set a dangerous precedent for games releasing long, asset flip, DLC for established and beloved IPs in the hopes of snagging game of the year for a second time.
How do you judge a dlc without taking account the base game. It would be like givving a sequal the award but 50% of the reason it won was because the 1st game existed.
What about every sequal that relies on the previous installments? So many story sequals like The Last of Us Part 2 or God of War Ragnorak fundamentally don't work if you have no story context from the original games, yet we don't say they don't deserve to be recognized because they are building on something. The difference between a great story DLC and a numbered sequal is that the DLC can continue both mechanically and narratively from the end of the game, while the sequal can continue the story but must reset much of the gameplay. In other story telling mediums we don't scoff at a sequal or a later season of television getting recognition despite being building off of something that exists, and DLC (in the very rare case they are truly great) are an adaptation of this for a more interactive medium.
@@BirdMoose I agree with regards to story, but I do have two thoughts. Firstly, we do need to acknowledge the gameplay side of things. While TLOU2 didn't completely re-invent how TLOU played, I think we can agree it's a different gameplay experience from it's predecessor in a way that SotET isn't. The other thing is that, with regards to story, we do need to ask whether any particular game's story is more like a sequel or like a spin-off or director's cut. I do think SotET seems to stand on it's own, but I can think of some other DLCs that definitely do not stand alone.
The biggest reason why I'm against Elden Ring's nomination this year, especially if it ends up winning, is because it feels like the Game Awards and their associated board of judges are bending over backwards to disregard titles that fall outside of the usual GOTY categories. Outside of Elden Ring, the arguable frontrunners are Astro Bot(a 3D platformer), Balatro(a card game) and Metaphor(a turn-based JRPG), all of which are genres that tend to get snubbed for those with wider appeal, such as open world titles or linear narrative-driven action/adventure games. There are, of course exceptions to this. It Takes Two won in 2021 (though that was a fairly barren year), and though not a JRPG and therefore more statistically likely to win, Baldur's Gate 3 was still turn-based and won in a very stacked year. But there is a clear bias towards established mega franchises in well-trodded genres for game of the year. In spite of Astro Bot being polished to a mirror shine and near flawless for its entire runtime, it's an 8-10 hour long 3D platformer with minimal story that prioritizes playful ideas and fun level design, which can't seem to compete with a 50-60 hour long sprawling gigantic open-world even if it still has tons of technical issues and isn't even released as its own boxed product.
Sam Lake's comments were so refreshing. Honestly Alan Wake 2 was one of the best examples of video games as art as you'd like to see and it's so good to here that its lack of massive commercial success hasn't dulled Remedy's enthusiasm
It is, but it's also a sad state of things that a game company competing with creativity and passion feels like a novel consept. Companies used to compete by making better products than competitors, but these days quality is considered superfluous.
Nah they ruined that game when they sidelined Alan Wake in his own franchise. Not surprised about the flop. No one outside some online communities liked that
Yeah belatro is great Glad it’s getting a spot It might be a little more on the “I love it because it’s addictive and I’m genetically predisposed to love anything addictive” side But it was still a very well put together game.
Metaphor or Astro Bot definitely deserve the recognition the studios passionately put into those games. There’s no reason why an ADDON to an already existing game should be nominated. There’s already precedent set for DLC last year in Best Ongoing Game with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty so why didn’t it get nominated there like Cyberpunk’s DLC last year? It makes no sense and just ruins goty for other releases and sets an awful precedent
That's not the point with the game of the year through my man. The point that the best of the best of the year should be stand alone original games not something built upon another game Even REMAKES should get their own category. If you muddy the waters then no one will take game awards seriously because they are not "regulated" properly for the prestige they aspire to
DLC shouldn't be considered for GOTY. That feels like a TV episode winning the Oscar for best film. There are easily enough DLC's dropping in a year to have enough entries, just give each category it's own award. Also, I don't really like to agree with CEOs but I agree with Phil Spencer when he said that consoles don't really have that much to offer anymore. PCs are strong as hell, and are way more accessible than buying a $500 PS5 and then a $600 PS5 Pro two years later, plus a $400 Xbox Series whatever. I like their approach to just making more games and making their titles accessible as possible. I definitely feel like that will give Xbox more space to grow their games portfolios to include more indies and more high budget games.
It would surprise me if there wasn’t a controversy every year so the awards get the promotion of everyone talking about it, any news is good news for advertising. But just do a DLC/Expansion category is the sensible solution to a deliberate problem.
I think the biggest issue is that they told up that dlcs are allowed nominated before the announcement. I don't think dlcs should be allowed, but it really feels like they are trying to undermine other games for no reasons.
I can't think of why it should get a nomination, it's not a game it's a DLC, it's length doesn't matter, it's amount of content isn't what makes a game, it being a game is what makes it a game, it's the same as having a non indi game in the indi gamea because it looks like one.
Chefs Kiss for that Milquetoastedly tactful assessment of Wukong's "lukewarm" reception by -shills- critics. "When are you humans gonna learn, _size doesn't matter?"_ It's DLC, it should not be in the running Gabe's reasoning is trash. "I couldn't see s way to shove more phydics puzzles in your face, so why bother?" Because people wanted to see the conclusion of the _story_ Gabe. "Lazy" is that bullshit logic.
Wow......good shout on Castlevania being free on Epic! I hadn't booted up Epic Games this week so you just reminded me to go and do it. Castlevania was available until 4pm on 21st November (today). I didn't know this until I logged into Epic.......at 3.59pm! I literally left it till the LAST MINUTE to claim it! That was a close one!
Ralph, I love these videos. Admittedly, I selfishly want a deep dive into the current state of MMOs. As a fellow (cat) dad gamer, please indulge me as we both search for that hit like we had with EQ1 when we were 12.
You have to OWN elden ring to play shadow. It should not be eligible for game of the year. It’s fantastic and deserves to be celebrated. But not this way
I didn’t really know much about balatro but purchased it on mobile one fateful saturday morning and promptly wasted away the rest of the entire day on the couch playing it. Totally deserves recognition.
By that argument you made for the DLC to be a nominee, then MODS should be nominated as well for game of the year, especially considering how good some of them are.
Would giving some of these badass modder teams some major credit like game of the year a bad thing? I thibk sometimes they would deserve it. Sometimes, the nods the create change the entire game into something completely different so yes, i think modders deserve awards and praise.
It’s funny how people believe anything Geoff says like it’s the gospel. Dude had a hand in this. No way he doesn’t. He is paid off like a politician. Y’all gotta stop believing everything. It’s ok to have some skepticism.
