If you consider Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards to be the equivalent of an MTV awards show, then the DICE Awards are a bit like the Oscars: there are no music performances or ill-conceived razor commercials, just game developers looking awkward in tuxedos. The point is that being nominated for a DICE award is a big deal, and it's the PlayStation 4 exclusives that are once again leading the way.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End secured the most nominations with ten, while fellow first-party release The Last Guardian landed seven. Inside did well with nine nominations, while the likes of Firewatch (six), Overwatch (six), and Titanfall 2 (four) all received multiple nods as well. The overall Game of the Year will be contested by Naughty Dog's opus, the aforementioned Inside, Battlefield 1, Pokémon Go, and Overwatch.
The games are selected via "peer panels" which purport to include the industry's "most experienced and talented men and women". The winners are then chosen via a secret ballot. We've included all of the nominations below. The awards ceremony itself will take place on 23rd February in Las Vegas, where Bethesda's Todd Howard will be inducted into the group's Hall of Fame.
The DICE Awards 2017 Nominees
Game of the Year
- Battlefield 1
- Inside
- Overwatch
- Pokemon Go
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- 1979 Revolution: Black Friday
- Battlefield 1
- Inside
- The Last Guardian
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
- I Expect You to Die
- Inside
- Overwatch
- Owlboy
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
- Battlefield 1
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
- Overwatch
- Titanfall 2
- The Division
Handheld Game of the Year
- Dragon Quest Builders
- Fire Emblem Fates
- Kirby: Planet Robobot
- Pokemon Sun and Moon
- Severed
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- The Banner Saga 2
- Deus Ex Go
- Fire Emblem Fates
- Civilization VI
- XCOM 2
Sports Game of the Year
- FIFA 17
- Madden NFL 17
- MLB The Show 16
- NBA 2K17
- Steep
RPG/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
- Dark Souls III
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- Hyper Light Drifter
- The Division
- World of Warcraft: Legion
Racing Game of the Year
- Forza Horizon 3
- Driveclub VR
Fighting Game of the Year
- EA Sports UFC 2
- Guilty Gear Xrd - Revelator
- Killer Instinct Season 3
- Pokken Tournament
- Street Fighter V
Family Game of the Year
- Dragon Quest Builders
- Lego Star Wars The Force Awakens
- Ratchet & Clank
- Rock Band Rivals
- Super Mario Maker 3DS
Outstanding Technical Achievement
- Battlefield 1
- No Man's Sky
- Overwatch
- Titanfall 2
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- Firewatch
- Inside
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
- Oxenfree
- That Dragon, Cancer
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
- Battlefield 1
- Inside
- The Last Guardian
- Quantum Break
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- Doom
- Abzu
- Battlefield 1
- The Last Guardian
- Titanfall 2
Outstanding Achievement in Character
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Reyes
- Firewatch - Delilah
- Firewatch - Henry
- The Last Guardian - Trico
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Nathan Drake
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Battlefield 1
- Firewatch
- Inside
- The Last Guardian
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Inside
- The Last Guardian
- Overwatch
- Street Fighter V
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
DICE Sprite Award
- 1979 Revolution: Black Friday
- Firewatch
- Inside
- Superhot
- That Dragon, Cancer
Adventure Game of the Year
- Firewatch
- Inside
- King's Quest: The Complete Collection
- The Last Guardian
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Action Game of the Year
- Battlefield 1
- Doom
- Gears of War 4
- Overwatch
- Titanfall 2
Mobile Game of the Year
- Clash Royale
- Crashlands
- Gardenscapes - New Acres
- Pokemon Go
- Reigns
[source gamespot.com]
Comments 19
That racing category is hilarious.
Pokemon Go over Sun/Moon? Okay?
I know it won't win, but I'd love to see Dragon Quest Builder take home best handheld.
@hadlee73 Yeah, the story is all over the place, I don't understand what's going on. First I thought it's a story about nazy like regime, then about monster/infection story, then alien.
In the end, it's a waste of time. I seriously don't understand Inside hype at all, it's a good 2D game, but I don't think it's a 10 game.
@wiiware @hadlee73 I definitely think Inside deserves to be in that category. Best theory I read is that the boy represents a tumour and the game world is the human body trying to extract it before it turns cancerous.
@get2sammyb. And you can bet they have 1st place or 2nd place printed all over there physical releases.
@get2sammyb
That is pretty pathetic. Forza Horizon 3 had no competition at all this year. Thankfully 2017 should be better with a showdown between Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport.
@Neurotic_Biotic
My thoughts exactly. That has to be a mistake.
I think No Man's Sky at least deserves a nod in the original music and art direction categories.
@Neurotic_Biotic @Gamer83 To be honest I can understand Pokémon Go receiving a Game of the Year nomination. It was not just popular, it was a phenomenon. I don't have figures to hand but the amount of players, the amount of downloads and the amount of money made are all pretty staggering.
It reignited the world's love of Pokémon and no doubt introduced a whole new audience to Pokémon. Pretty much everyone I've spoken to since it released has played it, and many still do, totally hooked on catching them all.
I agree with you both that Sun/Moon is the better game, but Pokémon Go resonated with a huge amount of people, and tore down barriers by forcing people outdoors and encouraging them to explore, and interact with others. It was a resounding success, and definitely worthy of recognition.
@ApostateMage Agreed. The sound and art style are its best attributes, and they both do their job perfectly. Awesome soundtrack, especially.
@get2sammyb Clicked your spoiler tags absentmindedly and read a word that undoubtedly gives the game away for me. Whoops!! lol
@Quintumply
It deserves some recognition sure. But overall Game of the Year? Sorry, I just can't put it in the same category with stuff like Uncharted 4, Overwatch or to be honest even 'lesser' games like Ratchet & Clank and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
@wiiware But that's part of the point, you play the game and come to your own conclusion on what it all means. Its why the likes of Attack on Titans early episodes work so well, the original lost series etc. Inside is like that, it leaves you questioning what's going on and out of all the games I've played last year its one that will stay with me the longest. What it makes me wonder is why was Sonic setting birds free from robotniks metal canisters? That's actually criminal damage. I cant go into chester zoo and rip the cages open - that's what inside does, you start questioning stuff.
@get2sammyb wow 😲 awesome theory. Makes sense too.
@themcnoisy Yeah, it's amazing when you think about it. The room with the nuclear bombs would represent chemotherapy. The conga line is the cancerous cell trying to "dupe" the body into thinking it's a normal cell.
Overwatch, pass me the sick bag.
Pokemon Go is actually fundamentally crap. Overwatch is the most overrated game in history. Street fighter was half a game. The Division? LoL. Firewatch, dull as dishwater.
@Quintumply come on, numbers don't matter when its a free mobile app with nostalgia out the wazoo, I played it a darn lot, it was still crap though
@themcnoisy I don't watch Lost, I heard even the writer doesn't know the answer to Lost mystery. I watch Attack on Titans anime because I want to know the answer of the titan mystery, and I'm sure the manga writer will answer all of it near the end of the story. Sonic is happy go lucky platformer, there's no hidden meaning behind it.
What make Limbo work is the titles already tell us about the games setting, where's in Inside we don't even know what the setting is. Good game but I don't ever think it's a game of the year materials.
@wiiware I think we will always disagree on that one wiiware, what's your goty 2016?
@themcnoisy Uncharted 4
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