Quoted from NeilMcRae:

yikes.

I'll leave you to argue the perception all day Zach! I'm actually trying to help you. You need to make the awards "worthy". The other awards don't have to worry about that because they are voted by the public. but the TPN awards do otherwise they become the valueless awards.
Regards,
Neil.

Quoted from flynnibus:

Why stop there.. lets get to the meat of the matter. How about having people QUALIFIED or with EXPERIENCE be the ones doing "industry awards"
The whole thing is a big circle jerk hiding under the guise of "celebrating others" and "promoting the good..."

Quoted from joelbob:

Hey Thunderbird, I'm a fellow TMNT owner and I've had AIQ in my possession for a few months now and I'm really struggling with some of your statements. I was one of the 40 people that voted on the game awards and we were told to be as objective as possible when deciding these votes. That was NOT easy. I was constantly asking myself is this "my" favorite or I have removed my personal preferences from my vote. This turned out to be quite a battle in my head.
Out of 14 awards Stern took home 5, JJP 6, Spooky 2, and Multimorphic 1. I absolutely respect Stern for what they have done for this hobby but I feel 5/14 is far from being shunned.
-Best Art BG/Cab - TMNT - This was super easy for me to vote for with AIQ being my #2
-Best Art Playfield - TMNT - Once again that was my votes with AIQ being my #2
-Best Playfield Layout - AIQ - This was also my vote. Anyone that has shot AIQ knows Keith is brilliant.
-Best Rules - AIQ - Also my vote. The rules are unbelievably complex but they are incredibly well balanced and a ton of fun.
-Best Accessory - ST - The UV light kit is incredible. I wish it would have been stock but there isn't an accessory that adds more to a game last year than that.
These 5 categories were a lock in my book and it looks like the rest of the group agreed.
-Best Toys - Heist - The crane on this game is unbelievable. I think you could argue the Portal Lock/Avengers Tower are great but personally I don't think they are better that the interaction the crane in Heist has. TMNT is really neat but once again personally I find the crane offers more. (tough vote I would say)
-Best Sound Effects - R&M - I'm sorry but neither TMNT nor AIQ are in the running here. I'm not saying they are bad but R&M is in a different league with all the different dimension sounds.
-Best Call Outs - R&M - I would agree that TMNT has great call outs and if they used original actors maybe they would have won, but R&M did use the actual actor and recorded a ton of custom call outs for this game. AIQ is not in the running.
-Best Lighting Effects - TMNT and AIQ have good lights, but R&M and G&R are on an entirely different level. Until Stern moves all their lights to fully RGB I think it would be very hard to vote for them in this category.
-Best Theme Integration - This one I would actually consider TMNT in the running. Personally I voted G&R because you actually feel like you are at the concert when playing that game. Personally I think this is one of AIQ weaknesses.
-Best Innovation - G&R won this for their new switches and hotrails. I'm sorry but TMNT uses mechs that have been used before. AIQ does have the raising portal lock which is neat but the "switchless" switches in G&R are much more innovative. Personally I would have Heist being in 2nd place before AIQ or TMNT.
-Best Music - This is between G&R and R&M. This vote I struggled with A TON. Personally I like R&M music more but how do you ignore G&R's music being loved by millions of people all over the world. I actually don't remember which one I picked because I went back and forth so many times. I did not consider TMNT or AIQ in the running here. I do like TMNT's music but it isn't on the same level as those other two games.
-Best Animations - This was another vote I struggles with. Personally I was between G&R and R&M. G&R has all the concert assets and graphics they use during their live show as well as some amazing 3D renderings JJP created. R&M is an animated show loved by millions of people and it is full of clips from the show. Once again I don't remember which one I voted because I was so back and forth. I like TMNT's animations but they aren't at the same level as the other two. AIQ could use some help with their animations.
-Best in Show - G&R - THIS WAS NOT EASY TO VOTE ON. I know I can't vote what is my personal favorite game or what would be a keeper in my collection because that is not how we are supposed to judge (that would have been TMNT). I was between G&R, AIQ, and R&M. R&M is fun but brutal. Amazing music and immersion. AIQ has amazing shots and rules with countless ways to play it. It is a competition players dream. G&R is playing a concert in a box. The rules are great. The music and immersion is insane. I ended up voting for G&R because I personally think it will do more for the pinball hobby in the long run than AIQ will. This pin is being loved by high end players as well as their friends/family that just dabble in pinball. If AIQ had better sound/animations then maybe but with the rules it currently has it will never be accessible to the "beginner" crowd like G&R is. I ended up picking what I thought was the more well rounded pin. I'd consider TMNT a more complete package compared to AIQ but besides Art I think G&R does almost everything else better.
Well if you made it this far please consider that 40 people tried their hardest to make this as objective and fair as possible. There was no hidden agenda here. It was just a group of people (that happen to be pinball media) that all took this very seriously trying to give every single one of the 8 games a chance in every category. I know I voted different in a few of the categories for the Twippy's because that was me voting for what is my favorite and not what I feel is the best in each specific category.