2019 was certainly a year for video games and 2020 is looking to be a year with video games in it as well. And what better way to celebrate video games than by handing out completely arbitrary awards that we made up to talk about video games? This is MMO Fallout’s 2019 Awards We Made Up: 2019 Edition.
I don’t know how many parts this series is going to be because, again, it’s all made up.
1. Best Remake
Winner: Resident Evil 2
I think it stands to reason that a lot of people were…skeptical when they heard that Resident Evil 2 would be remade and not in a way that was similar to how the original game played. And then we got the first trailer and those skeptics were even more skeptical. Why does Leon Kennedy look like three toddlers stacked on top of one another? Why does Claire look a bit like Miranda Cosgrove? And then the game came out and everyone was mostly happy. Resident Evil 2 comes on the cusp of Resident Evil 7 being successful and definitely not on the heels of the REmake which underperformed when it released on the Gamecube and had moderate success on further platforms.
Resident Evil 2 is an all-around beautiful return to a much beloved game in this long franchise. It twisted the story up enough that even those of us who played the original version to death on N64 or Playstation had a reason to go back and buy this at premium AAA game prices. For fans of the older Resident Evil, it continued to give us hope that Capcom was returning to the pre-boulder punching era of Resident Evil when the series was less stupid. Even better, it led to the announcement of a Resident Evil 3 remake in the same style.
2. Most Successful Con
Winner: Star Citizen
I’m using a photo of cheeseburgers because it’s less depressing than reminding people that some of them paid thousands of dollars for a product that will never see full release.
Star Citizen may well go down as the most successful con in the history of the gaming industry. The game has brought in more than a quarter billion dollars in crowdfunding and private investment and despite the fact that they have not come close to finishing what was promised seven years ago under a fraction of the budget that they now have, these sentient wallets we call whales are still lining up to throw thousands of dollars that some can’t personally afford to be spending on jpeg concept art for a game that is never going to release as advertised, and one that will continue to stack unfinished feature and pushing those benchmarks and release dates into the oblivion.
Chris Roberts didn’t make a video game, he built the video game equivalent of scientology where gullible rich kids can happily throw lods of emone into his wallet and finance some of the most well-fed grifters in the industry. He’s also responsible for the last five years being the most times the phrase “I hate to say it, but Derek Smart was right” was uttered.
3. Best Comeback
Winner: Destiny 2
I know Bungie is never going to come out and admit it, so I’ll just say this here: Destiny is probably in the greatest position it ever has been now that Bungie has ended its abusive publishing relationship with Activision. But what has Destiny 2 done since Activision got shown the door? Gone free to play, introduced cross-save, rejigged the cash shop, produced a holiday event that seemed more focused on producing something people would want to play rather than just being an avenue to shove expensive microtransactions down everyone’s throat. Not half bad.
Now that Destiny is back in Bungie’s hands fully, we can look forward to a future without Activision acting as the abusive publisher.
4. Company We Expect To Be Gone In 2020
Winner: Daybreak Game Company
I think I’ve made my contempt for Daybreak Game Company quite well known in 2019; it’s a company that refuses to acknowledge the place it is in while simultaneously begging for money in any avenue possible by selling increasingly low quality stuff that people don’t want. In 2019 I chronologued H1Z1 on PS4 becoming a depressing joke of a title. I also talked about Planetside Arena being a game nobody wanted and, look at that, nobody wanted it.
Daybreak is a shell of what it used to be. Its stable of games has plummeted down to six, the company has suffered more rounds of layoffs in the last two years than any healthy company should, and even their ability to support the games that are still alive has diminished significantly. H1Z1 barely gets anything in the way of new content, Z1 Battle Royale has been abandoned after the failure of a partnership that was NantG Mobile, Planetside Arena was a dud, and Planetside 2 doesn’t seem to be in a much better place in terms of staff still on payroll. 2019 marked Daybreak canning the player studio, the failed relationship with NantG Mobile, we learned that they were probably working on a Marvel MMO, several layoffs, and this company wants us to believe that Planetside 3 and Everquest 3 are still in the works?
I’m not buying it. If Daybreak survives 2020, I will be very surprised. If they manage to release an Everquest 3, I will personally eat a Little Caesars pizza and donate a grand to charity of their choice.
5. Most Interesting Topic
Amro Elansari
People loved MMO Fallout patron saint Amro Elansari this year as it turned out to be the most viewed In Plain English article.
Amro Elansari came to our attention earlier this year when he filed a lawsuit against Jagex in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging constitutional violations after the company apparently muted him in RuneScape. The judge threw out the case as implausible, noting that the constitution does not protect from actions of private companies. While Elansari’s case was tossed out in state court, he was told that he could still file in federal court. Elansari filed a notice of appeal, but there have been no updates since then.
Hopefully 2020 will be full of surprises in the court.
6. Most Unexpected Reboot
Winner: Kritika Reboot
When En Masse Entertainment canned Kritika Online back in May, I didn’t think that the game would be back up and running by the end of the year. Or at all, for that matter. But here we are, and on November 12 Kritika: Reboot launched on to Steam and back into our hearts. The new publishing endeavor is being handled in-house by All-M Co. Ltd.
Response to the title has been quite positive, with a 77% “Mostly Positive” rating on Steam and a seemingly healthy number of concurrent players in-game on a regular basis. We’ll have to see how well the game holds up going into 2020 and if All-M can keep the momentum going on the western relaunch.
7. 2019’s Most Busy Beaver
Winner: Pearl Abyss
Human resources has told us that we are legally not allowed to require being a beaver to be eligible for 2019’s Most Busy Beaver award.
Pearl Abyss has had a busy 2019 indeed. We’ve seen the full scale launch of Black Desert on Playstation, Xbox, and now mobile, as well as more content updates for each platform than you can shake a stick at. What kind of stick would you shake at Black Desert’s updates? Probably something made of pine. But not content with taking over the MMO space, Pearl Abyss announced four new games that will be releasing in the foreseeable future; Plan 8, DokeV, Crimson Desert, and Shadow Arena. Whether your interests lie in exo-suit shooters, creature collection, gritty MMOs, or battle royale games, you’ll have something coming to you.
Busy beavers indeed. We are excited to see what 2020 will bring for the work-loaded Pearl Abyss crew. But for now they can take solace in knowing that they are 2019’s most busy beaver.
MMO Fallout 