Nintendo Picks Up Mobile / Handheld Nominations for The Game Awards 2016

You just know Clash Royale win win. Just as LARA CROFT BLOODY GO managed to beat out Monster Hunter 4

@Equinox What makes it not a real game?

Was Severed really that good enough for a nomination? (Haven't Played) If so, bravo JuiceBox Games!

@Arehexes the fact that he's ignorant is what makes it not a real game.

@Equinox I hope Clash Royale wins, just so people like you can start bawling.

I'm definitely not watching this year's after the show's host straight up lying about a Nintendo reveal, but the Konami shaming was cool.

I'd vote for Fire Emblem Fates personally. I haven't played Revelations, but Birthright and Conquest are really fun, even if the dialogue can be a bit cheesy at times.

@Equinox I somewhat disagree. I see many mobile games as "real games", but you're right, Clash Royale shouldn't be on here.

AM2R is nominated for the Best Fan Creation category. So is Pokémon Uranium.

(Clash Royale wanders to the other nominees)

"Looks like someone's a little lost."

@Equinox Clash Royale is actually quite a bit of fun. And why would you be disappointed to see Clash Royale but not Pokemon GO on the list? Both are freemium mobile games. Although I do think handheld console and mobile games should have their own separate categories.

@ThomasBW84 There are actually more Nintendo nominations in other categories that are not mentioned on this video. Xenoblade Chronicles X is up for best RPG for example.....And Zelda BOTW is up for most anticipated. Not sure why they are not mentioned in this video

@Equinox Don't confuse "mobile games" as a whole with "cash-machine-FreeToPlay-garbage"

I kinda hope Pokémon GO doesn't get it. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why it was popular, and I played my fair share of it, but it's a really flawed game. It doesn't really seem deserving.

What's these Overwatch and Firewatch games that keep getting nominated? What's so good about them?

No Planet Robobot? That's a shame.

Fates has a terrible story (particular Conquest) and a pretty sketchy translation, but the gameplay and map design are excellent.

For me a game that I keep coming back to is Hyrule Warriors Legends. I know its not the popular choice, but it is so much fun and getting all the costumes, weapons and other things is giving me OCD. I'm really surprised how much I love that game and how much time I have spent on it. Good stuff

@abbyhitter
Overwatch is the Blizzard arena shooter. Kind of like a cross between MOBA and FPS (Kind of team fortress, if you like). Very popular and it's Blizzard so it's high-quality and always getting significant updates.

Firewatch is completely different. It's a stylish short form story-oriented adventure game with a first-person perspective.

Clash Royale I enjoyed for a short time. Enjoy Pokemon GO more, honestly and has become a family thing to do.

There does seem to be a need to delineate mobile from games made for dedicated portable consoles. The approach to games is usually quite different. An exemplary mobile game fits deftly into any lifestyle, while an exemplary portable game is primarily for bringing a deeper game experience wherever you are. Tough to draw a line though and plenty of games cross it on each platform.

Clash Royale and Pokemon GO are pretty exceptional as mobile games, but comparing them to some of those games on dedicated gaming consoles is just weird.

Are we going to have the new Mario Switch game in the same list as Super Mario Run next year? How do you compare those?

If Fire Emblem Fates doesn't win, I'll be incredibly disappointed. Even with all the acclaim it got upon release, I still think it's underrated. That's how good I think it is

Overwatch will probably win every category it's in.

I think Bravely Second deserves some kind of award.

What's sad is people drop thousands on mobile games.

Xenoblade yesss lgi.

I enjoyed watching this laat year, especially seeing Splatoon and Mario Maker win what they did, and all the love shown for Iwata. Some of their little clips and such (like the opening) I noticed hardly had any Nintendo games shown. I think about 2 seconds of Splatoon. Odd thing to notice I know.

Anyway, I'm rooting for Fates and Go. Too a lot of people didn't enjoy Star Fox Zero. I did.

Wait, where is Planet Robobot? That game was great. Heck, I like Fates, but after beating Birthright (Special Edition) I got stuck on a windy chapter late in Conquest months ago and always fail misreably when I try to go back. I really need to figure out how to get Conquest over with to get to Revelations

Nintendo has had a terrible year, the only title i got was Tokyo Mirage Sessions, but of course no one's taking about that. Maybe because of the annoying censorship.

