14 DAY TRIAL // Every outlet in the press that covers videogames does an end of the year segment awarding a Game of the Year for those titles which have really impressed over the recent 12 months. It's a good idea, as it manages to boil down the most significant releases of the recent period and gives those not following the news closely a run down of what was important.
The big problem is with the audience participation in creating these end of the year awards. As long as editors from IGN, Eurogamer or 1UP create the charts and give out the titles, all is well in videogame land. The problems arise when users are invited to vote, over the Internet, for those games that they liked best over the year.
Some polls ask the visitor to rate and evaluate every title from real time strategy to first person shooter to role playing, action, platformer and sports game. They also present separate choices for all home consoles and for handhelds. Of course, most dedicated gamers played Gears of War 2, Fallout 3 and Resistance 2 and can offer up an opinion regarding them but surely the editors themselves haven't played all the games listed for comparison.
Certainly, the idea is that the person who hasn't played Nintendo DS games should not vote in that category, but with the near constant coverage and deluge of gaming news following those interested, we are sure to have an opinion regarding Nintendo DS games even if we only played Zelda, Brothers in Arms and Brain Training on that platform.
The Internet creates a culture of participation, engagement and opinion. And that's usually a very good thing. Unfortunately, we tend to participate even when we don't have an opinion regarding the subject. There are people who voted in Player's Choices polls regarding the Nintendo DS, despite their lack of gaming experience on the handheld. Color us guilty and get rid of those polls. Editor's pick will suffice.