Realizing that sports games don't usually contend outside of their classification, Stick Jockey's named an honor roll of nine awards within the sports game genre for 2009. Seven of them conform to awards offered elsewhere in video gaming. Two of them, Rookie of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year, might sound more familiar to real awards offered by some leagues, but they also recognize the annual nature of games produced by this sector.

While a game's technical aspects and ability to execute were considered, more subjective qualities such as a title's innovation, impact, and the size of the gaming population it served also came into play in judging a game's worthiness. By no means were these the only good games made in the year 2009; but they are Stick Jockey's choices representing the best the year had to offer.

Best Presentation and Best Singleplayer: MLB 09 The Show (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
The 30 ballparks of Major League Baseball provide a wonderful canvas to showcase a sports game's visuals, and yet it was only the starting point for MLB 09 The Show. Abetted by such unique venues, and the pace of a sport that allows long looks at your surroundings, MLB 09 delivered a visual polish unmatched by any other sports game. Baseball's pre-eminent simulation demonstrated how high-powered visuals aren't just pretty to look at, but that they necessarily contribute to a game's true-to-life realism and its ability to perfect a sports simulation. For a pure singleplayer experience, MLB 09's Road to the Show again exceeded career modes in other sports, both in terms of the deep participation it offers in your player's progression, and in a game experience better suited to playing as a individual than presently offered by soccer, football or basketball.

Best Multiplayer: Madden NFL 10 (EA Sports)
Madden, a mainstay of online sports gaming, delivered its first online franchise mode this year. While it lacked some customizable features of its other game modes, it was a tremendous improvement over Madden 09's online leagues. 2009 was not a particularly noteworthy year for multiplayer sports gaming - other titles trended toward innovation or execution, but not both. Given Madden's stature as an online staple, all year long, this was the most value-added upgrade to a title's multiplayer package and it lays a strong foundation for improvement in the next year.

Best Indie Game: Avatar Golf (BarkersCrest)
Inside Lacrosse College Lacrosse 2010 was an unusual and very laudable effort, delivering simulation quality to a niche sport with a very passionate following. But for gameplay and overall appeal, nothing comes close to Avatar Golf by BarkersCrest Studios on the Xbox Live Indie Games channel. Just $5 delivers seven courses, three different tee lengths, playable with a full bag of clubs, and environmental effects - as your Xbox Live avatar, both singleplayer and online. If that's not enough, it packaged an entire course editor and the ability to share those creations. For such a trivial price, Avatar Golf is hands down the biggest value in all of sports gaming for 2009.

Comeback Player of the Year: NBA Live 10 (EA Sports)
In many ways, Madden NFL 10 finally felt like the first game in that series worthy of the current generation of console. Madden also roams alone, with no other licensed competitor, so its improvement is welcome but shouldn't get extra credit. That instead goes to NBA Live 10, which while it has its shortcomings, made professional basketball the only seriously contested licensed sports title this year. NBA Live 10 was distinguished by better passing, and the little things, like stronger atmospherics, commentary that adapts to season progression, and player-specific crowd reactions. This award does not mean NBA Live 10 is the best basketball game. It means it made that argument worth having again.

Rookie of the Year and Best Individual Sports Game of the Year: UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ)
This mixed martial arts title wasn't perfect, but it delivered immediate impact for a fast-growing sport underserved by video gaming's mainstream. As a rookie, yes, there are few new IPs in this genre, and 2K Sports offered two - MLB Front Office Manager, and NBA 2K10 on the Wii. Neither had anywhere close to the impact of Undisputed, nor will they see 2010, whereas THQ has already booked a sequel for May. And UFC Undisputed's upcoming rivalry with EA Sports MMA will be a key story of 2010. Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Fight Night Round 4 from EA Sports also were strong contenders in more traditional roles. But for fun, and for living up to the challenges posed by a new sport, Undisputed gets the nod.

Best Team Sports Game and Sports Game of the Year: FIFA 10 (EA Sports)
A striking 360-degree player motion upgrade helped make FIFA 10 the most lifelike simulation of game action in any team offering this year, no small order for a constantly flowing, moving and contested sport such as soccer. Its new Virtual Pro capability broke the accepted boundaries of created-player modes in other sims, essentially embedding yourself, the gamer, in the roster for use in all modes, with attendant player progression. Rather than completely reboot some major aspect of gameplay or control, EA Canada moved more to improve what was already a critical success from the year before. Subtle, but such confidence distinguishes a best-in-class sports simulation, and that's what FIFA 10 is.

