Haven't really been following it all - after reading the article I think maybe its because Astro Bot had a larger audience because its generally more accessible?
I think you are right. Its why Fortnite usually wins in categories it is in, because at the end of the day it mostly comes down to a popularity contest.
I mean, I heard people I know in real life discrediting BMW even being nominated because "oh all the Chinese are voting for it." I was like what, you think Chinese Gamers only count for 3/5ths of a Gamer?? I personally wouldn't be surprised if this sentiment was shared with at least some of the judges.
I'm not saying BMW should have won, personally I liked it but it wasn't perfect and I didn't play Astro Bot. It's just crazy to me that people are reacting like this over a video game just because it came from China. They're not acting like that over Marvel Rivals, probably because they don't know it's from China yet, lol.
I haven't played that Astrobot game (I don't have a PS5) but I am not surprised with it being highly praised honestly.
Astrobot Rescue Mission was awesome, even forgetting about it being VR. It's very fun and well designed, with new ideas all the way through, up there with Super Mario Galaxy to me. That team definitely knows their stuff.