[SotW] Waiting Period Discussion

I believe the intent is to avoid nominations from albums that, soon after, become musical "sleeper hits."

A great example is Week 3: "Katamari Damacy (Game Rip) <Akitaka Tohyama & Kenji Niinuma> - The Moon & The Prince" was nominated and it placed. Soon after, the game's popularity exploded and the soundtrack was lauded by sites and magazines that otherwise have very little to do with VGM. Were the same track nominated today, we'd surely consider the music overexposed, or at least too well-known, for contention.

This is obviously a rare case, and "obscurity" is a relative term. The best measures we have are still quite insular; popularity here can be influenced by the oddest things and it doesn't always reflect an accurate global reality. But it's all we have, so GFF's game-popularity schematic is what we must use. This means that although stuff like Phoenix Wright probably is obscure enough on the rest of the internet, it should be considered taboo for SotW.

I think a 6 month moratorium on new gamerips and official albums is advisable. This is ample time to determine how well a game will do once it lands on store shelves. Once the limit expires, the track can be evaluated by its obscurity alone, and not its newness. If a track is deemed fit for SotW, then the game later becomes a hit, then so be it.

Arranged albums should be eligible from their first day of print, unless that day is still within the 6 months following the game's release date. They're not featured in-game, so it's not quite as much of a timing concern for me.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by CHz

Is there anyone actually opposed to adding some sort of exception clause where a nominator can argue that a track should be exempt from the waiting period? Seems like that idea's got some support, and I like it myself.

It's a fair consideration, and it doesn't guarantee anything. But it's perfect for quirky titles like "Aquaria."

There's nowhere I can't reach.