Stick Jockey is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Saturdays at 10 a.m. U.S. Mountain time.

The First Annual Inside Gaming Awards was held December 11 in Los Angeles to "specifically appeal to the vast community of global gamers and was established to provide an alternative look at the recent year in gaming."

This means that Modern Warfare 2 got the Game of the Year slot instead of Uncharted 2, and in total developer Infinity Ward walked away with six statuettes.

Here's a list of the IG winners (not to be confused with IGA — the Indie Game Awards held at the Game Developers Conference). For fun, compare the alternative winners circle to the VGA winners. Notice anything?

Game of the Year
Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Trailer
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft, Bungie)

Best Multiplayer
Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Narrative
Brutal Legend (EA, Double Fine)

Best Art Direction
Batman Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros., Rocksteady Studios)

Best Animation
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros., Rocksteady Studios)

Best Game Cinematography
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony, Naughty Dog)

Best Replayability
Modern Warefare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Indie Game
I MAED A GAM3 W1TH ZOMBIES 1N IT!!!1 (Ska Studios)

Most Compelling Character
The Joker – Batman Arkham Asylum (Eidos/Warner Bros., Rocksteady Studios)

Best DLC (best content pack/expansion content)
Fallout 3 – Expansions (Bethesda Game Studios)

Best Downloadable Game (games only available digitally for purchase or free download)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap)

Most Original Game
Scribblenauts (Warner Bros, 5th Cell)

Best Control
Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Game Innovation
1 vs. 100 - Massively Multiplayer Online game show with real prizes (Microsoft)

Best Original Score
Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Weapon
AC - 130 - Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Infinity Ward)

Best Sound Design
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony, Naughty Dog)

GAME OF THE YEAR
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Infinity Ward
Naughty Dog
Rocksteady Studios
Valve

BEST SHOOTER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST RPG
Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
Demon's Souls (Atlus / FromSoftware)
Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)

BEST FIGHTING GAME
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games / Arc System Works)
Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (NAMCO BANDAI Games / Project Soul)
Street Fighter IV (Capcom / Capcom/Dimps)
Tekken 6 (NAMCO BANDAI Games)

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ / Yuke's Media Creations)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST HANDHELD GAME
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games / Rockstar Leeds)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)
Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box (Nintendo / Level-5)
Scribblenauts (Warner Bros. Interactive / 5th Cell)

BEST GRAPHICS
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari / Starbreeze AB)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

BEST MUSIC GAME
DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
LEGO Rock Band (MTV Games – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Traveler's Tales Games - Harmonix)
The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)

BEST DRIVING GAME
Dirt 2 (Codemasters)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Gran Turismo (PSP) (Sony Computer Entertainment / Polyphony Digital)
Need for Speed SHIFT (Electronic Arts / Slightly Mad Studios)

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
FIFA Soccer 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
Madden NFL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
NBA 2K10 (2K Sports / Visual Concepts)
NHL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)

BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST Wii GAME
MadWorld (SEGA / Platinum Games)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
Punch-Out!! (Nintendo / Next Level Games)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST PS3 GAME
inFAMOUS (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sucker Punch)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Sony Computer Entertainment / Insomniac Games)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST PC GAME
Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts / The Sims Studio)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari)
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing)
Samuel L. Jackson as Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja in Afro Samurai (Surge)
Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Activision Publishing)
Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone in WET (Bethesda Softworks)
Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman in Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen / Activision Publishing)
Tricia Helfer as Dare (Halo 3: ODST / Microsoft Game Studios)

BEST CAST
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (D3 Publisher / Vicious Cycle)
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

BEST VOICE
Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Jack Black as Eddie Riggs (Brütal Legend / Electronic Arts)
Mark Hamill as The Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Nolan North as Nathan Drake in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Battlefield 1943 (Electronic Arts / DICE)
Fat Princess (Sony Computer Entertainment / Titan Studios)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
Shadow Complex (Microsoft Game Studios / Chair Entertainment)

BEST DLC
Fallout 3 – Broken Steel (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Fallout 3 – Point Lookout (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME FUELED BY DEW
‘Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel)
Flower (ThatGameCompany)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
Trials HD (RedLynx)

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Bioshock 2 (2K Games / 2K Marin)
God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / SCE Studios Santa Monica)
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Starcraft II (Blizzard Entertainment)

For more info, check out Spike's official VGA site.

