February 28th, 2003 (12:00am) - At the Hard Rock Café in Las Vegas, an Oscars-like video game award show was held by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS). Of course like any kind of award show, there are winners and there are losers, and Nintendo definitely came out of Las Vegas victorious. Nintendo walked away with seven awards, with their big winner, shockingly, being the life simulator Animal Crossing. Though, Nintendo’s biggest 2002 release, Metroid Prime didn’t get discarded, it walked away with one award, but the biggest award of them all, “Console Game of The Year” went to Ubi Soft’s big Holiday release, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. Electronic Arts also had a noteworthy performance at the award show thanks to games like The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers,and Medal of Honor: Frontline.
Interactive Achievement Award Winners
Console Action Adventure Game of the Year – 2002
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Rockstar North
Console Fighting Game of the Year – 2002
Tekken 4
Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
Console First Person Action Game of the Year – 2002
Metroid Prime
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Developer: Retro Studios
Console Game of the Year – 2002
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
Publisher: Ubi Soft
Developer: Ubi Soft Montreal
Console Platform Action Adventure Game of the Year – 2002
Ratchet & Clank
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Insomniac Games
Console Racing Game of the Year – 2002
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Black Box
Console Role Playing Game of the Year – 2002
Animal Crossing
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Developer: Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Console Sports Game of the Year – 2002
Madden NFL 2003
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Tiburon
Computer Action Game of the Year – 2002
Grand Theft Auto III
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developer: Rockstar North
Computer First Person Action Game of the Year – 2002
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: 2015 Inc.
Computer Game of the Year – 2002
Battlefield 1942
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Digital Illusions
Computer Role Playing Game of the Year – 2002
Neverwinter Nights
Publisher: Infogrames
Developer: Bioware
Computer Simulation Game of the Year – 2002
The Sims Unleashed
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Maxis
Computer Sports Game of the Year – 2002
Madden NFL 2003
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Tiburon
Computer Strategy Game of the Year – 2002
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Family Game of the Year – 2002
Mario Party 4
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Developer: Hudson Soft Co. Ltd.
Game of the Year – 2002
Battlefield 1942
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Digital Illusions
Hall of Fame Award
Yu Suzuki, SEGA
Handheld Game of the Year – 2002
Metroid Fusion
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Developer: Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Innovation in Computer Gaming – 2002
Battlefield 1942
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Digital Illusions
Innovation in Console Gaming – 2002
Animal Crossing
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Developer: Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Massively Multiplayer / Persistent World Game of the Year – 2002
The Sims Online
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA MAXIS
Online Gameplay Game of the Year – 2002
Battlefield 1942
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Digital Illusions
Outstanding Achievement in Animation – 2002
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Sucker Punch
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction – 2002
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Sucker Punch
Outstanding Achievement in Character or Story – 2002
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Developer: Silicon Knights
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design – 2002
Animal Crossing
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Developer: Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering – 2002
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
Publisher: Ubi Soft
Developer: Ubi Soft Montreal
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition – 2002
Medal of Honor: Frontline
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EALA
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design – 2002
Medal of Honor: Frontline
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EALA
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering – 2002
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Stormfront Studios
"As an artist, the only way I know how to make a great game is to go by my intuition and heart," explains Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto. "To win over and over in just one evening stunned our whole team. We’re overwhelmed."
