'Gears of War,' 'Okami' and 'Wii Sports' Lead the Recipients of the 7th Annual Game Developers Choice AwardsIndie Internet Phenomenon 'Line Rider' Takes Home Award for InnovationPRNewswire SAN FRANCISCO, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Epic Games and Microsoft Game Studios' Xbox 360 shooter Gears of War was the recipient of three honors including Best Game at the 7th annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The blockbuster hit game also received the awards for Technology and Visual Arts. Following close behind with two awards each were Clover Studios and Capcom Entertainment's Okami and Nintendo's Wii Sports. The ceremony, produced and hosted by the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and presented by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), is the only peer-based, open nomination awards program in the industry where honors are bestowed to developers by developers. Recipients were announced tonight at the 2007 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. "A Game Developers Choice Award is like no other award presented in our industry, as it is the only prize that gives the community the chance to appreciate and honor individual developers," said Jamil Moledina, Executive Director of the Game Developers Conference. "By celebrating our visionaries by name, we give the audience and the public at large a chance to give credit where credit is due." Nominations were free of charge and open to all IGDA members, ensuring that the nominees reflect the international development community's opinions. The IGDA membership voted on the finalists. The recipients for the 7th annual Game Developers Choice Awards are: Best Game Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios) - Cliff Bleszinski, Michael Capps, Rod Fergusson Audio Guitar Hero II (Harmonix Music Systems / RedOctane) - Jeff Allen, Eric Brosius, Izzy Maxwell Character Design Okami (Clover Studio / Capcom Entertainment) - Mari Shimazaki, Sawaki Takeyasu, Kenichirou Yoshimura Game Design Wii Sports (Nintendo) - Keizo Ohta, Takayuki Shimamura, Yoshiaki Yamashita Technology Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios) - Michael Capps, Ray Davis, Tim Sweeney, Daniel Vogel Visual Arts Gears of War (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios) - Jerry O'Flaherty, Chris Perna Writing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo EAD / Nintendo) - Kyogoku Aya, Nate Bihldorff, Mitsuhiro Takano New Studio Iron Lore Entertainment (Titan Quest) - Paul Chieffo, Jeff Goodsill, Brian Sullivan Innovation Line Rider - Bostjan Cadez Okami (Clover Studio / Capcom Entertainment) - Atsushi Inaba, Hideki Kamiya Wii Sports (Nintendo) - Keizo Ohta, Takayuki Shimamura, Yoshiaki Yamashita Recipients for the evening's special awards were: Lifetime Achievement Shigeru Miyamoto First Penguin Alexey Pajitnov Maverick Greg Costikyan Community Contribution George "The Fat Man" Sanger "Once again, the Game Developers Choice Awards have shown that gaming greatness can be found within every type of game -- from the most hardcore of experiences, to those that have brought all new audiences into our industry's fan base," said Jason Della Rocca, Executive Director, IGDA. "Each year, I am humbled by what our members can do with this great art form." For more information about the awards and all the recipients, please visit: http://www.gamechoiceawards.com/ About the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) The International Game Developers Association is a non-profit professional society that is committed to advancing the careers and enhancing the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community. For more information on the IGDA, please visit http://www.igda.org/. About the CMP Game Group (http://www.cmpgame.com/) A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group offers market-defining content, and drives community through its award winning lineup of print, online and event products. These include Game Developer magazine, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, SeriousGamesSource.com, GameCareerGuide.com, the Game Developers Conference, the Austin Game Developers Conference, GDC China, GDC Mobile, the Serious Games Summit, the Hollywood and Games Summit, the Game Career Seminars, the Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. For more information, please visit http://www.cmpgame.com/. About CMP Technology (http://www.cmp.com/) CMP Technology is a marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP has earned the confidence of more technology professionals than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion. SOURCE: CMP Game Group CONTACT: Sibel Sunar, sibel@fortyseven.com, or Brian Rubin, Web site: http://www.cmpgame.com/ |