@@michaelp.3485 it’s extremely ignorant to take what people say at face value as fact. In America there is literal laws to let you have those ideas and voice them. What are you saying you need facts? Gtfo.
@@michaelp.3485 "Man who runs the game awards has some kind of input into what happens at the game awards" isn't much of a conspiracy. It's basic common sense. 😂
DLC NEEDS IT'S OWN CATEGORY, end of story. The only reason Erdtree is on the GOTY list and they changed the rules is so Stellar Blade and Space Marine would be snubbed.
Crazy to me that people always forget the performance issues associated with Elden ring. When SotE came out, it performed horribly across the board. People are running the ps4 version on ps5 in an attempt to get better performance and we are considering it for this years defining game? Maybe I’m just getting old and jaded
According to critics there are no performance issues, according to FromSoft it is the fault of their customers (they literally told people in their patch notes to turn off other stuff they have installed)
2:41 they should have just put Shadow of the Erdtree in the "Best Ongoing Game" category. They put Cyberpunk 2077 in there last year (to acknowledge that CDPR fixed their game ala No Man's Sky, imo), so theres no reason a game with an impactful enough DLC couldn't go into that category. I'm guessing the only reason they didn't is because they really want to give another game in that category an award and couldn't do it if Erdtree was in there. I hear the argument that it's as long as a normal game and has as much story as some new games, but it's not stand alone. I really just think they should have put it into Ongoing Game.
In the end is going to be the same narratibe on SkillUp's GotY WrapUp video: "The BEST game this year hands down was Elden Ring... but the game I enjoyed the most this year was (Sony's game)". The same way there is always a positive critical attittude towards Nintendo games in the Industry, there seems too be a negative one about SIE. I am not saying Ralph is like this... My Boy always says it like it is.
Shadow of the Erdtree deserves to win the DLC category, if there was one. For GOTY, I want a new and fresh release to win it, like Astro Bot or Wukong.
I don't think length - and to go further, production quality, effort, etc. - are valid metrics for a DLC (or expansion) counting for *game* of the year. It just doesn't work when the whole point is that any game can count for GOTY given that it's proven good enough for all of us to play - regardless of length and those other factors. I think there's a lot of value in seeing a new game be highlighted as a nominee for GOTY. A way that I like to think about it is asking, "What if Shadow of the Erdtree was instead a standalone sequel to Elden Ring?", would people laud it in the same way that they are now? I'm certain it would still garner much praise, but people tend to look for something new / refreshing / groundbreaking / impactful when it comes to sequels, and you can generally see that with all the sequels that have historically won The Game Awards (Witcher 3, BotW, God of War, Baldur's Gate 3). I'm certain it took a ton of skill, creativity, and effort to create SotE, but it's a different process creating a DLC and a new game (unless you're FIFA or smth, so I guess it's still a spectrum). Regardless, there should definitely be space for celebrating games that get expansions and additional content! I think it's fair to put them in a separate category.
I don't think anyone's argument is about the lack of quality or value of Erdtree. I think the idea behind it is that the game has received its well-deserved flowers, and we should use this space to spotlight new games. Given the state of the industry, I'd love to see games like Astrobot and Metaphor to really shine and maybe get a boost in sales during the holiday period.
@@fragr33f74 This is one of the more nuanced takes I've seen here. By your logic, would it be acceptable to grant the award to a DLC for a game that hasn't won any awards?
Ralph, I just had surgery Tuesday. When you said “Which is to say, that I would put Outer Wilds in every box. You’re welcome,” the belly laugh you gave me was quite painful. Still, well done and thank you.
By that logic, no man's sky gets updated every year so let's add it to GOTY every year. Re-releases, ports and remasters should be allowed too, if DLC is.
Its is sold as a standalone purchase that does not need ANYTHING else? So yes, its eligible. Its sold as an expansion that needs the purchase of the BASE game? So It IS NOT!! That's simple. No argue with that.
I disagree with Shadow of the Erdtree deserving to get Game of the year. Did Witcher 3 Blood and Wine get a chance? I'd compare them as absolutely amazing additions to an absolutely amazing game... To remove this argument in the future, there should be a category for best DLC... There have been many great ones so far so I think it should be rewarded aswell.
The game awards feels so centred around what I can only describe as Twitter discourse. It's just appeasement and pandering to a conversation I obviously lost when I deleted the app. No shit the Elden Ring dlc isn't game of the year. Who cares about the size? Oh, and of course the main attraction which is adverts and Geoff glazing Kojima.
geoff loves sucking on Kojimas nuts, its actually why he created the game awards, so he could force kojima to visit him, his game announcements are secondary to that.
My biggest thing about the DLC argument is this: Everyone talks about "if it was its own stand alone game it would have 80 hours of content! Its bigger than whole games released in the past!" And? It wasn't released as a stand alone game it is just a DLC, it may be bigger than those games but this is using the framework of a massive already successful game, many games are bigger and smaller than other games on this list (like Balatro) but being smaller and shorter doesn't make it a worse game, plus so much of the DLC experience is tied to the base game (especially since you have to play through a lot of it to even get to the DLC content), and if you don't own the base game at all you can't play SOET because it isn't a full game and is just a DLC. It isn't bad that it is a DLC, it should be okay for a DLC to be like this, but it shouldn't be seen as its own game. If Fromsoft themselves don't say anything about it, I will lose any and all respect I have for them as developers, since they should understand better than anyone that someone else deserves that slot. I would love if they added a DLC of the year, it may encourage more companies to put effort behind it, or it may make them cut more content to make their own SoET level DLC attempting to get a GOTY dlc causing even worse games in the future if nobody does anything....
Counterpoint: doesn’t matter how it was released, it is effectively a reduced-price sequel. It’s a game that came out this year. You’re quibbling over marketing
@@xIQ188x 1. if it was a sequel you could play it without the base game of Elden Ring. 2. It being effectively a reduced-price sequel is irrelevant because it doesn't have enough new to make it worth being a sequel. What is new and not using things from the base game? The environment, systems, lore, many of the enemies, and the end experience is still the same as the base game. The DLC adds new toys, but not a new game. It is content for a game that came out 2 years ago, would you say it is alright for Half Life 2 to compete since they just released content for their game the other day? No, because it isn't a new game, its just content for one that already exists. I wouldn't let WoW compete for GOTY and that releases "reduced price sequel" level things all the time.
