Gametrailers.Com Announces Winners Of Distinguished Game Of The Year Awards 2008
Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto IV Takes Home Coveted “Game of the Year” Award, Along with “Best Action Adventure Game,” “Best Story,” “Best PlayStation3 Game” and “Best Xbox 360 Game”
GameTrailers (GT) – the premier provider of video for gamers – announced the winners of the “GameTrailers Game Of The Year Awards 2008,” crowning Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto IV as “Game of the Year.” Other notable winners include Bethesda Software’s Fallout 3 and SCEA’s LittleBigPlanet.
Celebrating the outstanding caliber of games in 2008, GameTrailers revealed the nominees and winners of 28 game award categories during a ten-day series, culminating on New Years Eve. The GT editorial staff selected the nominees and winners after spending countless hours reviewing hundreds of games for their gameplay, design, artistry and innovation. In honoring the five nominees and ultimate winner in each category, GT produced informative video packages that showcase gameplay highlights and editorial comments on the merits of each nominee.
“This was yet another epic year for the gaming industry, and choosing a winner for each category proved to be very difficult,” said Shane Satterfield, Editor in Chief, GameTrailers. “It was a lengthy, yet fulfilling task to sit with our experienced editorial staff and pick the winners. We want to congratulate the many developers and publishers for their exceptional games and hope their great results carry on into the New Year.”
Log on to GameTrailers to watch all of the “Game of the Year Awards 2008” at www.gametrailers.com
Winners of the “GameTrailers Game Of The Year Awards 2008” are as follows:
Best Puzzle/Parlor Game
Professor Layton and the Curious Village – Nintendo
Best Strategy Game
Sins of A Solar Empire – Stardock
Best New Franchise
LittleBigPlanet - SCEA
Best PlayStation 2 Game
Rock Band 2 - MTV Games/Electronic Arts
Best Racing Game
Burnout Paradise - Electronic Arts
Best PSP Game
God of War: Chains of Olympus - SCEA
Best Nintendo DS Game
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia – Konami
Best Action Adventure Game
Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
Best Sports Game
NHL 09 - Electronic Arts
Best Role-Playing Game
Fallout 3 – Bethesda Softworks
Most Innovative Game
LittleBigPlanet - SCEA
Best Story
Grand Theft Auto IV – Rockstar Games
Best Third-Person Shooter
Gears of War 2 - Microsoft Game Studios
Biggest News Story
Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360
Best Downloadable Game
Braid - Number None Inc.
Best Music and Rhythm Game
Rock Band 2 – MTV Games
Most Disappointing Game
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - LucasArts
Best Graphics
Gears of War 2 – Microsoft Game Studios
Best First-Person Shooter
Resistance 2 - SCEA
Best Trailer
Resident Evil 5 Tokyo Game Show Trailer – Capcom
Best Software Lineup
PlayStation 3
Best Multiplayer Game
Rock Band 2 - Electronic Arts
Biggest Surprise
Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360
Best PC Game
Fallout 3 – Bethesda Softworks
Best Wii Game
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Nintendo
Best PlayStation 3 Game
Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
Best Xbox 360 Game
Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
Racing Instinct Given the Green Light for Beta Testing
Waygate Publishing Limited, a London-based company specialising in the localisation and operation of Russian online games for the Western market, today invited beta testers for its latest project: Racing Instinct (www.racing-instinct.com and www.racinginstinct.com), an action-packed, thrill-filled, nitro-fuelled racing game with more than just fast cars. There are 30 beta testing places up for grabs, so contact Waygate Publishing on beta-1@waygate-publishing.com now for your registration code!
Join the race
Take on racers from all over the world, take your place on the podium and assume your position at the top of the leader board…all via your keyboard! Start out with an old banger, soup it up and show off your skills with the best car on the track.
Mini-games galore
And it’s not all about burning rubber…if you’re short of cash to splash on your motor, earn some money by cleaning windscreens at the local petrol station. The canaries have been eating something that has greatly upset their stomachs and everyone’s been driving down to the car wash… Or you could get your hands dirty by searching for useful junk in the scrap yard. And if you really want to make a mess, throw some eggs in the classic Egg Wars!
Fireworks
Once you’ve proven yourself the undisputed champion of the world, or the race track, at least, you can celebrate by letting off some fireworks in the city centre to show the world that you’re number 1!
