Game of the Year – Gears of War 2
Game of the Year – Left 4 Dead
Game of the Year – Little Big Planet – WINNER
Game of the Year – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Game of the Year – Mirror’s Edge
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Animation in a Game Cinema – Dead Space – WINNER
Animation in a Game Cinema – Devil May Cry 4
Animation in a Game Cinema – Gears of War 2
Animation in a Game Cinema – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Animation in a Game Cinema – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
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Animation in a Game Engine – Castle Crashers
Animation in a Game Engine – Mirror’s Edge
Animation in a Game Engine – Prince of Persia – WINNER
Animation in a Game Engine – Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy
Animation in a Game Engine – Spore
Animation in a Game Engine – World of Goo
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Art Direction in a Game Cinema – Dead Space
Art Direction in a Game Cinema – Final Fantasy IV
Art Direction in a Game Cinema – Gears of War 2 – WINNER
Art Direction in a Game Cinema – Lego Indiana Jones
Art Direction in a Game Cinema – Tomb Raider: Underworld
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Art Direction in a Game Engine – Braid
Art Direction in a Game Engine – Fallout 3 – WINNER
Art Direction in a Game Engine – Little Big Planet
Art Direction in a Game Engine – PixelJunk Eden
Art Direction in a Game Engine – Tales of Vesperia
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Camera Direction in a Game Engine – Dead Space – WINNER
Camera Direction in a Game Engine – Gears of War 2
Camera Direction in a Game Engine – Mirror’s Edge
Camera Direction in a Game Engine – Ninja Gaiden II
Camera Direction in a Game Engine – Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy
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Character Design – Castle Crashers – WINNER
Character Design – Chrono Trigger
Character Design – Fable II
Character Design – Grand Theft Auto IV
Character Design – Little Big Planet
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Control Design – Boom Blox – WINNER
Control Design – Little Big Planet
Control Design – Mirror’s Edge
Control Design – Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
Control Design – Tom Clancy’s End War
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Control Precision – Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
Control Precision – Boom Blox
Control Precision – Mirror’s Edge
Control Precision – PixelJunk Eden
Control Precision – World of Goo – WINNER
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Costume Design – Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice
Costume Design – Fable II – WINNER
Costume Design – Lost Odyssey
Costume Design – Soul Calibur IV
Costume Design – The World Ends With You
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Direction in a Game Cinema – Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
Direction in a Game Cinema – Dead Space
Direction in a Game Cinema – Dynasty Warriors 6
Direction in a Game Cinema – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots – WINNER
Direction in a Game Cinema – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
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Game Design – Left 4 Dead
Game Design – Little Big Planet – WINNER
Game Design – Mirror’s Edge
Game Design – Patapon
Game Design – Spore
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Graphics/Technical – Far Cry 2
Graphics/Technical – Little Big Planet – WINNER
Graphics/Technical – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Graphics/Technical – Mirror’s Edge
Graphics/Technical – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
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Innovation in Game Play – Auditorium
Innovation in Game Play – Boom Blox
Innovation in Game Play – Little Big Planet – WINNER
Innovation in Game Play – Mirror’s Edge
Innovation in Game Play – World of Goo
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Innovation in Game Technology – Fallout 3 – WINNER
Innovation in Game Technology – Gamebryo 2.5
Innovation in Game Technology – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Innovation in Game Technology – Mirror’s Edge
Innovation in Game Technology – Torque Game Engine Advanced 1.7.1
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Lighting/Texturing – Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Lighting/Texturing – Dead Space – WINNER
Lighting/Texturing – Little Big Planet
Lighting/Texturing – Mirror’s Edge
Lighting/Texturing – Siren: Blood Curse
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Original Musical Score – Castle Crashers
Original Musical Score – Chrono Trigger
Original Musical Score – Patapon – WINNER
Original Musical Score – Resistance 2
Original Musical Score – World of Goo
Original Musical Score – World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
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Original/Adapted Song – “Haze,” Haze
