GOTY Needs to Move to January

With announcement-to-release windows getting smaller, digital-only releases becoming more prevalent, and "normal" release times (i.e. Q4) continuing to erode, I think it's time for the GB crew to treat GOTY stuff like the Oscars and move it into January. This year it's especially pronounced - by ostensibly ending the year of games in the first week of December, these games are shut out of contention:

- Just Cause 4

- Smash Bros

- Below

- Desert Child

- GRIS

Below is especially unfortunate. Yes, GOTY stuff will be a tad delayed from where it is now if it comes out in January, and people won't have 1800+ hours of podcasts to listen to over the holidays. But at least it makes more sense than limiting "the year in gaming" to 11 months out of 12.

I think the sense that it makes for a website needing content during the time which nobody is working trumps a few unfortunate games with bad release dates.

I agree but they won't do it.

Yup, December release is going to be the only thing stopping Smash Bros from being a major factor in GB’s GOTY proceedings...

I'll take having content during a week where otherwise there'd be nobody working over maybe 2% of games potentially missing out on an already arbitrary and meaningless award thanks.

nah. if anything just make the cutoff for the year december 1 and let anything after be eligible in 2019.

the holiday break is too good a spot for long-form content to give that up. plus it gives them the opportunity to stockpile content and the staff can focus on time with their friends & family.

I don't think it makes much difference tbh. They've always looked into games that they're interested in. Whatever comes out in December is only going to be played by those who like em so what does it matter?

Eh.

I like having it for holiday travel. I’d take a month to get through it after the holidays.

Giant bomb fiscal year should just end in November, new one starts in December. Below nominated for goty 2019.

Absolutely not, I barely get through all the GOTY podcasts even with typically having a week or two off work at the end of the year. If they dropped at the end of January or early February I would never get through them.

EDIT: I agree with others that they should definitely judge based on last year's December through this year's November, though. That makes total sense.

I completely agree OP. For a website that prides themselves on integrity especially. I'm betting if Jeffs favorite game of the year was released at the end of December it would somehow get recognition in GOTY stuff, either that year or the following. Infact doesn't "2018's 2017 GOTY" give them the ability to recognise games that missed the cut off point?

I think Jeff already answered this last year. They won't do it. Why? Because the GB Goty is just suppose to be a fun thing they do for the sake of making more content in which they get to discuss the games that they really liked this year. A chance to get the entire gang together, yell at each other in a small room and make a hyper arbitrary list that will barely resemble their own personal lists. This isn't the Oscars, It's not meant to be taken seriously.

To be honest, I am more invested in the general chatter of the team than being invested in which games win, or have not been included due to the Jan-Nov time frame. I get that it might be a bit frustrating to some - but it's the wealth of content that comes from the discussions and get togethers over the holidays for me is the GB end of the year highlight.

Being brutally honest, I can't see any of those games making the top 10 anyway.

@merxworx01: Yeap, I think it was in one of the GOTY podcasts or sth. GiantBomb has always been like that. It's Quick Look that's not actually not that quick. Or it's Ranking of Fighters based on science, where it's not really done using scientific methods. Or it's Civilization VI's quick look, but it's not really Civ 6.

I get what you're saying, but I love having those podcasts to listen to while I'm doing some travelling and have free time around the holidays. In January I'd be pushing to get these finished the day they come out.

*you* need to move to January

Do they usually account for last December games on GOTY? Can't remember specific mentions on previous years

No way! I love having the GOTY stuff to enjoy over the holidays, it's such a fun tradition!

Yeah, Jeff addresses this every year, whenever people send suggestions on how to make the process smoother or less rancorous by introducing ranked ballots or something similar. The point of GOTY is to have a ton of year-end content so that everyone can take a vacation around Christmas, NOT to have a definitive sanctified winner. From that point of few, a four-hour podcast arguing over the exact ranking of the top 10 is a feature, not a bug.

