For games on the list, the TMNT arcade game.

For games released in North America that year, Mega Man 2.

The first time I've seen a computer game take a big early lead in one of these votes. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come in the 90s?

Oh hell no! The 1990's were the golden age of console gaming, only rivalled by the early-mid 2000's imo. Late 1980's was just a weird transitional period.

As much I loved Super Mario Land, I don't even think it would be the 1989 Game Boy game of the year ... that was totally Tetris.

SimCity for me. My friend's dad had a copy of it on his PC and we used to play it (very badly) when we were in our early teens. It was a fascinating game at the time.

I politely disagree, the 1990's is where PC games showed tons of innovation, setting the tone for all the games and genres we play now.
We'll see as these polls move on. The 90's were the golden age for PC gaming :)

I respect your opinion (always) but regardless of our subjective tastes, the general opinion at least here quite clearly leans towards consoles, especially during this period. Let's be real, in a VGC poll, PC games won't stand a chance against Zeldas, Mario 64, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasys, Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid etc.

Personally, my 1990 GOTY is Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake which was a home computer game from Konami, but it's gonna get destroyed by NES/SNES options. It's not a "Metal Gear Solid".

The only way PC has a chance is if one groundbreaking PC game finds its self in a poll stacked with strong console releases that will cannibalize each other. I'd love to be proven wrong though. Phantasy Star just beat Final Fantasy 1, so anything can happen I guess.

Game of the Year: Can't disagree with the prevailing opinion here: it's SimCity. Launched a whole genre for all intents and purposes and was definitely the title here I spent the most time with. Although to be fair, about half the games here are ones I never played. My fondest memories of SimCity come from the fact that my neighbor and best friend at the time got a Super NES before me and whenever I visited, that's what he'd be playing and want to show me more of. I got hooked on it that way.

Honorable Mentions: That said, I can't let the occasion pass without mentioning the game that welcomed me to the next level: Golden Axe. Golden Axe was my reason for begging my parents for a Sega Genesis. After much pleading, they finally caved and got me one, with Golden Axe, for my eighth birthday in 1990. They became concerned about the violent nature of the games I wanted though and sought to steer me toward computer gaming instead from this point, as computer gaming had a rep for being educational. And seemed to find every excuse possible to ground me from gaming just in general. It worked! I never again played such brutal games.

Also thought I'd mention Baseball Stars. Several firsts arrived in that game. First sports game on the NES to use battery backup, the first on the system to include a create-a-player option, and the only baseball sim I've ever played before that allowed you (secretly; hidden feature) to hire female players. Not that I was ever epically into baseball or anything, but my dad sure was and we used to play catch and visit batting cages and stuff sometimes. Baseball Stars was a game we enjoyed playing together.

Secret of Monkey Island is my goty for 1990 which I played on PC. It was also on Amiga 500.
We'll see, every year of the 90's some other great long lasting IP popped up on PC, while I see lots of sequels for consoles.

But sure the polls will be skewed since PC gaming was still a niche back then while NES/SNES exploded in sales.

I think you have a point there, but if we face the facts, the console games of that time were strong and are stacked against each other. Also the computer games at that time were often released on DOS and Amiga.