GYGO: It’s Officially Awards Season, and It’s Going About How You’d Expect

So, now that we’re (thankfully) in the home stretch of 2020, publications and media conglomerates have started putting forward their votes for that age-old tradition, Game of the Year (GOTY). While yet another delay that I talked about in my last GYGO pushed Cyberpunk 2077 officially out of contention for this year’s awards slate, and the new slate of PS5 launch titles are also largely not in the running, there’s still a lot of buzz surrounding the titles that places like the Golden Joysticks and of course Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards have put up for nominations. Here’s the Game Awards slate for GOTY 2020:

While we can see the expected AAA entries Final Fantasy VII Remake and Ghost of Tsushima, the inclusion of Supergiant’s hit roguelike Hades has presented a breath of fresh air for fans of the indie community, and, as expected, the inclusion of the critically acclaimed but player-controversial The Last of Us Part II has caused a social media stir among bitter gamers, especially as the game essentially swept its categories at the Golden Joysticks.

Some people rightfully called foul on Naughty Dog winning Best Studio after terrible reports of crunch from earlier in the year:

The Game Awards goes live on December 10th.

In Specifically Square Enix News

In a surprising turn of events, Square Enix has announced that most employees in their Japan-based offices will be able to work from home permanently if they choose.

This move shocked the games industry, and some are cautiously optimistic that this is but the first in a tidal shift of changing workflow for the AAA landscape. This would undoubtedly be a boon to already overworked developers forced to be nomadic, so we can hold out hope more companies will follow Square Enix Japan’s lead.

 

But Square Enix wasn’t done. They also dropped a surprise announcement trailer for a sequel to the 2007 Nintendo DS game The World Ends With You. The new game is dropping sometime in summer 2021 for Switch and PS4, which gives fans of the game something to look forward to.

 

Finally, the Comeback You Didn’t Know You Needed

I frankly never thought I’d type the words “Israeli illusionist and psychic ends decades-long feud with creators of Pokémon cards” but 2020 is nothing if not unexpected.

Back in 2000, a stage magician named Uri Geller took Nintendo to court over the design of the Kadabra Pokémon card, on which Kadabra bends a spoon, which was apparently Geller’s whole thing. Geller sought $80 million in damages and claimed the design of the card was “evil” and “occult” and even evoked Nazi imagery. As a result of the lawsuit, the card stopped being printed, and it became exceedingly rare.

But in a rare happy ending for this year, Geller has decided to lift the ban on the card, and Kadabra can now go back to press.

We stan some personal growth.