The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) Celebrated the Greatest
Works in Interactive Entertainment at the Annual D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas

The interactive entertainment industry’s elite creative talent and business
executives gathered together on Tuesday evening, February 1, to honor the top
video games of 2004, at the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, held
during the annual D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas.

Voted and judged upon by game industry peer panels from the Academy of Interactive
Arts & Sciences (AIAS), the professional organization dedicated to the advancement
and recognition of interactive arts, the awards celebrate outstanding technical
and artistic achievement in the world of interactive entertainment.

“The Interactive Achievement Awards provide an important arena for the
interactive entertainment industry to showcase the year’s most outstanding video
and computer games,” said Joseph Olin, president of the Academy of Interactive
Arts & Sciences. “This year’s winners not only represent some of 2004’s
most popular games, but they also embody the spirit and innovation that has
driven this industry since its inception.”

Winners of 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 – Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

– Console Game Of The Year – Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)

– Computer Game Of The Year – Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

2. Innovation Awards

– Innovation in Computer Gaming – Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

– Innovation In Console Gaming – Katamari Damacy (Namco Hometek Inc./Namco
Limited)

3. Craft Awards

– Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction – Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal
Games/Valve)

– Outstanding Achievement In Animation -Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

– Outstanding Character Performance, Male – Robert Guillaume – Half-Life 2
(Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

– Outstanding Character Performance, Female – Judy Dench – Golden Eye: Rouge
Agent (Electronic Arts/EA/LA)

– Outstanding Achievement In Soundtrack – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar
Games/Rockstar North)

– Outstanding Achievement In Original Musical Composition – Fable (Microsoft/Big
Blue Box)

– Outstanding Achievement In Sound Design – Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)

– Outstanding Achievement In Game Play Engineering – Half-Life 2 (Vivendi
Universal Games/Valve)

– Outstanding Achievement In Online Game Play – Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)

– Outstanding Achievement In Visual Engineering – Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal
Games/Valve)

– Outstanding Achievement In Game Design – Katamari Damacy (Namco Hometek
Inc./Namco Limited)

– Outstanding Achievement In Character Or Story Development – 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)

– Action/Adventure Game Of The Year – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar
Games/Rockstar North)

– Action Sports Game Of The Year – Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 (Activision/Neversoft)

– First Person Action Game Of The Year – Halo 2 (Microsoft/Bungie)

– Children’s Title Of The Year – Sly Cooper 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment
America/Sucker Punch)

– Family Game of the Year – Donkey Konga (Nintendo/Namco)

– Fighting Game Of The Year – Mortal Kombat: Deception (Midway/Midway Chicago)

– Racing Game Of The Year – Burnout 3 (Electronic Arts/Criterion)

– Role Playing Game Of The Year – Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Nintendo/Intelligent
Systems)

– Sports Simulation Game Of The Year – ESPN NFL 2K5 (Sega/Visual Concepts)

B. Wireless & Handheld

– Wireless Game Of The Year – Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo)

– Handheld Game Of The Year – Metroid: Zero Mission (Nintendo)

C. Computer

– Action/Adventure Game Of The Year – 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 – The Incredibles: Escape from Nomanisan Island
(Disney Online)

– Family Game Of The Year – Zoo Tycoon 2 (Microsoft/Blue Fang Games)

– First Person Action Game Of The Year – Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve)

– Role Playing Game Of The Year – Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker (BioWare/BioWare)

– Sports Game Of The Year – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 (Electronic Arts/Electronic
Arts Redwood Shores)

– Strategy Game Of The Year – Rome: Total War (Activision/Creative Assembly)

D. Online

– Massive Multiplayer/Persistent World Game Of The Year -World of WarCraft
(Vivendi Universal Games/Blizzard)

Dominating this year’s awards recipient categories for Game of the Year, Innovation,
Craft and Computer awards was Half-Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games/Valve.)

“Half-Life 2 was a huge challenge creatively as well as for the company,”
said Gabe Newell, CEO and Founder, Valve. “To be honored with nine Interactive
Achievement Awards is a great symbol that all those years of hard work and investment
were absolutely worth it.”

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 concludes today at the Green
Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, NV. More information on the 2005 D.I.C.E.
Summit can be found at http://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 http://www.interactive.org.

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