As games make their way to the end of 2024, they are eagerly waiting for the announcement of the year’s biggest honor: the Game of the Year (GOTY) nominations. For years, if not winning, Nintendo has made the list with its original titles. However, as the 2024 nominees were revealed, there was a surprising absence: not a single Nintendo title.
The 2024 GOTY nominations are dominated by titles from other major studios with even the indie darling Balatro securing a spot. With the Switch 2 set to debut soon, this absence is a worrying sign for a company that has long been synonymous with innovative gaming experiences. Is this the beginning of the end of Nintendo’s reign as a gaming powerhouse?
A Historic Omission Of Nintendo From The Game of the Year Nominations
Historically, Nintendo has always been in the talk of GOTY conversations, with titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons earning widespread acclaim. However, it seems the company’s reliance on safe, well-established franchises has begun to backfire.
While it’s clear that Nintendo games continue to sell well and maintain a loyal fanbase across the globe, many critics argue that the company has failed to sustain the cultural highs it once reached. One of the reasons behind this shift is likely the delay of the Switch 2, which still has not been officially announced.
It seems like the company wants to stick to its formula of beloved sequels and remasters, emphasizing family-friendly, nostalgia-driven content. This approach may no longer be enough as shown with the GOTY 2024 nominations. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry has continued to look forward with ambitious, new titles pushing the boundaries of storytelling and technology.
The nominees for GAME OF THE YEAR at #TheGameAwards on December 12.
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— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) November 18, 2024
From Black Myth: Wukong showing that a Chinese Studio can create AAA titles to Balatro, an indie title that is considered a dark horse, none of these are Nintendo exclusives. In fact, all of the nominated titles have shown that pushing the boundaries of conventional gaming is the only way a studio can achieve true success.
The Super Mario franchise, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon still dominate the revenue charts, but the company has yet to release a new game in recent years that matches the level of innovation seen in its prime.
It’s time for the once-innovative company to stop worrying about others stealing their IPs and focus on creating new ones. Otherwise, the omission of its title from the GOTY list won’t be a surprise in the following years, instead, it may become a trend.
The Bad News Hitting At a Critical Point
This news comes at a very critical time. The hype for the much-anticipated Switch 2 is growing and as the company slowly releases information about the much-anticipated console, this GOTY news will sting a lot.
The original Switch, despite being one of the best-selling consoles of all time, has aged significantly. Many fans were hoping for a successor to breathe new life into the company’s offerings, but the delay of the Switch 2 has left many questioning the company’s ability to innovate in the same way it did in the past.
For now, the 2024 Game of the Year nominations should serve as a wake-up call for the company. While its legacy as the king of innovative and beloved franchises remains intact, the absence from this year’s nominations shows the pressure the company has to face if it wants to evolve with the times.
In the end, only time will tell if the Switch 2 will mark a return to form for Nintendo, or if the company will be forced to accept that its era of being at the top has ended. Either way, the 2024 GOTY nominations have made one thing very clear: innovation is the key to success.
