The results are in, the people have voted, and the most innovative games of 2006 are revealed

Oxfordshire,1st February, 2007. GameShadow today announces the winners of the first GameShadow Innovation in Games Awards, sponsored by Microsoft Visual Studio.

• Best Game Award: Loco Roco
• Best New Character Award: Phoenix Wright
• Innovative Gameplay Award: Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training
• Innovative Visual Effects Award: Shadow of the Colossus
• Imaginative Use of In-Game Audio Award: Electroplankton
• Best Narrative Award: Psychonauts
• Best Casual Game Award: Tropix
• Jaw Dropping Demo Award: Wild Earth
• Best Machinima Movie Award: PANICS
• Most innovative Mobile Game Award: Stranded
• ATi CrossFire™ Peoples Choice Award: Thing Thing 3

Nicholas Lovell, CEO of GameShadow comments, “Our judging panel have worked (and played!) hard to put the 50 games that were nominated to the test, and we believe the winners of most votes in each category are truly innovative titles. Innovation and fun go hand-in-hand, and these awards demonstrate that truly great games emerge from this combination.”

A feature of the awards was the enormous popularity of Machinima movies, made using in-game graphics engines. “We saw several Machinima titles appear in the ATI CrossFire™ Peoples’s Choice Award top 10, and Illegal Danish – Super Snacks, made using over 100 players in the World of Warcraft universe, was #1 for many weeks, but in the end it was eclipsed by a game that encapsulates accessible, fun gameplay,” added Lovell.

Neil Marshall, film director and one of the judges, commented “I am truly impressed by the standard of these movies and can appreciate how much time, effort and imagination has gone into each of them. It’s been a pleasure.”

The full list of winners, Highly Commended titles and more information can be found at www.gameshadow.com/awards

For further information, please contact:

Nicholas Lovell CEO, GameShadow +44 7900 691975 nicholas@gameshadow.com

Steve Chippington Event Director +44 7881 951669 steve@gameshadow.com

Nicola Kirby Little Brown Dog +44 (0) 1372 818 776 kirby@littlebrowndoggy.com

EDITORS NOTES
About the Awards
The GameShadow Innovation in Games Awards aim to recognise, reward and promote those games that have pushed the boundaries of games development. The broad rules are “No licences, no sequels”, although the judges have discretion to waive these rules where clear innovation exists.

The categories are: Best Game, Best New Character, Innovative Gameplay, Innovative Visual Effects sponsored by ATI CrossFire, Imaginative use of in-game Audio, Best Narrative, Best Casual Game, Jaw Dropping Demo sponsored by Softwrap, Best Machinima Movie sponsored by Moviestorm, Best Mobile Game and the ATI CrossFire People’s Choice Award.

The judging panel is: Charles Cecil (MD Revolution Studios), Steve Chippington (Event Director, GameShadow Innovation in Games Awards), Toby Gard (creator of Lara Croft), Tim Harrison (Head of Mobile Games, Vodafone), Nicholas Lovell (CEO, GameShadow), Neil Marshall (Film director, The Descent, Dog Soldiers), Chris Nuttall (Head of Games, Air Studios), Patrick O’Luanaigh (CEO, nDreams and former Creative Director, Eidos), Rhianna Pratchett (journalist and scriptwriter), Gary Rowe (acquisitions director, Sega), Jonathan Smith (Development Director, TTG), Greg Staples (Artist, Batman, Judge Dredd) and Tony Treadwell (founder and COO, GameShadow).

The awards can be found at www.gameshadow.com/awards. The website includes screenshots, commentary, demos, trailers and links to allow gamers to play and buy the games that have been nominated as the most innovative games of the last 18 months.

The Awards are sponsored by Microsoft Visual Studio, ATI, Softwrap, Moviestorm and Limelight Networks.

About GameShadow
GameShadow provides free automatic videogame patch and update tools to gamers all over the world. Its core product automatically updates all of a user’s games and graphics drivers, ensuring that the gamer always plays the best possible version of their games and they are getting the very best performance from the game and their hardware. GameShadow also provides gamers with game-related content and products that are relevant to their individual game collections and their gaming interests. GameShadow currently supports over 1,800 games with content ranging from patches to demos, movies and mods, as well as paid-for content such as expansion packs, full games and merchandise.

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