@ the beautiful thing about life is that you’re entitled to your opinion, even if it’s wrong. Have fun watching the awards, don’t get too worked up about it cutie:)
Alright losing ALL respect is a bit much considering how much quality and quantity they put in their games without divulging into scummy business practices
Or just make a DLC category. Also, Multiversus already won Best Fighting Game award. How is it nominated again?? Love your videos, but some of the Panels’ decisions are questionable.
Saying KADOKAWA is the owner of fromsoft is like saying Warner Brothers is jus the owner of Rocksteady. Considering they are one of the biggest book publisher and film company in Japan. Owning them means Sony would be a major player in every facet of anime, from manga to light novel to movies to music.
Thete was never a cancelled spyro game. There were discussions while making crash 4 but thets about it What was cancelled was crash 5 which featured a crossover with spyro. Though you don't play as him, he just assists you with certain traversal or combat options
Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t even qualify based on the rules that the VGA put out. It does not expand on the base game in meaningful ways and it does not add any new or interesting systems (Scadu-fragments are not interesting). Elden Ring is already a phenomenal game but the expansion is just more of that and it’s taking up the nomination of another game imo.
An “Expansion of the Year” category is the only fair way. We need to have very defined lines when we consider what is / is not eligible for “Game of the Year”. In theory, that’s the whole point of the awards ceremony lol.
![Coheed and Cambria - Searching for Tomorrow [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hDsYGLbmadg/mqdefault.jpg)
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Space marine 2 should be for nomination
Will there be Metaphor review ?
I'm happy everyone is calling you out for that awful take. Rare comments W.
I mean Persona 5 Royal got a nomination, why not Elden Ring? If Elden Ring gets it, Persona 5 Royal should be awarded "Best Role Playing Game" post ceremony. Why? FF7 Remake got Best Role Playing Game in 2020 and FF7 Remake is not "one of the best games ever made", but P5R is., just like Elden Ring.
a DLC and remake should never be in that top list, even if one likes it just make a spotlight moment to say "check this out" but that's dumb its just "i like this game check it out
its not needed, liking something doesn't mean put it into an award
I feel like we had this conversation with Phantom Liberty last year too. Just make a "Best DLC or Expansion" category, it feels like an easy solution
that wouldn't change the conversation. There is a best RPG category but they are still eligible for GOTY
We didn't, really. Because it was nominated for best "ONGOING", which is totally acceptable.
@@Paraguai123 this time best "Ongoing" is more questionable than last year. Cyberpunk isn't really an ongoing game like Warframe or Path of Exile are, so I could understand the issue. This leads to this years nominees. Why for the love of god are Destiny 2 and Diablo 4 nominated, but the two games I mentioned before are being left out. With the success of Honkai Starrail you could make an argument to list it here too, but D2 and D4 would be the greatest sh*tshows of the year, if we hadn't Failguard, Dustborn. Concord, .... And then there is Helldivers 2, which isn't even a year old.
Best way would be to define this category as "Best Ongoing/Dlc", so we would get the highlights of both sides.
@@SilverShot114 literally what I thought last year as well, why have games that aren't ongoing, meaning new content gets added in gradually, over month and/or years, when they only really had one big expansion.
My basic premise is this: if what you've nominated isn't playable without the base game, how can we then separately judge it as it's own thing. Yes, it may be big and full of content, but it's literally meant to expand and enhance the experience of a game, not stand as its own thing.
@@Ebenezer563yes, but those RPG’s eligible for GOTY are full video games, not dlc, aren’t they?
DLCs and remasters should not be eligible for GOTY. One is extra content for a game that came out in years prior and the other is just an old title being sold again with touch ups. Remakes however should qualify as those are new games built from the ground up.
Why can’t there just be a best DLC/expansion category? It’s not like it’s a struggle to come up with 5 worthy games that actually came out in 2024 and the fact that TGA suddenly bent over backwards to include Elden Ring DLC reeks of special treatment and nepotism.
Agree, but there's still a lot of ignorant people that think a remaster is the same as a remake. So I wouldn't hold my breath.
Most sequels should probably be disqualified too. GoWR was just more content for GoW
@xlQ188x sequels are actual games? tf you talkin about
The difference between a sequel and DLC is so vague without context as to be entirely redundant. Most sequels are just more of an old thing. Hell, From's games are basically all iterative versions of the same game, with the same assets, animations and models, with DS2 being the only exception in the Souls series. Even games like Bloodborne and Sekiro borrow heavily from previous games.
Saying that DLC should not be eligible on principle is a very slippery slope. It has to be judged on a case by case basis to mean anything.
@@BigSmokePapa667 you’re just describing how games are marketed, not an actual meaningful difference. Shadow of the Erdtree is a game that released this year. I know because I bought it and played it the day it released. You can tell me it’s “technically not a game” till you’re blue in the face. It doesn’t matter. I already played the game and saw that it was, in fact, a game.
Nah, just create a DLC category
Yep
How many dlcs/expansions have u played this year to think..."hmmm there's a lack of best dlc category in Game Awards"
It would just be shadow of the erdtree every year
It should've just been in ongoing games like cyberpunk was when phantom liberty came out
Give better arguments like Skill Up did instead of repeating the same boring thing over and over and over.
You should give more spotlight to the BAFTA awards when it comes around since that is basically what you want from the Game Awards. Recently watched the last year one and it was pretty much everything I want the Game Awards to be. Not focused on celebrities, game trailers, ads etc and just focused on the awards.
Oh god I am not ready for the cringy celebrity appearances…
Hey not to imply anything but what's with VERY similar comments about BAFTA from different accounts?
@@scout4996 bots are copying other comments to have a realistic comment
BAFTA definitely is better tbh. Don’t get me wrong, they be on some BS with their nominations too, but they’re definitely more fair and they nominate a lot of under the radar games that are great.
Best DLC of the year category, sounds like the way of the future. By price and genre
Only issue is what if all the dlc sucks? Like what if all the dlc sold is just skins? Do we reward that?
@Nanoqtran Depends on the fan base vote, the difference between Expansions and best live service of the year could be another section also. Expansions from Triple A Devs are usually a big deal when a company does it right. Best example I can think of is Phantom Liberty Cyber Punk
@@NanoqtranI doubt that will ever happen. Sure there’s not always erdtree level dlc released every year but there’s always some good dlc at least for smaller games.
@@Nanoqtran this is a silly question. There's never been a year of DLC when there was only skins. Might as well ask if we should have a GOTY category if we only get card games one year. You're creating a reality that will never exist.
Can anyone come up with any other dlc from this year that potentially deserves a nomination though?
If blood and wine couldn’t be nominated because it’s DLC, then neither can shadow of the erdtree
that is so true, If there was a DLC worthy of GOTY it was Blood and Wine, it felt like a completely new game, it's still the highest rated DLC on Metacritic.
