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Switched On: The 2007 Switchies, Home Products
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment. The last Switched On presented the Switchie awards for portable products. This special edition of Switched On highlights the award winners for home products. The "Hi-Def Heaven" and the Home Product of the Year goes to the TiVo HD. It's not so much that TiVo's DVR functionality has advanced to become that much more compelling than those of cable-supplied DVRs. However, TiVo has evolved into a jack-of-all-trades that integrates traditional programming sources with Internet content and even homebrew applications when it has access to a PC. TiVo also wins points for enabling the Lifetime Subscription Transfer option, which unfortunately does not enable the reincarnated to take TiVo into their next lifetime.The "Great Googoloplex" award goes to Vudu Labs' Vudu for a device that virtually obsoletes the video rental store, offering thousands of movies with instant access and an expedient way to navigate around them. Honorable mentions in the broadband set-top box category go to Apple TV and the Netgear EVA8000 -- the former for integrating a sync-and-store process that removes the vagaries of network performance and the latter for its support of high-definition content and Internet services.The "Blue in the Face" award goes to Samsung for the Samsung BP-U5000 dual format Blu-ray and HD-DVD player for its attempt at reconciling the high-def disc format wars. The player's embrace of both camps' interactivity standards and lower introductory price has lent strength to the argument that two formats are sustainable.
Switched On: The 2007 Switchies, Portable Products
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment. The consumer technology landscape shifted somewhat in 2007. Companies that were once major forces, including Gateway and Thomson Consumer Electronics, better known to most Americans as RCA, were acquired as their fortunes declined. MVNOs such as Amp'd and Disney Mobile closed their doors as did PC retailer CompUSA. Palm, forced to kill its "third platform" of Foleo, was saved from a similar fate by an influx of capital. Delivering alternative programming into homes proved too challenging for set-top boxes from Akimbo and MovieBeam. And there were changings of the guard at Dell, Sprint, AT&T, Motorola and Logitech, to name a few.However, amidst all this tumult, a number of products were released that deserve recognition. In many industries, there is a defining award that recognizes excellence. Today, though, these products will have to settle for a Switchie, the third annual Saluting Wares Improving Technology's Contribution to Humanity award.The "The Right MultiTouch" and Product of the Year Award goes to the Apple iPhone. While it was difficult to find news about this obscure device in 2007, the iPhone's slick user interface, polished applications and appealing interface navigation methods outweighed its EDGE network limitations and touch-screen keyboard compromises. With a sleek design taken for granted in Apple products, the iPhone was noteworthy for straddling the traditionally fragmented worlds of smartphones and fashion phones. The announced arrival of an SDK next year offers tantalizing possibilities.
2008 Bloggies nominations now open
This is a friendly reminder that nominations for the 2008 Weblog Awards (a.k.a. "the Bloggies") are now open, with dozens of empty text boxes just waiting for your input. There are actually a number of categories in which this scrappy young publication would seem to fit nicely, such as best sports blog perhaps (just take a look at this selection), or maybe best gossip blog (again, our record speaks for itself). Not that we would be so bold as to try and influence your selections in any way, so we'll simply point you to the Read link and wave goodbye with our biggest, toothiest, most political smile.
Playboy: Heavenly Sword has 'Best Jiggle Factor'
There are some awards our favorite games receive that make us happy they get the recognition they deserve, and there are some that leave us ... well, scratching our heads. Take Playboy's Best of Games of 2007 awards for instance as it awarded Heavenly Sword the "Best Jiggle Factor" award. We're not really sure what it means, but we're pretty sure it's a compliment. Here's what they had to say about the game: "This game has more than a few rough edges, but we loved its compelling scenario and character design. Nariko is gorgeous but also strong, angry and vulnerable. By the end, you don't just want to date her, you want to marry her." It beat out other scandalous and lewd games such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Conan and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary. With this well-deserved recognition, could it mean that Nariko could have a future spread in Playboy's Girl's of Gaming?
Massively wins a Gnomey for Best MMO News Source
If you twist our arm just right, you can get us to toot our own horn. We're humbled and surprised to have been selected by the inimitable Nerfbat as the winner of this year's Gnomey for Best MMO News Source in the 2007 Nerfbat MMO Blog Awards! Though we've only been around for a short time, we plan to continue bringing you hot and fresh (and frequent!) news about all the MMOs already out there, new games on deck, and especially the rumoured titles around the corner. We're going to do our best to live up to our Gnomey! A big thanks goes to all of our readers who contribute great enthusiasm, insightful comments, intelligent feedback and timely tips -- thanks for helping us make this site a fun place to hang!
