Lurker > Lightning Strikes

Yeah those were the two punts, my reasoning is this:

• 13 Sentinels absolutely is going to be one of those slow burner word of mouth games, its already more talked about than it was at release, so I think itll become a cult classic as long as it doesnt get a sequel that breaks out a la Nier.
• Fall Guys will probably be wrong, but I figured if it has legs, it will get in in the same way Fortnite or Minecraft did.

I will say, 2020 is weak at the top level but a lot of great games came out that I think time will be kind to. It would be cool if one game to make it is something we never thought of or maybe even heard of.

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...If it happens and were not all dead, obviously.

So assuming a 128 game contest theres an average of 12 games per year, so probably it would be between 10 and 14 entrants from 2020.

Im thinking:

Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Hades
Ghost of Tsushima
The Last of Us Part II
Doom Eternal
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Ori and the Will of the Wisps

And of course, courting controversy:

Persona 5 Royal

Whoever gets it right gets to lord their big brain over the rest of us in 10 years, when were all old.

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Hades

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There is a slight majority of Pikmin 3 sales from outside of Japan, but it did do disproportionately well in Japan. Of course even if it didnt it would still be the highest selling Pikmin game I think!

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Also solid chance of Animal Crossing passing GTAV for the biggest first year sales ever (currently 34 million copies) - it just needs to do 2.8 million this quarter. Its currently far outpacing that.

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Oh

I thought it meant the 19th amendment and was a bit alarmed, you should probably put that in your sig.

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Ill bite

WTF is that username

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Sales as of December 31st, changes with September 30th:
Overall:
Nintendo Switch: 79.87m - +11.56m
Total Software: 532.34m - +75.85m

Top Ten Software:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: 33.41m - +4.42m
Animal Crossing: New Horizons: 31.18m - +5.14m
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: 22.85 m - +1.75m
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: 21.45m - +1.71m
Pokmon Sword/Pokmon Shield: 20.35m - +1.33m
Super Mario Odyssey: 20.23m - +1.24m
Super Mario Party: 13.82m - +1.72m
Pokmon: Let's Go, Pikachu!/ Pokmon: Let's Go, Eevee!: 13m - +0.51m
Splatoon 2: 11.90m - +0.63m
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: 9.82m - +1.5m

Games that sold 1 million+ this year:
Luigis Mansion 3: 9.13m - +1.3m
Ring Fit Adventure: 8.68m - +2.84m
Super Mario 3D All-Stars - +3.11m
Super Mario Maker 2: 6.81m
Paper Mario: The Origami King: 3.05m - 0.23m
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (no Japan sales): 2.84m - +2.84m
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics: 2.62m - +0.81m
Pikmin 3 Deluxe: 1.94m - +1.94m
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition: 1.48m -+0.08m

Those are some big numbers.

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The Last of Us Part II

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Canonical Star Wars ranking:

5
4
8
7
3
6
1
2
9

Slightly iffy on 2 vs. 9, 9 is more competent in filmmaking terms but oh my god is it the most creatively bankrupt of all these films. So for that reason 9 is the worst. Also I like the Obi-Wan noir parts of 2.

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Aerith.

Of all the FF7 cast, she got by far the most flanderized in all the spinoffs and Kingdom Heartses. Remake totally undid that and reminded people that shes actually a real character.

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Jabbas Palace is a part of the problem! Its better than act 2 by far but its poorly paced and tonally at complete odds with the rest if the film.

RotJ is not a bad movie! It just shares the flaws of the movies that would follow it, and basically foretold how Episode 1 would go.

I like most Star Wars. Star Wars is good.

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There is one PotC movie that is better than the worst Star Wars movie, and it is better than maybe three of them. The rest are terrible, especially after the first three but frankly 2 and 3 are pretty bad as well.

Also 6 isnt the best Star Wars movie since 6, and frankly is a movie that gets away with murder because of when it was released. Its nothing compared to 7&8, its not even as good as 3, and frankly most complaints against 1 can also be levelled at 6. Its an incredibly flawed film that is a good example of the fact that fan reactions to Star Wars are often relating to factors outside the merits of the films.