Original/Adapted Song – “Never More,” Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Original/Adapted Song – ”The One Star,” The World Ends With You – WINNER
Original/Adapted Song – ”Twister,” The World Ends With You
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Song Collection – Braid
Song Collection – Grand Theft Auto IV – WINNER
Song Collection – Rock Band 2
Song Collection – Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Song Collection – The World Ends With You
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Sound Editing in a Game Cinema – Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
Sound Editing in a Game Cinema – Dead Space – WINNER
Sound Editing in a Game Cinema – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
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Sound Effects – Dead Space – WINNER
Sound Effects – Gears of War 2
Sound Effects – Left 4 Dead
Sound Effects – Mirror’s Edge
Sound Effects – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
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Lead Performance in a Comedy – Grant Albrecht, “Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon”
Lead Performance in a Comedy – Robin Atkin Downes, “No More Heroes” – WINNER
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Lead Performance in a Drama – Keeley Hawes, “Tomb Raider: Underworld”
Lead Performance in a Drama – Liam Neeson, “Fallout 3” – WINNER
Lead Performance in a Drama – Michael Hollick, “Grand Theft Auto IV”
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Supp Performance in a Comedy – James Horan, “Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon”
Supp Performance in a Comedy – Jim Ward, “Secret Agent Clank”
Supp Performance in a Comedy – Nolan North, “Crash: Mind over Mutant”
Supp Performance in a Comedy – Richard Horvitz, “Destroy All Humans: PotF”
Supp Performance in a Comedy – Stephen Fry, “Little Big Planet” – WINNER
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Supp Performance in a Drama – Gideon Emery, “Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway”
Supp Performance in a Drama – Jason Zumwalt, “Grand Theft Auto IV”
Supp Performance in a Drama – Mike Neumann, “Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway”
Supp Performance in a Drama – Nathalie Cox, “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed”
Supp Performance in a Drama – Timothy Adams, “Grand Theft Auto IV” – WINNER
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Use of Sound – Auditorium
Use of Sound – Dead Space – WINNER
Use of Sound – Fallout 3
Use of Sound – Gears of War 2
Use of Sound – Patapon
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Writing in a Comedy – American McGee’s Grimm
Writing in a Comedy – Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Writing in a Comedy – Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
Writing in a Comedy – Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
Writing in a Comedy – No More Heroes
Writing in a Comedy – Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1 – WINNER
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Writing in a Drama – Braid
Writing in a Drama – Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
Writing in a Drama – Chrono Trigger
Writing in a Drama – Fallout 3 – WINNER
Writing in a Drama – Lost Odyssey
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Game Classic Revival – Chrono Trigger – WINNER
Game Classic Revival – Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Game Classic Revival – Final Fantasy IV
Game Classic Revival – Samba de Amigo
Game Classic Revival – Space Invaders Extreme
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Game Music or Performance – Audiosurf
Game Music or Performance – Auditorium
Game Music or Performance – Lips
Game Music or Performance – Rock Band 2 – WINNER
Game Music or Performance – SingStar Abba
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Game Original Action – Braid
Game Original Action – Castle Crashers
Game Original Action – Dead Space
Game Original Action – Mirror’s Edge – WINNER
Game Original Action – PixelJunk Eden
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Game Orig Adventure – Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
Game Orig Adventure – Professor Layton and the Curious Village – WINNER
Game Orig Adventure – Penny Arcade Adv. Ep 1: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
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Game Original Children’s – Boom Blox
Game Original Children’s – de Blob
Game Original Children’s – Little Big Planet – WINNER
Game Original Children’s – Mechanic Master
Game Original Children’s – World of Goo
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Game Original Fighting – No nominations.
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Game Original Racing – Baja: Edge of Control
Game Original Racing – Grid
Game Original Racing – Pure – WINNER
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Game Original RPG – No nominations.
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Game Original Sports – No nominations.
