The problem with joke votes is that it really corrupts the entire thing. RDR2 getting “most loving updates” or whatever it was called after it was shut down is a middle finger to the devs who actually keep up with their games.
Considering the awards are nigh-useless anyway, sacrificing some “credibility” to call out shitty business seems worth it imo.
It’s not like it’s a “haha look how silly this is” joke–it’s a “you all fucked this up though for the public to hate you, do better” joke.
Think of it like this: You could annoy some shit companies for a few minutes or give a small dev a life achievement they will cherish for years.
Don’t undermine these things please. We used to not have awards, award shows, anything for games. Showing we don’t give a shit is a quick way for them to disappear.
Award shows have been on the way out for well over a decade, and have been purely marketing tools for even longer.
More importantly, the devs who got their games nominated likely saw sales spike, which means more players enjoying the things they created, and they were properly compensated for their work. That means way more than a BS award that sits on a shelf.
It’s “undermining gaming” to give award show results so much weight when we know how biased they are.
