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Engadget and The Engadget Show are nominated for Webby Awards!
Hey guys, we just wanted to share a little bit of good news with you. We just found out that both Engadget as a site and The Engadget Show have been nominated for Webby Awards! Now of course, we feel like the work we do on the site speaks for itself -- with or without gold stars -- but we thought this was a pretty cool nod and wanted to tell you. You can vote for us in the runnings (if you'd like) by registering at the Webby Awards site (we're in the Marketplace / Consumer Electronics section for the site, and Online Film & Video / Technology for the Show). We won't force you or anything, but we'd love your support if you're into what we're doing. We'd also like to say thanks to you -- the reader -- for helping us get the word out and spread the Engadget message; we would quite honestly be nothing without you. Thanks! Note: The Webby Awards are sponsored by AOL (Engadget's parent company). Sponsored, not produced or selected by AOL in any way.
The internet earns a nomination for 2010 Nobel Prize
Isn't Italy a place of contrast? After the country's judiciary slammed Google for failing to keep a tight enough leash on user-uploaded content, we're now hearing that its local version of Wired magazine is putting forward the internet as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its contributions to "helping advance dialogue, debate and consensus." Right then. Just in case you think this is all a bit silly -- and you should -- we're also hearing Nicholas Negroponte and 2003 Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi are both in support of the idea, which has been described as "a Nobel for each and every one of us" by Internet for Peace, an organization set up specifically to promote the web's candidacy. That's a pretty succinct way of putting it, but it also shows what's wrong with the idea: nothing devalues a prize's worth and meaning quite like handing it out to everyone. Just imagine icanhascheezburger.com slapping a legitimate Nobel laureate badge up on its homepage and you'll know what we mean.
Starmap up for Arthur Clarke award
We've posted about Starmap before -- it's a full-featured map of the sky on your iPhone that will let you find stars, constellations, and "deep sky" objects in the blanket overhead. Despite a few glitches and slowdowns, the app is pretty popular, and now it could be the only iPhone app nominated for a Sir Arthur Clarke Award. The yearly awards ceremony recognizes notable contributions to space exploration, and this year's list of nominees includes Frederic Descamps, creator of Starmap, for Best Individual Achievement. He's got some rough competition: Richard Garriott, creator of videogames like Ultima Online and Tabula Rasa, is also in that category, presumably for his recent trip into space. But Garriott's in quite a few other categories, so the iPhone developer has at least a fighting chance.But we're sure that, as the creator of an iPhone app, it's an honor just to be nominated. It's doubtful this is the last non-software award something released for the iPhone will be winning.Thanks, Howard B!
WotLK cinematic picks up Elan award nomination
Throw another nomination on the list for Wrath of the Lich King -- Blizzard's cinematic team has been nominated for an Elan award for the WotLK cinematic in the category of Best Animated Short Subject. And the nom is well deserved: while the trailer broke with the tradition of showing the various races and classes of Warcraft doing battle with each other, Blizzard's choice to instead recap the story of Arthas and the Lich King while he summoned Sindragosa worked well and looked amazing.Unfortunately, Blizzard missed out in the actual game nominations -- for best PC game, the expansion was overshadowed by Fallout 3, Crysis Warhead, Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria, and Left 4 Dead. You can argue amongst yourselves whether that's justified or not. But we're sure Blizzard is happy with the animation nomination anyway -- their competition there is Turbo Dogs, so they'll probably do fine when the awards are announced on April 25th.[via BlizzPlanet]
Age of Conan composer nominated for Best Original Score
Funcom's most recent title Age of Conan tends to come under some fire from the gamers who jumped in upon launch. You may have noticed. While players can fault some aspects of the game, it does have some strengths, namely its fantastic score. In fact, the music of AoC has caught the attention of the Hollywood Music Awards. Knut Avenstroup Haugen, who composed the soundtrack for Age of Conan, has been nominated for Best Original Score in a Video Game, specifically for his "Ere the World Crumbles" from the fantasy title. We also turned up an interview with Haugen about the challenges of scoring Age of Conan, and of composing interactive music in general. Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
BAFTA noms: battle of the biggies
A number of Wii games are going up against some of the industry's biggest contenders in this year's BAFTA awards. It should make for an interesting award session, because while the Wii is dominating console sales (along with the DS), many people see games like Gears of War as greater achievements. Despite that, Wii Sports leads the pack of nominations, having picked up the greatest number of nominations; the pack-in boasts nods in seven categories, including Gameplay and Multiplayer.It's not the only Wii title to pick up recognition, however; The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Trauma Center: Second Opinion are up for awards, along with a few other games. Check out the full list of nominations after the jump.
Nominations open for British gaming awards
Nominations are open for this year's BAFTA game awards -- or perhaps we should call them the BAVGAs these days. And despite the fact that nominations close in July, games are eligible so long as they're going to be released in the UK sometime before December 31, 2007. So it's quite possible that games from the future could pick up awards. This year's categories seem to have some room for Wii: Action and Adventure, Strategy and Simulation, Sports, Multiplayer, Casual, Use of Audio, Original Score, Technical Achievement, Artistic Achievement, Gameplay, Innovation, Story and Character, and Best Game. Casual? Sports? Gameplay? Innovation? Hell, we haven't even started thinking past Wii Sports yet, either. We'll keep an eye out for the full list of nominations and let you know when they're up. Have any Wii predictions? Let us know!
And the GDC Award nominees are ...
We expect The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to get nominated for awards. It's a beautiful entry in a long-running series known for racking up the awards. What is surprising today is that while Twilight Princess received its due attention, it wasn't Nintendo's star when the Game Developers Choice Award nominees were announced -- Wii Sports was. Just a few months ago, people were calling it a "trumped-up demo" and decrying the fact that this "minigame" was going to be marketed as a full game. Then, as a pack-in, some wanted to take a pass on it in favor of a cheaper price. Who'd have thought that months later, Wii Sports would emerge as a powerhouse and continue to dominate the spotlight? Now that everyone's had some time to be sporty in the living room -- and realize the depth of Wii Sports -- we wonder if that attitude's changed. Certainly someone thinks it's worthy of attention.Twilight Princess is nominated in the Best Game and Writing categories; Wii Sports is up for three awards: Best Game, Technology, and Game Design.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children reports from Hollywood
For the Final Fantasy fans lucky enough to be near Hollywood yesterday night -- and in line for free tickets during the middle of a regular workday -- there was much rejoicing to be had as Advent Children celebrated its U.S. theatrical premiere in style.Siliconera has a write-up on the event with quotes from most of the American voice actors in attendance, who, along with the audience at hand, watched the film in English for the very first time. Lip synching may have been off due to the low-resolution print the actors had to work with, but even Rachel Leigh Cook -- pictured here with her character Tifa Lockheart -- declared herself a new fan of Final Fantasy after the show.Helpful Joystiq Contributor epobirs also had something to report from the screening yesterday, where he gives us an Ain't-It-Cool style rundown of the event. If you want the rest of his reflections on the requirements of the Academy in Oscar nominations, as well as what it takes to "assert your hetero nature ... after watching a movie packed with metrosexual men," simply continue reading below for more. Siliconera's report can be found by clicking on the image of Ms. Cook above or the Read link below. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will be out on DVD/UMD April 25th.[Thanks, epobirs; image of Tifa courtesy of Eyes on Final Fantasy]
