At the end of each year, the gaming community comes together to argue and fight about the Game of the Year.  I think this is an incredibly useless and illogical ritual, and let me tell you why.   
What is a GOTY?  There is no clear definition, but I think most people think it is 'the best game that came out in a specific year'.  This means that if you give the title of GOTY to a game, then no other game that came out in that year is better than the GOTY.  So, what makes a game better than another?  There are two things to consider, the objective and the subjective.  The objective things that people consider are: Does the game have any glitches?  Are there any texture pop-ins?  Is there any clipping?  Does the game tend to freeze?  In short, the objective represents the physical construction and coding of a game.  Either a game is well constructed, or it isn't.  The subjective represents personal opinions: Was the game fun?  Did I like the story?  Did I like the look and feel of the game?  Both the subjective and objective play a part in deciding on a GOTY, but it seems that the subjective is more dominant.  Because subjective opinion is used in determining a GOTY, that means a GOTY for one person may not be a GOTY for another.   
A GOTY is very different that a game review.  A good review points out the positives and negatives of a game to help the consumer make a decision on whether or not they want to play or purchase the game.  However, a GOTY's only purpose is to say 'this game is better than all others this year'.  How is this useful to anyone?  The only thing I can think of is that a publisher could put GOTY on the box of their game.  It does not help the gaming community at all.  It only creates more arguments and trolling.  
It is a fact that games are multi-media mediums.  They incorporate writing, acting, music, sound, images, video, and the interactive experience that is unique to games.  In my subjective opinion, some games have better sound or graphics, and some games have better story or interaction.  I also think that people like different games for different reasons, like better graphics or story.  So when a GOTY is picked, there will be people that dislike it for many different reasons. 
So, it all comes down to the publication.  A GOTY is just what a certain media outlet thinks is the best game that came out in a certain year.  I don't know about you, but I couldn't care less about what a bunch of writers think is the best game of the year.   
I am writing about all this because I have been unmoved by the game of the year selections from the past decade.  Uncharted 2 as been named Game of the Year for 2009 in almost every single video game publication.  I have a PS3, and I played Uncharted 2.  I didn't finish it, I got up to chapter 5 or 6 I think.  I found the game incredibly boring.  I hated the way Drake jumps and moves around, I hated the combat, the story was uninteresting, and I found the humor in the game unfunny.  Sure, the graphics are quite impressive, but as I mentioned before, people like different games for different reasons, and graphics alone do not make me like a game.  So I am an example of someone who disagrees with last year's GOTY.  This is because my subjective opinion is different than everyone else's.  Again, a GOTY is also just a subjective opinion too.   
In conclusion, GOTY awards are useless.  They do nobody any good, and they propagate more fighting within the video game community.  Gaming journalists spend hours deliberating GOTY awards, all for nothing.   
 
Anyone agree or disagree with me?  

I disagree with you.  GOTY awards are useful.  You say that Uncharted 2 didn't deserve GOTY because it doesn't represent your interpretation of a good game.  But if majority of media outlets describe this game as GOTY.  Then chances are majority of people are going to agree or enjoy the game as well.  And that is your reason why publishers put that stamp on the box.  Because the majority of people are going to agree with that statement.

Threads hating on GOTY awards are useless.

If we don't decide the 2010 game of the year right now, the entire industry could be at stake!

Personally, I don't read it as 'Game of the Year' as much as 'Must-buy'.

Your subjective view that Uncharted 2 is not an enjoyable game is your subjective view. In the case of the subjective views of the four Giant Bomb personel, the combination of  "writing, acting, music, sound, images, video, and the interactive experience that is unique to games" was the greatest in Uncharted 2 out of all games released in 2009.
 
Using this criteria, the Oscars might also be seen as useless; since the Film OTY will need to have a good combination of writing, acting, directing and sound design to be considered as the best film of the year. Although more people decide, this is not done on a metric, rather it is done on a subjective basis.
 
Finally if you don't care, without flaming you the correct thing to do would be to ignore these things; though to do so would in my opinion leave you without a good platform for discussion and reflection upon the year in gaming.

It's the writer's game of the year, not your game of the year.  You can have your own game of the year too.

" Threads hating on GOTY awards are useless. "

" Personally, I don't read it as 'Game of the Year' as much as 'Must-buy'. "

" @Metal_Gear_Sunny said:

" Threads hating on GOTY awards are useless. "

Your comment is useless. "

your useless threads are more useless...

I can finish building my house with this wall. 

" @dbz1995 said:

" Personally, I don't read it as 'Game of the Year' as much as 'Must-buy'. "

Interesting, but there are usually more than one must-buy games in a year. "

" @dbz1995 said:

" Personally, I don't read it as 'Game of the Year' as much as 'Must-buy'. "

Interesting, but there are usually more than one must-buy games in a year. "

" @ErgoProxy77 said:

" @dbz1995 said:

" Personally, I don't read it as 'Game of the Year' as much as 'Must-buy'. "

Interesting, but there are usually more than one must-buy games in a year. "

And most gaming websites have different GOTY. "

Game of the Year is a much more useful concept than review scores. But I don't think Game of the Year awards are useless. For one, it allows for games that do stuff well to be highlighted - perhaps games that one has overlooked, missed, or has simply neglected to pick up. Clearly you've been a bit bamboozled by near all of the major websites giving their Game of the Year to Uncharted 2, but it seems to me that rarely is there a game (like Uncharted 2) that so clearly deserves the award above its competition. Take the Giant Bomb awards - they've picked games that may or may not have been overlooked by some, like Shadow Complex, for example.
 
