8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards Finalists Announced

Awards Ceremony To Take Place February 1, 2005 During Annual D.I.C.E. Summit

The
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), the professional organization
dedicated to the advancement and recognition of interactive arts, announced
today the finalists for the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards to honor
outstanding technical and artistic achievement in the world of interactive entertainment.
Voted and judged upon by game industry peers and members of the AIAS, this year’s
Interactive Achievement Awards finalists represent an array of the best games
of 2004.

“It is truly a great honor to have your work recognized by your
peers as the best in the industry,” said Joseph Olin, president of
the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “The Interactive Achievement
Awards, much like the Oscars for the motion picture industry, provide an important
showcase for members of the entire interactive entertainment industry to get
together and pat each other on the back for a job well done.”

Game finalists for the 8th annual interactive achievement award categories
are listed below, along with the corresponding publishers and developers, respectively.
. .

1. Game Of The Year Awards

Game Of The Year

• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Take2/Rockstar North)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
• Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
• Katamari Damacy (Namco/Namco Limited)
• World of Warcraft (Vivendi Universal Games/Blizzard)

Console Game Of The Year

• Burnout 3 (Electronic Arts/Criterion)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Take2/Rockstar North)
• Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
• Katamari Damacy (Namco/Namco Limited)
• Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (Sony/Insomniac Games)

Computer Game Of The Year

• City of Heroes (NCSoft/Cryptic Studios)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
• Doom 3 (Activision/id Software)
• World of Warcraft (Vivendi Universal Games/Blizzard)
• Sid Meier’s Pirates! (Atari/Firaxis Games)

2. Innovation Awards

Innovation in Computer Gaming

• Doom 3 (Activision/id Software)
• City of Heroes (NCSoft/Cryptic Studios)
• Rome: Total War (Activision/Creative Assembly)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
• The Sims 2 (Electronic Arts/Maxis)

Innovation In Console Gaming

• Fable (Microsoft/Big Blue Box)
• Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
• Donkey Konga (Nintendo/Namco)
• Eye Toy: Anti Grav (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Harmonix)
• Katamari Damacy (Namco Hometek Inc./Namco Limited)

“We’re thrilled that Pirates! has received this acknowledgement
from the creative community,” said Wim Stocks, Executive Vice President
of Sales and Marketing for Atari. “Pirates! is already a critical
and commercial hit, and reaching this final benchmark of success is a tribute
to Sid Meier and his team at Firaxis who have always exemplified excellence
in gaming.”

“We are pleased with the outstanding performance and quality of
World of Warcraft from Blizzard, Half-Life 2 and The Chronicles of Riddick:
Escape from Butcher Bay,” said Bruce Hack, CEO of VU Games. “The
Interactive Achievement Award nominations are an acknowledgement of the extraordinary
talent and creativity behind these great games.”

“Microsoft Game Studios is incredibly proud of the reception our
games have received this year from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences,”
said Shane Kim, general manager, Microsoft Game Studios. “Having
our industry peers name four of our games as finalists in thirteen categories
is an incredible achievement. We are thrilled with this honor.”

3. Craft Awards

Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction

• Doom 3 (Activision/id Software)
• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Nintendo/Retro Studios)
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal)
• Sly Cooper 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Sucker Punch)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

Outstanding Achievement In Animation

• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal)
• Sly Cooper 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Sucker Punch)
• Jak 3 (Sony/Naughty Dog)
• Rachet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Insomniac
  Games)

Outstanding Character Performance – Male

• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
• The Bard’s Tale (InXile Entertainment/Inxile Entertainment)
• Metal Gear Solid 3 (Konami/KCEJ)
• Demon Stone (Atari/Stormfront Studios)
• Chronicles of Riddick (Vivendi Universal Games/Starbreeze)

Outstanding Character Performance – Female

• Demon Stone (Atari/Stormfront Studios)
• Judy Dench – Golden Eye: Rouge Agent (Electronic Arts/EA/LA)
• Zoo Tycoon 2 (Microsoft/Blue Fang Games)

Outstanding Achievement In Soundtrack

• Need For Speed Underground 2 (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
• Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 (Activision/Neversoft)
• Donkey Konga (Nintendo/Namco)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games/Rockstar North)

Outstanding Achievement In Original Musical Composition

• Rome: Total War (Activision/Creative Assembly)
• NBA Ballers (Midway/Midway Chicago)
• Katamari Damacy (Namco/Namco Limited)
• Killzone (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Guerilla)
• Fable (Microsoft/Big Blue Box)

Outstanding Achievement In Sound Design

• Rome: Total War (Activision/Creative Assembly)
• Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
• Doom 3 (Activision/id Software)
• Rachet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Insomniac
  Games)
• Sly Cooper 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Sucker Punch)

Outstanding Achievement In Game Play Engineering

• Donkey Konga (Nintendo/Namco)
• Spider-Man 2 (Activision/Treyarch)
• Eye Toy: Anti Grav (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Harmonix)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
• Fable (Microsoft/Big Blue Box)

Outstanding Achievement In Online Game Play

• Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
• Rome: Total War (Activision/Creative Assembly)
• Unreal Tournament 2004 (Atari/Epic Games)
• Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War (THQ/Relic)

Outstanding Achievement In Visual Engineering

• Doom 3 (Activision/id Software)
• Metroid Prime: Echoes (Nintendo/Retro Studios)
• Demon Stone (Atari/Stormfront Studios)
• Rachet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Insomniac
  Games)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