I don't really care about the Awards Show, I just want my Mass Effect gameplay!

My money is on Pokemon Go. 3DS games rarely do well with this award compared to smartphone games iirc.

Nintendo could even create a Mario game that's the Citizen Kane of platformers, and yet as long as it's a product for "the Nintendo home consoles no one cares about" (quotation marks highly necessary), all recognition goes to either FPSes on other consoles or handheld titles considering "it's Nintendo's only winning field".

Bleurgh.

@Captain_Toad
"Nyeh, we're a coupl'a buncha guys here! Come out there!"

Why is a freemium game even competing with a game like Fire Emblem

@aaronsullivan "Are we going to have the new Mario Switch game in the same list as Super Mario Run next year? How do you compare those?"

Bigger question, where do you even put Switch games - mobile, portable or home? Zelda and Skyrim vs Candy Crush? Not that Nintendo should care, nobody should, Nintendo should get every game they can on Switch, free, free to start, 99c, $5, $10, $15, $13.45 let the market decide. Let labels become irrelevant.

And Super Mario Run will win every category it's in next year.

Look at all the love Inside is getting! Fantastic

where is pokemon sun and moon, i am surprised no one is bringing that up, they chose go over it....

@MysteriousMudkip Came out too late to be eligible.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is in Best RPG, but I think the Witcher 3 expansion will claim that.

I reckon Pokemon Go will get Mobile/Handheld, and Most Anticipated will go to Breath of the Wild.

@Grumblevolcano ah

Fire emblem fates deserves it💯%

WARNING, OPINION: It's not that mobile games aren't real games, I think they are just made with different intentions. Traditional console games in the past were developed to sell a fun and complete experience. They aim to provide adventure, drama, action etc. as a way to sell the product to consumers. Mobile games on the other hand recognize that they don't fulfil the same role as console games. Mobile games are designed to have no end, you can't always "complete" them. They are designed to capture consumers by making you feel like you are never done, you could always do better, collect more, etc., tapping into addictive behaviors to make money continuously.

I think that when people try to talk about mobile games separately from console games it is the difference in purpose that the two different game types serve. Mobile games are endless, can feel pointless, and sometimes have no limit to how much you can spend on them. Console games (traditionally) were closed experiences that some people feel have more artistic integrity.

Mobile games are designed to make money off of short attention spans and impulsive (or addictive) behaviors. This is extremely offputting for many people. Unfortunately, American developers are taking console games this route lately with incomplete games followed by DLC campaigns that double the cost of the complete game...

Am I the only one who thinks #FE is way better (combat / story /characters) than Xenoblade X? I feel the game is underrated because of its Japanese pop-culture frills.

@Grumblevolcano: Does that mean it's eligible for next year?

Aside from the "handheld/mobile issue" (meaning they count as a single category rather than two separate ones) others have brought up, I find it baffling that expansions are counted as full-fledged games, too.
I haven't played TW3 nor its expansions so I'm certainly not bashing it, but I think it doesn't make much sense to lump those evidently different things together.

@Grumblevolcano Except for GOTY. Overwatch will definitely lose that category to Uncharted 4.

No... Clash Royale... free-to-play... pay for not having to wait for almost one week to build something... Clash of Clans... NO! Why does it have to be so popular?!

@Nicolai I think so, well XCX is in one of the categories and that came out early December last year.

@Mr_Zurkon
I wish I could stop playing it... but everyone almost has legendary on all their weapons! Just 100k more KOs!

Rooting 100% for XCX, I loved that game.
Fates?... Not so much. Honestly, after all the hyping its story and characters were terribly dissapointing.

@Thermoclorn "Mobile games are designed to have no end, you can't always "complete" them. They are designed to capture consumers by making you feel like you are never done, you could always do better, collect more, etc., tapping into addictive behaviors to make money continuously."

See you just described arcade games from the 80's. Having to keep playing and playing nonstop, pumping quater after quarter in till you get the top of high score table. Only to see someone else beat your score later, so you give in and keep playing more and more to top that score. In a game that was designed to never end unless the score glitches the game (pacman) and the owner of the machine can change how hard it is to get even more money out of you. You don't have to like moble games, but the very pratice you hate was used during the golden age of gaming.

