14 DAY TRIAL // A panel of independent experts selected by the organizers of the Gamescom 2011 trade event have announced the winners of the awards for this year's show, with Battlefield 3, the first person shooter from developer DICE and publisher Electronic Arts, being designed the best game of the show.
The organizers have not named those who have made the choices, saying that they are “national and international media, press, and trade representatives” and the exact criteria used for the decisions have also not been made public.
Here are all the winners:
Best of Gamescom - Battlefield 3 from Electronic Arts; Best Hardware or Hardware Accessories - PlayStation Vita from Sony Computer Entertainment; Best Console Game - FIFA 12 from Electronic Arts; Best Mobile Game - Uncharted: Golden Abyss from Sony Computer Entertainment; Best Online Game: Star Wars - The Old Republic from Electronic Arts; Best PC Game - Diablo III from Blizzard Entertainment; Best Browser Game - The Sims Social from Electronic Arts; Best Family Game - Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
It's interesting to note that Electronic Arts has managed to take home four awards in very different categories, from Best of Gamescom to Best Browser Game, which shows off the breadth of the company's development efforts.
Activision Blizzard, the main rival to EA, has only managed to get one award, the Best PC Game one for Diablo III.
Sony also managed two wins for the PlayStation Vita handheld, which will be launched on the Japanese market before the end of the year, and for Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a game that will be launched for the device.
A surprise is seeing Warner Bros. pick up the award for Best Family Game for its Sesame Street themed game, despite only recently entering the video game world, ahead of a slate for Kinect powered titles that Microsoft, which is absent from the awards list, was showing off.