2007, Game of the Year

[The_Liquid_Laser]

The 2007 Game of the Year is Super Mario Galaxy.
The runner up is Portal.
The master thread for all of these contests can be found here.

Welcome to the latter part of the 2000’s, which may be the most interesting time in the history of gaming.  It was so interesting that someone created a website in 2006 focusing on the video game sales during this time in gaming.  But what was it that made the late 2000’s so interesting?

The PS2 dominated the home console space so thoroughly that it seemed like Sony had a permanent monopoly on gaming.  Not only was the PS2 the best-selling system of all time, but it also forced Sega out of console gaming and into a role as third party publisher.  Nintendo, the former king of home consoles, was in third place with the GameCube relying mostly on their handheld systems to make a profit.  And with the solid launch of the PSP in 2004, it seemed like Nintendo couldn’t even rely on their handhelds anymore. 

Enter Satoru Iwata, Nintendo CEO and black-belt in business jiu-jitsu.  Instead of Nintendo launching powerful systems to compete directly, Iwata treated his competitor’s power as a disadvantage and used it against them.  That move to high definition, especially, increased costs and slowed development times.  So, Nintendo focused on new control methods for the Wii and DS and kept these systems as weaker than their competitors.  This meant that Nintendo could keep development costs down and continue to release new games at a good pace.  Even with major third-party developers supporting Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo turned everything around.  Somehow, they were competing with almost the entire game industry and winning.

Here is the tl;dr version of the above:

Playstation: “I am inevitable.”
Iwata: “And I am Iron Man.”

 

As for 2007 specifically, Generation 7 had fully started.  Sony was trying out new content for its first-party games, while Microsoft and Nintendo were putting out sequels to some of their biggest franchises.  Third-party publishers were also starting to release some high-profile games, and the PS2 simply refused to die.  “Hello? PS2?  Read your emails.  Generation 6 is supposed to be over.“  So, without further ado, here is the list of games for 2007:

 

Portal (PC)
This puzzle FPS is more about opening time-space portals instead of killing stuff.  Follow the instructions of a “benevolent” AI and enjoy some cake while playing this Valve classic from designer Kim Swift.

"Still Alive":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxTNqYAWISs

 

God of War II (PS2)
Even in 2007 the PS2 continued to get high profile games like this second entry in the God of War series.  God of War II would sell over 4.2 million copies and it scored a 93 on Metacritic.

 

Halo 3 (XBox 360)
The XBox 360 got its first entry in Microsoft’s flagship franchise in 2007.  Halo 3 scored a 94 on Metacritic and sold over 14.5 million copies. 

 

Bioshock (XBox 360/PC)
Go underwater to discover Ayn Rand’s wet dream in the city of Rapture.  PS3 owners had to wait an extra year to enjoy what XBox 360 and PC owners were raving about in 2007.  Bioshock scored an impressive 96 on Metacritic and sold over 4 million copies.  Would you kindly consider voting for this game?

 

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (XBox 360/PS3/PC)
For whatever reason, the developers behind this series decided to move away from a WWII setting and they used a more modern setting instead.  This ended up being a really good idea.  Call of Duty 4 scored a 94 on Metacritic and had sold almost 16 million copies as of 2013.

 

Rock Band (XBox 360/PS3/PS2)
In a strange twist of fate, Harmonix got shut out of making future Guitar Hero games.  They responded by launching this brand-new series which allows up to 4 players to simulate their own rock band using guitar, bass, singer, and drums.  Rock Band would sell over 4 million copies and scored a 92 on Metacritic.

 

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS3)
Naughty Dog started their iconic series back in the early days of the PS3.  This first Uncharted game would sell over 4.8 million copies.

 

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
The Wii got the third entry in the Metroid Prime series.  Metroid Prime would sell over 1.4 million copies.

 

Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Meet Princess Rosalina and Luma for the first time when Mario launches into outer space.  This gravity defying 3D platformer would score a 97 on Metacritic and sell over 12.8 million copies.

 

Other (please specify)
If you think another game deserves to be "Game of the Year" other than one of the 9 I listed above, then please vote “Other” and say your game in the comments.  If the "Other" category takes at least 2nd place and no other game gets at least 40% of the vote, then I will do a runoff vote including the most mentioned game(s) from the comments.

 

Voting for 2007 Game of the Year will end on Monday, Nov 13 at 11:59 PM, EST.

Last edited by The_Liquid_Laser - on 14 November 2023