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Game Sequel Action – Battlefield: Bad Company
Game Sequel Action – Gears of War 2
Game Sequel Action – Grand Theft Auto IV – WINNER
Game Sequel Action – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Game Sequel Action – S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky
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Game Sequel Adventure – Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Game Sequel Adventure – Mortimer Beckett and the Time Paradox
Game Sequel Adventure – Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst
Game Sequel Adventure – Prince of Persia – WINNER
Game Sequel Adventure – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2
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Game Sequel Children’s – Animal Crossing: City Folk
Game Sequel Children’s – Lego Batman
Game Sequel Children’s – Lego Indiana Jones
Game Sequel Children’s – Mega Man 9
Game Sequel Children’s – Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise – WINNER
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Game Sequel Fighting – Bleach: Dark Souls
Game Sequel Fighting – Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Game Sequel Fighting – Naruto: The Broken Bond
Game Sequel Fighting – Soul Calibur IV
Game Sequel Fighting – Super Smash Bros. Brawl – WINNER
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Game Sequel Racing – Burnout Paradise – WINNER
Game Sequel Racing – FlatOut: Head On
Game Sequel Racing – Mario Kart Wii
Game Sequel Racing – Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Game Sequel Racing – WipeOut HD
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Game Sequel RPG – Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice
Game Sequel RPG – Fable II
Game Sequel RPG – Fallout 3 – WINNER
Game Sequel RPG – Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Game Sequel RPG – Valkyria Chronicles
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Game Sequel Sports – FIFA Soccer 09
Game Sequel Sports – Madden NFL 09
Game Sequel Sports – Mario Super Sluggers – WINNER
Game Sequel Sports – NHL 09
Game Sequel Sports – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
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Game Simulation Game – Air Traffic Chaos
Game Simulation Game – Spore – WINNER
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Game Special Class – Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking
Game Special Class – Buzz! Quiz TV – WINNER
Game Special Class – Cooking: Personal Trainer
Game Special Class – My Weight Loss Coach
Game Special Class – Scene It? Seinfeld Deluxe
Game Special Class – Wii Fit
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Game Strategy – Age of Booty
Game Strategy – Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath
Game Strategy – Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Game Strategy – Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization – WINNER
Game Strategy – Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
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Special Awards
Honorary Awards – Mike Acton, Andy Burke, and Geoff Evans for their outstanding community contribution to Insomniac’s Nocturnal Initiative, a free open-source code, tools, and information sharing effort that encourages better communication and lower development costs through the sharing of resources.
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Most Developer Wins as of February 28, 2009
21…Nintendo
20…Square Enix
20…Rockstar
18…Electronic Arts
17…Sony
16…Ubisoft
15…Konami
12…Namco Bandai
11…Harmonix
10…Valve
9…Bioware
9…Bethesda Game Studios
8…Capcom
8…2K Games
6…Sucker Punch
6…Media Molecule
6…Infinity Ward
6…Epic
5…Clover
5…Bungie
4…Team Ninja
4…id software
4…Double Fine
4…Criterion
4…Blizzard
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NATIONAL ACADEMY OF VIDEO GAME TESTERS AND REVIEWERS CORP.™ ANNOUNCES WINNERS FOR 8th ANNUAL NAVGTR AWARDS
TOP 3 WINNERS ARE LITTLE BIG PLANET, DEAD SPACE, AND FALLOUT 3
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: THOMAS J. ALLEN
PHONE: 410.721.8895
E-MAIL: INFO AT NAVGTR DOT ORG
February 28, 2009 — The winners of the 2008 NAVGTR Awards were announced today, revealing the winners in 44 categories. Multiple awards went to Andrew Lackey, Claire Boissiere, Dave Feise, David Smith, David Swenson, Don Veca, Luci Black, Mark Healey, Martin Lynagh, and Michelle Ducker, which are three more than last year.
Out of its ten nominations, Little Big Planet won six (6) awards: Game of the Year, Game Design, Graphics/Technical, Innovation in Game Play, Original Children’s Game, and Supporting Performance in a Comedy for Stephen Fry.
Dead Space also won six (6) awards: Animation in a Game Cinema, Camera Direction in a Game Engine, Lighting/Texturing, Sound Editing in a Game Cinema, Sound Effects, and Use of Sound.
