New York Times Grants Insulting Game Awards

Logan Frederick

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New York Times Grants Insulting Game Awards



The New York Times injected its industry opinions into it's 2007 "Game of the Year" awards.

New York Times writer Seth Schiesel is acknowledging some the gaming industry's greatest titles released during 2007 in his new "High Scores for the Games of 2007" [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/arts/23schi.html?_r=3&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin] feature. However, in doing so, Schiesel has taken the liberty to slip in a few unsavory, albeit honest, comments about the industry.

Below are some of the awards (some of which are questionably insulting in and of themselves) and quotes highlighting Schiesel's backhanded compliments.

Most Difficult Delivery: The New E3- "This year the industry radically downsized the event, known as E3, moving it from the cavernous Los Angeles Convention Center to a constellation of ritzy beach-side hotels. It was a great idea but a logistical nightmare because the demonstrations were spread out among at least a dozen hotels, bars, restaurants and even an airplane hangar. The solution for next year can be summed up in one word (or is that two?): Las Vegas."

Best Unambitious Representations of the State of the Art: Halo 3 and Super Mario Galaxy- "Halo 3 is a polished gem of a science-fiction shooter. But that is all it is. It has suitably spruced-up graphics, and some of its new online features are welcome additions. But it is a refinement of the time-tested Halo formula rather than a daring attempt to provide a new sort of experience. That's enough to generate hundreds of millions of dollars, but it is not enough to inspire.

"Super Mario Galaxy presents similar questions. Galaxy is finely tuned and a worthy member of the Mario pantheon. Almost anyone can have fun playing it. But as with Halo, Galaxy is at some level mostly a reinvention of classic play modes. In Halo that means battling killer aliens. In Mario that means jumping and dodging and collecting stars to free the princess who, as she has been for more than 20 years, is locked away in a cartoon-style castle. That's fun as far as it goes."

Best Single-handed Rescue of a Major Game System: Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction- "Sad to say, many of this year's big-budget, exclusive games for Sony's PlayStation 3, including Heavenly Sword and Lair, were mediocre at best. The action-adventure game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune seems strong, but the shining star for the PS3 this year was the new Ratchet & Clank, made by Insomniac Games."

Game of the Year: Mass Effect- "Story and characters aren't everything, but these components of narrative have always been the weakest part of video games. For decades games have made up in frenetic action what they have lacked in dramatic depth. And that is a big reason why games have traditionally appealed most strongly to the demographic group that most enjoys frenetic action: young men. In its choice of milieu - science fiction - Mass Effect is not ambitious at all."

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BobisOnlyBob

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Nov 29, 2007
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Good... games journalism is finally getting a little tougher and critique-heavy. Maybe soon we can finally abandon the four-point scale [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FourPointScale]. I personally think alternative, "serious" publications like Edge Magazine and The Escapist are doing a great job... although I think the "Insulting" in the title is a little leading, I thought this would be a bad thing! While not exactly orthodox, they're more bitter-sweet than insulting. Good work by the New York Times (or at least Seth Schiesel), it definitely shows they know what they're talking about, at least regarding the game industry's current state.
 

eggdog14

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Oct 17, 2007
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I am pleased that the article was aptly placed in the "Arts" section of the times, a respectable position indeed.
 

xMacx

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Nov 24, 2007
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Interesting - the posting above leaves off the more interesting part of the GOTY award for mass effect:

"But with its focus on character development, personal growth and moral tension, all fueled by a graphics system created to evoke emotional empathy, Mass Effect points the way forward. It may be a harbinger of a time when story and character are as important to video games as explosions."

Was that a copy error? Reading the posting above doesn't give any context for why he gave Mass Effect game of the year status.
 

Arbre

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Jan 13, 2007
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I was sharpening my knives, ready to pounce, but... where are the insults???

eggdog14 said:
I am pleased that the article was aptly placed in the "Arts" section of the times, a respectable position indeed.
Seconded.
 

Katana314

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Oct 4, 2007
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Yeah; because nothing is more insulting of a game than calling it Game of the Year.

While SMG did come up with new things, it was about as much new as HALO. And I congratulate someone for finally standing up and saying that the Mario team has failed to come up with a new Mario story since 1981.
 

Spinwhiz

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The reason some of his comments are "insulting" is due to the fact that he is naming the Game of the Year, among others, then saying how they came up short. Basically it's like saying "You get game of the year, but it's only because you are the best of all the garbage that is out there." I like the games he picked and agree with his choices, but he really does crap on each one of them after giving them their "prize".
 

WNxSajuukCor

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Katana314 said:
And I congratulate someone for finally standing up and saying that the Mario team has failed to come up with a new Mario story since 1981.
Would you want a Mario game any other way? Having Mario in a more action title with combo moves and cheesy (vocal) dialoge would not be the same. Risks are nice to freshen things up, but don't do it for the sake of being "fresh."
 

Falsey

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Why do I get the feeling, the awards weren't given to the games, moreso the awards were made for the games?

I seriously doubt they have a "Best Unambitious Representations of the State of the Art" award every year.