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Also get this Star Wars is bad nonsense out of here, most of Star Wars is good. The bad Star Wars films also still have merit. 9 is bad but its still a handsomely made film with some effective scenes. Thats more than you can say for certain other billion dollar franchises, like Transformers or Pirates of the Caribbean. The notion that Star Wars is the franchise where popularity and quality coincide the least is absurd when there is straight trash that is very popular, and the worst Star Wars gets is like a 2.5/5 film.

Besides, the strength of Star Wars was always its spinoff media. I guess a whole new generation of people are discovering the 90s-00s era again!

If were talking about the franchise with the lowest correlation between quality and popularity, that has to be Pirates of the Carribbean.

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redrocket posted...

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

This line is fine. Its just a version of the tolerance paradox. If only a Sith deals in absolutes you are allowed to say that, even though it is technically an absolute.

Also, Somehow Palpatine returned.

PS 8 was amazing and Ive never felt more vindicated in that than when 9 came out.

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Animal Crossing

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Mac Arrowny posted...

The ghosts didn't undo anything in the original, so they're the ones changing things.

They are there to keep things exactly as they were in the original. They only turn up if someone tries to change something.

Great addition, and the better of the two games!

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Doom Eternal

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Boy capitalism sure is stupid.

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Rock the Dragon

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Paper Mario

This was the toughest match for me, ultimately decided because while Kentucky Route Zero is great, the only part that actually released in 2020 was a disappointment.

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Hades

Nice.

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Disband all militaries tbqh

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Almost every country on earth has some form of universal health coverage. There are many different methods, and its not always free-at-the-point-of-use for everyone, but almost every other country has figured out a way to stop huge portions of their population dying because they cant afford healthcare. America is a massive exception, yet it acts like its the norm. Bigger countries have done it, poorer countries have done it. The only reason there is no universal healthcare is a lack of political will.

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13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

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Seize the means of production, comrades

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I strongly disagree with the notion that 13 Sentinels is barely a game, and I think Jan and Vinny did a good job of refuting that by talking about how the story can only be told in a game and the strength of the strategy missions.

To add to that, I have a real issue with this game, or even just the story-focused sections, being called a visual novel, as it extremely is not. Even the story segments have you navigating the environment with an inventory you need to use at the right times to progress the story. Overall it has more in common with traditional point and click adventure games than even stuff like Telltale games or Life is Strange. Its a true adventure game.

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Damn, I am really, really sorry to hear that. I hope you are all alright in the end. I know it can be scary but it is absolutely possible to get through this.

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Jason has had some persistent health issues as he has type 1 (pretty sure) diabetes. It could be that. He did seem very lively talking about PSO so maybe he was just under the weather.

I wouldnt read too much into the list though. As I remember it thats always been his style.

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azuarc posted...

Is this game actually good? You know, when it's not falling apart at the seams?

Yes.

The driving is bad and there is some questionable writing here and there, but its a good open-world Deus Ex style game.

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Most people liked Prometheus! It got good scores in all the critic and audience metrics, and it was a financial success. One of the clearest cases of a vocal minority I can think of.

This is true of Covenant as well to a lesser extent, that turned a profit but not as much as hoped, and had a bit more of a mixed response but still net positive. Its still the third best Alien film (excluding Prometheus that is)!

Colonial Marines should have just stayed cancelled.

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Animal Crossing
Miles Morales
Bloodstained
The Last of Us

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That doesnt feature a man in a top hat appearing to wank off a snake, however.

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https://youtu.be/qqb-j1cNPhQ

The infamous Snake Charmer section.

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Zagreus

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Excellent GotY winner, excellent GotY proceedings. May be the best ever. I really hope they keep doing this live because it was amazing to see people react and witness the whole thing as it happened.

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Well Hades has this all wrapped up

Consider it...

CALLED

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Heres my breaktime assessment:

13 Sentinels is a lock for the list.

Animal Crossing has support from a huge majority, it should make it.

TLOUII had good arguments, Im surprised it got there but they kind of convinced me.

KRZ only has one supporter.

Tony Hawk is an old game.

Tony Hawks is the one that should go. I can see TLOUII or KRZ, I think TLOUII has the slight edge for staying but its not essential.