The third in what is sure to be a long list of innovation awards for Microsoft's motion-sensing technology by way of time. The magazine's annual list of the 50 Best Inventions highlights Project Natal, along with less significant inventions like tank-bred tuna and teleportation. Xbox corporate vice president Mike Delman fails to contain the company's excitement.

"We're excited that TIME Magazine chose Project Natal as one of their Inventions of the Year, and thrilled to see the excitement around controller-free gaming and entertainment. This is the third major award "Project Natal" received this past month including the Popular Mechanics 2009 Breakthrough Award and Popular Science Best of What's New Grand Award."

Here at Kotaku we're pondering just making a Project Natal award post template, just to save time.

Controller-Free Gaming [Time]

More than 1.2 million votes were cast for this year's Golden Joystick Awards, representing a 47% jump in votes over the previous year, and a great many of those voters were Activision Blizzard fans. While Bethesda's post-apocalyptic epic took home top honors, five of the fifteen awards announced last night went to Activision Blizzard games. Call of Duty: World at War took home awards for MSN Multiplayer Game of the Year and Nintendo Game of the Year; Guitar Hero World Tour snagged the Rampage Soundtrack of the Year award, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was named the ShortList One to Watch. With those four under the company's belt, it comes as no surprise that Activision Blizzard were named Publisher of the Year as well.

Other notable awards include Fallout 3's PC Game of the Year award, Left 4 Dead's Online Game of the Year, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' Handheld Game of the Year win.

Check out the full list of awards and their winners below.

Family Game of the Year: LittleBigPlanet

Bliss Handheld Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Retailer of the Year: GAME

Mobile Game of the Year: Metal Gear Solid Touch

Nintendo Game of the Year: Call of Duty: World at War

MSN Multiplayer Game of the Year: Call Of Duty: World At War

The Rampage Soundtrack of the Year: Guitar Hero World Tour

Xbox Game of the Year: Gears of War 2

PC Game of the Year: Fallout 3

Amiqus Games UK Developer of the Year: Jagex

PlayStation Game of the Year: Killzone 2

Publisher of the Year: Activision Blizzard

Online Game of the Year: Left4Dead

ShortList One to Watch: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Ultimate Game of the Year, together with Zavvi.co.uk: Fallout 3

There were other oddities that I saw during my quick tour of the offices. The lamp was one of my favorites.

The Playmaker Award is kind of like an Employee of the Month award crossed with the Stanley Cup crossed with an Xbox 360 crossed with Thomas Edison. It wasn't in use yet, but I was told that it is intended to honor employees for innovative work, making the rounds of Microsoft as it does.

The Gamescom Award for best games at the trade fair will hand out honors in a number of categories with the help of a panel of six experts.

All companies exhibiting at gamescom are eligible to participate and can submit their games for the gamescom Award. Exhibitors can choose from four categories: PC games, console games (PS2, PS3, Xbox, Wii), mobile games (Gameboy, PSP, PSP Go, NDS, NDSi, iPhone, mobile phones) and online games. In addition, a platform-independent "best of gamescom" award will be announced. All entries must be full products.

The 2009 jury comprises Michael Trier, Editor in Chief, IDG Entertainment Media; Petra Fröhlich, Project Manager, Computec Media; Christian Bigge, Deputy Editor in Chief, Computer Bild Spiele; Jürgen Hilse, Permanent Representative of the Oberste Landesjugendbehörden [Supreme Youth Authorities of the Federal States], Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) [German Self-Monitoring of Entertainment Software]; Oliver Hartmann, Project Manager, spieletipps.de (Brot und Spiele); and Bernhard Schneider, Central Buyer, Multi Media Müller.

I await with bated breath to see if a Gameboy title makes the cut.

It's that time of the year again. One of the world's oldest video game award programs seeks gamers to flock to its website, nominatting their favorite games in fifteen different categories. This is the preliminary voting from which a short list shall be compiled consisting of the titles with the most votes, so just about every game published between May 22nd 2008 and May 22nd 2009 are applicable. That means that you can vote for games that aren't even out yet, which I suppose is only fair.

