Nominees are out now for this year’s Game Awards. It’s exciting to see which Nintendo games are nominated, hoping for many winners from my favorite gaming company. Likewise, it would be great to see an RPG earn Game of the Year; last December, I wrote about why at RPGamer.
The more Nintendo games that win across various categories, the more the company will appeal to developers and players alike. The popular Japanese video game business is already on a winning streak with its current handheld console: Switch. Good publicity and advertising could generate more profitable revenue for the big N, especially during the busy American holiday shopping season.
I’m not going to lie: I already have a handful of Switch games I’ll likely buy for my kids this year. Shhhh, don’t tell them.
Seeing more RPGs win big at the Game Awards would be a boon to the genre. That works for me, of course, since it’s my favorite kind of video game. The more categories that see RPGs win — including Game of the Year — the better.
Since the golden age of 16-bit era JRPGs on SNES and PS1, it seems there was a dark age that lacked both high quantity and quality role-playing games. But in recent years, especially on Switch, the genre appears to be enjoying a renaissance. Winning more awards and accolades is bound to further bolster development and sales of RPGs, from ‘AAA’ titles, like this year’s Elden Ring nominee, to up and coming indies.
So I’m stoked to see Nintendo and Monolith Soft’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 in the running for Game of the Year! It’s also nominated for Best Score and Music. With two chances to win an award, things are looking good. That said, I’m not too hopeful for it winning GotY because the other nominees are seriously good competition and are likely more favored overall. We’ll wait and see after the votes are counted.
After getting XC3 for my birthday last month, I’m already hyped to play it — backlogged for now. But seeing it nominated in the annual Game Awards splashes more fuel on that fire.
I think the awards celebration is good that way. No matter what games win which categories, it’s a time to celebrate gaming with its developers, publishers, and players. The industry and market are strong, and if nothing else, the awards help ensure that doesn’t change. That means there will likely always be more great games to anticipate, like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (which I think will win GotY in 2023).
Maybe if Monolith Soft wins GotY with XC3, it will then…find the resources to port Xenoblade Chronicles X to the Switch!
One can hope to celebrate.
What games are you cheering for this year?
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Thank you for sharing.