LotRO and TBC honored in GameSpy 2007 awards
GameSpy recently released the latest iteration of its annual best-of list. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar was ranked #6 in the best PC games of 2007 list. World of Warcraft's The Burning Crusade expansion also got some attention. It came in at #5 on the same list -- just an inch ahead of LotRO. However, LotRO also walked away with a bigger prize -- the title of PC MMO Game of the Year.Both LotRO and TBC failed to beat blockbuster first-person-shooter fare like BioShock and Call of Duty 4 in the overall PC list, but still, this was a pleasant cap to a strong year for both titles, especially LotRO, which saw promising sales figures and a warm critical reception right out of the launch bay door this Spring.TBC and LotRO are also nominees for various "gamers' choice" awards. The voting for those awards comes to a close today, and the winners will be announced tomorrow.
Xbox.com's 2007 Community Choice Awards
Xbox.com is hopping into the award giving arena with their Xbox 2007 Community Choice Awards where they want you (yes, you good sir) to vote on the best Xbox 360 games, in game assets, downloads and content. Be warned though, these aren't your mom and pops' gaming categories.The Community Choice Awards can be voted on over at the Xbox.com forums and are composed of around 18 categories including normal (Best Game and Best Arcade Game), unique (Best Game Add-on and Best Movie Download) and totally awesome (Best Weapon and Toughest Achievement) categories. Exercise your right to vote, make your community voice heard and let's make it our mission to award Halo 3 with Best Co-op Game honors! What? It's just shameless fanboyism ... sue us.
GuildCafe seeking nominations for Espresso Awards
Sam from Uberguilds sent us word of nominations opening up for GuildCafe's Espresso awards (they're the same company now, remember?). They're looking for your ideas on choosing the best of the year in a number of different categories, including everything from "best gaming blog" to "best user-interface mod" and "best player-written guide."Unfortunately, there's two problems here-- despite coming from GuildCafe, the awards don't seem to be aimed just at MMOs. They have a "player-created map" category, and unless they're talking about Second Life sims, that's not really MMO-centric. And they have strange qualifications for the fansite and gaming blog categories-- in my mind, getting fairly compensated for writing about games doesn't make your work meaningless. (Disclaimer: everyone who writes for Massively gets paid for their work by Weblogs, Inc, which is a division of AOL.)But hey, it's their awards, their rules. You readers are smart folks-- go put some good nominations in there and we'll see what GuildCafe comes up with.
First ever High-Def Disc Awards conclude
Earlier this summer, The Departed and 007: Casino Royale swept up the spotlight at the first Entertainment Merchants Association's Home Entertainment Awards to hand out honors for high-definition titles, and now the first ever High-Def Disc Awards have doled out their own laundry list of victors. Presented by Home Media Magazine in cooperation with The Hollywood Reporter and the EMA, the awards were decided upon by a panel of critics / bloggers, and 300 was the only film to take home more than one award. Notably, of the two it won, one (Title of the Year) was on Blu-ray and the other (Best Bonus Feature) was on HD DVD. Other winners included Ratatouille for Best Animated Film, Transformers for Best Audio Quality and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest for Best Picture Quality. Hit the read link for the full rundown, and don't be shy in voicing your support / outrage at the selections.[Via FormatWarCentral]
Vote for X3F in the 07 Xbox Community Awards [update 2: win prizes]
Heya Fanboys. You may recall that X3F was nominated for the Xbox Community Awards last year. We subsequently won both of the categories in which we were nominated, all thanks to you. This year, we've been nominated in the "Podcast of the Year" category, and we're asking for your help once again. We've got some stiff competition this year, so we need all the help we can get. Head on over to the official voting page and get your vote in (preferably for us). Please note you must be a registered user of Gamertag Radio to vote, but that's a small step to make when it furthers our plans of world domination, right? Voting ends December 8th, so get cracking. By the way, if you don't actually listen to the Xbox 360 Fancast, now is probably a good time for us to tell you it's awesome. Give it a listen sometime, mkay?Update: As our good friend Godfree points out, both voters and award winners have a chance to win fabulous prizes. Naturally, if we win, we will share our spoils with you. All the more reason to vote for us, right?Update: Quick update to the previous update, if you want to win prizes, you must vote in all categories.
