Xbox has been PlayStation’s only real competition in the console gaming market. The rivalry dates back to the sixth generation of consoles. Back when the original Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation 2 were still cutting-edge. When it comes to gaming laurels, there is no title as prestigious as Game of the Year by The Game Awards. It is awarded annually and is known for celebrating the best games of the year.
While fans of both Xbox and PlayStation have been debating and discussing why their choice is superior in a debate fans usually call the “console wars”.
Now that Game of the Year by The Awards has been mentioned, Xbox titles haven’t had much success, let alone any of it, with the title. Ever since its inception, any Xbox exclusive hasn’t been a nominee for the title. While PlayStation and Nintendo exclusives have been nominated. And looking at this year’s nominees, the trend doesn’t seem to change this time as well.
The Inception of Game of the Year and Xbox’s Surprising Absence From Nominees
The Game Award for Game of the Year title has been in existence since 2014. The award is meant to honor the title that has been the showstopper amongst thousands of games released in a year.
It is meant to highlight a game that has been par excellence in terms of creativity and technical quality. The award is usually accepted by the studio executives and game directors. The nominees are usually six in number which are decided by the top 100 video game publications and websites.
Historically, most amount of nominees, totaling eleven, have been from Sony Interactive Entertainment which is Sony’s first-party studio.
It has been the studio that has been behind games like the Uncharted Series, God of War, and the God of War franchise. Out of the total nine times the award has had a winner. It has been won twice by Electronic Arts and Sony Interactive Entertainment. Developer FromSoftware is the only one that has more than one win.
Here are the nominees for the awards since its inception in 2014. Games that were exclusives at the time of nomination are in bold and winners are indicated in parentheses:
- 2014
- Dragon Age: Inquisition (Winner)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- Hearthstone
- Dark Souls II
- Bayonetta 2
- 2015
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Winner)
- Bloodborne
- Fallout 4
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- Super Mario Maker
- 2016
- Overwatch (Winner)
- Doom
- Inside
- Titanfall 2
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- 2017
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Winner)
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Persona 5
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Super Mario Odyssey
- 2018
- God of War (Winner)
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- Celeste
- Marvel’s Spider-Man
- Monster Hunter: World
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- 2019
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Winner)
- Control
- Death Stranding
- Resident Evil 2
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- The Outer Worlds
- 2020
- The Last of Us Part II (Winner)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Doom Eternal
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- 2021
- It Takes Two
- Deathloop
- Metroid Dread
- Psychonauts 2
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- 2022
- Elden Ring (Winner)
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- God of War Ragnarök
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3
- 2023 (Winner to be decided)
- Alan Wake II
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Having a look at all the nine times the award has been received by titles you can see some famous exclusives in the list. The nominees have been some of the best games of the respective year but Xbox has failed to appear in the nominations whatsoever, let alone win.
Does This Mean Xbox Has Lost the “Console War”?
Console War is a term which is coined by gamers and it shouldn’t be taken very seriously. Having said that, it makes sense to ask if Xbox has failed to gain critical acclaim with its first-party titles.
The Game Pass is immensely popular and the Xbox tried to look out for gamers who wanted access to the ninth generation of consoles. That too, despite paying 200 dollars less. While there are some brilliant games like Forza Horizon and Lies of P which are exclusive to the platform. It can be seen above that Xbox is lagging behind when it comes to releasing games that are deemed worthy of the GotY title. It has been a horrendous streak for Xbox as it has been without luck when it comes to laurels.
Despite this, the Xbox Series X|S has sold 21 million units as of July 2023 as compared to the PlayStation 5 standing at 40 million units approximately. Xbox seems to deliver titles and work relentlessly to ensure that its customers gain value. Whether it is able to produce games that can match PlayStation exclusives in terms of quality is still unproven, and if anything, if awards are the measure of the best games, Xbox has never been in the conversation whatsoever.
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