BAFTA nominations released

By Games Industry.biz Published 25 September, 2007

Wii Sports up for 7, Gears 6.

The nominations for this year's British Academy Video Games Awards have been announced, with Wii Sports bagging nominations in seven categories, including Best Game, Innovation and Sports, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Last year's must-have Xbox 360 title Gears of War followed close behind with six nominations, while Crackdown, God of War II and Okami took 5 each.

The hotly-contested Best Game category includes BioShock, Crysis, Gears of War, Guitar Hero II, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men and Wii Sports.

The Academy Awards are all voted for by industry professionals, with the exception of the PC World Gamers Award, which is voted for by the public.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony taking place at the Battersea Evolution in London on October 23, as part of the London Games Festival.

The full list of nominations are as follows:

Action and Adventure

  • Crackdown (Xbox 360)
  • Gears of War (Xbox 360)
  • God of War 2 (PS2)
  • Orange Box (PS3)
  • Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)

Artistic Achievement

  • Bioshock (Xbox 360)
  • Heavenly Sword (PS3)
  • Okami (PS2)
  • Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
  • Skate (PS3)
  • Viva Piñata (Xbox 360)

Best Game

  • Bioshock (Xbox 360)
  • Crysis (PC)
  • Gears of War (Xbox 360)
  • Guitar Hero II (PS2)
  • Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Xbox 360)
  • Wii Sports (Wii)

Casual

  • Big Brain Academy for Wii (Wii)
  • Cake Mania (DS)
  • Guitar Hero II (PS2)
  • More Brain Training (DS)
  • SingStar (PS3)
  • Wii Sports (Wii)

Gameplay

  • Crackdown (Xbox 360)
  • Gears of War (Xbox 360)
  • Sega Rally (PS3)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
  • WarHawk (PS3)
  • Wii Sports (Wii)

Innovation

  • fl0w (PSN)
  • Okami (PS2)
  • Super Paper Mario (Wii)
  • The Eye of Judgement (PS3)
  • Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii)
  • Wii Sports (Wii)

Multiplayer

  • Battlefield 2142 (PC)
  • Crackdown (Xbox 360)
  • Guitar Hero II (PS2)
  • Wii Sports (Wii)
  • World in Conflict (PC)
  • World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)

Original Score

  • Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
  • God of War 2 (PS2)
  • Lair (PS3)
  • Okami (PS2)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
  • Viva Piñata (Xbox 360)

Sports

  • Football Manager 2008 (PC)
  • Colin McRae: DiRT (Xbox 360)
  • FIFA 08 (PS3)
  • MotorStorm (PS3)
  • Sumo Digital/SEGA
  • Wii Sports (Wii)
  • Strategy and Simulation
  • Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars (Xbox 360)
  • Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
  • Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms (PC)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Xbox 360)
  • Wii Sports (Wii)
  • World in Conflict (PC)

Story and Character

  • Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
  • God of War 2 (PS2)
  • Heavenly Sword (PS3)
  • Okami (PS2)
  • The Darkness (Xbox 360)
  • The Simpsons Game (Xbox 360)

Technical Achievement

  • Crackdown (Xbox 360)
  • Gears of War (Xbox 360)
  • God of War 2 (PS2)
  • MotorStorm (PS3)
  • Okami (PS2)
  • Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)

Use of Audio

  • Crackdown (Xbox 360)
  • Elite Beat Agents (DS)
  • Gears of War (Xbox 360)
  • God of War 2 (PS2)
  • Guitar Hero II (PS2)
  • Skate (PS3)

BAFTA One's To Watch Award in association with Dare to Be Digital

  • Ragnarawk
  • ClimbActic
  • Bear Go Home

The PC World Gamers Award

  • Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
  • FIFA 07 (PS2)
  • Football Manager 2007 (PC)
  • Gears of War (Xbox 360)
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (PSP)
  • Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
  • Wii Play (Wii)

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Comments (53) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • KingOfSpain #1 4 years ago

    Crysis in the Best Game Catagory. Really?

  • GingerNathan #2 4 years ago

    Shouldn't there be nomination category headers?