Head over to the Golden Joystick website now to cast your reasoned, well though-out votes for the best games of 2008. The nominations will no doubt be dominated by LittleBigPlanet, Fallout 3, and Fable II, but voting will give you a brief feeling of empowerment, which is always nice.

The program, which should run about 30 minutes, will be doubly broadcast tonight, with one airing at 6:30 PM EST/PST and an encore presentation at 8 PM EST/PST. Yes, east coasters, you've already missed the first showing, but it's not too late to check the second.

Sure, you already know the awards show's winners and losers. But you don't yet know all the jokes, nor do you realize what foul mouths LittleBigPlanet developers Media Molecule have.

Game Developers Choice Awards To Air On G4 Tonight [Gamasutra] [Image Credit]

Not that Guitar Hero World Tour isn't a fine game, and out of the four nominees it could certainly be argued from a certain perspective that it was the best. When the nominees are Guitar Hero World Tour, Rock Band 2, Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Super Sluggers, it's probably best to just close your eyes and hit a button.

The final group of four games to be considered for the coveted Favorite Video Game award were determined by Nickelodeon viewer survey, more than likely limited to T for Teen rated games and below, which would explain the lack of games more deserving of the title. I cannot imagine how many children were disappointed by the lack of Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto 4, Gears of War 2, and Fable II on the ballot.

With such limitations put on their choices, how does choosing Guitar Hero World Tour prove that children shouldn't be allowed to vote? It doesn't. Choosing Jesse McCartney over T-Pain in the Favorite Male Sing category does. Come on kids, he's on a boat!

2009 Kids' Choice Award Winners [Nickelodeon]

Castle Crashers actually won three categories in the Xbox Live Arcade Awards, the annual awards voted on by the players themselves. Along with Game of the Year, it was also awarded Best Co-op Mode and Best Original Game. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix was the other big winner, taking home three awards for Best Remake, Best Versus Mode, and Best Graphics. The final three categories were one-offs, with A Kingdom for Keflings winning Best Family Game, Braid taking Best Innovation, and Portal: Still Alive winning Best Single Player.

So how do those results look to you guys? Fair? Completely off? Too Street Fighter-y? Discuss.

That's because cable network G4 will be airing the awards on Friday, April 10 at 6:30 PM PST. Yes, the awards ceremony is next Wednesday, so you'll likely have the winners and losers committed to memory by the time it airs. However, our liveblogging likely won't be able to capture the expert delivery and nuance of Double Fine funnyman Tim Schafer, sure to bring the house down with a cutting remark or two.

Of course, we'll be covering the awards show next Wednesday night, so if you want to see which nominee walks away with trophy in hand, stay tuned to your internet.

The 9th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards may be your only chance to see dozens of telegenic video game developers being handed awards then giving awesome acceptance speeches. How could you possibly miss it?

G4 To Broadcast 2009 Game Developers Choice Awards [Gamasutra]

Congratulations to Super Mario Galaxy, which took out best overall game. Other big winners were Call of Duty 4, which took home threeawards, and, in a heartwarming nod for such an under-appreciated game, Dead Space, which took out two.

Full list of winners below (if you're wondering why there's so many older games, here's your explanation)

BEST GAME
Super Mario Galaxy

ACTION/ADVENTURE
Fable II

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
LittleBigPlanet

CASUAL
Boom Blox

GAMEPLAY
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

HANDHELD
Professor Layton and the Curious Village

MULTIPLAYER
Left 4 Dead

ORIGINAL SCORE
Dead Space

SPORTS
Race Driver: GRID

STORY AND CHARACTER
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

STRATEGY
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Spore

USE OF AUDIO
Dead Space

THE BAFTA FELLOWSHIP
Nolan Bushnel

ONES TO WATCH AWARD
Boro-Toro

PEOPLE'S CHOICE
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare picked up an award for gameplay, while Boom Blox landed one for casual and Race Driver: Grid won the sports category. The full list of nominees was announced in February.

Follow along on the official Twitter, or check back later for the full list of winners.

