I think realistically, TotK is going to win the popularity aspect by a longshot. Even though BG3 is, IMO an objectively more impressive feat, and most of the novelty in TotK was already in BotW.
The awards are voted on by journalists, not fans, so the games favored to win are the ones that woo the most outlets, not the ones that sell the most copies. They’re correlated, but if a staff of game reviewers is holding the game that sold a third as many copies in higher esteem, it can still win in this show.
I think realistically, TotK is going to win the popularity aspect by a longshot. Even though BG3 is, IMO an objectively more impressive feat, and most of the novelty in TotK was already in BotW.
The awards are voted on by journalists, not fans, so the games favored to win are the ones that woo the most outlets, not the ones that sell the most copies. They’re correlated, but if a staff of game reviewers is holding the game that sold a third as many copies in higher esteem, it can still win in this show.
I’m just basing it off the fact that anyone can click that link and vote on which one they want to win GOTY.
It’s a separate tally.