    *edit* Ah they've now been added.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/07 @ 12:52

  • DUFFMAN5 #3 4 years ago

    Kane and Lynch, Simpsons. How does that work then. Looking forward to both (Simpsons,class)
    On another point get over to youtube and watch the Family Guy Star wars rip, it is brilliant, so very funny.
    Herbert is OB1
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/07 @ 11:35

  • Dizzy #4 4 years ago

    >Orange Box

    ?????

    Did they travel in time?

  • Frumper #5 4 years ago

    And another oddity: Action Adventure - Orange Box (PS3).

    It's not out for another month!

    Edit - beaten to the punch. :o)
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/07 @ 11:36

  • Danoxth #6 4 years ago

    Wouldn't really class Gears of War in same category as Crackdown, two totally different games yet both with some quality merits.

    Orange box (PS3) - Sony owns PC and 360! *prepare for fanboy amerisms*

  • cyacomini #7 4 years ago

    what a crock of shit - there are at least 10 games on that list which aint even out yet.

  • Thornhillboy #8 4 years ago

    I hope Okami wins it all...

  • JonFE #9 4 years ago

    This could get nasty...

  • paulf #10 4 years ago

    seems funny that bioshock isn't nominated for story and character. As for the games not being out yet, I think this works in a similar vein to the movie awards when they have to be released within a certain timeframe, ie this year

  • Concrete #11 4 years ago

    Sports

    Football Manager 2008 (PC)
    Colin McRae: DiRT (Xbox 360)
    FIFA 08 (PS3)
    MotorStorm (PS3)
    Sumo Digital/SEGA
    Wii Sports (Wii)
    Strategy and Simulation
    Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars (Xbox 360)
    Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
    Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms (PC)
    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Xbox 360)
    Wii Sports (Wii)
    World in Conflict (PC)

    LOL - might want to fix that ;)

  • KingOfSpain #12 4 years ago

    This is why people who know fuck all about games should just fuck off and and stop trying to look cool

    "oh look how down with the kids we are, we do games now too"

    FUCK OFF AND DIE
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/07 @ 11:47

  • knocker #13 4 years ago

    Agree with KingOfSpain.

    A total irrelevance. Even to hysterical fanboys.

  • t8yman #14 4 years ago

    how the fuck does crackdown get nominated for multiplayer, and gears, R6V or graw2 dont?

    everyone on my friends list have been playing gears since it came out. (I hate it meself). And its been top of the MP charts (behind H2) for donkeys.

  • Tardie #15 4 years ago

    It works because it's EA... I’m sure those games will be excellent but a bit unfair as they are not even at retail.

    I agree Okami should win, what a beautiful game ;)

  • t8yman #16 4 years ago

    in fact crackdown doesnt really have true multiplayer. its just co op, apart from the racing bit. which no one plays anyway.

  • kiroquai #17 4 years ago

    "This is why people who know fuck all about games should just fuck off and and stop trying to look cool"

    You do realise that the nominations are decided by panels of people who work in the games industry, right? Not just some random bods in an office.

  • Talk_Show_Host #18 4 years ago

    I am sorry but how come Crysis and Bioshock get a nomination and not Halo 3...?

    Crysis is not even released yet!!!!!!!!!!
    Edited by 2 at 25/09/07 @ 12:01

  • KingOfSpain #19 4 years ago

    "This is why people who know fuck all about games should just fuck off and and stop trying to look cool"

    You do realise that the nominations are decided by panels of people who work in the games industry, right? Not just some random bods in an office.

    If they knew what they were doing then and they are industry people then this is even worse.

    The whole thing stinks of backhanders

  • Bumhug360 #20 4 years ago

    [link url=http://www.baft a.org/site/page66.html
    ]http://www.baft a.org/site/page66.html
    [/link]

    How it all works if anyone is interested. As long as the game is planned to be released before Dec 31st this year it can be entered.

  • LHH #21 4 years ago

    If Wii Sports wins then they might as well nominate swingball next year.

    Pretentious industry heads doing the voting...but then I wouldn't want the public voting either. I reckon developers should. (unless I'm being a dumbass and it is the developers voting).

  • homerramone #22 4 years ago

    Super. Loads of games that havent even been released have been nominated.

    Sounds like a great plan.

    The list looks as duboius as Major Nelsons 'top xbox live titles' one ! :-)

  • bushwod #23 4 years ago

    Sorry to sound like a winging XBOX fanboy, but how is Halo 3 not in that list?

