Peter can’t help but vent about the Jim Harbaugh and Michigan situation, as he runs the show solo this week! Rajon Rondo has been traded to the Mavericks, but does that make Dallas a title contender? Meanwhile, baseball free agency continues with the Padres as a big spender, plus Marcus Mariota wins the Heisman trophy. Also, NFL Week 16 predictions against the spread and Sidney Crosby had the mumps.
It’s a college football postseason extravaganza! The final four college football playoff teams have been decided, along with the other bowl games and Heisman Trophy finalists! Meanwhile, the MLB Winter Meetings are happening, so Peter and Joel give you their thoughts on all of the free agency moves and trades that are happening. Also, NFL Week 15 predictions against the spread and the Big Ten suffers some terrible college basketball losses.
The final Miiverse post in the Smash Bros. Update, PlayStation Experience, and The Game Awards 2014 are discussed. Also, our Black Friday experiences, Assassin’s Creed: Victory has been leaked, bizarre Amiibo sales on eBay is our Hilarity of the Weak and much more! Our guest is Megami33, who joins us to share what it was like to be in New York City at this year’s triple-launch known as Nintendo Day. Youko, Solharath, and Megami33 break down the latest news from the gaming world!
Easter Egg: Being a guest at Youmacon
It’s the final week of the college football regular season! What do Peter and Joel think the results of the championship games and the playoff teams will be? Additionally, Florida and Nebraska hire new, unexpected head coaches. Also, NCAAF Week 15 picks, NFL Week 14 predictions against the spread, and Michigan fires Brady Hoke as head football coach.
The Ray Rice story continues, as the former Baltimore Raven running back wins his appeal! Meanwhile, the NFL Thanksgiving games happened, so Peter and Joel give you their thoughts on the last quarter of the season. Will the Philadelphia 76ers win an NBA game soon? Also, NCAAF Week 14 picks, NFL Week 13 predictions against the spread, and the Red Sox make some Kung Fu Panda moves.
You know him as the announcer in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS – voice actor Xander Mobus joins us for an insightful half-hour chat! What was it like to record all of those lines for the latest Smash Bros. game? How difficult was it to properly pronounce “Duck Hunt”? Was Masahiro Sakurai in the recording studio for direction? What was the process like for recording the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza? Youko, Solharath, Eevee, and CyberLink420 leave no stone unturned in this discussion with the man behind the voice that Smash fans now know well!
With a top-four showdown, the College Football Playoff rankings got another big shake-up. What do Peter and Joel think about the order of this week’s top four teams? Additionally, the college basketball season begins and Adrian Peterson has been suspended for the rest of the year without pay. Also, NCAAF Week 13 picks, NFL Week 12 predictions against the spread, and Giancarlo Stanton signs a monster contract with the Miami Marlins.
Project M’s APEX Exclusion and New Release in the Smash Bros. Update, Nintendo Direct confirms Majora’s Mask 3DS, and the quality control on holiday video game releases are discussed. Also, the impending and expensive Nintendo Day, video game award season is upon us, Smash Bros. on TI-83 calculators is our Hilarity of the Weak and much more! How will be able to handle Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire in the same day? Youko, Solharath, and Eevee break down the latest news from the gaming world!
Easter Egg: A Disclosure in “Game Journalism”
Welcome to the one and only…
Show Me Your News Game of the Year Awards!
What are the SMYN GotY awards, some may ask?
It began five years ago in 2009, when PsychoWingX9 held a poll for what community members thought should be the Game of the Year. The poll resulted in a tie between Metroid Prime Trilogy and New Super Mario Bros Wii. The structure was very relaxed and it was a great idea that Master of Fossils sought to improve upon for the next year.
The first thing that Fossils did was seek out more categories in which to nominate games for. Second, he wanted a much larger variety of games to be recognized as the first year was very Wii-biased. He also instituted a private message (PM) voting system over the standard poll to allow greater variety and ease in the way people vote.
What made the 2010 GotY awards really special was what I, Youko, did – turning that little project into a professionally done, full-fledged episode that would achieve the emulation of a live action show with various SMYNjas appearing as guests. We have done this every year since then, making each show even bigger and better than ever. So far, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Batman: Arkham City, Telltale’s The Walking Dead, and Fire Emblem Awakening stand as winners of the Game of the Year award.
Here are the previous award shows, if you missed them:
2010
2011
2012
2013
But how do these elections work?
First off, we begin with a nomination round in which any member is allowed to post a list of games they want to nominate for each category. Each member is encouraged 4 nominations per category. This is meant to build a diverse selection of games, so that we may pick the best finalists to ultimately pick a winner from. Therefore, if someone has already nominated a game you think deserves a nomination, there is no added benefit to you nominating that game again. Hopefully the logic behind this is clear – we want a wide range of games to pick finalists from, instead of the community tipping its hand regarding the winner.
– The nominated games must have had North American release dates from December 5, 2013 to December 5, 2014.
– The games must be in FINAL RELEASED FORM, so no demos or in-progress betas are allowed. Similarly, console/PC ports are discouraged from being nominated.
– Please bear in mind what each category represents. “Game of the Year” does not necessarily mean “Favorite Game You Played This Year.” If you believe the game’s merits make it stand above all the rest for that title, then by all means, select. Same thing goes for if your favorite game really did have the Best Soundtrack, Graphics, etc. Please be careful not to “fanboy/girl out” and please choose thoughtfully once the narrowing/voting process begins. Nominations are meant to build the list of choices, so have fun with those!
– You are free to ask your fellow SMYNjas questions, or have any civilized discussions with them, before nominating and voting. Here is the place to do that.
– The GotY Planning Committee reserves the right to veto any nominations before the finalist voting period, for any number of reasons, upon discussion with the community.
Next, once all the nominations have been decided, there will be a finalist voting period in which each member chooses their top 3 choices from each category. DO NOT POST THESE CHOICES IN THE THREAD! When this voting period begins, you will PRIVATE MESSAGE ME OR EMAIL TO SMYNSHOW@GMAIL.COM your 3 choices (in no particular order) for every category and I will keep a running tally of the winning games. You may only submit ONE VOTE via private message – NO EDITS! At the end of this period, I will post the top 4 for every category and the top 5 for the “big ones” (GotY, Best [System] game, etc).
Once these finalists are chosen, members may place votes for their single, top choice AGAIN ONLY BY PM’ING ME. Once the voting period for the winners end, the development for the show really goes into motion.
I love Smash Bros. You love Smash Bros. Most of us know that this is a community founded on a love for the Super Smash Bros. franchise. That said, something has to be done before this award show becomes a giant love-fest for the latest Smash Bros. release. That said, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS may NOT be considered for nomination in the following categories: GAME OF THE YEAR, BEST WII U GAME, BEST 3DS GAME, and BEST SOUNDTRACK. We want to show the diversity of the games that were released in 2014, instead of fixating on what we may be predisposed to vote for easiest.
It begins. Thirty categories. Here’s the voting schedule. GET TO IT!
Nominations — November 16th – 23rd — COMPLETE
Finalist Voting — November 24th – November 29th — COMPLETE
Winner Voting — December 1st – 7th — COMPLETE
The College Football Playoff picture gets a bit of a shake-up, with some top teams losing! Meanwhile, there are bloopers all over the college football world, with pants falling down and another butt fumble! With Peter off this week, Michael joins Joel to break down all the madness. Also, NCAAF Week 12 picks, NFL Week 11 predictions against the spread, and the fumble return in the Pac-12 that must be seen to be believed.