Do you know what the "tip of the iceberg" means?

The part about the current category is *exactly* one third of the article, while the part about the ongoing categories is exactly two thirds (and it's not "one award," it's two).

So no. It's not a "huge portion," and even if it was, that does not remove any validity from the argument that simulation and strategy games should not be bunched in the same category.

Not only are neither simulation games nor strategy games really "niche" but they're very prolific genres, and they have very little to do with each other.

Simulation games don't include just simulaTORS. They include a wide variety of games from Flight Simulator to The Sims. Is The Sims "niche" as well? 😂

Simulation games are absolutely less niche in general than games that have their own category, like fighting games.

1/3 is a big portion of an article. C'mon now. Let alone the first part of it.

And I've said my piece on why. You are arguing against mainstream, I'm telling you mainstream isn't listening and The Game Awards is not going to be about equality but the mainstream. Just look at the game trailers shown during it.

I have nothing else to say or defend, so I'll leave it at that.

You say I'm "arguing against the mainstream" like the mainstream shouldn't be argued against.

I beg to differ. It's called "the Game Awards" and not "The Mainstream Awards." I may be old, but I'm not old enough to think that things should not be said just because the other side isn't listening.

Peace.

***You say I'm "arguing against the mainstream" like the mainstream shouldn't be argued against. ***

I didn't say that. I'm saying why it's not happening. You can argue, no one said you couldn't. But, let's be honest, the arguments you make aren't changing the mainstream at all.

Simple question: why didn't a single simulation game have a trailer at TGAs if they want the mainstream to see them?

If the industry of simulation games, which is far spanning, isn't putting in the effort to be seen, arguing is just that and not progress.

Also, I think you're taking my words as if I'm attacking you or your support of simulators in some way. I'm just saying what is what. This is the world we live in. This is how mainstream works. Indies still build the future of gaming in almost every way, which includes a ton of simulators. I mean, we have survival games with intense building mechanics because of simulators. But that doesn't change that mainstream is mainstream and the only way to get into it, IMHO, is to put yourself out there at events like TGA. No Man's Sky has that name recognition because of their association with Sony, and thereby the drama that has unfolded since there and yadda yadda yadda. I'm not seeing the same with the new games out there. And it's harder. But I'm not seeing it.

First of all, Ace Combat 8 was revealed at the TGA, it's a simulator-lite, but still a simulator.
Of course, that's besides the point, unless you're telling me it's ok for The Game Awards to nominate only games that pay them to put trailers on.
That'd also be besides the point, mind you, because the nominations are decided by journalists and influencers in the jury, and if gaming journalists are ignorant about a non-insignificant chunk of the industry, that's on them, not on the developers. Finding out about games is their *job.* Not that most of them do it well, unfortunately, but that's exactly part of my point. The ignorance of the genre displayed by mainstream gaming media is inexcusable.

If simulators are so niche and invisible, how is it that big mainstream IPs work with them? Microsoft Flight Simulator just had an insanely good Stranger Things crossover, and a Jurassic World one just a month or so ago. They also had Dune and Top Gun: Maverick.

I don't know many *mainstream* games out there that line up that kind of high-level collabs.

Ultimately, the problem is simple, and not very nice to say. 99% of mainstream gaming journalism nowadays is SEO-driven trash (and I know this for a fact). It isn't surprising that those who work on it (and get to vote for nominations and awards) don't know what's beyond two inches from their noses.
They don't write about the games they're passionate about. They write what their SEO dude behind the scenes tells them to write, so their industry expertise, if it ever existed, has long been forgotten.

Most of these Oscar winning films are incredibly niche at least these last few years, with only a few hundred thousand to a couple million viewers if they're lucky.

Stranger Things Season 5 had 59.6 million views in the first five days.

Not giving something that you give to others in excess is the very definition of penalizing.

no
no it isn't