  • KingOfSpain #24 4 years ago

    http://www.baft a.org/site/page66.html

    How it all works if anyone is interested. As long as the game is planned to be released before Dec 31st this year it can be entered.

    So the awards take place on in October and a game that is due for release in December can win it.

    What a fucking farce.

    Does this happen with the film or TV BAFTAs?

    This industry is crying out for a credible awards show. At the moment it is just a load of shit. The closest thing we have is the golden joysticks and they are a bit poo.

  • chicknstu #25 4 years ago

    Ragnarawk for teh win!!!

  • Agent_Llama #26 4 years ago

    Some intriguing inclusions on that little list. FFXII's story & character, and original score? (A mess of an unengaging story, with equally unengaging characters.) Super Paper Mario's innovation? (It's a dull platformer with flips to 3D, a novelty that will soon wear off.) The most ridiculous though is that number of nominations for games not released yet. Morons.

  • Prox #27 4 years ago

    Like many awards, to get on the BAFTA nominations list the publisher must buy in. The only requirements are 1) send a copy of the game to the BAFTA judges and 2) It must be out in the calendar year. So you get both games which aren't out and games which may not deserve to be on the list, because they've been paid for.

  • knocker #28 4 years ago

    "You do realise that the nominations are decided by panels of people who work in the games industry, right? Not just some random bods in an office."

    But I would guess that these panels are:

    a) The suits: mangament/marketing/PR people etc
    b) Carefully worked out to ensure the honours are shared.

    Hence the desire to get a bit of publicity for unreleased games - shortly to have 'Bafta nominee!!' sticker on the posters and boxes.

  • GitSomE_UK #29 4 years ago

    BAFTA = Bollocks

    IMO the NAFTA awards are pointless. It's obvious these events are all about the powdered noses, manilla envelopes under the table and marketing positioning for companies.

    What's the betting that one of the non released titles will coincide with the award and the release date of the game a week later.

    My money is on Crysis, gets an award and 3 weeks later it's released with nice stickers all over the box.

    God I'm cynical today.

  • kinggid #30 4 years ago

    But... nobody has played Crysis yet surely?

  • paulf #31 4 years ago

    @king of spain
    the film and tv awards work in the same way, personally i think BAFTA are forward thinking in having games awards, they are basically saying that games are as valid an entertainment medium as film and tv and thats gotta be a good thing

  • aine #32 4 years ago

    Like many awards, to get on the BAFTA nominations list the publisher must buy in. The only requirements are 1) send a copy of the game to the BAFTA judges and 2) It must be out in the calendar year. So you get both games which aren't out and games which may not deserve to be on the list, because they've been paid for.

    ...interesting, that. I suspected as much reading through the list - all the games featured are published by the huge multinationals, there's absolutely no representation of anything from smaller companies (like, say, Cake Mania from Eidos being nominated over Cooking Mama from 505 Games, despite the latter being better received both critically and commercially)

  • KingOfSpain #33 4 years ago


    Paulf wrote:
    the film and tv awards work in the same way, personally i think BAFTA are forward thinking in having games awards, they are basically saying that games are as valid an entertainment medium as film and tv and thats gotta be a good thing

    The film and TV awards do not work the same way. I have just checked the BAFTA site. The film has to have been released within the calendar year for it to get shortlisted. Films not yet at the cinema will not be at the awards at all.

    They are also not saying that games are a valid form of entertainment. It is insulting. Last years awards were a load of shit. It was full of joystick and masterbation jokes and really intellegent remarks about people not having girlfriends.

    If BAFTA took the industy seriously then they would know that games that are 4 months from being release can and do get delayed and so would not shortlist them for a award.

    Games are just a big joke to them.

  • X201 #34 4 years ago

    We need a bit of bold on Strategy & Simulation

  • fisk #35 4 years ago

    BAFTA need to move their awards to just before Christmas, some of those games (Okami, Zelda, Wii Sports, FFXII, Gears etc.) are pretty old.

    If they had the awards later in the year, they'd pick up the Christmas rush just as all the games were hot, rather than a year late.