Outstanding Achievement In Game Design

• Fable (Microsoft/Big Blue Box)
• City of Heroes (NCSoft/Cryptic Studios)
• Katamari Damacy (Namco Hometek Inc./Namco Limited)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games/Rockstar North)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

Outstanding Achievement In Character Or Story Development

• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games/Rockstar North)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
• Demon Stone (Atari/Stormfront Studios)
• Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (Midway/Midway)
• Fable (Microsoft/Big Blue Box)

4. Genre Awards

A. Console

Platform Action/Adventure Game Of The Year

• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal)
• Rachet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Insomniac
  Games)
• Jak 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Naughty Dog)

Action/Adventure Game Of The Year

• Pikmin 2 (Nintendo/Nintendo)
• Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (Midway/Midway)
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Shanghai,
  Paris, Annecy Studios)
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Konami/KCEJ)

Action Sports Game Of The Year

• NFL Street 2 (Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts Tiburon)
• Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 (Activision/Neversoft)
• NBA Ballers (Midway/Midway Chicago)
• Mario Power Tennis (Nintendo/Camelot)

First Person Action Game Of The Year

• Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)
• GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts LA)
• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Nintendo/Tetro Studios)
• Chronicles of Riddick (Vivendi Universal Games/Starbreeze)

Children’s Title Of The Year

• Shrek 2 (Activision/Luxoflux)
• Backyard Baseball 2005 (Atari/Humongous Entertainment)
• Mario Party 6 (Nintendo/Hudson Soft)
• Pokemon Colosseum (Nintendo/Genius Sonority)
• Sly Cooper 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment America/Sucker Punch)

Fighting Game Of The Year

• Def Jam: Fight for NY (Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts Canada)
• Dragonball Z: Budokai 3 (Atari/Dimps Corporation)
• Mortal Kombat: Deception (Midway/Midway Chicago)

Racing Game Of The Year

• Burnout 3 (Electronic Arts/Criterion)
• Rallisport Challenge 2 (Microsoft/Digital Illusions)

Role Playing Game Of The Year

• X-Men Legends (Activision/Raven Software)
• The Bard’s Tale (InXile Entertainment/Inxile Entertainment)
• Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Nintendo/Intelligent Systems)
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Nintendo/Square Enix)
• Tales of Symphonia (Namco Hometek Inc./Namco Limited)

Sports Simulation Game Of The Year

• Madden NFL 2005 (Electronic Arts/Tiburon)
• ESPN NHL 2K5 (Sega/Kush Games)
• ESPN NFL 2K5 (Sega/Visual Concepts)
• Winning Eleven 7 (Konami/Konami)

B. Wireless and Handheld

Wireless Game Of The Year

• Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen (Nintendo/Creatures, Inc/GAMEFREAK)
• Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo)

Handheld Game Of The Year

• Metroid: Zero Mission (Nintendo)
• Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo)
• Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (Square Enix)

C. Computer

Action/Adventure Game Of The Year

• Myst IV Revelation (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal)
• Full Spectrum Warrior (THQ/Pandemic Studios)
• The Suffering (Midway/SURREAL Software)
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Ubisoft/Ubisoft
  Shanghai, Paris, Annecy Studios)

Children’s Game Of The Year

• Backyard Skateboarding (Atari/Humongous Entertainment)

Downloadable Game Of The Year

• Mahjong Garden To G (Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts Pogo)
• The Incredibles: Escape from Nomanisan Island (Disney Online)
• Shroomz – Quest for Puppy (Game Trust, Inc./The Planet)
• Diner Dash (PlayFirst/gameLab)

Family Game Of The Year

• Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban (Electronic Arts/AMAZE/Know Wonder)
• Scrabble On-Line (Atari/Boston Animation)
• Zoo Tycoon 2 (Microsoft/Blue Fang Games)

First Person Action Game Of The Year

• Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts LA)
• Doom 3 (Activision/id Software)
• Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising (NovaLogic/NovaLogic, Inc.)
• Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)
• Unreal Tournament 2004 (Atari/Epic Games)

Role Playing Game Of The Year

• Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker (BioWare/BioWare)
• Vampires: Bloodline (Activision/Troika)

Simulation Game Of The Year

• The Sims 2 (Electronic Arts/Maxis)
• Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 (Atari/Frontier Developments)
• Pacific Fighters (Ubisoft/1C)

Sports Game Of The Year

• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 (Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts Redwood
  Shores)

Strategy Game Of The Year

• Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth (Electronic Arts/EA LA)
• WarHammer 40K: Dawn of War (THQ/Relic)
• Rome: Total War (Activision/Creative Assembly)

D. Online

Massive Multiplayer/Persistent World Game Of The Year

• World of WarCraft (Vivendi Universal Games/Blizzard)
• City of Heroes (NCSoft/Cryptic Studios)
• StarWars Generations: Jump to Lightspeed (Sony Online LucasArts)
• Final Fantasy XI Chains of Promathia (Square Enix, Inc./Square Eniz
  Co. Ltd.)

Winners will be announced at the 8th Annual Interactive Achievements Awards
ceremony, taking place February 1, 2005, the second evening of the D.I.C.E.
Summit. The Awards event will be held at the Grande Ballroom of the Green Valley
Ranch Resort and will showcase the industry’s best games of 2004.

The 2005 D.I.C.E. Summit (Design, Innovate, Communicate and Entertain),
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 January 31 –
February 2, 2005 at Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, NV. More information
on the 2005 D.I.C.E. Summit can be found at www.DICESummit.org.

About The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS)

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. More information about the AIAS
can be found at www.interactive.org.

Filed under: Games

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