Right around the time game of the year announcements started appearing, a small discussion took place about the validity of the awards. This isn’t anything new; debates about whether a game is worthy of the title game of the year happen every year, and most of it is subjective. But this time it wasn’t a debate about whether the titles should be called game of the year, it was whether they should be called a game.
Look, there’s a reason I would be a terrible analyst. THQ is done. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of last year in an attempt to sell the company to Clearlake Capital Group for $60 million, the judge governing over the filing sided instead with a group of creditors and US trustees. They objected to the sale, claiming the 30-day window was not long enough to provide other companies a chance to offer a bid. The result means THQ will be auctioned off piece by piece next week on January 22. Whether that means by franchise, studio, or both is unknown.
PC gaming has never had the same kind of relevance consoles do in Japan. Publisher-funded games tend to lean toward Xbox 360 and locally developed PlayStation 3 titles, with PC versions of those games being far and few between. When a PC version does release, it usually releases months or years after the console counterparts, or arrives as port with questionable quality.
