interactive-achievement-awards posts

Yep, we can't seem to get away from 2008, especially when it comes to awards. This week the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for its 12th annual Interactive Achievement Awards. The awards themselves will be given out during the DICE Summit in Las Vegas on Feb. 19.

The awards were very good for Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3; both games got a number of nominations in various categories, including both PC game of the year and overall game of the year. We are curious as to why Spore was named as a nominee for best PC game of the year and not Sins of a Solar Empire, but you can't have everything. Check out the full nominee list after the jump.

The annual DICE Summit in Las Vegas is coming up next month and today the event's organizers the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences announced their initial list of speakers for the event. The DICE Summit is also the home of the annual Interactive Achievement Awards which comedian Jay Mohr will host once again for his fourth straight year.

Speakers confirmed for the DICE Summit include Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, DC Universe Online lead designer Chris Cao, Digital Illusions creative director Lars Gustavsson, Bethesda Softworks' lead designer Todd Howard and Ensemble Studios founder Bruce Shelley (who will also get the organization's Hall of Fame honor during DICE). The event is still scheduled for the Red Rock Hotel in Las Vegas from Feb. 17-20 with the Interactive Achievement Award to be held on Feb. 19.

There have been two major industry-based award competitions in the video/PC game industry. One has been the Interactive Achievement Awards which were organized by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. These awards are given out at the annual D.I.C.E. Summit but many have been critical that only publishers that are paid members of the AIAS could submit games to be nominated.

The other major industry awards have been the Game Developers Choice Awards. These awards, which have no such restrictions, were for several years voted on by members of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and are presented at the annual Game Developers Conference. However as of this year's GDC, the awards ceremony are fully owned by GDC's parent company Think Services with no involvement with the IGDA.

Today it was announced that IGDA members would be able to vote for games in the Interactive Achievement Awards alongside AIAS members. IGDA members hey can also nominate games, even those of none-AIAS members, in the crafts awards categories. The 2009 awards ceremony will once again be held at the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas on Feb. 18.