Now, a lot of people are saying Fallout 3 could win this award. IGN gave Fallout 3 a 9.6, and MGS4 a 10. However, this is not the only reason I think MGS4 will win. IGN has never given a GoTY award to a PS3 game, and this is the first year that a game of such excellent quality has been released exclusively to the system.

I think it will be an almost unanimous vote by the PS3 team, perhaps some members of other teams who own PS3s. Multiplats do not necessarily have the advantage over exclusives, as shown by the fact that the last three Games of The Year in a row have been exclusive (God of War on PS2 in 2005, Okami on PS2 in 2006, [it was exclusive then] Super Mario Galaxy in 2007)

Action:

Metal Gear Solid 4. Like you said, it beat GTA4 for best PS3 Action Game, so this is clear.

Fighting:

Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Definitely. The only AAA fighting game this year.

Music/Rhythm:

Patapon. PSP GoTY, very high score.

Platform:

LittleBigPlanet. Absolutely certain. 9.5/10 and it's got Sackboy in it! Also, Braid was the only other great platformer this year, and it's not as good.

Puzzle:

If Braid counts in this category, it's won, otherwise World of Goo.

Racing:

Burnout Paradise. Yup best racer this year.

RPG:

Fallout 3. This is the highest score they've given to an RPG in years. They loved it. It's won.

Shooting:

I'm going to go with Resistance 2, since Gears 2 is mysteriously missing from several GoTY awards. It could definitely go to Gears of War 2 though.

Simulation:

Spore. They gave it a pretty high score, definitely higher than AC:CF.

Sports:

NHL 09. They reviewed it very well. It's a toss up between this and MLB 08: The Show.

Strategy:

This is a tough one to call. I'm going to say Sins of a Solar Empire, if only because it's PC GoTY. Valkyria Chronicles and Civilization Revolution will both be nominees.

Graphics Technology:

Metal Gear Solid 4. It has incredible graphics and won the PS3 Best Graphics Technology award. GTA4 did not look better on 360, and they don't want to give it to 2 Crysis games in a row. Gears 2 would have a shot if it won the 360 award (which it should have)

Artistic Design:

LittleBigPlanet. This won best Artistic Design on the PS3, and while I don't think it's an excellent game, you can't doubt that the design is very...different. In a good way.

Original Score:

Absolutely no idea. Fable II, Brawl, Patapon, it could go to any of them.

Use of Sound:

Fallout 3. X360 GoTY, winner of Use of Sound on X360, and it gives a really nice atmosphere.

Voice Acting:

Grand Theft Auto 4. Like you said, it's won all of the awards. Of course, MGS4 deserves it, but this is a pity award.

Story:

Grand Theft Auto 4. Same as above.

Family:

No idea. Buzz?

Local Multiplayer:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl or LittleBigPlanet. It's 50:50.

Online Multiplayer:

Resistance 2. From what I've heard (haven't tried the online yet), it's awesome, and IGN loved it as well.

New IP:

LittleBigPlanet. IGN adores this game. And it's a new IP.

Innovative Design:

LittleBigPlanet. You don't get much more innovative than that. I personally voted for echochrome, it's more innovative, but IGN's not giving the award to that.

Overall Game of the Year:

Metal Gear Solid 4. 10/10 from IGN. Or, as mentioned in the closing comments, 11/10. They've had nothing bad to say about the game since, they all still seem to love it. GTA4 also got 10/10, but the reviewer didn't seem to love it as much. Also, it got beaten in the Best PS3 Game Category by MGS4, got beaten in the PC category by Sins of a Solar Empire, and got beaten in the X360 Category by Fallout 3, so there's really no chance for it.

Now, a lot of people are saying Fallout 3 could win this award. IGN gave Fallout 3 a 9.6, and MGS4 a 10. However, this is not the only reason I think MGS4 will win. IGN has never given a GoTY award to a PS3 game, and this is the first year that a game of such excellent quality has been released exclusively to the system.

I think it will be an almost unanimous vote by the PS3 team, perhaps some members of other teams who own PS3s. Multiplats do not necessarily have the advantage over exclusives, as shown by the fact that the last three Games of The Year in a row have been exclusive (God of War on PS2 in 2005, Okami on PS2 in 2006, [it was exclusive then] Super Mario Galaxy in 2007)

Very good point. Hey, maybe MGS4 can pull it off. I'm still going to pick Fallout 3 for now, but I can definitely see it happening your way also. If anything, I think it's definite that they are the two frontrunners in this race.