This is unlikely, but what if Bethesda were to do something other than an Elder Scrolls or Fallout game?

But to be relevant to the OP, they will probably shift focus to a new Elder Scrolls within the next year. We won't know about it for many years, unless something gets leaked.

You lack Mario nostalgia on NES and SNES but what about other consoles? This is an important factor that shouldn't be ignored. Someone who has no attachment to the Mario franchise might enjoy Little Big Planet more. Other than that, other comments have pretty much covered it. Mario is a more enjoyable playing experience, LBP is a more robust creation tool.

In Skyrim specifically, I chose Bosmer.

What are the pros to episodic releases on the user end? Maybe if you don't enjoy the game you don't have to purchase the rest, but that's kind of like paying for a demo which should always be free.

Never heard of it but it looks awesome...

Do you enjoy any games where the visuals are minimal and the game is commendable strictly based on design, innovation, game logic and rule-sets? Preferably, modern games that have some notoriety. Also, I'm trying to exclude pixel art or games that intentionally mimic retro games.

Papers Please (credit @Jacanuk)
FTL
Minecraft
Her Story
Kill the Bad Guy
Geometry Wars (questionable)

Nothing has really taken me by surprise this year. Every game has met my expectations, for good or bad.

I believe this feud goes back farther than we realize. Kojima has stated many times that he wanted to retire the Metal Gear series. Since Konami owns the title, Kojima finds himself in a predicament. He can either step back and let Konami further exploit his "baby" or he can continue his work on the series and exploit himself to Konami's demands. I guess, for now, he's finally detached himself from the mess. Probably for the better, after witnessing Konami's low-blow and immature retaliation methods.

Quite simply, I don't agree with the pricing.