Golden Joystick Awards 2003

edited October 2003 in Gaming
<br>
The final short-list of nominees is announced for the Computer and Video Games Golden Joystick Awards 2003 and the countdown to the most eagerly-anticipated date in the UK games calendar gathers pace today, as the final nominations are announced for this year's Computer and Video Games Golden Joystick Awards.<end preview>

Although there is a huge diversity in the list of games, companies and products nominated for this year's awards, two names are already edging ahead of the pack, with Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Namco's Soul Calibur II setting the early pace with three and four nominations respectively. Both are in the running for the prestigious 'Ultimate Game of the Year' accolade, alongside four other notables from the past 12 months: Metroid Prime, Pro Evolution Soccer 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

"We're absolutely delighted that this year's short-list has been determined by such a strong consumer mandate," says Duncan Tickell, Group Publishing Director for Dennis Publishing. "Having already equalled just about last year's total of just over 30,000 votes cast and with more than four weeks of voting to go, not to mention the additional impact of our tie-in with MTV and a concerted effort from all nominees, we are confident that we will have smashed last year's total by the time that voting closes."

The initial 12 awards, which are directly voted for by members of the general public through the official Computer and Video Games Golden Joystick Awards website (www.goldenjoystick.com), cover almost all aspects of the UK interactive entertainment business, including publishing, hardware, online gaming and retail. These will be supplemented by additional categories supported by the Awards' media partners and those voted for by members of Dennis Publishing's editorial staff.

The 'Hardware of the Year' category will see fierce competition between Sony's innovative EyeToy device for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's eye-catching update to its venerable handheld platform, the Game Boy Advance SP. These two line up against the first online console offerings from Microsoft and Sony and the latest PC graphics cards from NVIDIA and ATi.

Those who are thinking of taking a flutter on which game will win the race for the all-important 'Christmas Number One' chart position might find a few pointers in the short-list for the 'Most Wanted Game for Xmas 2003' category, where the nominees are F-Zero GX, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Pro Evolution Soccer 3, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Rebel Strike and WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain.

And some indication as to where the Great British public will be getting their hands on these games may come from the 'Games Retailer of the Year' category, which will see the high street represented by Gamestation, GAME and Toys 'R' Us, facing off against the virtual emporiums of Amazon.co.uk, Gameplay.com and Play.com.

With the final short-lists now in place, voting will continue until the final closing date of November 21st. The winners will be announced at the Golden Joystick Awards ceremony, which will be hosted by Phill Jupitus and will take place at London's Park Lane Hotel on Friday, November 28th. This year's awards ceremony will be filmed by MTV for broadcast in a special edition of the channel's movie and games programme, Screenplay (www.mtv.co.uk/screenplay) on Friday, December 5th.

The Golden Joystick Awards 2003 are sponsored by Electronic Arts (Retailer of the Year), GAME (Most Wanted Game for Xmas 2003), Macrovision (Publisher of the Year), Nokia N-Gage (After-show Party), Sonopress (Xbox Game of the Year) and Vivendi Universal Games and Crash Nitro (Best New Hardware).

<b>The full list of nominees is as follows:</b>

<b>Xbox Game of the Year:</b>

Burnout 2 <BR>
Panzer Dragoon Orta<BR>
Shenmue II<BR>

Soul Calibur II<BR>

Splinter Cell<BR>

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic<BR>

<br><br>
<b>GameCube Game of the Year:</b><BR>

Metroid Prime<BR>

Resident Evil Zero<BR>

Soul Calibur II<BR>

Super Monkey Ball 2<BR>

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker<BR>

TimeSplitters 2<BR>

<b>Handheld Game of the Year:</b><BR>

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising<BR>

Golden Sun: The Lost Age<BR>

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire<BR>

Super Mario Bros 3: Super Mario Advance 4<BR>

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past<BR>

Wario Ware: Inc. Minigame Mania<BR>

<B>PS2 Game of the Year:</B><BR>


EyeToy: Play<BR>

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City<BR>

Kingdom Hearts<BR>

Pro Evolution Soccer 2<BR>

SOCOM: US Navy SEALs<BR>

Soul Calibur ll<BR>


<B>PC Game of the Year:</b>

Age of Mythology<BR>

Battlefield 1942<BR>

Championship Manager 4<BR>

Command & Conquer Generals<BR>

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City<BR>

Splinter Cell<BR>


<B>Online Game of the Year:</b>

Battlefield 1942<BR>

Day of Defeat<BR>

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Spearhead<BR>

Phantasy Star Online<BR>

SOCOM: US Navy SEALs<BR>

Unreal Championship<BR>


<b>Publisher of the Year</b>

EA<BR>

Konami<BR>

Microsoft<BR>

Nintendo<BR>

Rockstar<BR>

Ubi Soft<BR>


<b>Games Retailer of the Year</b>

Amazon.co.uk<BR>

GAME<BR>

Gameplay.com<BR>

Gamestation<BR>

Play.com<BR>

Toys 'R' Us<BR>


<b>New Hardware of the Year</b>

ATi Radeon 9800<BR>

EyeToy<BR>

Game Boy Advance SP<BR>

GeForce FX<BR>

PS2 Network Adaptor<BR>

Xbox Live!<BR>


<b>Most Wanted Game for Xmas 2003</b>

F-Zero GX<BR>

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!<BR>

Pro Evolution Soccer 3<BR>

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Rebel Strike<BR>

WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain<BR>


<b>Most Anticipated Game for 2004:</b>

DOOM 3<BR>

Gran Turismo 4<BR>

Half-Life 2<BR>

Halo 2<BR>

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater<BR>

The Sims 2<BR>

Warhammer Online<BR>


<b>The Ultimate Game of The Year:</b>

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City<BR>

Metroid Prime<BR>

Pro Evolution Soccer 2<BR>

Soul Calibur II<BR>

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic<BR>

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker <BR>

Comments

  • HircineHircine Netherlands\Oosterwolde
    edited October 2003
    Yes Age of Mytholofy is in the list!
  • drowddrowd Texas
    edited October 2003
    xbox - kotor
    gamecube - legend of zelda
    gba - wario ware
    ps2 - vice city
    pc - splinter cell
    pc online - mohaa spearhead
    publisher - rockstar
    retailer - mleh
    hardware - xbox live
    most wanted for 2k3- none of those
    most anticipated for 2k4 - halo 2
    Ultimate GOTY - kotor

    and thats what i think . . .
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    Originally posted by drowd
    most anticipated for 2k4 - halo 2

    No chance, it would have to be HL2.

    NS
  • drowddrowd Texas
    edited October 2003
    yeah, i imagine hl2 will prolly win, but i am personally looking forward to halo 2. at this point, especially with the leak, this game is way overhyped. imho, there is no way that it can reach anywhere near the hype it has built up . . .
  • T-BirDT-BirD Montgomery, AL
    edited October 2003
    I'm honestly shocked that the most perfectly executed RTS ever - Rise of Nations - isn't even nominated :(
  • edited October 2003
    I wouldnt worry about it T-BirD, this is more a contest for the retailers and casual gamers.

    Hardc0re haxors need not apply ;)
  • drowddrowd Texas
    edited October 2003
    yay!!!1

    hardc0re gamers = 133377 h4x00rZZ;

    that's such great news!!11 i always wanted to be one of those!!1!!111
  • edited October 2003
    pretty much agree with Drowds choices
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