I like it being Christmas time personally but this current content drought is killing me... I know they're making a lot of stuff but I want something now. All the arguing in GOTY mainly just stresses me but I'll crawl over broken glass for that sweet Hitsmas fix.

Also I really couldn't see anyone on staff going to bat for Smash (god I REALLY wish I had a Switch) anyway.

This comes up every year. It's unfortunate that some games get overlooked because of this. But that's all it is. Unfortunate. They do this when they do specifically so the crew can take time off for the holidays and still have content to put up on the site.

Maybe, after ten years of this, Giant Bomb should trust that their listeners will come back after a week of little (or no) new content. They could, of course, do the same thing they do now. Pre-record stuff to put up while they're away. But in that case, they would be ignoring the fact that every other major site does GoTY stuff at the same time. That is a major business concern. Whether or not it's a realistic business concern that has a basis in reality, who can say? To test it, they'd have to actually do this.

I'd be curious to know if there are people who ONLY come to GB for GoTY content, and if those people do so in large enough numbers to make financial sense.

they should do a custom "fiscal" goty, and consider december/late november games next year.

The whole point of GOTY is to have content on the site during Christmas while everyone is out of the office and on vacation.

I get what you're saying about some games missing out, but I like having the podcasts to go through the holidays with. There's no way I would have time to listen to all the GOTY content in January.

Smash Ultimate could be the greatest Smash game of all time and it wouldn't get a sniff of the top 10

Good games do come out in December so I think they should recognize that.

I would be screaming travesty if it was 2001 and FFX was swept under the rug. The Last Guardian is one of my favs not that it had any chance.

They should do a "Last year's Decemeber GOTY" category or something just 'cause it's is kinda fucked that December releases just gets forgotten. I don't see the harm in that.

Jan-uary, you mean.

My assumption is that December is where they can fit this concept and where it will actually get views outside of diehard-duders. IGN's, GameSpot's, Kotaku's, etc "Game of the Year"; and "Looking Back on 2018" content will be dropping around late December, which is exactly when the whole GB crew want to be enjoying some well earned time off. So to say, "Nope, all of you must return two days after Christmas to start making that content for January" is questionable logic.

I'm sure Jeff could not give two shits about raw views; but he is not foolish, he knows that if GB made GOTY content in Jan, Feb, or March it would get less views & less interest. Everyone outside of GB fans would have already moved on to what is gonna happen in 2019. Likely, what Jeff cares about, is that if they work hard for the next two weeks they can all get the end of the year into next year off. He knows that the content they will make will have fans of the site riveted to their seats and the content will be watched by people wanting a year end review too.

I think the additional problem is that you run into a feedback loop on this as games do come out in January. So what do you do about the January games then for GOTY? As an example, "Night in the Woods" was released in January, as was "Monster Hunter World."

Eventually, you have to decide when to do GOTY and establish some sort of "cut off period." In either case, there will be games that are released during that time.

JUSTICE FOR FIRE PRO!

I guess they should be glad they aren't in the music press when artists like Beyonce or D'Angelo decide to drop albums 10 days before Xmas.

Seems like those games should release earlier if they want to be considered imo

Got 'em.

A lot of people have made the point about how it provides a lot of good content in December, but I'll add that it also feels like a more accurate weighting for "Game of the Year." New games automatically have a "shininess" appeal to them, but that appeal can wear off after a while, and it takes more than a month for a game's flaws to really become apparent. Imagine if Red Dead Redemption 2 came out a month later, and the GB crew did their GOTY podcasts at end of year; it would definitely be in the top 3, because Dan would still be in love with it, and his experience wouldn't have spiraled downward then. Sure, you can have the podcasts in January, but that's not a GOTY podcast, that's a GOLY (game of last year) podcast, which isn't the point.

The GOTY podcasts are, more than anything, a chance for the crew to express the games that had the biggest impact on them during that year--it's a huge reason why PUBG won last year, even though everyone admitted it's pretty shaky in a lot of technical and graphical ways. The GOTY isn't supposed to be a definitive ruling on the greatest game of the year, and games that come out in December are almost guaranteed to not trump any previously-released game for significant, sustainable impact during that year.