And that was 8 years ago. I guess something had change as of late to now allow expansions to be nominated.
It could have, but it was only nominated for the best RPG game (ironically won over Dark Souls 3).
It was for best RPG, and won (over Dark Souls 3, btw)
Blood and Wine is still mediocre tho 😬🫣
Kind weird to say that just because a dlc is long enough, it could be nominated as game of year, when there's truly incredible, very short games out there. I don't understand why we are judging this by the size of the dlc
What about quality?
And it also just wouldn’t be fun to see the same game win game of the year. Like, what if the extended version of Return of the King got nominated for Best Picture the year after the theatrical version won?
@@dalog9194 Doesnt matter imo. Same reason why BG3 didn't win best fighting game last year. It just not in that category. I think we should just put DLC and expansions in on going games, or their own category.
Except that’s not what SkillUp said in the video. The length is just one factor.
Fromsoft meat riding is out of control among game critics these days.
Legitimately extremely discrediting for the entire industry imo
They should also add the categories "worst publisher of the year" and "worst CEO of the year".
We really need a video game razzies award
EA wins every year
Pretty sure that would end any kind of sponsorship or advertisement deal they currently have... On second, why not, then we may see them end the Game Awards 😂
Why do you want to make a category for just Ubisoft and EA?
@@Ender11037 Yeah, this category would just give EA and Ubi yearly wins lol
Why not just have a DLC category?
Because Geoff keighly needs to fit more games previews.
Need to conveniently fit in some games
How about drop it in “best ongoing game”. It would make the award more interesting, at least.
FromSoft is unique in that they're basically the only company now that makes DLCs that are basically full games (this was a lot more common for pc games in the 90s and early 2000s, they were called expansions. There are indie devs that offer DLC that's good bang for the buck like Dead Cells and Vampire Survivors), but in the AAA pretty much all DLC is trash. From is in a unique position, and I think it's completely appropriate to count their DLC as a full game.
You don't have many DLCs each year that are worthy of an award, the vast majority are just content bundles, skin packs, side quests, etc.
Remember when Cyberpunk 2077 got "Best Ongoing Game" because it received patches and one DLC?
if anything, "best ongoing game" is what fits the most with DLC's
Woah! You released an unfinished turd and made it playable. Here take this award!
So I’m not the only who thought that
No Man's Sky still is constantly putting out new updates transforming the game in different ways, all for free and they are not on the list
I certainly do and I'm sick of the revisionist history Cyberpunk fans spout. Fixing your shit and having a halfway decent expansion doesn't make it better than the ongoing support FFXIV, Genshin Impact, No Man's Sky or Path of Exile receive.
I really think people are missing the point of this. Like Skill Up said, we should just put Outer Wilds in every category. Game of the Year in our hearts.
Funny enough there were people saying Outer Wilds' DLC should have gotten a GOTY nomination.
@TheSergio1021 Honestly with SotE now being nominated, Echoes definitely deserved it too.
@@TheSergio1021 me. I've been saying this to my friends the past few days.
.... that's certainly what I got from it, yes
Idk man it feels really weird the way people and especially reviewers have been treating Shadow of the Erdtree like a whole different thing from any other dlc in history just because of how big it is. It’s undoubtedly one of the best things that released this year but it’s still just a dlc and it’s still Elden Ring and I don’t see why it should get the spotlight when it already did the year it released. I love ER but I don’t like the special status people give to it and the dlc.
@@darrenfleming7901 I'm open to the idea of DLC being eligible, but in this case it feels less like SotE winning than it feels like ER winning again.
it shouldn't matter how long a DLC is, if it's a DLC that requires you to buy a game to play it, it's not a standalone game. therefore it should never have been nominated
just make a "best DLC" category, the solution is simple and not doing that just makes the game awards feel even more like a giant advert
Counterpoint: this is all arbitrary and made up and we’re doing it for funsies
Unfortunately, not enough good DLCs exist in a single year to ever fit in a category. Sure, video game adaptations also kindof have this issue, but theres still a larger pool to pick compared to DLCs that actually count.
I mean Persona 5 (Royal) was technically a DLC (Royal DLC), but also purchasable as a complete game "Persona 5 Royal". It's an overhaul of the entire game from top to bottom and pushed the score from 7.5 / 10 to 9.5/10, to this day one of the highest scoring games (critics and users) of all time.
Should that still be in a DLC category, if you basically get a new game because everything about the game was overhauled?
Persona 5 Royal got nominated as "Best RPG" in 2020 and no one gave af. Why? Because ppl like you here in the comments are just screaming reddit nonsense into the void.
@@TheNerdfrom what I googled, that game has its own disk and is separate. DLC or not, you can launch separate from it’s original source. Thus, applying to the OP’s comment. You even elaborated as such when you mentioned “sold as a complete game.”
@TheNerd Persona 5 Royal was released as a separate game. Similarly, if we were talking about, say, Xenoblade's Torna expansion, that would be fine as it's available for purchase separately and can be played independently from the base game. Not only is Elden Ring's DLC tied to the base game from a purchase standpoint, you have to play to a certain point in order to even access it. I don't care about how big or long it is, it is not its own title, therefore it is not a standalone game that should qualify. If Fromsoft had released it as a standalone expansion, then it'd be different. But if we're sorting games by category, then consistency matters, and given Cyberpunk won best ongoing last year with a similarly expansive DLC, that should be the extent of Elden Ring's qualifications.
Sam Lake loves games so much he somehow even looks and talks like a character in a cutscene.
It's because he is Max Payne.
I'd argue it is partly Geoff's fault. Geoff is one of the main big wigs of The Game Awards and would have been one of the people to decide if DLCs and Expansions were allowed to be Game of the Year. It remains to be seen if he agreed to the idea or not, but I'm leaning on he did because it builds hype and gets money.
I'm sure this isn't the most popular part of your show but thanks so much for always taking the time out to mention a cool indie or upcoming project. I never would have heard of Miniatures otherwise and it's definitely something I want to check out.
DLC being considered is an insult to the other games nominated.
Or more like a wake up call that they should make better games to not be beaten by an expansion.
@@MaidenlessScrub There were dozens better games released this year than SOTE
@@drogozi3308 list them then
@@TheSergio1021 all of the games nominated for GOTY
@@MaidenlessScrub so you just ignored my entire comment and attacked straw man bad games. I agree many AAA need to up their game but the ones nominated all deserve to be there.
