Spike TV's VGA GOTY Nominees Announced

In what reeks of promotional corporate fanfare, the list of the five nominees for Spike TV’s Game of the Year has been announced. Many of the entries won’t be surprising, but there are two that might make you scratch your head.

Spike sent out word today that the Spike TV VGA’s will air Saturday, December 10th, honoring the talented folk who work their butts off in the gaming industry, and presumably using the air-time to promote big-budget games planned for release in 2012 and 2013. The show will also have executive producer Mark Burnett overseeing the show, though I tend to doubt many gamers actually care about that.

With promises of news regarding Metal Gear Solid: Rising as well as a reveal for the new Alan Wake (thanks XBLA Fans), the show is scheduled to be a hotly anticipated showcase for the biggest names and the biggest games in the industry.

All of the corporate hot-air and self-promotional PR aside, Spike finally let loose the official nominees for Game of the Year, and most fans will be pleased but at the same time there’s a bit of an issue with two of the entries. Check it out below.

1. Batman: Arkham City

2. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

3. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

4. Portal 2

5. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

No issues with Uncharted 3 and Batman: Arkham City. I am a little wavery about Portal 2, but I guess that makes sense. The issue I’m having is with two games that aren’t even out yet, namely Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Skyrim. Exactly, how can you become eligible for GOTY when no one has played the full game yet? Corporate butt-munching much?

Anyway, I’m sure both Skyward Sword and Skyrim will be great games, but that’s almost equivalent to adding Battlefield 3 on the list before playing the single-player campaign. I mean, I don’t mean to be a pessimistic byte-biter but it takes a bit more than trailers and fact sheets to determine if a game is GOTY material. If that were the case, Deus Ex: Human Revolution should have made the list just based on the Director’s Cut CG trailer.

Spike TV's nominees for most anticipated game also surfaced, although, there's a missing entry of GTA V. I'm pretty sure there are more people geeked for Grand Theft Auto than BioShock: Infinite. But I'm just guessing based on all the interweb chatter.

You can cast your votes for the current GOTY nominees as well as the most anticipated upcoming game over at the Official VGA Website. Spike is planning on announcing additional nominees in other categories soon.