AIAS Announceses Finalist for the 2003 Interactive Achievement Awards

[GameKinG]

For those of you who dont know, this is the most officical awards there are in this industry. They exactly THE official awards (there isnt any). But these awards are voted upon by people within the industry (Developers, etc...). This is the award companies like Nintendo and Bungie put on their game box to signify its a GOTY.

ACADEMY OF INTERACTIVE ARTS AND SCIENCES (AIAS) ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR 2003 INTERACTIVE ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 4, 2003 – The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences today announced finalists for the 2003 Interactive Achievement Awards, which will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, February 27, 2003. The Academy will present awards in 30 craft, console, computer, and online categories. Award highlights include an overall Game of the Year as well as Game of the Year in different genres, and the prestigious Hall of Fame Award.

"Each year we see even more games that demonstrate the innovation, creativity and diversity with which videogames push the envelope of modern entertainment," said Paul Provenzano, President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. "It is satisfying to see such an exceptional mix of savvy veteran videogame developers and bold new studios among the finalists.

Metroid® Prime from Nintendo of America Inc. and Retro Studios earned an Interactive Achievement Awards record ten nominations. Several games received six nominations apiece including, Electronic Arts' Battlefield 1942™, Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Sony Computer Entertainment of America's Ratchet and Clank™ and Ubi Soft's Splinter Cell™. Nintendo of America and Electronic Arts lead the field of videogame publishers with 26 and 25 total nominations respectively.

Finalists for 2003's Game of the Year include:

• Animal Crossing™ for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE™, published by Nintendo of America Inc., developed by Nintendo Co. Ltd.;
• Battlefield 1942 for the PC, published by Electronic Arts, developed by Digital Illusions;
• Ratchet & Clank for the PlayStation® 2, published by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., developed by Insomniac Games;
• Metroid Prime for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, published by Nintendo of America Inc., developed by Retro Studios;
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the PlayStation 2, published by Rockstar Games, developed by Rockstar North.

Finalists for 2003's PC Game of the Year include:

• Age of Mythology™, published by Microsoft, developed by Ensemble Studios;
• Battlefield 1942, published by Electronic Arts, developed by Digital Illusions;
• Medal of Honor Allied Assault™, published by Electronic Arts, developed by 2015 Inc.;
• Neverwinter Nights™, published by Infogrames, developed by BioWare;
• Warcraft III®: Reign of Chaos, published and developed by Blizzard.

Finalists for 2003's Console Game of the Year include:

• Splinter Cell for the Xbox, published by UbiSoft, developed by UbiSoft Montreal;
• Ratchet & Clank for the PlayStation 2, published by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., developed by Insomniac Games;
• Metroid Prime for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, published by Nintendo of America Inc., developed by Retro Studios;
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the PlayStation 2, published by Rockstar Games, developed by Rockstar North;
• Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem™ for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, published by Nintendo of America Inc., developed by Silicon Knights;
• Animal Crossing for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, published by Nintendo of America Inc., developed by Nintendo Co. Ltd.

SEGA®'s Yu Suzuki will receive the Academy's coveted Hall of Fame award.

For a full list of finalists in all categories, visit www.interactive.org.

The Interactive Achievement Awards will be presented as part of the 2003 D.I.C.E. Summit (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain), the only event presented to focus exclusively on game design.

About the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences

Located in Los Angeles, CA, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is an official professional academy of the $7+billion interactive entertainment software industry. AIAS is supported by the industry's leading companies and counts among its board of directors representatives from Activision, Bioware Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Ensemble Studios, Infogrames, Insomniac Games, Interactive Digital Software Association, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Oddworld Inhabitants, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sierra Entertainment, and Carnegie Mellon University.

For more information about AIAS, or to register for the DICE Summit, visit the Web site at www.interactive.org or www.dicesummit.com.

[Jonbo298]

Wow, Animal Crossing is a contender for GOTY. That kind of surprises me, but I understand why it would be a contender. If AC2 is much much more improved then the original, it will be the contender for next years awards. Its gonna be tough choosing a GOTY. Almost all of them could have a chance.

[Perfect Stu]

Ratchet and Clank gettin the respect it deserves.

WHY WON'T MORE PEOPLE BUY THIS GAME?!?!?

Mind boggling.

[BlueFire]

Go Animal Crossing!

[Jason1]

Nintendo obviously hasnt lost a step in their Game Development...they just need to focus more on marketing.

[GameKinG]

BTW, in case you notice it says 2003 awards. Its really for games of 2002, but I gues they just say that because the event takes place in 2003. Like..."The 2003 Academy Awards".