Game of the Year 1996
4 awards on record
Partial season
There is no full count for 1996, so this site names no winner. Of the 4 awards on record, Super Mario 64 holds 2.
Partial season.
Our census begins in 2003. For 1996 we list only the awards we could source one at a time, so this is a record that these awards happened — not a count of how many were given. It must not be compared with a tracked season; see the methodology.
Quick answers
Who won Game of the Year 1996?
There is no full count for 1996, so this site names no winner. Of the 4 Game of the Year awards on record, Super Mario 64 holds 2, Diablo 1.
How many Game of the Year awards were given in 1996?
This site documents 4 Game of the Year awards for 1996, from 4 outlets in 3 countries. It is a documented minimum: every award has a source, and awards nobody recorded are not in it.
Major ceremonies 1996
| Ceremony | Game of the Year | Same as the count? |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Joystick Awards | Super Mario 64 | Yes |
| Japan Game Awards | Sakura Wars | No |
1 of 2 ceremonies on record picked the game the whole field rewarded most. How often each one agrees, across every season →
Every award on record for 1996
The games the outlets we can source named Game of the Year for 1996.
Who voted for what
All 4 tracked awards for 1996, from 3 countries. 0 were readers' or community votes. Tap a column heading to sort.
| Media outlet | Country | Their GOTY | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) | United States | Super Mario 64 | Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 92 (March 1997), pages 82-90 |
| GameSpot | United States | Diablo | gamespot.com |
| Golden Joystick Awards | United Kingdom | Super Mario 64 | gamesradar.com |
| Japan Game Awards | Japan | Sakura Wars | red-entertainment.co.jp |
Updated 13 October 2026 · Source: the Meta Awards database, where every award row cites where it was published.