BAFTA Online [Twitter]

A panel of industry judges has narrowed down a list of 226 entries to 15 of the best independent games of last year, and now they want your votes to determine which of them goes home with the Audience Award at the 11th annual Independent Games Festival, held in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference laster this month in San Francisco. This year features quite a lovely selection of titles, with entries coming from Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Community Games, and the PlayStation Network, along with the usual PC suspects.

But who to vote for? Do you choose the charming platforming of Twisted Pixel's The Maw? Perhaps the simple complexity of Q-Games' PixelJunk Eden? I am leaning towards You Have To Burn the Rope from Kian Bashiri, but there are quite a few games on the list I've not tried yet. Luckily the official voting page contains links to download and try most of them out, so even if you have no opinion you suddenly have a slew of new games to try out.

2009 Independent Games Festival Games: Main Competition Audience Award [IGF]

Nine different categories were under contention this year, with six awards chosen by Mod DB editors and three chosen by the gaming community through popular vote, including the top honor - Mod of the Year. This year's big prize go to the creators of Project Reality, a mod for EA's Battlefield 2 game that strives to deliver the most realistic combat environment possible. The team has tweaked the game's physics, visual effects, and overall play style while adding new factions to the game. Project Reality took second place for Mod of the Year in 2006 and 2007, so this year they finally get their chance to shine.

Check out the full list of winners below, and be sure to visit the link to see some of these amazing mods in action. If anything you'll find a few new ways to squeeze fresh gameplay out of some of your old PC favorites.

EDITORS CHOICE

* Most Innovative Multiplayer (Celestial Impact)
* Best Original Art Direction (Delta Sector)
* Best Upcoming Mod (Curse)
* Best Upcoming Indie Game (Zeno Clash)
* Best Indie Game (Mount & Blade)
* Best Singleplayer Mod (The Ball)
* Best Multiplayer Mod (Project Reality)

PLAYERS CHOICE

* Best Upcoming Mod (Dead before Dawn)
* Indie Game of the Year (Mount & Blade)
* Mod of the Year (Project Reality)

The 2008 Mod of the Year Awards [Mod DB]

So they postponed them, with an eye towards holding the awards in early 2009. Now, it's early 2009, and good to their word, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts have released the list of nominees for the next awards, which will be held on March 10.

What makes this year's BAFTAs interesting - as opposed to previous editions - is that thanks to the one-year hiatus, games from as far back as November 2007 are eligible for an award. So Assassin's Creed is up against Fable II, and Grand Theft Auto IV can go up against Call of Duty 4.

The full list of nominees follows.

ACTION & ADVENTURE

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Development Team
Infinity War/Activision

Dead Space
Glen Schofield, Chuck Beaver, Bret Robbins
Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

Fable II
Development Team
Lionhead Studios/Microsoft Game Studios

Grand Theft Auto IV
Development Team
Rockstar North/Rockstar Games

Prince of Persia
Ben Mattes, Jean-Christophe Guyot
Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Entertainment

Tomb Raider: Underworld
Noah Hughes, Pat Sirk, Toby Gard
Crystial Dynamics/Eidos

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT

Assassin's Creed
Jade Raymond, Patrice Desilets, Claude Langlais
Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Entertainment

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Development Team
Infinity Ward/Activision

Dead Space
Ian Milham
Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

Gears of War 2
Development Team
Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios

LittleBigPlanet
Kareem Ettouney, Mark Healey, Leo Cubbin
Media Molecule & XDev Studio Europe/Sony Computer Entertainment

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Yoji Shinkawa
Kojima Productions/Konami Digital Entertainment

BEST GAME

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Development Team
Infinity Ward/Activision

Fable II
Development Team
Lionhead Studios/Microsoft Game Studio

Fallout 3
Todd Howard, Emil Pagliarulo, Istvan Pely
Bethesda Game Studio/Bethesda Softworks Europe

Grand Theft Auto IV
Development Team
Rockstar North/Rockstar Games

Rock Band
Alex Rigopulos, Eran Egozy, Mike Dornbrook
Harmonix Music Systems/MTV Games

Super Mario Galaxy
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

CASUAL

Boom Blox
Development Team
Electronic Arts LA/Electronic Arts

Buzz! Quiz TV
David Amor, Andrew Eades, Lee Clare
Relentless Software & XDev Studio Europe/Sony Computer
Entertainment