  • paulf #36 4 years ago

    @king of spain
    that was the tone of the award show not the awards themselves, and I agree they were presented in a childish fashion but this was realised within the industry as well and hopefully this year will be a more intelligent and mature affair. and yes it looks like they have changed the rules from previous years when you could enter a film that was released after the awards.

    Also the timing of the awards has to be taken into account, if the awards ceremony was in january awarding games for the previous year then fine, but by being in october (to coincide with games week) then what would happen to the majority of games that are released in the holiday season would they have to apply next year?

    Awards obviously fill a number of functions one being to reward excellence, secondly to raise awareness and thirdly a financial concern

    I stand by my point however that the awards themselves are valid and bring much needed mainstream attention but the award show is a little pants. What other major awards body has even recognised that games exist let alone award the best of them?

  • KingOfSpain #37 4 years ago

    I have no problem with BAFTA doing a games award show. In fact I would say they are the right organization for a mainstream industry awards. They are also respected enough within other fields for the awards to be credible and mean something to whoever is nominated. However, the way that they go about it is completely wrong and insulting to everyone. It shows that they know nothing about the industry that they are awarding and are completely disconnected from it.

    Films, for example must be out for months before the awards take place for them to even qualify, but for games it is ok because they are “raising awareness”.

    Another example would be the Mercury Music Prize. They would be a laughing stock if they did this. Nobody would take it serious if a album was nominated before it was released.

    The people who decide the shortlists should be ashamed of themselves. This would never happen with another industry and it only serves to show what the mainstream media really thinks of the hobby that we all love. As gamers we all should condemn these awards and se them for what they are, a joke.

  • Waffleaber #38 4 years ago

    At the risk of spreading the hate into another thread the BAFTA people obviously don't view Halo 3 as highly as everyone else.

  • Lukus #39 4 years ago

    Waffleaber- Yeah cos the nominations of games no one has actually played yet isn't questionably amateurish at all. Worst trolling ever.

  • Waffleaber #40 4 years ago

    Because everybody has played Crysis, Tools of Destuction, Orange Box and Kane & Lynch?

    Just an observation on the farcical nature of the awards is all.

  • Triggerhappytel #41 4 years ago

    Okami had better get at least, say, three of those awards.

    At least!!

    And what's with all the games which haven't been released yet?! When are these awards taking place?

  • secombe #42 4 years ago

    currently uncompleted games are eligible to be entered

    WTF?! I might go to the Academy..."I've got this great idea for movie with De Niro and Norton in it, can I be put up for an Oscar please? I will try and release it before the new year"

  • rhinoxious #43 4 years ago

    Wii (sports) to win everything I reckon,

    not that we care

    /shrugs and walks off

  • gaselite #44 4 years ago

    BAFTAs or some sort of equivalent for gaming would be a decent institution and something worth implementing if it was credible.

    But this list seems entirely arbitrary in so many ways. Crysis nominated for best game (well ahead of release) while it's nowhere to be seen in the 'best technical achievement' category. With all due respect, Motorstorm is a great looking game, but not one of the best technical achievements in the past year of gaming.

    Meanwhile, calling Wii Sports simulation, while tenuous, may be warranted by way of Nintendo's marketing alone, but calling Rainbow Six Vegas a sim? That's taking the piss. Meanwhile Forza Motorsport (try and find the key half-word in there) is constrained to the simulation category while Motorstorm qualifies as a sports game. And one of the best too, apparently.


    Quite hilariously, Warbird is listed in the best gameplay category, but - keeping in mind it's a multiplayer only game - is nowhere to be seen in the multiplayer category.

    Does Super Paper Mario qualify as innovation because we're so used to 3D now that a 2D platformer (and the ability to 'flip dimensions' does not disguise the fact that it is a 2D platformer) counts as innovation now? What?

    Artistic Achievement? Skate? Really? Nothing wrong with skate but can't the industry as a whole do a bit better than a skateboarding game for artistic achievement? I'm sure they have, in the past year.

    Worst of all, best story and character contains an epic wankfest like Final Fantasy XII - to say nothing of the company it keeps in the form of The Simpsons game and some game based on a comic book and a generic hack and slash, but it completely ignores the game that towers over all in recent memory in terms of story: Bioshock. I mean, the way we were going I half expected to see FIFA 08 in this category. But honestly, Bioshock is just streets ahead of 95% of games released in the past few years in terms of this category, with intelligence and complexity that essentially puts it at novel/good film standard of narrative and subtext. To be shaded by games where the cutscenes are too long and they beat you over the head with themes of good ol' fashioned 'good' vs. 'evil' is ridiculous.