Answered the question when you said "Imagine if Shadow of the Erdtee was a standalone release". If you have to imagine scenarios to make a game eligible for a category, it should not be eligible for that category.
The drama around Disco Elysium *_IS_* Disco Elysium 2. Genius!
I feel like this should have been something that the Game Awards figured out from the beginning.
an easy fix to this is make a separate for category for dlc no?
No because there would be no competition
that doesn't fix anything because you still have the question of whether of not DLCs should be able to win GOTY. There is a separate category for best RPG but that doesn't stop RPGs from winning GOTY
Let's be real, they do something like this EVERY year to drive attention and money.
Best "ongoing" game is a category. It should be under there. So should FF7 Rebirth.
@@bkirke then we should get a proper definition of "ongoing" first, cause just like Phantom liberty last year, one big expansion isn't the same as years of content in cases like Warframe.
Fromsoft is literally one of the smaller parts Kadokawa, for Sony trying to purchase Kadokawa Entertainment. The volume of Manga, Anime, and Lightnovels are the more major point. This is more like when Disney bought Marvel than if say another company was buying Ubisoft.
Yes, but nuance and objective facts doesn't give clickbait material. So... SONY IS BUYING FROMSOFTWARE AND IT'S GOING TO CHAIN MIYAZAKI IN THE BASEMENT AND MAKE HIM MAKE GAMES UNTIL HE DIES!!
Yeah, I really don't wanna see sony get any more power in anime/manga/LN industry. Look at what they did to funimation.
Sony buying Kadokawa would be devastating. Also I don't want them to kill Chunsoft!
"this week in video games"
And you're surprised that they didn't discuss all the anime and manga details of the publisher?
@user-zp8kj2cl9g What nuance? Sony ARE essentially buying Fromsoft, which means Fromsoft games not coming to PC for years, and Xbox ever. This is just as bad as M$FT buying up everything. This is obviously what game focused channels are gonna focus on..
Anyone else feel that “Prey Mooncrash” was top of mind when a DLC being game of the year, was being discussed?
@@walterreid So much so that I went back and checked if it was in Ralph's yearly recap. But he started doing that the next year. Doh!
Sony possibly purchasing Kadokawa should really worry people more, and it has nothing to do with them acquiring FromSoftware. What Sony really wants is the vast amount of anime, manga, and light novel rights they would get from Kadokawa, FromSoft would just be icing on the cake.
Sony already owns Crunchyroll, Funimation, Aniplex, and Rightstuf. If you live in the west and watch anime, there’s a good chance Sony is somehow involved. And with Kadokawa under their wing that would only further increase their domination in that space. I’m not saying Sony would be a full on monopoly in regards to anime distribution, but they’re creeping closer and closer to becoming one.
so... why should I be worried about that?
@@altramen7045 Since you've apparently been living under a rock, monopolies are bad. And Sony basically controlling the anime/manga industry, or at the very least a majority of it, is very bad. Sony buying Kadokawa is similar to Disney buying Fox.
about the elden ring dlc debacle.. you said "pretend this was a standalone release" and you lose your argument right there.. its not a game on its own, its content for a game and thus should not be eligible for game of the year, no matter how good of an added experience it is for elden ring
I understood many reasons for helldivers 2 not winning game of the year but not even being nominated is crazy imo. Was probably the largest buzz in gaming of this year. For like 4 weeks straight everything was helldivers on social media. Haven't seen any other game this year take up that much time in the spotlight. Crazy to see some of these other games on here instead.😅
They have taken several major hits to their community, what with the PSN debacle, constant nerfing and most recently the Space Station killing divers more than bugs or automatons.
I know Fromsoft is on people's mind, but buying Kadokawa would get Sony access of so much of the anime/manga industry. Its basically the Japanese version of Disney buying Fox.
Balatro 100% deserve all of it’s nominations
"Pretend this was a standalone game" let me stop you right there. If we have to pretend then the argument already falls apart. The reality is that it is still an expansion to an older game. No matter how large or how great it is, it is DLC. Yeah the DLC is worth a lot of standalone games combined, but the fact remains. People have said the same thing about Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion, but no one ever questioned whether that should be nominated for GOTY in 2016. No one even considered such a ridiculous notion. Rules and principles matter. Consistency matters. Only full standalone games released the same year are nominated. Not older games, not DLCs. Hell, even remakes should be called in to question over whether they should be considered new games.
Gaming wasnt 90% cashgrabs on 2016. The industry had some fcking principals.
Now they dont. Now half the game nominated are live service slop. Anything not live service slop, even a dlc, is a better pick than much of the garbage we get sold these days.
Lets stop acting like the industry is even remotley the same as it was 8 YEARS AGO! The entire industry has made a MASSIVE shift if that time.
Wrong. Many people said Blood and Wine should get nominated for GOTY. There were many people that also said the same of Cyberpunk 2077's DLC. And even Outer Wild's DLC.
I think remakes, if they are remaking the game from the ground up, of course should be included. Demon Souls for example would have been a legitimate nomination.
The boundary line for remakes is a bit iffy tho. For example dead space remake is pretty much just an enhanced version of the original. Better graphics, more quality of life etc. But if someone already played through the original then they aren't missing out on much. The same cannot be said for something like FFVII or the resident evil remakes. They are VERY much their own thing and have completely separate gameplay from the originals
@TheSergio1021 I must not remember that then. In any case, it was a bad idea then and it's a bad one now
2:29 is that you Donkey?
How is it not Geoff's fault when he should have done better in managing the award categories?
because its never his fault. it always has to be someone else's fault. Are you new to the tech/videogame industry??
Having played all 6 goty nominees, I would not be surprised SOTE wins. However, a DLC should NEVER be considered for GOTY, I don't care how good it is.
A best DLC and best remake category should be made. It is far far easier to make a remake of a good game and a DLC to an already recognized game than it is to start a brand new IP from scratch and that should be celebrated more.
How do you measure success for games? SALES!!!!!!! It sold like crazy. The developers who made it deserve to be on the biggest stage.
@@ericscasny9312 "And for the 12th year in a row Call of Duty wins goty!" this isn't nor should be how it works lol.
@@ericscasny9312So you want COD to win every year?
Do you think sequels that use the mechanics, assets, and world of the prior game as a foundation should also not be contenders, then? Something like Tears of the Kingdom.
Erdtree is NOT better than Metaphor, Astro Bot, or Rebirth.
You should have your mouth washed out with soap.
I can't wait for celebrities and three fortnite ads shuttering excellent creatives from having their time on stage this year
A DLC got nominated over Helldivers. Incredible
A final fantasy remaster for a game from almost 30 years ago did too. Be mad about both if youre mad about 1. They got 30 yeats of nostalgia behind that nomination.