Minimum requirements
- 64Mb Direct X 9 video card
- 512Mb RAM
- 1.9GHz processor
- Windows XP SP2 (generally works in Windows Vista but some users may experience compatibility problems with the Virtools plug-in which are being resolved)
- Internet Explorer 5.5 or above (not yet available on Firefox)
- Virtools plugin
Contact beta-1@waygate-publishing.com for further details.
GTR EVOLUTION
SimBin has released the official demo for GTR Evolution including Brands Hatch 07 and the Sunred Sr21 race car.
Following the success of GTR Evolution, SimBin has decided to release a demo to share the success with a wider audience. In the demo players will also experience the new Race-line and track map functionality.
Sunred is a Spanish built supercar hailing from Barcelona that aims to become a serious threat to the more established teams in current GT racing. A Judd V10 delivers around 500 horsepower, enough to propel its 1100 kilos around any track at breathtaking speeds. In this demo the Sunred Sr21 is available in the distinct Logitech green or in the blue and white of MotorsTV.
Brands Hatch is an old favorite and any SimBin fan will have driven it countless times in search of the perfect lap. Drivers new to Brands Hatch will note the feared first dipping turn; get that one wrong and you’re in big trouble before the lap has even started. Brands Hatch is a driver’s track and a true challenge of skill and nerves when attempting to tame it in a powerful GT car.
When you feel confident in your ability to power the Sunred around Brands Hatch, then jump online and show the world your skills! The demo has full online capability, and you’ll face great drivers from all over the world when you decide to take the next step into multiplayer gaming.
For a download link please visit www.simbin.com or the official GTR Evolution website at www.gtrevolution.com/downloads.htm
About GTR Evolution for PC:
GTR Evolution contains 5 new classes of the finest cars with a total of 30 new models to race.
In the GT classes players can experience legendary cars like the Corvette C6R, Aston Martin DBR9, BMW M3 GTR, Koenigsegg CCGT and Spyker GT2R.
Even more exciting are the all-new WTCC Extreme cars. These are pumped up fictional WTCC car designs developed by SimBin in cooperation with the FIA WTCC, and are exclusive to GTR Evolution.
The racing thrills continue with the Production Car Class featuring the street versions of the Audi R8, Dodge Viper SRT/10, Koenigsegg CCX and Gumpert Apollo.
Overall, GTR Evolution offers 49 unique cars in 12 classes with more than 500 variations as well as 19 tracks in over 40 different layouts including the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Features:
- In-game file sharing lets players upload and download settings and ghost files
- Online scoreboards and ranking is available for all the new tracks and classes
- Updated and improved Race-line in Time-Trial featuring distinctive brake-markers, multiple race-lines to compare and follow, and more
- The Replay system has been upgraded with the possibility to not only save the full replay after the race but also the instant replays that can be viewed during the race.
- New R-cade ExtremeTM mode shifts the emphasis from realism to pure action by implementing more intense backfires, damage, and debris along with easier physics for tearing up the course
- Championship functionality allows full integration of the GT cars to run an endurance championship as well as a touring championship
GTR Evolution is distributed by Viva Media in the US, Atari in Europe, Akella in Russia, QV software in Australia, and Zoo in Japan.
City Interactive Launches Overspeed – take to the streets of LA to feel the force of illegal street racing
Title: Overspeed: High Performance Street Racing
Publisher City Interactive
Format: PC DVDROM
Genre: Racing
Brand: Premiere Silver
Price: £4.99
Age Rating: 3+
Available: 13 June 2008
Overspeed: High Performance Street Racing, a racing game for the PC launches from City Interactive’s Premiere Silver range of brand new games priced at just £4.99. Drivers of the fastest and most showy cars take to the streets of L.A, the birthplace of illegal street racing to become legends of the night. The competition is cut-throat but race well and climb the ladder of the underground street racing hierarchy to become L.A.’s new racing hero! As players progress through the game, they must modify their rides, take up challenges and win, win, win!
Overspeed puts players in the seat of one of 10 stock import cars challenging them to seek out random street races where you can win parts and cars. Faithfully recreated famous locations of illegal races in Los Angeles come to life for players with diversified roadways, corners, and intersections that made the dynamic street races a possibility. Players must slowly mold their vehicle into a finely tuned racing machine, capable of taking on the streets, but it won’t be easy! There are many other racers out there with these same aspirations, willing to do whatever it takes to get the checkered flag first!