    Mercifully, Halo 3 is nowhere to be seen but I suspect that might be because Microsoft didn't pony up the dough in time. Despite several games that haven't been released yet this year making the list, I'm sure Halo 3 will be racking up the nominations this time next year.

    I mean, the whole list is just farcical.

    I'd be interested in what EG staff think of it.

  • skillian #45 4 years ago

    ^ Excellent post.

    Sums up the whole ridiculous situation comprehensively.

  • Wyrm #46 4 years ago

    God of War 2 for most things.

  • JavaJawaUK #47 4 years ago

    They could've waited another year couldn't they? Crysis and the Orange Box should be in next year's list, not this years! They haven't been released in the last year and no-one's reviewed the final retail product. Hell, it's not even gone gold yet.

    Now I'm not saying Halo 3 should be in the list, but it certainly reeks to me that the immensely hyped and extremely well-received game that is Halo 3, which is on the eve of release in the UK, is not on the list whereas the moderately hyped Orange Box and Crysis [ask a lot of gamers and they wouldn't be interested or know, even though I am and do know of em ;)] are listed despite not being released and no-one having reviewed either of em. It's just a list to identify all the publishers who use backhanders really.

  • Lukus #48 4 years ago

    Waffleaber:

    Because everybody has played Crysis, Tools of Destuction, Orange Box and Kane & Lynch?

    Just an observation on the farcical nature of the awards is all.

    This is my point exactly. Which seems to make the post I replied to redundant.

  • Smashy101 #49 4 years ago

    All the games on the nominations list have been played by the judges. All the publishers have to provide a copy of the game for them to play with.

  • KingOfSpain #50 4 years ago

    All the games on the nominations list have been played by the judges. All the publishers have to provide a copy of the game for them to play with.

    BAFTA would not judge a unfinished film or TV show. The Brit awards or the Murcury Music Prize would not judge an unfinished album. The Booker prize would not accept a draft of a book.

    They have no argument. They are wrong! It is an insult to the industry.

  • Nallen #51 4 years ago

    I can't say it better than Gaselite, but in summary, it's farcical.

  • BravoGolf #52 4 years ago

    "Kane & Lynch: Dead Men"

    Fuck off

  • Nutts #53 4 years ago

    I'm a part of the video games committee at Bafta, so I should nip in here and answer these criticisms from at least my point of view, if not from the official Bafta line. I can say hand on heart that this year's selection and judging process was a significant improvement over last year's, but it's not perfect and we'll be looking to tighten up and improve it year on year.

    The Bafta VGC is made up from a number of senior industry figures, representing TIGA and ELSPA as well as a number of the major publishers. Each member of the committee chaired a jury each, and each jury was chosen by its chair to be fair, balanced and qualified. I can say that for my jury I chose the best advocates of the discipline I could find in the UK, each highly experienced in the field (up to 20 years in the games industry, I think the minimum was 7) and balanced within that discipline. I'm really happy that my group were the best representation of talent and experience of the relevant practice that I could have wished for, and it should be noted that most were currently involved in game design or production, and all of them have at some stage been involved in game design or production. I should also add that the other juries were similarly but separately hand-picked and vetted.

    The lion's share of the games eligible for inclusion were released games, but unreleased games were also allowed provided they're to be released this year and in a fit state to be played by the juries. The jury members each played the relevant games and were able at the end of the process to sit in a room with some fearsome peers and argue the toss (and I mean argue) about the merits and demerits of each game, making sure that each of the games had its day in the sun, and all opinions about each game had a good chance to be aired. It stands to reason that any game submitted that is buggy or otherwise unfinished would not stand up in such an environment, so the vast majority of unfinished games that were reviewed were in a good if not gold master state.

    I can't say honestly why some games were not included. All I can say is that all publishers were allowed to enter their games, and that I believe the process of shortlisting and nomination was fair.

    TBH I don't hang around the Eurogamer forums too often, but I'll try to pop back from time to time if anyone wants to - gasp - challenge any of that.

    Cheers,
    Nutts