@ Tbf anything like Final Fantasy just goes in one ear and out the other. I literally couldn’t care less about those games. But yes I’m angry about that as well. Remasters shouldn’t be eligible
and some shtty metroid game that no one cares about too. who tf made these picks???
@@crispy_338ff7 isn’t a remaster it’s a complete remake, a completely different game that even follows a different story, it definitely should be allegeable for goty and that comes from someone who hasn’t played a single ff game ever
@ Eh it’s iffy
With Regard to the Elden Ring DLC, Hard disagree skill up. The DLC did not earn it's place on its own merits. As a DLC attached to the base game of elden ring and as you said requiring a significant portion of the game to be completed prior to even starting the game, its experience is indivisible from the base game experience. It inherits the level progression, lore and mechanics from the base game. The majority of the enemies outside of the bosses are reskins of enemies from the base game or from prior darksouls games. I'm not saying its bad but they definitely didn't reinvent the wheel here and while large I dont believe that DLC required anywhere near as much effort as creating a whole new game from scratch. If you feel this DLC deserves an award, there needs to be a DLC category otherwise you set a dangerous precedent for games releasing long, asset flip, DLC for established and beloved IPs in the hopes of snagging game of the year for a second time.
How do you judge a dlc without taking account the base game. It would be like givving a sequal the award but 50% of the reason it won was because the 1st game existed.
Clearly you haven’t played Shadow of the Erdtree lol.
What about every sequal that relies on the previous installments? So many story sequals like The Last of Us Part 2 or God of War Ragnorak fundamentally don't work if you have no story context from the original games, yet we don't say they don't deserve to be recognized because they are building on something. The difference between a great story DLC and a numbered sequal is that the DLC can continue both mechanically and narratively from the end of the game, while the sequal can continue the story but must reset much of the gameplay.
In other story telling mediums we don't scoff at a sequal or a later season of television getting recognition despite being building off of something that exists, and DLC (in the very rare case they are truly great) are an adaptation of this for a more interactive medium.
Maybe because sequels can also get awards.....
@@BirdMoose I agree with regards to story, but I do have two thoughts. Firstly, we do need to acknowledge the gameplay side of things. While TLOU2 didn't completely re-invent how TLOU played, I think we can agree it's a different gameplay experience from it's predecessor in a way that SotET isn't.
The other thing is that, with regards to story, we do need to ask whether any particular game's story is more like a sequel or like a spin-off or director's cut. I do think SotET seems to stand on it's own, but I can think of some other DLCs that definitely do not stand alone.
@@parisolivarious SotE is just more Elden Ring nothing more, don't pretend as if it isn't.
The biggest reason why I'm against Elden Ring's nomination this year, especially if it ends up winning, is because it feels like the Game Awards and their associated board of judges are bending over backwards to disregard titles that fall outside of the usual GOTY categories. Outside of Elden Ring, the arguable frontrunners are Astro Bot(a 3D platformer), Balatro(a card game) and Metaphor(a turn-based JRPG), all of which are genres that tend to get snubbed for those with wider appeal, such as open world titles or linear narrative-driven action/adventure games. There are, of course exceptions to this. It Takes Two won in 2021 (though that was a fairly barren year), and though not a JRPG and therefore more statistically likely to win, Baldur's Gate 3 was still turn-based and won in a very stacked year. But there is a clear bias towards established mega franchises in well-trodded genres for game of the year. In spite of Astro Bot being polished to a mirror shine and near flawless for its entire runtime, it's an 8-10 hour long 3D platformer with minimal story that prioritizes playful ideas and fun level design, which can't seem to compete with a 50-60 hour long sprawling gigantic open-world even if it still has tons of technical issues and isn't even released as its own boxed product.
Agree with this, fitting for an award show lol
Sam Lake's comments were so refreshing. Honestly Alan Wake 2 was one of the best examples of video games as art as you'd like to see and it's so good to here that its lack of massive commercial success hasn't dulled Remedy's enthusiasm
it isn't
It is, but it's also a sad state of things that a game company competing with creativity and passion feels like a novel consept. Companies used to compete by making better products than competitors, but these days quality is considered superfluous.
Alan Wake 2 feels like a game made for snobs honestly, nobody outside of Reddit cares one bit and that shows in the sales.
Nah they ruined that game when they sidelined Alan Wake in his own franchise. Not surprised about the flop. No one outside some online communities liked that
@attilab317 you didn't enjoy the game?
I dont think quality matters if it isnt a stand alone game.
Yeah belatro is great Glad it’s getting a spot It might be a little more on the “I love it because it’s addictive and I’m genetically predisposed to love anything addictive” side But it was still a very well put together game.
Metaphor or Astro Bot definitely deserve the recognition the studios passionately put into those games. There’s no reason why an ADDON to an already existing game should be nominated. There’s already precedent set for DLC last year in Best Ongoing Game with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty so why didn’t it get nominated there like Cyberpunk’s DLC last year? It makes no sense and just ruins goty for other releases and sets an awful precedent
Praise be to Sam Lake! That man better finish the Alan Wake and Control trilogies before he retires!
That's not the point with the game of the year through my man. The point that the best of the best of the year should be stand alone original games not something built upon another game Even REMAKES should get their own category. If you muddy the waters then no one will take game awards seriously because they are not "regulated" properly for the prestige they aspire to
12:02: Talking about sliding on an ice path and only mentioning Silver Surfer and Frozone.
The OG X-Man, Iceman: "Am I a joke to you?"
“Pretend this was a stand alone release”…. Yeah, but it isn’t? Does it deserve an award? Absolutely. Game of the year? No.
DLC shouldn't be considered for GOTY. That feels like a TV episode winning the Oscar for best film. There are easily enough DLC's dropping in a year to have enough entries, just give each category it's own award.
Also, I don't really like to agree with CEOs but I agree with Phil Spencer when he said that consoles don't really have that much to offer anymore. PCs are strong as hell, and are way more accessible than buying a $500 PS5 and then a $600 PS5 Pro two years later, plus a $400 Xbox Series whatever. I like their approach to just making more games and making their titles accessible as possible. I definitely feel like that will give Xbox more space to grow their games portfolios to include more indies and more high budget games.
Ugh ofcourse skillup is supporting DLC being in the GOTY category....
It would surprise me if there wasn’t a controversy every year so the awards get the promotion of everyone talking about it, any news is good news for advertising.
But just do a DLC/Expansion category is the sensible solution to a deliberate problem.
