Industry News | Golden Joystick Shortlist Released

The final year of this generation of gaming is coming to a close and what better way to end it than with a glitzy somewhat respectable gaming awards ceremony. Yes, the Golden Joysticks are nearly here and the final shortlists for each category have now been announced. Nintendo do extremely well for nominations with Animal Crossing:Wild World raking up seven nominations by itself, other honourable mentions go to Mario Kart DS with six and Metroid Prime: Hunters with five. The main competition comes from Agent 47 and his game Hitman:Blood Money which raked in six nominations and seminal PC title Call of Duty 2 which has seven nominations to it's name. The voting page is here and the full list on nominations is below with the Nintendo games highlighted for you...not that we're trying to influence your vote in anyway.

Favorite Character Award

Agent 47 (Hitman: Blood Money)
Alyx Vance (Half-Life: Episode 1)
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider: Legend)
Mario (Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros.)
Prince of Persia (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones)

Girls Choice Award

50 Cent: Bulletproof
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Evil Dead Regeneration
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Tomb Raider: Legend
Mario Kart DS
Nintendogs
Super Princess Peach
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Handheld Game of the Year

Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
LocoRoco
Mario Kart DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters
New Super Mario Bros.
Nintendogs
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Resident Evil: Deadly Silence

Innovation Award in association with T3 Magazine

Animal Crossing: Wild World
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day
Buzz!: The BIG Quiz
Guitar Hero
Nintendo DS Lite
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connect
Nintendogs
The Movies
We Love Katamari
Xbox Live Marketplace

The Sun's Family Game Award in association with The Sun and The Sun Online

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
Kameo: Elements of Power
Kirby: Power Paintbrush
Nintendogs
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Shadow the Hedgehog
SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, PANTS!
Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll
Super Princess Peach

Nuts All-Nighter Award in association with Nuts Magazine

Animal Crossing: Wild World
Buzz!: The BIG Quiz
Call of Duty 2
Far Cry Instincts Predator
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Mario Kart DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters
Pro Evolution Soccer 5
Project Gotham Racing 3

Nintendo Game of the Year

2006 FIFA World Cup
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
Chibi-Robo!
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Gun
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
Mario Kart DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters
New Super Mario Bros.
Nintendogs
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Resident Evil: Deadly Silence

One to Watch 2007

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Crysis
Final Fantasy XII
Gears of War
Grand Theft Auto IV
Halo 3
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Nintendo Wii
PlayStation 3
Resident Evil 5
Spore
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Online Game of the Year

Age of Empires III
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Call of Duty 2
Final Fantasy XI Treasures of Aht Urhgan
Mario Kart DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters
Perfect Dark Zero
Project Gotham Racing 3
Quake IV
Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis

PC Game of the Year in association with ebuyer.com

Age of Empires III
Battlefield 2: Special Forces
Black & White 2
Call of Duty 2
Civilization IV
F.E.A.R.
Fable: The Lost Chapters
Football Manager 2006
Guild Wars Factions
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Hitman: Blood Money
Tomb Raider: Legend
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II
The Movies
The Sims 2 Nightlife

PlayStation Game of the Year

50 Cent: Bulletproof
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
Black
Burnout: Revenge
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition
Guitar Hero
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hitman: Blood Money
Tomb Raider: Legend
Pro Evolution Soccer 5
Resident Evil 4
Shadow of the Colossus
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006

Publisher of the Year in association with Sonopress

Activision
Atari
Capcom
Electronic Arts
Eidos
Konami
Microsoft Game Studios
NCsoft
Nintendo
Rockstar
Sega
Sony Computer Entertainment
Square Enix
Take-Two Interactive
THQ
Ubisoft
Vivendi Games

Retailer of the Year in association with Sierra
Amazon.co.uk

GAME
Gameplay.com
Gameseek
Gamestation
HMV
Play.com
Virgin

Soundtrack of the Year

50 Cent: Bulletproof
Call of Duty 2
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Guitar Hero
Hitman: Blood Money
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Phoenix Wright
Shadow of the Colossus
Sonic Rush
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Xbox Game of the Year

50 Cent: Bulletproof
Black
Burnout: Revenge
Call of Duty 2
Dead or Alive 4
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Half-Life 2
Hitman: Blood Money
Tomb Raider: Legend
Perfect Dark Zero
Pro Evolution Soccer 5
Project Gotham Racing 3
Psychonauts
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The King of Fighters Neowave

Ultimate Game of 2006

50 Cent: Bulletproof
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
Call of Duty 2
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition
Guitar Hero
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hitman: Blood Money
Tomb Raider: Legend
Mario Kart DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters
New Super Mario Bros.
Pro Evolution Soccer 5
Project Gotham Racing 3
Resident Evil 4
Shadow of the Colossus
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

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