Rounding out the top three is Fallout 3 with five (5) awards: Art Direction in a Game Engine, Innovation in Game Technology, Writing in a Drama, Role Playing Game Sequel, and Lead Performance in a Drama for Liam Neeson. The only other multiple award winners were Grand Theft Auto IV with 3 awards and Prince of Persia with 2 awards. This year, no game achieved a trifecta with wins in all three disciplines of design, art, and sound.
This year, Leslie Benzies won his fifth NAVGTR award. Benzies has won entirely for the Grand Theft Auto series.
Hideo Kojima won his third NAVGTR award. Kojima has won entirely for the Metal Gear Solid series.
Eight people earned a second NAVGTR award after winning in a previous year — Akihiro Hino, Chris Perna, Craig Conner, Imran Sarwar, Jesse Smith, Steven Brand, Todd Howard, William Mills. Hino also won for producing Dragon Quest VIII. Perna won for lighting/texturing on the first Gears of War. Brand won for producing both Viva Pinata games. Howard also won for Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
Publisher Tallies
Last year, Electronic Arts held the lead with 8 wins; this year the company was in the lead with 10 wins, followed by Sony with 8 awards. Bethesda Softworks won 5 awards, while Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft, and Rockstar each won 3 awards. Square Enix won 2 awards.
Three years ago, Sony set a publishers’ record by winning 11 awards in a single year. The record still stands.
Developer Tallies
This year, Electronic Arts holds the highest developer awards tally with 7 wins. Media Molecule took 6 awards, while Bethesda Game Studios took 5 awards. Rockstar won 3 awards, while Square Enix and Ubisoft won 2 awards each.
Of this year’s winning development studios, several of them have earned a third honor: Digital Illusions, Firaxis, Level 5, Maxis, and Rare. Lionhead Studios and The Behemoth each won for the second time in history. Criterion has amassed 4 victories. With 6 wins, Media Molecule has leaped into the Top 20 winning developers of all-time, doing in a single year what took other developers as much as seven years to accomplish.
Since the inception of the NAVGTR Awards, Nintendo has won 21 awards as a developer, more than any other developer to date. Square Enix and Rockstar follow with 20 awards. Electronic Arts has 18; Sony 17; Ubisoft 16; Konami 15; Namco Bandai 12; Harmonix 11; and Valve has ten (10). Tied with nine awards to date are Bioware and Bethesda Game Studios. Tied with eight are Capcom and 2K. Tied with six are Sucker Punch, Media Molecule, Infinity Ward, and Epic. Tied with 5 are Clover and Bungie. Tied with four are Team Ninja, id, Double Fine, Criterion, and Blizzard.
Individual Tallies
This year, Leslie Benzies won his fifth NAVGTR award. Hideo Kojima won his third NAVGTR award, and Luci Black won a second and third NAVGTR award. Kojima and Black thus join the list of 26 previous winners to have earned three awards, resulting in 28 three-time winners.
Of the 28 three-time winners who have won at least three awards, Atsushi Inaba, Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka, Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom, Yoshinori Kitase, Dan Houser, Mathieu Laforce, Atsuko Fukuyama, Fumito Ueda, Hajime Sugiyama, Rik Schaffer, and Luci Black are the only (12) people that have won awards for work in multiple franchises.
Eight additional persons also earned a second NAVGTR award after winning in a previous year — Akihiro Hino, Chris Perna, Craig Conner, Imran Sarwar, Jesse Smith, Steven Brand, Todd Howard, William Mills.
Shigeru Miyamoto has won ten (10) awards to date, more than any other individual. Dan Houser has won nine (9) awards for his widespread work in the Grand Theft Auto® series, as well as “Bully.”
Fumito Ueda, Takashi Tezuka, and now Leslie Benzies have won five (5) awards to date. Ueda has won 2 awards for ICO and 3 awards for Shadow of the Colossus in the areas of animation and design. Takashi Tezuka has won for Animal Crossing®, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Sunshine. Benzies has won entirely for the Grand Theft Auto series.