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

SOMETIMES

The only reason Brad isn't still the official villain of GotY is because so many people turned on GotY Abby. Now his crown is unchallenged.

For one year. Then it was Brad again in 2018 and Jeff "YOU CAN READ IN OUTER WILDS?" Gerstmann in 2019.

Also cut Tony Hawk!

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I loved almost all of KRZ but Act V makes me want it to get cut. Still a great game!

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PUBG one in an all-timer of a year, and that is a significantly more flawed game than New Horizons, so it can make the top ten no trouble.

Genuinely surprised that TLOU made it so far!

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Listened to the non-13 Sentinels bits of yesterday's podcasts and the lists on the beastcast. That Jeff Dirt 5 settings rant was just marvelous.

Updated predix:

1. Hades
2. Astro's Playroom
3. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
4. Spiritfarer
5. Spider-Man Miles Morales
6. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
7. Ghost of Tsushima
8. 13 Sentinels
9. Final Fantasy VII Remake
10. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

I am thinking that the KRZ threats lead to nothing!

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I mean, I dont exactly support it either because it doesnt work and will largely hurt regular people, especially the less fortunate, with no say in the government.

Implying that any economic action against Israel is inherently antisemitic is a take though, oof.

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Bidens clearly not being literal so calling it false is odd.

Its a terrible response though! He could have said something like yeah its the best we can reasonably achieve or its enough for that period or even Id rather underpromise and overdeliver. What he said just sounds like quasi-Trump

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I cant believe I need to post this, but a healthcare system that covers everybody saves money. America spends 2-3x per capita what public systems like the UK and Italy do, half of it private. These systems are designed to save money by cutting bureaucracy and making people healthier. Its well shown!

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I have been playing it and bounced almost as soon as they started talking about it! Will probably just wait for the timestamps tomorrow before going back to that category.

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The UK has had what Biden just signed for over a decade, and in some form for much longer than that. TERFism is only a bigger issue in the UK than the US in that there are more big-name liberal and feminist figures, like JK Rowling, who are transphobic, but it's not really reflected in the law or in the culture outside of that bubble. If polling is to be believed, the UK public is either similarly or more accepting of transgender issues, for instance the bathroom thing is a non-factor there. I have seen the idea that the UK is more transphobic than the US floated before and I don't really think there's a solid basis.

It does show how this handful of people who have a huge platform can change the public view though. Indeed, unfortunately attitudes in the UK have slightly worsened in the last year according to polls (though still supportive), and it's easy to see the likes of Rowling as being to blame. It's almost as if giving famous individuals a disproportionate say is a bad thing!

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Alien, very easily. Two overall well received, profitable movies, and a very well received game in Isolation, all those short films and even a play. The next film is already confirmed as well as a TV series, it had a bit of a scare with the Disney purchase of Fox but its future is very secure.

To put it a different way, compare Alien in the 2010s to Alien in the 90s and 2000s. It is ending this decade a significantly stronger franchise than it started it. Yeah Colonial Marines sucked but also that had been going on for years by that point anyway.

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kevwaffles posted...

To put it another way, you're saying most anyone else in Biden's place would do the same and thus get the same treatment

Pretty much! These are common sense moves, but will have a meaningful impact because of how dire the situation was. The mask one in particular really struck me, here any indoor public space requires a mask and has since near the start of the pandemic. Its a very obvious move. I had kind of figured, but it does drive home just how much Trump refused to handle COVID.

What I had hoped would be the response to Trump though was the removal of power from the executive. Its messed up that one person can wield that much power with fairly insufficient checks. Its also unique in democracies, even compromised ones. Like, remember after the failed coup in Turkey, when Erdogan used a narrow referendum to give himself a ton of extra powers as President? And how he was rightly decried as a tinpot dictator for it? He still doesnt have nearly as much internal power as the POTUS does. Same deal with Orban. Its wild, and a relic of a bygone age when leaders had a lot more power. Its very concerning that the presidency is as powerful as it is.

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Oh just to be clear, thats not a pro-Biden statement. More a statement of the insanely low bar. Executive presidents are inherently bad, I have been pretty consistent about that!

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