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Six of eight The Game Awards winners have been single player. What about the next eight?

How many Game of the Year winners (TGAs) over the next 8 years will be single player?

  • Less than 3 of the next 8 GotY winners will be SP.

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • 3 of the next 8 GotY winners will be SP.

    Votes: 2 2.7%
  • 4 of the next 8 GotY winners will be SP.

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • 5 of the next 8 GotY winners will be SP.

    Votes: 8 11.0%
  • 6 of the next 8 GotY winners will be SP.

    Votes: 26 35.6%
  • More than 6 of the next 8 GotY winners will be SP.

    Votes: 35 47.9%

  • Total voters
    73

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
4070270-game-awards-2022-how-to-watch.jpg


2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
2015 - The Witcher 3
2016 - Overwatch
2017 - Breath of the Wild
2018 - God of War
2019 - Sekiro
2020 - The Last of Us II
2021 - It Takes Two
2022 - Elden Ring

If you had to predict, over the next 8 years, how many GotY winners will be SP focused games?

I asked my Alexa to remind me about this thread in 8 years so it will be a fun reunion for all who participate.

I'm going with 3. First, multiplayer is only going to continue to grow in popularity and acceptance. The 15 year old Fortnite kids in 2018 are about to start making games for these giant publishers. Second, the Game Awards are a marketing branch of the games industry, and the most expensive games over the next 8 years are likely going to be multiplayer. Keighly will feel the pressure to advertise for them and thus we'll see a sea change with regards to GotY winners.

What sayeth you?
 
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You often get awards for blockbuster story driven games and impressive visuals and atmosphere – this is not what most MP games deliver on
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I'd go the opposite direction. Multiplayer is already massively popular and accepted. Award shows just skew towards single player experiences because of the nature of how critics consume the media and how they generate views.

While what you say is accurate, it's also not a constant. We haven't reached equilibrium.

MPs popularity is still skyrocketing. It's already quite a bit bigger than SP, but in 2025, that gap will widen considerably.

Plus, I think you have to consider the voter. The people voting for Dragon Age Inquisition in 2014 grew up playing Mario Bros and Half Life. Tomorrows voter grew up playing Minecraft and League of Legends.
 

hyperbertha

Member
I go with atleast 7 being single player. Most likely all 8.
Overwatch came out in a time when they were incentivised to put quality content in a mp game.
 

Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
The 15 year old Fortnite kids in 2018 are about to start making games for these giant publishers.
So more games full with battle passes, MTX and constant shiny things stuffed into your throat? No thanks.

The ratio will most likely not change, because while we play multiplayer games no GAAS game can make you feel the way a single player game does. It’s the same thing why MCU doesn’t get an Oscar for Best Film. Why you remember Schindler’s List 30 years later but not a single action movie that came out the same year.
 
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kicker

Banned
most expensive games over the next 8 years are likely going to be multiplayer. Keighly will feel the pressure to advertise for them and thus we'll see a sea change with regards to GotY winners.
This is debatable.

Unless you have hard numbers, multiplayer games almost always have smaller marketing and development budgets than the biggest sp games.
The marketing part might change, sure, but the reason a lot of devs are trying to establish some sort of mp mainstay is because the returns are much higher(and less uncertain) for lower dev cost and time.

Also, unless the publishers also simultaneously stop producing more ambitious sp games at the same time they all pump absurd amounts of funding into servers and dev teams to enable new types of massive simultaneous mp, I don't see the biggest mp games being equivalent to the biggest sp games in terms of development or marketing budgets.

I'm more likely to believe that events like the international and fortnite's cup thing grow and start their own awards shows separately, or geoff branches out with a separate show with a different schedule for mp games specifically
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
As soon as I read the thread title I knew it was a Men in Boxes thread!

I've got no idea which games will win although I would favour single player games as critics seem to favour them

Restoring balance to The Force one multiplayer thread at a time.

This is debatable.

Unless you have hard numbers, multiplayer games almost always have smaller marketing and development budgets than the biggest sp games.
The marketing part might change, sure, but the reason a lot of devs are trying to establish some sort of mp mainstay is because the returns are much higher(and less uncertain) for lower dev cost and time.