I think the biggest issue is that they told up that dlcs are allowed nominated before the announcement.
I don't think dlcs should be allowed, but it really feels like they are trying to undermine other games for no reasons.
Do sales matter when it comes to GOTY? If they do, then shut up.
@@ericscasny9312 If sales mattered, then FIFA is a GOTY, idiot.
@@ericscasny9312popular game does not mean best game. Or else fortnite would win goty
Also, is only a game man. No need to be so hostile
What other games deserve GotY that werent nominated?
@@TheSergio1021 NCAA College Football
I can't think of why it should get a nomination, it's not a game it's a DLC, it's length doesn't matter, it's amount of content isn't what makes a game, it being a game is what makes it a game, it's the same as having a non indi game in the indi gamea because it looks like one.
14:59 thank you skill up for mentioning gog preservation program.
Chefs Kiss for that Milquetoastedly tactful assessment of Wukong's "lukewarm" reception by -shills- critics.
"When are you humans gonna learn, _size doesn't matter?"_ It's DLC, it should not be in the running
Gabe's reasoning is trash. "I couldn't see s way to shove more phydics puzzles in your face, so why bother?" Because people wanted to see the conclusion of the _story_ Gabe. "Lazy" is that bullshit logic.
If Blood and Wine wasn't, this one shouldn't either
Wow......good shout on Castlevania being free on Epic! I hadn't booted up Epic Games this week so you just reminded me to go and do it. Castlevania was available until 4pm on 21st November (today). I didn't know this until I logged into Epic.......at 3.59pm! I literally left it till the LAST MINUTE to claim it! That was a close one!
Ralph, I love these videos. Admittedly, I selfishly want a deep dive into the current state of MMOs.
As a fellow (cat) dad gamer, please indulge me as we both search for that hit like we had with EQ1 when we were 12.
You have to OWN elden ring to play shadow. It should not be eligible for game of the year.
It’s fantastic and deserves to be celebrated. But not this way
Sam Lake was one inch away from saying what I wanted to hear, there. “Games are ART!”
I didn’t really know much about balatro but purchased it on mobile one fateful saturday morning and promptly wasted away the rest of the entire day on the couch playing it. Totally deserves recognition.
By that argument you made for the DLC to be a nominee, then MODS should be nominated as well for game of the year, especially considering how good some of them are.
Would giving some of these badass modder teams some major credit like game of the year a bad thing?
I thibk sometimes they would deserve it. Sometimes, the nods the create change the entire game into something completely different so yes, i think modders deserve awards and praise.
It’s funny how people believe anything Geoff says like it’s the gospel. Dude had a hand in this. No way he doesn’t. He is paid off like a politician. Y’all gotta stop believing everything. It’s ok to have some skepticism.
And y'all gotta have facts to support your claims. Otherwise you are just peddling conspiracy theories.
Gamers don't believe everything, they disbelieve everything they don't already agree with. As your comment clearly demonstrates.
@@michaelp.3485 it’s extremely ignorant to take what people say at face value as fact. In America there is literal laws to let you have those ideas and voice them. What are you saying you need facts? Gtfo.
@@michaelp.3485 "Man who runs the game awards has some kind of input into what happens at the game awards" isn't much of a conspiracy. It's basic common sense. 😂
@@candybracelets Well then, getting actual evidence that he was "paid off" as there other guy says should be fairly easy then, right?
DLC NEEDS IT'S OWN CATEGORY, end of story.
The only reason Erdtree is on the GOTY list and they changed the rules is so Stellar Blade and Space Marine would be snubbed.
Crazy to me that people always forget the performance issues associated with Elden ring. When SotE came out, it performed horribly across the board. People are running the ps4 version on ps5 in an attempt to get better performance and we are considering it for this years defining game? Maybe I’m just getting old and jaded
According to critics there are no performance issues, according to FromSoft it is the fault of their customers (they literally told people in their patch notes to turn off other stuff they have installed)
Agreed, even the PS5 Pro can't get it up to 60fps in any mode. That sounds like a flawed-but-promising game at best, not multiple GOTY
2:41 they should have just put Shadow of the Erdtree in the "Best Ongoing Game" category. They put Cyberpunk 2077 in there last year (to acknowledge that CDPR fixed their game ala No Man's Sky, imo), so theres no reason a game with an impactful enough DLC couldn't go into that category.
I'm guessing the only reason they didn't is because they really want to give another game in that category an award and couldn't do it if Erdtree was in there.
I hear the argument that it's as long as a normal game and has as much story as some new games, but it's not stand alone.
I really just think they should have put it into Ongoing Game.
In the end is going to be the same narratibe on SkillUp's GotY WrapUp video:
"The BEST game this year hands down was Elden Ring... but the game I enjoyed the most this year was (Sony's game)".
The same way there is always a positive critical attittude towards Nintendo games in the Industry, there seems too be a negative one about SIE. I am not saying Ralph is like this... My Boy always says it like it is.
A specific DLC category would actually probably encourage companies in the future to make actually good dlcs
Shadow of the Erdtree deserves to win the DLC category, if there was one. For GOTY, I want a new and fresh release to win it, like Astro Bot or Wukong.
Exactly Elden Ring had it's time in the sun two years ago, that last spot could've gone to Animal Well, Helldivers or Silent Hill
I don't think length - and to go further, production quality, effort, etc. - are valid metrics for a DLC (or expansion) counting for *game* of the year. It just doesn't work when the whole point is that any game can count for GOTY given that it's proven good enough for all of us to play - regardless of length and those other factors. I think there's a lot of value in seeing a new game be highlighted as a nominee for GOTY.
A way that I like to think about it is asking, "What if Shadow of the Erdtree was instead a standalone sequel to Elden Ring?", would people laud it in the same way that they are now? I'm certain it would still garner much praise, but people tend to look for something new / refreshing / groundbreaking / impactful when it comes to sequels, and you can generally see that with all the sequels that have historically won The Game Awards (Witcher 3, BotW, God of War, Baldur's Gate 3).
I'm certain it took a ton of skill, creativity, and effort to create SotE, but it's a different process creating a DLC and a new game (unless you're FIFA or smth, so I guess it's still a spectrum).
Regardless, there should definitely be space for celebrating games that get expansions and additional content! I think it's fair to put them in a separate category.
9:45 man had me during a spit take with this one.
Jesus that Tim the Toolman Taylor grunt at 2:30 was pitch perfect
I don't think anyone's argument is about the lack of quality or value of Erdtree. I think the idea behind it is that the game has received its well-deserved flowers, and we should use this space to spotlight new games.
