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The story
The Japan Game Awards is one of the biggest awards in Japan’s domestic game industry, announced by CESA to coincide with the Tokyo Game Show; in 2026 the ceremony was held starting at 6:00 PM on September 15. On 5ch’s hardware/industry board, a thread starter’s announcement touched off a wave of posts listing past winners and guessing at this year’s Grand Prize. Pokémon Legends Z-A emerged as a strong favorite, while some argued Palworld would be a tough sell given the image damage from its lawsuit with Nintendo. The thread also touched on how the judging combines public voting with a panel of judges, and how the eligibility period runs from June of the previous year through May of the award year.
Starting at 6:00 PM today, the Japan Game Awards ceremony will be held.
The Game Designers Award, being retired after this year, is scheduled to be presented near the end.
Source: x.com / Original post here
What people said
Can't wait.
Is Palworld even nominated?
Palworld's untouchable, right?
Between the lawsuit and all, its image is just too damaged.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2017 (22nd)
Monster Hunter: World
2018 (23rd)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2019 (24th)
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
2020 (25th)
Ghost of Tsushima / Monster Hunter Rise
2021 (26th)
ELDEN RING
2022 (27th)
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
2023 (28th)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
2024 (29th)
Metaphor: ReFantazio
This year it feels like Pokémon [Legends Z-A] is about the only real contender.
Wonder how Resident Evil factors in.
Wait, is Ghost of Tsushima even a Japanese-made game?
Looking at that lineup, Metaphor feels like the odd one out. Guess even with Monster Hunter's pedigree, they just couldn't bring themselves to pick Wilds?
Yeah, it's basically the "PlayStation favoritism" award.
The glorious very first winner of the CESA Awards, this award's predecessor, passed over Pokémon — which was in the middle of a massive nationwide boom at the time — and gave it to Sakura Wars instead. That's the kind of award race this is.
– All of the above titles are eligible, and beyond that, every Nintendo Switch 2 title released in Japan since the console launched, through May 31, 2026, is also eligible.
※ In a typical year, the "Best of the Year" category's "Excellence Award" has around 11 slots, and the overall "Game of the Year (GOTY)" winner is then chosen from among those Excellence Award recipients.
Wait, is this Nintendo-exclusive?
Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to point out that almost every title released since the Switch 2 launched qualifies.
Simply put: it's "any game released in Japan between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026" (Western titles included too).
Ah, got it, thanks.
Gamescom ended up being surprisingly big this year.
Also, China's boycott is probably hitting pretty hard too.
Public voting.
Chameleon comes out in June, so it wouldn't even count this time around, right?
So basically, that means games ordinary people haven't actually played are less likely to get picked.
Then again, I genuinely have no idea how Metaphor got picked.
Well, last year was also a weak year for Nintendo titles.
And Wilds got bad reviews, so it kind of felt like a process of elimination.
Ijuin's still the MC.
https://cedec.cesa.or.jp/2026/event/awards/prize/
[CEDEC AWARDS 2026 – Category Excellence Awards]
https://cedec.cesa.or.jp/2026/event/awards/category_excellence/
For reference, at the "CEDEC AWARDS 2026," voted on by CEDEC industry insiders, Nintendo titles did really well.
Going by this, it'd be Bananza — but remember, this award here is picked by users.
Wait, was there even a Gamescom this year?
Also, first I'm hearing China didn't participate.
Apparently some companies refused to take part over comments about Taiwan, but in the end 60% of the companies stuck around, so there was actually a thread going around saying it's surprisingly well-tolerated within China, lol
That's the "PlayStation favoritism" award you're thinking of.
That's the Famitsu Awards you're thinking of, lol
He did win the "Japan Game Awards 2008 – Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award," but that's not a hall-of-fame induction.
You're probably thinking of KADOKAWA Game Linkage's "Famitsu Awards" — don't mix that up with CESA's "Japan Game Awards" and "CEDEC AWARDS."
https://awards.cesa.or.jp/2008/minprize.html
This award basically covers the one-year period ending in late May, so last year none of the Switch 2 titles (which launched in June) were eligible at all. This is the first year they're actually up for consideration.
It sold plenty, don't underestimate it.
Every title released in Japan between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026.
That said, titles released outside that window can still be included if they generated buzz within the award year.
"Coddling" is putting it mildly — it's basically an astroturfing squad, lol
Background and Key Points
The Japan Game Awards is hosted by CESA (Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association) and announced during the Tokyo Game Show; the eligibility period typically runs from June 1 through May 31 of the following year for titles released domestically. Because the judging combines voting by the general public with evaluation by a panel of experts, the thread repeatedly raised doubts about the selection criteria — including the observation that “games ordinary people haven’t played are less likely to get picked,” and the recurring example that the CESA Awards (this award’s predecessor) once gave its Grand Prize to Sakura Wars over Pokémon, despite Pokémon being in the middle of a huge nationwide boom at the time. It’s also easy to confuse the Japan Game Awards with KADOKAWA’s separately run “Famitsu Awards” — Shigeru Miyamoto’s 2008 prize was actually the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award, not any kind of hall-of-fame induction. As for Palworld, with its patent lawsuit against Nintendo still ongoing, discussion focused more on image concerns than on whether it could actually be selected.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Gaming Hardware)) thread “Starting at 6:00 PM today, the Japan Game Awards ceremony will be held.“
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