BAFTA releases videogame award nominations

by Stevie Smith - Feb 10 2009, 17:15

While the BAFTAs may have proved to be a fruitful event for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, the videogame community has yet to receive its moment in the British Academy Video Games Awards spotlight. However, the nominations for this year’s awards are in and certainly make for interesting reading.

Despite being available for the best part of a year, the quality of Infinity Ward’s military shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has seen it emerge as the BAFTA frontrunner with a total of seven category nominations covering Action & Adventure, Story & Character, Artistic Achievement, Gameplay, Multiplayer, Use of Sound and Best Game. 

Hot on the heels of Call of Duty 4, Rockstar’s hugely popular sandbox crime caper Grand Theft Auto IV comes in with six nominations across Action & Adventure, Story & Character, Gameplay, Multiplayer, Use of Audio and Best Game.

Lionhead’s ambitious RPG sequel Fable II, and Media Molecule’s innovative PlayStation 3 exclusive LittleBigPlanet both secure five nominations, while Hollywood director Steven Spielberg has also nabbed a nomination for his debut videogame Boom Blox on the Nintendo Wii.

Other notable nominations see Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, EA’s Dead Space, and Bethesda’s Fallout 3 all take four nods, while Epic’s Gears of War 2, EA’s Rock Band and Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy receive three.

Beyond the panel-based nominations, the videogame BAFTAs will also include the GAME Award of 2009, which will be decided entirely on the strength of a public vote. Nominations in this category are Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Left 4 Dead, LittleBigPlanet, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Wii Fit, and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

This year’s highest BAFTA accolade, the coveted Fellowship, will be awarded to legendary videogame icon Nolan Bushnell, who created Pong and founded Atari.

The GAME British Academy Video Game Awards will be held at the London Hilton on Park Lane this coming March 10 and will be hosted by comedian Dara O’Briain.

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