Academy Awards Top Honors to Call of Duty 4, BioShock, The Orange Box at 11^th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--And the winner is… 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 11^th 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 eleventh 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, 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:		Console Game of the Year:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare		Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
-- Publisher: Activision		-- Publisher: Activision
-- Developer: Infinity Ward		-- Developer: Infinity Ward
-- Producer: Mark Rubin		-- Producer: Mark Rubin
-- Game Director: Jason West		-- Game Director: Jason West
-- Creative Director: Vince Zampella		-- Creative Director: Vince Zampella

Computer Game of the Year:		Outstanding Innovation in Gaming:
The Orange Box		Rock Band
-- Publisher: Electronic Arts, Valve Software		-- Publisher: MTV Games
-- Developer: Valve Software		-- Developer: Harmonix
-- Producer: Gabe Newell		-- Producer: Robert Jerauld
		-- Game Director: Bob Settles
		-- Creative Director: Jonas Norberg

Handheld Game of the Year:		Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year:
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass		World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
-- Publisher: Nintendo of America		-- Publisher: Vivendi Games
-- Developer: Nintendo		-- Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
-- Producer: Shigeru Miyamoto		-- Producer: Frank Pearce
-- Director: Eiji Aonuma		-- Game Director: Rob Pardo
		-- Creative Director: Chris Metzen

Cellular Game of the Year:		Role-Playing Game of the Year:
skate.		Mass Effect
-- Publisher: Electronic Arts		-- Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
-- Developer: EA Mobile		-- Developer: BioWare
-- Producer: David Manriquez		-- Producer: Casey Hudson
-- Game Director: David Manriquez		-- Lead Designer: Preston Watamaniuk
-- Creative Director: Derek Zakaib		-- Art Director: Derek Watts

Racing Game of the Year:		Outstanding Achievement in Game Design:
Motorstorm		The Orange Box: Portal
-- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment		-- Publisher: Electronic Arts, Valve Software
America		-- Developer: Valve Software
-- Developer: Evolution Studios		-- Lead Game Designer: Robin Walker
-- Producer: Simon Benson		-- Game Director: Kim Swift
-- Creative Director: Paul Hollywood		-- Creative Director: David Speyrer

Adventure Game of the Year:		Sports Game of the Year:
Super Mario Galaxy		skate.
-- Publisher: Nintendo of America		-- Publisher: Electronic Arts
-- Developer: Nintendo		-- Developer: EA Black Box
-- Producer: Takao Shimizu		-- Executive Producer: Scott Blackwood
-- Game Director: Yoshiaki Koizumi
-- Creative Director: Shigeru Miyamoto

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year:		Action Game of the Year:
Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars		Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
-- Publisher: Electronic Arts		-- Publisher: Activision
-- Developer: EA Los Angeles		-- Developer: Infinity Ward
-- Producer: Mike Verdu		-- Producer: Mark Rubin
-- Creative Director: Matt Britton		-- Game Director: Jason West
		-- Creative Director: Vince Zampella

Family Game of the Year:		Outstanding Achievement in Animation:
Rock Band		Assassin's Creed
-- Publisher: MTV Games		-- Publisher: Ubisoft
-- Developer: Harmonix		-- Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
-- Producer: Tracy Rosenthal-Newson		-- Animation Director: Alex Drouin
-- Game Director: Greg LoPiccolo		-- Lead Animators: Elspeth Tory, Sylvain Bernard
-- Creative Director: Josh Randall

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction:		Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering:
BioShock		Crysis
-- Publisher: 2K Games		-- Publisher: Electronic Arts
-- Developer: 2K Boston, 2K Australia		-- Developer: Crytek
-- Visual Art Director: Scott Sinclair		-- Director of R&D: Douglas Binks
-- Technical Art Directors: Hogarth De La Plante, Andrew James, Jay Kyburz, Nate Wells

Outstanding Character Performance:		Outstanding Achievement in Story Development:
The Orange Box: Portal		BioShock
-- Publisher: Electronic Arts, Valve Software		-- Publisher: 2K Games
-- Developer: Valve Software		-- Developer: 2K Boston, 2K Australia
-- Writer: Erik Wolpaw		-- Writer: Ken Levine
-- Voice Actor: Ellen McLaw		-- Character Designer: Rob Waters
-- Character Name: GLADos

Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering:		Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play:
The Orange Box: Portal		Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
-- Publisher: Electronic Arts, Valve Software		-- Publisher: Activision
-- Developer: Valve Software		-- Developer: Infinity Ward
-- Lead Game Designer: Robin Walker		-- Lead Online Designer: Todd Alerman
-- UI Designer: Alden Kroll		-- Lead Online Programmer: Richard Baker
-- AI Designer: Tom Leonard

Downloadable Game of the Year:		Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition:
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords		BioShock
-- Publisher: D3 Publisher or America		-- Publisher: 2K Games
-- Developer: Infinite Interactive, 1st Playable Productions		-- Developer: 2K Boston, 2K Australia
-- Producers: Arthur Kawamoto, Steve Baldoni		-- Composer: Garry Schyman
-- Game Directors: Steve Fawkner, Janeen Fawkner

Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack:		Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design:
Rock Band		BioShock
-- Publisher: MTV Games		-- Publisher: 2K Games
-- Developer: Harmonix		-- Developer: 2K Boston, 2K Australia
-- Music Supervisors: Paul DeGooyer, Eric		-- Sound Designers: Emily Ridgway, Patrick
Brosius		Balthrop, Justin Mullins
		-- Audio Lead: Eric Brosius

Since 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.