Given the state of the industry, I'd love to see games like Astrobot and Metaphor to really shine and maybe get a boost in sales during the holiday period.
@@fragr33f74 This is one of the more nuanced takes I've seen here. By your logic, would it be acceptable to grant the award to a DLC for a game that hasn't won any awards?
Ralph, I just had surgery Tuesday. When you said “Which is to say, that I would put Outer Wilds in every box. You’re welcome,” the belly laugh you gave me was quite painful. Still, well done and thank you.
Here before the Game Awards cuts the video short to put up Fortnite Ads
Ufo 50 is not only fantastic but it paves a path for many studios big and small to challenge what is possible or redeem past titles
Skillup put the Outer Wilds DLC as his game of the year so I love to see his take on this and if he's going to defend it or be a hypocrite
The difference is he's kind of taking the piss
By that logic, no man's sky gets updated every year so let's add it to GOTY every year. Re-releases, ports and remasters should be allowed too, if DLC is.
i can't lie. i feel like if i miss this year's game awards, i won't feel a damn thing
Insert the butterfly meme with "is this an xbox ?"
That was a remarkably good Tim Allen noise
Its is sold as a standalone purchase that does not need ANYTHING else? So yes, its eligible. Its sold as an expansion that needs the purchase of the BASE game? So It IS NOT!! That's simple. No argue with that.
Your Outer Wilds Timestamp for TWIVG: 1:14 ✅
I disagree with Shadow of the Erdtree deserving to get Game of the year. Did Witcher 3 Blood and Wine get a chance? I'd compare them as absolutely amazing additions to an absolutely amazing game...
To remove this argument in the future, there should be a category for best DLC... There have been many great ones so far so I think it should be rewarded aswell.
DLC is, by definition, part of an ongoing game. Just include the game in best ongoing
DLC is not a new full game. It’s just added content to an already existing game. They just need to make a new category for best DLC.
I played SotE with far more excitement and enjoyment and time than I did many other new releases this year. It was basically a sequel.
Do you think SkillUp records a fresh "Gamers!" introduction each video or just has a recording where he nailed it and just uses that every time?
Horse armor can last thousands of hours, guess it should be nominated game of the year.
What a terrible strawman.
Horse armor is nowhere near the amount of new content Shadow of the Erdtree provides.
@ it was just in reference to the length.
@@TheSergio1021ah yes new content such as the 100th cookbook you’ll never use that you find when you round a corner or enter the end of a dungeon
Dungeon Clawler is, and has been my secret crack addiction a few moths back.....Looking forward to diving back in....
The game awards feels so centred around what I can only describe as Twitter discourse.
It's just appeasement and pandering to a conversation I obviously lost when I deleted the app. No shit the Elden Ring dlc isn't game of the year. Who cares about the size?
Oh, and of course the main attraction which is adverts and Geoff glazing Kojima.
geoff loves sucking on Kojimas nuts, its actually why he created the game awards, so he could force kojima to visit him, his game announcements are secondary to that.
Hope you're having a good week Ralph
My biggest thing about the DLC argument is this: Everyone talks about "if it was its own stand alone game it would have 80 hours of content! Its bigger than whole games released in the past!" And? It wasn't released as a stand alone game it is just a DLC, it may be bigger than those games but this is using the framework of a massive already successful game, many games are bigger and smaller than other games on this list (like Balatro) but being smaller and shorter doesn't make it a worse game, plus so much of the DLC experience is tied to the base game (especially since you have to play through a lot of it to even get to the DLC content), and if you don't own the base game at all you can't play SOET because it isn't a full game and is just a DLC. It isn't bad that it is a DLC, it should be okay for a DLC to be like this, but it shouldn't be seen as its own game. If Fromsoft themselves don't say anything about it, I will lose any and all respect I have for them as developers, since they should understand better than anyone that someone else deserves that slot. I would love if they added a DLC of the year, it may encourage more companies to put effort behind it, or it may make them cut more content to make their own SoET level DLC attempting to get a GOTY dlc causing even worse games in the future if nobody does anything....
Counterpoint: doesn’t matter how it was released, it is effectively a reduced-price sequel. It’s a game that came out this year. You’re quibbling over marketing
@@xIQ188x 1. if it was a sequel you could play it without the base game of Elden Ring. 2. It being effectively a reduced-price sequel is irrelevant because it doesn't have enough new to make it worth being a sequel. What is new and not using things from the base game? The environment, systems, lore, many of the enemies, and the end experience is still the same as the base game. The DLC adds new toys, but not a new game. It is content for a game that came out 2 years ago, would you say it is alright for Half Life 2 to compete since they just released content for their game the other day? No, because it isn't a new game, its just content for one that already exists. I wouldn't let WoW compete for GOTY and that releases "reduced price sequel" level things all the time.
@ the beautiful thing about life is that you’re entitled to your opinion, even if it’s wrong. Have fun watching the awards, don’t get too worked up about it cutie:)
@@xIQ188x I'm glad you realize that you were wrong, I'm not getting worked up at all actually. I hope you have a good time watching the awards too :)
Alright losing ALL respect is a bit much considering how much quality and quantity they put in their games without divulging into scummy business practices
Or just make a DLC category.
Also, Multiversus already won Best Fighting Game award. How is it nominated again??
Love your videos, but some of the Panels’ decisions are questionable.
3:20 Really? Who selected the judges?
Saying KADOKAWA is the owner of fromsoft is like saying Warner Brothers is jus the owner of Rocksteady. Considering they are one of the biggest book publisher and film company in Japan. Owning them means Sony would be a major player in every facet of anime, from manga to light novel to movies to music.
DLC shouldn't be in the GOTY category. Elden Ring had its time, the category should be for newer releases.
Thete was never a cancelled spyro game. There were discussions while making crash 4 but thets about it
What was cancelled was crash 5 which featured a crossover with spyro. Though you don't play as him, he just assists you with certain traversal or combat options
Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t even qualify based on the rules that the VGA put out. It does not expand on the base game in meaningful ways and it does not add any new or interesting systems (Scadu-fragments are not interesting). Elden Ring is already a phenomenal game but the expansion is just more of that and it’s taking up the nomination of another game imo.
@@SirShadeyy This. Game changing DLC can and does exist, but this is just standard DLC on a very good game.
That Tim Allen impression was pretty on point at 2:29 😂
You always keep it interesting!
An “Expansion of the Year” category is the only fair way. We need to have very defined lines when we consider what is / is not eligible for “Game of the Year”. In theory, that’s the whole point of the awards ceremony lol.
They nominated a DLC over helldivers 2. What a clown show