Disassemble, repair, and upgrade vehicles part by part – from bumpers to sway bars – nearly every possible part that is found on an actual vehicle will not only be present in Overspeed, but removable, damageable, and upgradeable. Basic rules of tuning allows players to improve the efficiency of the engine in top gear in order to achieve more speed, change the exhaust system in order to have better acceleration, install a spoiler, a diffuser and door sills to improve aerodynamics and install a nitrous oxide system to boost the power of their ride.
Game features:
• 10 highly detailed vehicle models
• Locational damage and realistic damage modelling on every part of the vehicle
• Visual and mechanical tuning – match the performance of your ride with the right look to reflect your own personal style and create the fastest car in town
• Interchangeable parts from bumpers to exhaust pipes to engines, allowing for numerous of customising options
• Supports standard PC driving wheels and peripherals
• Expanded single player career as well as a multiplayer mode for up to 8 players
• Online live head-to-head play, with score/time based competitive play, ranking and matchmaking system
• Ghosting or collision enabled play
Overspeed: High Performance Street Racing is just one of six brand new PC games launched this month by City Interactive, one of Poland’s largest games developers and international multi-format publishers. The new releases are from the Silver Premiere collection priced just £4.99 and follow hot on the heels of the first three Gold Premiere titles launched in May which marked City Interactive’s long awaited UK arrival.
Kalypso Media announces Racing Team Manager
Kalypso Media are pleased to announce the release of Racing Team Manager in the UK in July. The first racing manager for PC in six years and developed with former Formula 1 pilots and racing experts, Racing Team Manager will be on sale in the UK in early July, just in time for the Silverstone Grand Prix.
Take control of a team, or establish a racing team of your own. Excel in clever negotiations with drivers, suppliers, and sponsors. Participate in the research and development of new cutting-edge technology, and create an ideal setup. As the boss of the team, you get to decide on the right strategy and manage the success of your drivers on racing weekends. You keep an overview during training, qualification, and actual races. Every tenth of a second counts – and you’re the boss!
Features:
• Extensive management simulation for racing enthusiasts
• Take over an existing team, or establish your own racing team
• Construct your own cars from 16 different components
• Get involved and give instructions in the ongoing race
• Multiplayer mode for up to 2 players via LAN or internet
• 17 racetracks, more than 170 drivers and 370 other team members
• Editor for adapting driver and team properties
Racing Team Manager will retail at £19.99 in early July 2008 and will be published by Kalypso Media.
Gala-Net Launches PLAYSPAN Marketplace With Upshift StrikeRacer
Upshift players can now trade cars, mods, and other items in-game
PLAYSPAN Inc. and Gala-Net Inc. announced the launch of beta service today for Upshift StrikeRacer, an online racing game.
“Having the PlaySpan service added to Upshift StrikeRacer provides our players with the ability to trade their in-game items in a safe and sanctioned manner,” states Jikhan Jung, CEO of Gala-Net. “We are very excited about providing peer to peer item sales in our games. And PlaySpan provides a proven, scalable and secured system that has been proven with multiple games.”
PlaySpan’s system integrates into the game inside a widget. As an official, publisher-sponsored service, the application is a secure and reliable way to buy and sell goods without leaving the game.
“We are extremely excited about launching with Upshift StrikeRacer. This shows the power of virtual commerce in the different environments; our system and services benefit hardcore MMOGs as well as more casual titles like Upshift,” says Karl Mehta, CEO of PlaySpan Inc. “Players of Upshift can now trade lower-ranked cars and items once they advance to more advanced parts of the game, and enjoy the game more with real-world microtransactions.”
About PLAYSPAN INC.
PlaySpan™ is game industry’s first publisher-sponsored™ in-game commerce™ network. PlaySpan’s patent-pending in-game search, commerce and micropayment technologies enable game publishers and developers to generate new revenues, acquire new users and extend the loyalty of existing users. Leading game providers and virtual world publishers have selected PlaySpan as their official marketplace for virtual goods commerce. PlaySpan is based in Silicon Valley with offices in Mumbai, Seoul and Shanghai. Investors include Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, South Korea based STIC and Hong Kong based Novel TMT Ventures.
Interested Publishers or Developers can send enquiries to publisher@playspan.com; For participation in the beta, please send email to beta@playspan.com
PlaySpan, Gamer-Friendly and In-Game Commerce are registered trademarks of PlaySpan Inc.