Also, unless the publishers also simultaneously stop producing more ambitious sp games at the same time they all pump absurd amounts of funding into servers and dev teams to enable new types of massive simultaneous mp, I don't see the biggest mp games being equivalent to the biggest sp games in terms of development or marketing budgets.

I'm more likely to believe that events like the international and fortnite's cup thing grow and start their own awards shows separately, or geoff branches out with a separate show with a different schedule for mp games specifically

Good perspective here. I like all your points except I'll push back in one area.

Geoff seems pretty supportive of Live Service at The Game Awards. He has a "Best ongoing game" category, he's done a countless number of Live Service game reveals, and he treats the genre with a respect you don't find on places like GAF.

Fortnite came out in 2017 and there were no expectations of it bringing home the GotY award back then. If a Fortnite size suprise game comes out in 2023 or 2025...don't you think it's more likely to take the big award? Overall sentiment seems to be going in that direction.
 

Robb

Gold Member
I think the vast majority will continue to be singleplayer. Mainly because a lot of multiplayer titles aren’t GOTY material in the year they launch but rather grow and get improved on over time. Most will miss the window.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
This whole year awards thing was derived from oscars and other movie equivalents. I think its a weird concept to apply to MP and Live Service games.

I mean, how do you give "game of the year" prize for a game that goes on for many years? What about games that only blow up years after release like Among Us? As someone else already said here, its more likely we'll see shows dedicated to games like this, probably with a different approach from the one we have in the likes of the TGAs or BAFTAs.
 

kicker

Banned
Geoff seems pretty supportive of Live Service at The Game Awards. He has a "Best ongoing game" category, he's done a countless number of Live Service game reveals, and he treats the genre with a respect you don't find on places like GAF.

Fortnite came out in 2017 and there were no expectations of it bringing home the GotY award back then. If a Fortnite size suprise game comes out in 2023 or 2025...don't you think it's more likely to take the big award? Overall sentiment seems to be going in that direction.
It's definitely possible. Fewer AAA GOTY level sp games are being released year-on-year as dev time and costs go up. Last year, there was so much talk about how elden ring and Ragnarok were the only real GOTY contenders. This year only has so many anticipated games because a lot of them were delayed from previous years.

I could Imagine a sparse year like 2023 seeing two or three of the exclusive gaas titles (only way sp console gamers will vote for an mp game as goty) being breakout mp games
 

Fbh

Member
I think this primarily depends on who is handing out the awards.
Popularity doesn't automatically translate to award worthiness, the MCU has been dominating the box office for a while and you don't see them getting any major awards.

In the current format of the VGA's with awards being selected by a group of let's say "traditional" games media outlets I don't think anything will change.
Maybe if in the future the voting is done by more youtubers and streamers we might see things change.
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
Multiplayer games have no artistic merit beyond the surface level audio and visual aesthetics because they primarily focus on hooking players with gameplay while also monetizing the experience as much as possible. There are literally no multiplayer games that would utilize the format in order to deliver a deep and meaningful experience that tries to put forward some sort of theme or message, or push the medium in a new and artistically meaningful direction.

Until we get a MP game like that then I don't think there's any reason to consider them for an award.
 
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mckmas8808

Banned
While what you say is accurate, it's also not a constant. We haven't reached equilibrium.

MPs popularity is still skyrocketing. It's already quite a bit bigger than SP, but in 2025, that gap will widen considerably.

Plus, I think you have to consider the voter. The people voting for Dragon Age Inquisition in 2014 grew up playing Mario Bros and Half Life. Tomorrows voter grew up playing Minecraft and League of Legends.

But the games in bold are games that continue to live for years. It's hard to give a multiplayer game "GOTY".
 

Wildebeest

Member
There are literally no multiplayer games that would utilize the format in order to deliver a deep and meaningful experience that tries to put forward some sort of theme or message, or push the medium in a new and artistically meaningful direction.
So that is why MP games are great and much better than the single player games the industry currently makes, but why are they bad again?
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
Maybe you wouldn't but that is your problem not mine.
Of the list that you provided It Takes Two was a good example, but Overwatch wasn't. It's not a work of art, it's a product meant to sell you loot boxes and produce rule34 porn.
 