Jamie King and Jeremy Pope have each won four (4) awards for producing the Grand Theft Auto® series, including two genre awards and two Game of the Year awards.
Atsushi Inaba has won three awards – two for Okami and one for God Hand. Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom has won for the games Frequency, Karaoke Revolution, and Guitar Hero II. Yoshinori Kitase has won for Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy III. Hajime Sugiyama has won 3 awards — two for ICO’s camera and lighting, plus a technical graphics award for Colossus.
Atsuko Fukuyama has won 3 awards — two for Animation in a Game Engine (Ico and Shadow of the Colossus), as well as an award for Colossus’ character design. Bruce Oberg has earned his third award for programming on the Sly Cooper series. Keita Takahashi has won three awards for the Katamari series. James Worral has also won three (3) awards for writing and design in the Grand Theft Auto® series.
Akira Yamaoka has won three awards for his work on the Silent Hill® series, winning in the categories of Sound Effects, Use of Sound, and Original Musical Score. Mathieu Laforce has won three awards. His first two awards were for Graphics, Technical and Lighting & Texturing Effects for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell in 2002, and his third award was for Lighting & Texturing Effects for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2003.
Rik Schaffer has won three awards, including two for Sound Effects in Call of Duty and Doom 3, as well as one for Sound Editing in a Game Cinema for Doom 3. Programmers Ben Wallace, Bernie Freidin, Charles Gough, Chris Butcher, Mat Noguchi, Matt Segur, Eamon McKenzie, and Stefan Sinclair have all won three awards for the first Halo®.
Luci Black has won two awards for Little Big Planet and one award for Rome: Total War. Hideo Kojima has won entirely for the Metal Gear Solid series.
About the NAVGTR Awards
The awards are presented by the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers Corp.™, a non-profit organization with over 900 voters honoring the best of the interactive entertainment industry in the fields of art, technology, and production for calendar year 2008.
More than any other professional group in the industry, testers spend the most time playing games and are therefore most apt to evaluate them on a technical level with intense detail or analysis. Reviewers in the media also spend a great deal of time analyzing and writing about games from a creative perspective to aid consumers in their evaluations. The best reviewers sometimes parlay their reputation into industry jobs as producers or testers. For these reasons, the recommendation of testers and reviewers serves as a special mark of quality that balances important creative and technical perspectives and represents the most hard-core enthusiasts from industry and media.
Through annual awards, television specials, videos, special events, and other future plans, the Academy hopes to preserve the history of the medium as well as honor the creative and technical individuals who have paved the way for new ideas and innovations.
The general voting body of more than 900 journalists and writers includes contributors for such varied outlets as 1up, About.com, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Austin American-Statesman, Chicago Sun-Times, CNN, Contra Costa Times, Detroit Free Press, Digital Journal, EclipseMagazine.com, elecplay.com, Evergeek Media, FHM, GamersTemple.com, GamingTarget.com, Gannett News Service, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Times, National Post, National Public Radio, NBC, New York Times, The Ottawa Citizen, PC Gamer, Philadelphia Inquirer, Play Magazine, Public Radio International, The Regina Leader-Post, Salon, San Jose Mercury-News, USA Today, The Vancouver Sun, Wired News, Wizard Magazine, WOW Weekly, Ziff-Davis Media, and hundreds more.
The Academy is currently accepting applications from new testers, analysts, and journalists to become voters. For more information, e-mail info at navgtr dot org with a bio and/or resume.
About NAVGTR Corp.
NAVGTR Corp. is a 501(c)(6) non-profit corporation devoted to promoting and recognizing the developments and achievements of the interactive entertainment industry for public awareness and education. In addition to the annual awards, the academy’s future goals include acknowledging, documenting, and/or memorializing industry leaders and historical events through educational and informative television specials or videos, as well as efforts to preserve the history of interactive entertainment through the development of archives in public libraries and universities. (www.navgtr.org)