@Arehexes Arcade games back then rewarded good play with...well, more time being not dead. There were exceptions like sports games (insert coin to play next period), but for the most part you had to earn your way to the top of the score table with skill and determination, with "microtransactions" in that case just being the cost of admission and re-trying. No buying your way to the top of the table with "extra 3 Super Zappers for 25cents" or "fly over all the craters easily for an extra 50 cents". Or the dreaded "wait a few hours to play again, or just insert another coin to play NOW!", for that matter.

@Mega_Yarn_Poochy what did the host lie about exactly?? I don't remember that at all

They have family game and fighting game for sure, not sure about the others.

Glad to see Xenoblade Chronicles X get a well deserved nomination since it came out a few days after the last Game Awards show last year & hence didn't get a nomination then which was disappointing.

@abbyhitter I would put that in the "Game whose VA's were standing too close to the mic" category.

@Untempered-Link

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/11/we_could_see_new_nintendo_stuff_at_the_game_awards_2015_as_well_as_a_tribute_to_satoru_iwata

@Mega_Yarn_Poochy Emphasis on 'could'

When I saw the list of nominee, I felt disgust for almost all titles except Nintendo games. I never like those Western titles. Sorry, just my confession.

It is not a lot but it is our lot...

Glad to see FE:Fates getting more exposure.

FE Fates will get demolished because it's in the same category as Civ VI and XCOM 2.

@pandarino I haven't gotten around to buying/playing X yet, although I recently have gotten the Wii Xenoblade and I've enjoyed it a lot so far. But yes, I would have loved to see TMS nominated. It is honestly one of my absolute favourite games!

Monster Hunter Generations better win the Mobile award.
looks below and sees Pokemon Go
Crap...

Why the heck is best fan creation a category?

Uncharted 4 for best graphics, Oxenfree (received a code to review that game and just now got to it [sorry], loved it!) should win best story, Generations should win best handheld game, and GOTY should be Uncharted 4 a Thief's End

@yokokazuo it's unique and has an addicting battle system....love it! definitely best jrpg I played in a while.

Cancer Royale with Cheese and its F2P smartphone ilk renders these "awards" a joke and insult to gamers everywhere. They should fade away and classify themselves as obsolete.

Worst of all is how this highlights what a crummy year it's been for anything outside remasters and other re-releases. As poor and hopelessly broad the choices are, I've a hard time thinking of alternatives. At least Firewatch has a chance of getting some well-deserved dues. And braindeadpshewpshewpie's name is nowhere to be found, mercifully.

Small victories...

Overwatch is going to win all its nominations. Every single one.

If AM2R wins in fan games, it would be hilarous to see Reggie/some guy from Nintendo's reaction.

Nice to see AM2R and Pokemon Uranium getting some love, even if it's a "forbidden love" from Nintendo's perspective.

@PLATINUM7 Because sometimes, fan/volunteer efforts turn out greater than official/professional efforts.

It'll be interesting to see who will win some rewards, but I'll wait until articles are posted. Last year's stream was boring and it felt like a waste of time.

What are these games being judged on, exactly? Pokemon GO had a huge number of players at launch but it's not a good game, it's a clicker with all the assets and animations ripped straight from the 3DS games and the game engine taken from Ingress.
You walk somewhere, tap your screen, pray to your RNG gods and repeat 1000 times until a bar fills up.
(also how is it a family game?)

@Ryu_Niiyama I'm happy that Xenoblade Chronicles X got some recognition, love that game! AND it's on WII U! Who would've thought

@Oscarzxn I hope it does, the best (and only) Metroid game of the year!!!

Or even Pokemon Uranium lol

So Robobot, Spirit of Justice and SMT4:A didn't get nominated? Yet Clash Royale and Pokemon Go, two mediocre mobile games did? Ridiculous, but I didn't expect any less.

@whodatninja But of course! Xenoblade X is awesome! Perhaps I'll finish it in my lifetime...

Lol, there are also nominations for illegal games (like Pokemon Uranium)! What's next: A award for the best emulation-site?!

@Ryu_Niiyama It's the definition of a "long game"! I feel I rushed through it, and I still got up to like 80 hours XD