This is just my opinion.
I don't want a game with broken gameplay, a bad story, and glitches winning over a "It looks pretty" or "innovation" contest!
I want gameplay to work on launch, and the story and characters to be enjoyable. The game's visuals are a bonus to me (as incredible as they are).
Time crunch can ruin so much. If good Writers, Actors, Designers, Animators, Directors and Publisher work together? It could easily win GotY.
I want the characters to have personality in their writing, performance (voice first, motion capture second or simultaneous), good gameplay, and graphics.
If the writing is cliché, the acting is flat, the gameplay boring, or the animation lacking, all behind difficult management (or the publisher forcing things).
It might ruin a potentially great game because it "had to come out", then the bad reputation on that attempt can prevent future ones.