Guitar Hero: World Tour
Development Team
Neversoft/Activision

LittleBigPlanet
Mark Healey, Dave Smith, Pete Smith
Media Molecule & XDev Studio Europe/Sony Computer Entertainment

SingStar Vol. 2
Vera So, Gillian Connole, Kevin Mason
SCE London Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment

Wii Fit
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

GAMEPLAY

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Development Team
Infinity Ward/Activision

Grand Theft Auto IV
Development Team
Rockstar North/Rockstar Games

Left 4 Dead
Gabe Newell, Mike Booth, Chet Faliszek
Valve/Valve

Mario Kart Wii
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

Rock Band
Alex Rigopulos, Dan Teasdale, Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom
Harmonix Music System/MTV Games

Super Mario Galaxy
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

HANDHELD

Geometry Wars: Galaxies
James Brooksby, Jim Mummery
Doublesix/Sierra

God of War: Chains of the Olympus
Development Team
Ready at Dawn & SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer
Entertainment

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

Patapon
Development Team
Pyramid & SCE Japan Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment

Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

Soul Bubbles
Olivier Lejade, Omar Cornut, Frederick Raynal
McKensleep/Eidos

MULTIPLAYER

Buzz! Quiz TV
David Amor, Andrew Eades
Relentless Software& SCE XDev Studio Europe/Sony Computer Entertainment

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Development Team
Infinity Ward/Activision

Gears of War 2
Development Team
Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios

Left 4 Dead
Gabe Newell, Mike Booth, Chet Faliszek
Valve/Valve

Mario Kart Wii
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

Rock Band
Alex Rigopulos, Kasson Crooker
Harmonix Music System/MTV Games

ORIGINAL SCORE

Assassin's Creed
Jade Raymond, Patrice Desilets, Claude Langlais
Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Entertainment

Dead Space
Development Team
Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

Fable II
Development Team
Lionhead Studios/Microsoft Game Studios

Fallout 3
Todd Howard, Emil Pagliarulo, Istvan Pely
Bethesda Game Studio/Bethesda Softworks Europe

LittleBigPlanet
Kenneth Young, Mark Healey, Leo Cubbin
Media Molecule & XDev Studio Europe/Sony Computer Entertainment

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Harry Gregson-Williams
Kojima Productions/Konami Digital Entertainment

SPORTS

FIFA 09
Andrew Wilson, David Rutter, Gary Paterson
EA Canada/Electronic Arts

Football Manager 2009
Development Team
Sports Interactive/SEGA

Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Development Team
Evolution Studios/Sony Computer Entertainment

Pure
Jason Avent, Jim Callin, Craig Gabell
Black Rock Studios/Disney Interactive Studios

Race Driver: GRID
Development Team
Codemasters Studios/Codemasters

Wii Fit
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

STRATEGY

Advance Wars: Dark Conflict
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3
Development Team
EA Los Angeles/Electronic Arts

Ninjatown
Shawn Smith, Brandon Curiel, Jeremy Pope
Venan in conjunction with Casmere Productions &
Shalinamals/Southpeak Games

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
Development Team
Firaxis Games/2K Games

SOCOM: US Navy Seals Tactical Strike
Development Team
Slant Six Games & SCE Foster City Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment

Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise
Gary Richards, Paul Machacek, Joe Humfrey
Rare/THQ

STORY AND CHARACTER

Assassin's Creed
Jade Raymond, Patrice Desilets, Claude Langlais
Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Entertainment

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Development Team
Infinity Ward/Activision

Fable II
Development Team
Lionhead Studios/Microsoft Game Studios

Fallout 3
Todd Howard, Emil Pagliarulo
Bethesda Game Studio/Bethesda Softworks Europe

Grand Theft Auto IV
Development Team
Rockstar North/Rockstar Games

Mass Effect
Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn, Derek Watts
Bioware/Electronic Arts

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Assassin's Creed
Jade Raymond, Patrice Desilets, Claude Langlais
Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft Entertainment

Fable II
Development Team
Lionhead Studios/Microsoft Game Studios

Fallout 3
Todd Howard, Guy Carver
Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks Europe

Grand Theft Auto IV
Development Team
Rockstar North/Rockstar Games

LittleBigPlanet
Alex Evans, Dave Smith, Leo Cubbin
Media Molecule & XDev Studio Europe/Sony Computer Europe