I think you can easily do all of the same stuff just one month later.

Nobody... Okay, I won't say nobody, but I am not starved for content in December. It's a super busy holiday month. Meanwhile January is nothing. Put all the fun GOTY stuff in there.

@w00master: what? The cut off period would be 31st December. Anything released in January is eligible for that years GOTY award, which is deliberated and given the following January.

You're not understanding what I'm saying. If you moved GOTY to January, the cutoff period would have to change - most likely not include games in January of earlier that year (like in my example before: you wouldn't be able to include Monster Hunter World) vs what we have currently which is cutting off December. It's basically an endless feedback loop then: GOTY in dec (like it is now)? Well, can't really count games in Dec. Likewise, move GOTY to Jan? You wouldn't be able to include games from January from the previous year. So which is it? That's the feedback loop. In either case, you'd have to not include one of the months in the year.

@redhotchilimist: If it's for the sake of bolstering content and if you have no issues with December's content then maybe put the GOTY talks in your back burner and view them later on when things aren't so busy.

@deckard: You're not wrong but if anything amazing did happen to come out in December it would be a contender for next year's "Best 2018 game of 2019" category.

@w00master: I'm sorry I don't understand you. Why wouldn't you be able to include games from January? Any game released from 1st January to 31st December would be eligible for GOTY, which is deliberated the following January.

Those games should just be eligible for GOTY 2019. Any game released after they start recording the GOTY podcasts should be eligible for next year's awards.

It makes sense. Feels wrong to overlook some of the biggest releases of the year.

There's more interesting categories to consider than the top 10.

I think the only game that would get even a passing nomination on that list is Just Cause 4 for Hottest Mess for how technically fucked it is. Even then, most likely not.

True, I completely forgot about that.

I kind of agree if only for the fact that this Fallout 76 mess doesn't seem like it's gonna end and keeps on coming up with something new, and I'm assuming that's gonna win for Hottest Mess.

Well, said.

It is about people, actually living breathing thinking and caring humans beings. There is a business aspect of when GOTY Content would be considered fresh, but really the way they plan, produce and create this content seems to be about them having some fun and enjoyment of being together. We hear from them while they make it has a fast production schedule with many long days and late nights; but when and how they make it seems to be about "community, friendship". This is not about making sure a calendar data is respected.

Jeff cares about who works for him and how that sausage is made - Jeff is a humanist.

@omgfather: True, but this way there's a chance that Fallout 76 will end up winning Hottest Mess two years in a row. A GB first!

@deckard: None of those games would hit the top 5.

But let's say they do.

If you remove GOTY then Giantbomb have to find new content to fill the Christmas to January period. This is a period where people are thirsty for content, they have time on their hands and usually want GOTY (not just from GB but from anywhere). So Giantbomb need to create compelling content to fill that period of the traffic goes elsewhere.

That's a lot of investment and a gamble that the content brings in as many people as GOTY does. You also risk that moving GOTY to January doesn't bring in similar numbers, so all that work is bringing in less value. The New York crew spending two weeks out in SF away from their families and the SF crew working longer hours is all for less viewers/listeners.

All this just so a few games which chose to release at the end of the year could be considered for an arbitrary award.

I get you like these games but moving it to January does not make business sense and I think it would be unfair on the staff.

I think cutting the year off at the end of November and starting the new year in December could be a good compromise. I'll echo what most folks are saying in that I like that the GotY casts come out during Christmas break. Gives me plenty of time to listen and it gives the crew a good long break during the holidays.

This is a pretty packed December. In past years I’ve wished it would come out sooner. Sometimes getting the GOTY gave me good gift ideas! If December continues to be packed in the coming years, I’m sure they would have to consider it. Unfortunately, games will be left out regardless.