14 DAY TRIAL // The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced today the nominations for this year's inaugural British Academy Video Games Awards, in association with Nokia N-Gage and PC World. Hosted by Vernon Kay, the awards ceremony will be held at the historic Roundhouse on October 5th, and will reward the individuals behind the very best in the artistic, creative and technical sides of video games.
Loco Roco and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter received the highest number of nominations, eight on the whole, We Love Katamari amassed six nominations, Guitar Hero - five, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training earned three and Singstar Rocks! received two nominations.
New installments of some of the video games industry's biggest franchises were also nominated, for example Tomb Raider: Legend with five nominations, including one for Lara Croft in the Character category. She was joined by Hitman's Agent 47, Lego Star Wars' Han Solo, Rogue Trooper's Rogue and lastly, LocoRoco. Re-workings of old themes also proved popular, with LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy receiving four nominations.
Paul Jackson, chairman of the BAFTA Games committee commented, "This year's decision for the Academy to elevate games to an equal status alongside film and television has been praised by the industry, government and media, and the stage is firmly set for The British Academy Video Games Awards to become the industry and consumers' benchmark of excellence."