ACADEMY AWARDS TOP HONORS TO CALL OF DUTY 4, BIOSHOCK, THE ORANGE BOX AT 11TH ANNUAL INTERACTIVE ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Inducts Mike Morhaime Into Hall of Fame and Bestows Lifetime Achievement Award Upon Ken Kutaragi
LAS VEGAS - February 8, 2008 - And the winners are Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), BioShock (2K Games) and The Orange Box (Electronic Arts and Valve Software); each picked up four statues at the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards ® last night. The award ceremony was hosted by comedian and avid video game player Jay Mohr at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences also honored two industry icons for their tremendous contributions. Mike Morhaime, president, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment ® , was inducted as the 11th member of the prestigious AIAS Hall of Fame and Ken Kutaragi, former president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., received the highly coveted Lifetime Achievement Award.
"The Interactive Achievement Awards is the forum for the industry's best game makers to evaluate the merits of more than 160 titles submitted for consideration and honor the best in technical innovation and gameplay experience," said Joseph Olin, president of the AIAS. "This year's winners truly represent the best cross section of interactive entertainment, demonstrating the power of next-generation platforms that have come of age."
These peer-based awards recognize the outstanding products, talented individuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry.
The winners in each category are as follows:
Overall Game of the Year:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Publisher: Activision Developer: Infinity Ward Producer: Mark Rubin Game Director: Jason West Creative Director: Vince ZampellaConsole Game of the Year:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Publisher: Activision Developer: Infinity Ward Producer: Mark Rubin Game Director: Jason West Creative Director: Vince ZampellaComputer Game of the Year:
The Orange Box
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Valve Software Developer: Valve Software Producer: Gabe NewellOutstanding Innovation in Gaming:
Rock Band
Publisher: MTV Games Developer: Harmonix Producer: Robert Jerauld Game Director: Bob Settles Creative Director: Jonas NorbergHandheld Game of the Year:
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Publisher: Nintendo of America Developer: Nintendo Producer: Shigeru Miyamoto Director: Eiji Aonuma MassivelyMultiplayer Game of the Year:
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Publisher: Vivendi Games Developer: Blizzard Entertainment Producer: Frank Pearce Game Director: Rob Pardo Creative Director: Chris MetzenCellular Game of the Year:
skate.
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Mobile Producer: David Manriquez Game Director: David Manriquez Creative Director: Derek ZakaibRole-Playing Game of the Year:
Mass Effect
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Developer: BioWare Producer: Casey Hudson Lead Designer: Preston Watamaniuk Art Director: Derek WattsRacing Game of the Year:
Motorstorm
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Developer: Evolution Studios Producer: Simon Benson Creative Director: Paul HollywoodOutstanding Achievement in Game Design:
The Orange Box: Portal
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Valve Software Developer: Valve Software Lead Game Designer: Robin Walker Game Director: Kim Swift Creative Director: David SpeyrerAdventure Game of the Year:
Super Mario Galaxy
Publisher: Nintendo of America Developer: Nintendo Producer: Takao Shimizu Game Director: Yoshiaki Koizumi Creative Director: Shigeru MiyamotoSports Game of the Year:
skate.
Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: EA Black Box Executive Producer: Scott BlackwoodStrategy/Simulation Game of the Year:
Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: EA Los Angeles Producer: Mike Verdu Creative Director: Matt BrittonAction Game of the Year:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Publisher: Activision Developer: Infinity Ward Producer: Mark Rubin Game Director: Jason West Creative Director: Vince ZampellaFamily Game of the Year:
Rock Band
Publisher: MTV Games Developer: Harmonix Producer: Tracy Rosenthal-Newson Game Director: Greg LoPiccolo Creative Director: Josh RandallOutstanding Achievement in Animation:
Assassin's Creed
Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Animation Director: Alex Drouin Lead Animators: Elspeth Tory, Sylvain BernardOutstanding Achievement in Art Direction:
BioShock
Publisher: 2K Games Developer: 2K Boston, 2K Australia Visual Art Director: Scott Sinclair Technical Art Directors: Hogarth De La Plante, Andrew James, Jay Kyburz, Nate WellsOutstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering:
Crysis
Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Crytek Director of R&D: Douglas BinksOutstanding Character Performance:
The Orange Box: Portal
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Valve Software Developer: Valve Software Writer: Erik Wolpaw Voice Actor: Ellen McLaw Character Name: GLADosOutstanding Achievement in Story Development:
BioShock
Publisher: 2K Games Developer: 2K Boston, 2K Australia Writer: Ken Levine Character Designer: Rob WatersOutstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering:
The Orange Box: Portal
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Valve Software Developer: Valve Software Lead Game Designer: Robin Walker UI Designer: Alden Kroll AI Designer: Tom LeonardOutstanding Achievement in Online Game Play:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Publisher: Activision Developer: Infinity Ward Lead Online Designer: Todd Alerman Lead Online Programmer: Richard BakerDownloadable Game of the Year:
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Publisher: D3 Publisher or America Developer: Infinite Interactive, 1st Playable Productions Producers: Arthur Kawamoto, Steve Baldoni Game Directors: Steve Fawkner, Janeen FawknerOutstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition:
BioShock
Publisher: 2K Games Developer: 2K Boston, 2K Australia Composer: Garry SchymanOutstanding Achievement in Soundtrack:
Rock Band
Publisher: MTV Games Developer: Harmonix Music Supervisors: Paul DeGooyer, Eric BrosiusOutstanding Achievement in Sound Design:
BioShock
Publisher: 2K Games Developer: 2K Boston, 2K Australia Sound Designers: Emily Ridgway, Patrick Balthrop, Justin Mullins Audio Lead: Eric BrosiusSince 1996, the Interactive Achievement Awards have recognized outstanding games, individuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry. More than 160 titles were played and evaluated by members of the Academy's Peer Panels. The panels are comprised of the game industry's most experienced and talented men and women. Each panel is responsible for evaluating one award category. Interactive Achievement Award recipients are determined by a vote of qualified Academy members. Award voting is confidential, conducted online and supervised and certified by VoteNet Solutions, Inc. The integrity of the system, coupled with a broad-based voting population of AIAS members, makes the Interactive Achievement Awards the most credible, respected and recognized awards for interactive entertainment software.
About the D.I.C.E. Summit:
The D.I.C.E. Summit is a high-level interactive entertainment industry conference that brings together the top video game designers and developers from around the world and business leaders from all the major publishers to discuss the state of the industry, its trends and the future. The three-day event will be held in Las Vegas, at the upscale Red Rock Resort, February 6-8, 2008. Online registration for the D.I.C.E. Summit 2008 is open now. Please visit http://www.dicesummit.org for more information and to register to attend the interactive entertainment industry event of the year.
About the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) was founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of the interactive arts. The Academy's mission is to promote and advance common interests in the worldwide interactive entertainment community; recognize outstanding achievements in the interactive arts and sciences; and conduct an annual awards show (Interactive Achievement Awards) to enhance awareness of the interactive art form. The Academy also strives to provide a voice for individuals in the interactive entertainment community. In 2002 the Academy created the D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit, a once yearly conference dedicated to exploring approaches to the creative process and artistic expression as they uniquely apply to the development of interactive entertainment. The Academy has over 12,000 members, with the board comprised of senior executives from the major videogame companies including BioWare/Pandemic, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Insomniac Games, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Sony, THQ and Ubisoft. More information on the AIAS, the Interactive Achievement Awards and the nominees can be found at http://www.interactive.org.
CONTACT:
Angelina Duran / Wendy Zaas
Rogers & Cowan
310-854-8168 / 310-854-8148
aduran@rogersandcowan.com
wzaas@rogersandcowan.com
Geri Gordon Miller
Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences
818-876-0826 x202
geri@interactive.org