About Gala-Net
Founded in 2004, Gala-Net, Inc. is a subsidiary of the global online community company Gala, Inc. Together with its European subsidiary, Gala Networks Europe, Gala-Net is a leader in the burgeoning free-to-play online games market. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Gala-Net’s diverse service portfolio includes Flyff, Rappelz, Upshift StrikeRacer, Corum Online and Shot Online. Through the games portal gPotato (http://www.gpotato.com), gamers can play any of Gala-Net’s games for free, as well as buy in-game currency and virtual items for any of its games.
The Kart n Crazy Open Beta has just been launched
All drivers to the starting line!
Kart n’ Crazy, Goa.com’s online racing game, commences its open beta phase from the 11th March onwards. Everyone can take part in the online races behind the wheel of the craziest karts going.
The first phase of the closed beta has brought together many European drivers who were able to test the different racing cars and world circuits of Kart n’ Crazy.
It’s in this screwball environment that you can lose yourself on the wacky tracks and compete against 16 other players. Tornadoes, icebergs and funky mushrooms spruce up these fantastic game tracks where all of your challengers are armed to the teeth! Master your driving techniques and use the many different items at your disposal to help you win. You can also develop your character and racing car; blast off into six completely different environments and have 16 tracks to choose from. The revised beta will offer many new tracks and is free to play, so remember to drive crazy!
Kart n’ Crazy is a game developed by the Korean Windysoft studio.
For more information go to: http://www.goa.com/#/kartncrazy
Instructions for the Open Beta:
European players can access the beta version via the goa.com site. To do this, players must first of all register, and then go to the download section to download the game.
The Open beta of Kart n’Crazy will run in France, Spain, United Kingdom and Germany from the 11th March 2008 onwards.
Empire Interactive Announces Flatout Ultimate Carnage For Pc
PC release of award-winning franchise expected June 2008
Empire Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar holdings (NASDAQ: SSTR), announces that the PC-DVD ROM version of the best selling arcade racer FlatOut Ultimate Carnage is currently in development and is due for release in June 2008.
The FlatOut series has enjoyed global success on multiple formats, selling over 2 million copies and winning numerous awards in the process, with FlatOut 2 being named Xbox® ‘Best Racing Game of 2006’. FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for Xbox 360™ was released to critical acclaim in June 2007 and now award-winning Finnish studio and creators of FlatOut, Bugbear Entertainment, are currently developing FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for PC.
While simulation racers have traditionally found their home on PCs, FlatOut Ultimate Carnage blurs the line between arcade and simulation, offering PC gamers a “Deathproof” experience with carnage gameplay modes and enhanced graphics to rival the Xbox 360™ version. Multiplayer online provides wheel-to-wheel action as opponents try to fishtail other cars and get across the finish line in a ‘no holds barred’ extreme driving smash fest.
Ian Higgins, CEO of Empire Interactive commented, “We are very excited about bringing FlatOut Ultimate Carnage to PC gamers. Research suggests that arcade racers are becoming ever more popular on the PC, with the Xbox 360 controller providing the perfect way to enjoy the genre. Ultimate Carnage is an entirely new prospect for PC and we’re excited to be bringing FlatOut’s unique gameplay experience to PC gamers everywhere.”
Clive Kabatznik, CEO of Silverstar Holdings added, “The FlatOut series has been a global success story for Empire and we are delighted that Ultimate Carnage will now be made available to PC gamers. With over 2 million sales globally the FlatOut franchise is an important part of the Empire portfolio and we are sure that the FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for PC will only add to the ongoing success and bring new fans to the title.”
Jussi Laakkonen, Business Development Director of Bugbear Entertainment noted, “We’ve witnessed fanatical anticipation and demand for FlatOut Ultimate Carnage to be released on PC ever since we announced the Xbox 360 release. It gives us great pleasure to be finally providing what FlatOut fans have long been clamouring for!”
FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for PC launches globally in June 2008.
The next instalment in the franchise, FlatOut Head On for the Sony PSP, is due for release on 14th March 2008.
Wii sold over 4.02 million consoles worldwide
After shipping 3.19 million units by the end of 2006, Nintendo have sold through a further 830,000 Wii consoles around the world to pass the 4 million mark just before the end of January 2007.
Nintendo aim to ship 6 million by March.
Xbox 8.66 mil units
0.34 m Japan
5.26 m Americas
3.06 m Others
Nintendo Wii 4.02 mil units
1.45 m Japan
1.53 m Americas
1.04 m Others
PlayStation 3 1.63 mil units
0.63 m Japan
1.00 m Americas
source: vgcharts.org