As for arguing in communities; well, that's something I legitimately enjoy. As long as it's more a debate than a flame war, right? If somebody believes that Assassin's Creed II should have been game of the year - they're wrong for starters, but I'm happy to discuss it with them. :)

" @ErgoProxy77: And you are no worse than Hitler and the Nazis, and under Godwin's law this thread can progress no futher and must be locked "

The GOTY is more of a recommendation. Sometimes when I'm low on money, and want a dogfight between games that I should buy. I didn't buy UC2 until after Christmas (even though brad told me to in the review). It really is subjective. Fallout 3 had a crapload of glitches and bugs. I've lost hours of saves, and some missions I couldn't finish because they don't trigger. But subjectively that was my goty 2008

" @fwylo: So people are talking about it, and that makes a GOTY?  Ok, but pointing that out does not seem to have a point.  Then a GOTY is just an observation and not a prestigious award that it claims to be. "

" @fwylo: Incorrect.  It was NOT observed by the WHOLE community that Uncharted 2 was GOTY.  There were and always will be minority views.  So, if we know that there are always going to be different opinions, what is the point of giving an award on the basis of only one of them?  I'm just saying that GOTY awards (even if I really love a game that got one) are pointless.  If it is just a game that the majority of people liked, then leave the GOTY awards to industry analysts and not journalists. "

" @ErgoProxy77 said:

" @fwylo: So people are talking about it, and that makes a GOTY?  Ok, but pointing that out does not seem to have a point.  Then a GOTY is just an observation and not a prestigious award that it claims to be. "

You seem to be assuming that the GOTY award is some magical talking award that is the end-all, be-all of the awards. It's the game that each gaming website (or user) feels is the best game of that year. And of course it's subjective. There is no other way to give a gaming reward. There's no way to review anything without being subjective. "

" @VelvetLore04: Yes, everyone, let's celebrate another great year of video games by telling everyone that X game was better than all the rest this year!    And by the way, you think the Oscars are not useless?  Why spend millions of dollars so that celebrities can have a night out to get golden statues? "

" @davidwitten22 said:

" @ErgoProxy77 said:

" @fwylo: So people are talking about it, and that makes a GOTY?  Ok, but pointing that out does not seem to have a point.  Then a GOTY is just an observation and not a prestigious award that it claims to be. "

You seem to be assuming that the GOTY award is some magical talking award that is the end-all, be-all of the awards. It's the game that each gaming website (or user) feels is the best game of that year. And of course it's subjective. There is no other way to give a gaming reward. There's no way to review anything without being subjective. "

Duh, did you even read my original blog post?  What do you mean it's not the end-all be-all of awards?  What bigger award is there in video games?  Awards are a big deal (for some stupid reason) to people, even though they are only opinions.  It is a waste. "

 Like saying.  If you are going to play any game from 2009.  It might as well be Uncharted 2 because it is one of the best games of that year.  Feel free to replace whatever game with whatever year.

 In conclusion, GOTY awards are useless.  They do nobody any good, and they propagate more fighting within the video game community.  Gaming journalists spend hours deliberating GOTY awards, all for nothing.

Now that you mention it, I think they are useful as long as the people making them admit that the list is subjective, sort of like the personal GOTY lists on GB a few weeks ago.

Wait so GOTY awards are subjective? Who knew? 
 
All the same they are an interesting thing to follow and I quite like seeing how the major sites respond each time. Same goes for reviews and there are some I'll pay more attention to than others. 
@ErgoProxy77 said:

"GOTY awards represent the general opinion of the majority of gamers."  

I will try to voice my opinion very breif.  

I like the GOTY time of the year. Why? Because it's the time of year I can tell people I'm more right then them? Of course not. The GOTY period is not there to fullfill my own ego or view of things but rather a period of reflection back on the year that went by. That is the best part when you asign GOTY awards, if you take it seriously. You reflect, dig and really start to nitpick why you like or don't like stuff. On top of that your initial feelings for a game have had time to cool down a bit wich is healthy when you're trying to look at stuff in a critisizing way. I 
t is also very interesting to hear the motivation behind the choice if it's explained in depth. I would say Giantbomb and Gamespot were the best ones this year to really explain why they choose the games they did. We can disagree but it's still very interesting to hear the logic behind the choices. I for one did not see the strenght in Demon Souls until I listned to Gamespots 10 minute long motivation for their GOTY award. After that I got reallt curoious about the game, even though it's not my type of game I can appreciate what it does if you look at the big picture.
 
Yeah... that's my thought on GOTY. It's a time for reflection and time when you get into in-depth discussions. Is it personal? Kinda, but that does not make the results worth less.