2/16/04 - Latest News

Interactive Achievement Awards
Xoanon @ 11:02 pm EST

HOLLYWOOD -- Elijah Wood and Jada Pinkett-Smith didn't get Oscar noms for their roles in last year's "Lord of the Rings" and "Matrix" sequels, but they may get a prize yet.

Voiceover work in vidgame adaptations of those films has landed both among the finalists for upcoming Interactive Achievement Awards, which the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences will be presenting March 4 as part of its DICE Summit in Las Vegas.

Seventh annual awards are the academy's attempt to put together a kudofest equivalent to the Oscars for the videogame biz. A variety of vidgame awards, including one launched last year by Spike TV, are currently vying for primacy.

Most honored game was Ubisoft's "Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time," which drew 13 noms, including one for overall game of the year.

Wood and Pinkett-Smith were nominated in the new category of character performance, reflecting the growing use of professional thesps to voice vidgame characters. Other male voiceover nominees were Method Man, Snoop Dogg, Michael Ironside and James McCaffrey, while Pinkett-Smith's competition consists of Christina Milian, Anna Edwards, Tara Strong and Anna Garduno.

AIAS has some 5,000 members, including vidgame professionals from most major companies in the sector.

Kudofest will feature awards in 36 categories, including online multi-player game, animation, sound design and licensed soundtrack.

Publisher Electronic Arts received the most finalists spots with 29, followed by Ubisoft with 23 and Sony Computer Entertainment of America with 21.