Spore
Development Team
Electronic Arts Montreal/Electronic Arts

USE OF AUDIO

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Development Team
Infinity Ward/Activision

Dead Space
Don Veca
Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts

Gears of War 2
Development Team
Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios

Grand Theft Auto IV
Development Team
Rockstar North/Rockstar Games

LittleBigPlanet
Kenneth Young, Mark Healey, Leo Cubbin
Media Molecule & XDev Studio Europe/Sony Computer Entertainment

Super Mario Galaxy
Development Team
Nintendo/Nintendo

BAFTA ONE'S TO WATCH AWARD

Boro-Toro
Adam Westwood, Graham Ranson, Yves Wheeler, Matthew Booton, Owen Schwehr (DarkMatter Designs)
Origamee
Richard Barlow, Alberto Fustinoni, Jonathon Holmes, Kevin Dunlop, Jade Law
(Blue Skies)
VegeMe
Guo Lin, Gao Ting, Zhang Jun, Laing Wei, Alexander Syminton (Ctrl_D)

GAME Award of 2008

The only award to be voted for by the public

* Call of Duty: 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
* World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Nolan Bushnell will be inducted into the BAFTA Fellowship at the 2009 award ceremony on March 10th in London, England. The Fellowship is the highest honor that BAFTA can bestow on an individual, and this year they're giving it to Bushnell for ushering in the era of the video game. Bushnell is understandably ecstatic.

“I am humbled to be selected for this honour from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The British people are not only great game players but have historically been some of the best game creators. The pub culture and country house drawing room environments have been instrumental in spawning games and game players through the centuries. I am very grateful to receive an award from the people with a history of creating and embracing this type of entertainment.”

In other words, they love him...they really love him. Good going, Bushie.

Two iPhone titles lead the pack of nominations, with tower defense game Fieldrunners and cubic puzzler Edge up for three awards. Of the 14 titles competing in the IGF Mobile finalists, 11 are iPhone and iPod Touch games. On the Nintendo DS side, And-or's Wardive also scored triple the award noms, competing for Best Game, Innovation in Mobile Game Design and Technical Achievement.

The winners will be announced at the Game Developers Conference Mobile conference on March 24th, then be "additionally honored" during the main Independent Games Festival Awards on March 25th. For the full list of potential winners, read on.

IGF Mobile Best Game
Cubic Republic (IKS Mobile) – Flash Lite
Smiles (Sykhronics Entertainment) – iPhone/iPod touch
Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) – iPhone/iPod touch
Edge (Mobigame) – iPhone/iPod touch
Wardive (And-or) – Nintendo DS

Innovation In Mobile Game Design
Wardive (And-or) – Nintendo DS
Galcon (Hassey Enterprises) – iPhone/iPod touch
Eliss (Steph Thirion) – iPhone/iPod touch

Achievement In Art
Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) – iPhone/iPod touch
Dizzy Bee (Igloo Games) – iPhone/iPod touch
Ruben & Lullaby (Song New Creative) – iPhone/iPod touch

Technical Achievement
Football Tycoon (Dynamo Games) – Java
Real Racing (Firemint) – iPhone/iPod touch
Wardive (And-or) – Nintendo DS

Audio Achievement
Radio Flare (Studio Radiolaris) – iPhone/iPod touch
Zen Bound (Secret Exit) – iPhone/iPod touch
Edge (Mobigame) – iPhone/iPod touch

Best iPhone Game – Presented by ngmoco
Edge (Mobigame) – iPhone/iPod touch
Dizzy Bee (Igloo Games) – iPhone/iPod touch
Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) – iPhone/iPod touch
Zen Bound (Secret Exit) – iPhone/iPod touch
Frenzic (The Iconfactory) – iPhone/iPod touch

Oh, what's that? You don't agree? You're not alone.

Nielsen ratings for the night show that 680,000 people tuned in last month. That's a 26% drop on last year's figures, and is the second-lowest since the event began in 2004.

Even amongst the show's primary demographic, 18-34 year-old men, the numbers were down, with 29% less viewers than the 2007 show could manage.

Variety points out that the Cowboys/Giants Sunday Night Football game was held at the same time, and may have drawn viewers away, but we're not buying that.

Spike Video Game Awards Viewership down 26% [Variety]