Okay, so this is my third post and first topic started here, so civility will be appreciated.

I was thinking about the competition for Game of the Year this year. Super Mario Galaxy, Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, The Orange Box. What a list of gaming excellence.

 And then I started thinking about the list of games that probably aren't going to make that top echelon this year, and... wow. Just wow. Halo 3, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Metroid Prime 3: Echoes, Guitar Hero 3, even Phantom Hourglass could be in this list.

I think the true excellence of any gaming year can be defined not only by the quality of the top Game of the Year candidates, but also by the quality of the top-tier titles which are just a slight cut below those GotY behemoths, and in the case of this year, the sheer depth of excellence in the top titles across all three systems is fairly breathtaking.

I know there are some huge titles set to come out in 2008 (MGS4, GTA4, Brawl, GT5) and there are bound to be a couple of new IPs that will blow our minds (like Bioshock this year), but right now from where I sit, the end of 2007 is a pretty spectacular place to be if you are an avid gamer. No matter which console(s) of choice, you have games to play which are spectacular and diverse. I don't think that generation 6 was this far along at this point. We should take a second to sit back and appreciate where we are in gaming history. Sure there is heated competition between the three systems, sure there are strong words being said, and strong opinions about which of the systems is best and will sell the best this gen, but look the end result of what all this heated competition has gotten us.

The most spectacular, beautiful, innovative, immersive, and intelligent games of all time.

What a great time to be a gamer.

 but yea for the rest it was a good post and i agree with you that this is one of the best gaming years ever, atleast in top 3.

The great titles are too crammed together for 2007 to be considered a great year.  Maybe these last few months are terrific, but the year as a whole... maybe not so much.

Definitely one of the better years, but I think 1998 will still be the best year of gaming for now. But we can try compare:

1998:
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Best action/adventure and Best game ever)
Half-Life (Best FPS ever)
Grim Fandango (Best Adventure game ever)
Starcraft (Best RTS ever)

Gran Turismo (most impressive of the GT series)
Metal Gear Solid (most impressive of the MGS series)
Baldur's Gate
Fallout 2
Thief
Banjo-Kazooie
Tekken 3 (most impressive of the Tekken series?)

GT actually just barely squeaked out in '97 right before Xmas (Dec. 23) but as for the rest, wow, you're right... that was a good year. Especially for the PC titles. This could turn into an interesting debate.

GT was only released in Japan in '97. The US release came early-mid '98 with the EU release trailing by one month soon after.

Ah. Stupid Wikipedia. That'll learn me!

About 2007, I'd say Rock Band and Halo 3 are also in competition for GOTY but yeah, SMG looks hard to beat.

Next year looks interesting. If it was not for all the game delays, 2007 would be better but because of the delays, 2008 pulls off the victory. 2008 should be a more even year when it comes to quality games. All three consoles will be getting some quality games though 360 should still lead in game sales. Of course, there are also many games for next year that we don't even know about. Many companies, including Nintendo, have something up their sleeve.

2008 offers
Better music, fighting, racing, sports games
Worse RPG, FPS

Rock Band 2 and GH4 should offer improved graphics, sound, more modes overall, and DL content for the Wii. GTA4 should blow away most games in fun and sales. MGS4, DMC4, KZ2, Wii Fit and Wii Music may do well. Civilization will finally come to the consoles. Fighting games look good with Brawl being the best, the best 2d fighter ever Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Tekken 6, and SC4. The 2 best racing games in years are coming as Mario Kart Wii and GT5. Hopefully, the sports games will get better, this should be very true on Wii and PS3 where many of the games had problems.

There is a chance of Final Fantasy XIII but overall the PRGs look weaker. FPSs look a lot weaker next year. There should be a few good ones, though, like UT3.

Add to 2008 the maturation of the PSN and Home's release, what M$ said it would do with Live, the release of WiiWare, and the more advanced VC games on the Wii, 2008 looks to be the best year ever.

"Super Mario Galaxy, Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, The Orange Box, Halo 3, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Guitar Hero 3, Phantom Hourglass"


You forgot Crysis, Rock Band, Uncharted, and UT3. And Losty Odyssey if we're counting Japan. Hell, the 360's online version of VF5 has a 91 Metascore.

And there must be other good PC games besides Crysis, what about World in Conflict? That has a 89 Metascore. There were also expansions for Company of Heroes and Age of Empires III.

And I believe all of those games are from August - December 2007! This has probably been the best five months in video game history. And considering the new consoles are just starting to hit their stride, late 2008 or 2009 could be equally impressive.

Of course, if Fallout 3, Starcraft 2, and Spore managed to all make it to the market in 2008, that could really make 2008 a huge year.