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[Sigma]

Member
Probably 6 of the next 8 again. 2023 is practically a lock for single player. And personally, multiplayer games just don't do it for me anymore because the mp games I want to play(in the past) don't really get made anymore outside of fighting games.
 
I'm not sure I'd even consider "It Takes Two" a multiplayer game in the context you're using, really. Like, yes, it is a game featuring only co-op multiplayer, but it is also very much a story-driven, linear experience. It just happens to be played together by two people.
 

bitbydeath

Member
It’ll depend on if MP games evolve into more of a story driven territory. MP just being a small closed loop repetitive experience, no.

The new TLOU MP game is rumoured to go this way, if it does, others may follow.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I'm not sure I'd even consider "It Takes Two" a multiplayer game in the context you're using, really. Like, yes, it is a game featuring only co-op multiplayer, but it is also very much a story-driven, linear experience. It just happens to be played together by two people.
Multi = More than one
Player = player

This is what a lot of people don't understand. The multiplayer canvas is waaaaay bigger than just traditional CoD multiplayer. The medium has potential beyond your wildest dreams.
 
Overwatch winning GOTY :messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_tears_of_joy::messenger_tears_of_joy:

Multiplayer doesn't bring as much right-think politics and Hollywood celebrities. The awards will skew heavily single-player unless single-player goes extinct. I've never heard someone tell me they have to hop off Destiny 2 or Rocket League because the fucking Dorito Pope Awards were about to start.

A lot of the best multiplayer games don't get anywhere close to reaching their potential in their release year anyway.
 
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StueyDuck

Member
MP games need to git gud 🤷‍♂️.

Apart from maybe factions what mp game do we know of coming that isn't just another GAAS... skins and loot boxes aren't award worthy (goty in general is a dumb thing but I digress)
 
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StueyDuck

Member
Multi = More than one
Player = player

This is what a lot of people don't understand. The multiplayer canvas is waaaaay bigger than just traditional CoD multiplayer. The medium has potential beyond your wildest dreams.
Eldin ring also then and dragon age inquisition.

This seems far to loose a definition and seems to be more just an argument of semantics.

What if me and a friend took turns couch co-op in sekiro? Then it's technically mp.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
Singleplayer games are way more meaningful than MP that are just pure gameplay with no substance. So all of them should be singleplayer games with one side award for MP like it is now.
 
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KXVXII9X

Member
Multiplayer games have no artistic merit beyond the surface level audio and visual aesthetics because they primarily focus on hooking players with gameplay while also monetizing the experience as much as possible. There are literally no multiplayer games that would utilize the format in order to deliver a deep and meaningful experience that tries to put forward some sort of theme or message, or push the medium in a new and artistically meaningful direction.

Until we get a MP game like that then I don't think there's any reason to consider them for an award.
I think Sky: Children of the Light could be a contender of a meaningful multiplayer experience that is considered art. It builds of of Journey's connecting with a stranger.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Eldin ring also then and dragon age inquisition.

This seems far to loose a definition and seems to be more just an argument of semantics.

What if me and a friend took turns couch co-op in sekiro? Then it's technically mp.

If you think the primary design doc for Elden Ring and DA:I was multiplayer, then you can classify them there.
 

Codes 208

Member
I mean does Elden ring really count as purely single player? Its a souls game, its essentially a seamless co-op/multiplayer game as well
 
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StueyDuck

Member
If you think the primary design doc for Elden Ring and DA:I was multiplayer, then you can classify them there.
I mean I wasn't the one that said

Multi- more than one
Player- player.

Elden ring and dragon age has both of those correct?

The thread is silly cause the goal posts are in Flux. You can argue games with a leaderboard are multiplayer as well

Narrow down the type of game you want to talk about here. But going by your own OP you were talking mostly GAAS/online type titles IE warzone, obviously fortnite, tarkov and so on.
 
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Fabieter

Member
Alot of mp games release unfinished. So no shockingly surprised here. We have awards for best ongoing games tho.
 
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