Kutaragi to receive lifetime achievement award
Despite retiring as CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment earlier this year, Ken Kutaragi is still being praised throughout the industry. A couple months ago, Kutaragi was honored at the Entertainment Software Association's "Night to Unite" event, and now the Father of the PlayStation has been given the Academy of Interactive Arts & Science 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.The honorary SCE chairman will receive the award at the Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony Feb. 7 for his "contribution to the global in-home entertainment market with the success of the PlayStation, according to Gamasutra."Ken Kutaragi's passion, innovative thinking and business savvy sparked a monumental movement that was unstoppable," said AIAS president Joseph Olin. "If it wasn't for Ken and his concept of the original PlayStation, there wouldn't be the billion dollar industry there is today. His contributions have clearly set new standards for developers, publishers and consumers worldwide." Although many gamers like to joke around at all the crazy things Ken has said and done throughout the years, no one can deny his important role in pushing the industry to new heights.
Ken Kutaragi to receive AIAS Lifetime Achievement Award
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, has chosen Ken 'Krazy' Kutaragi as the recipient of the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Interactive Achievement Awards. The man behind that PlayStation thing (which we hear was really popular with you kids some years ago) will be honored on February 7th during a ceremony held at the Red Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, in conjunction with next year's D.I.C.E. Summit.Though now retired (or "squeezed out" depending on who you ask), the former Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. president and CEO was instrumental in the creation and launch of the PlayStation brand, the importance of which cannot be overstated -- we'd be surprised (and disappointed) if you were reading this and haven't had some sort of PlayStation product pass through your hands. If we have to wonder what the gaming landscape would be like without Kutaragi's kontributions, we reckon he deserves a fancy trophy. At the very least, we'll get a great acceptance speech out of it.[Thanks, ShortFuse]
Nominees for Spike TV's 'Video Game Awards 2007' revealed
Time to get those office pools started up, boy and girls! What? No, the Oscars aren't till February 2008, morons. We're talking about the 2007 Spike TV Video Game Awards. Or, to those that know it best, the VGAs. The nominees were announced today and its time to ... wait, wait -- don't run away just yet. This year, the advisory board is made up of plenty of people whose opinions you read in magazines, on larger websites, and even some blogs. Even our esteemed EIC, Chris Grant, makes up this veritable group of "Super Friends" (he's their Wonder Woman). Unlike in previous years, Madden is not nominated for "Game of the Year," so already you know it's more credible. BioShock, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, and Halo 3 appear on the list, making up the usual suspects that'll be appearing on many an outlet's GOTY ballots, but some more unexpected titles might be crashing the party -- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Puzzle Quest: Challenge the Warlords, and Portal. One question though: why remove the Best Song category the one year there's a video game song worth celebrating? For a full list of the nominees, would you kindly peer past the break?
Engadget nominated in the 2007 Weblog Awards, voting still open
Yeah, we know you've been hearing a lot about the 2007 Weblog Awards in the last couple of days as your source(s) for news across a variety of topics have likely been shamelessly whoring for votes in a bid for a little recognition. Well, as you may have learned, our little site has been honored by being nominated to run against a number of other fine publications for the title of Best Technology Blog. Much love to everyone who's voted for us (and continues to do so) up to once daily per IP address until November 8th. Oh, and let the best blog win. And we mean the best blog. VOTE
LotRO and Burning Crusade victorious at Golden Joysticks
The 25th annual Golden Joysticks (not to be confused with Joystiq) awards in London are officially over, and the MMOs were out in force. While Gears of War snagged the "Ultimate Game of the Year 2007" award, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar took "PC Game of the Year", and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade was the victor in the "Gametribe Online Game of the Year" category.The full results can be viewed on the Golden Joystick website. While the majority of the winners were serious "no duh" picks, it's a little surprising to see LotRO honored as the overall PC game of the year. Not that we don't think it's not a terrific game, mind you, but an MMO (that doesn't have the word Warcraft in the title, anyway) taking the award over the glut of historically more popular shooters and strategy games is a bit shocking, though not unwelcome!
Wii Sports cleans up at BAFTAs
The entertainment awards competition with the most enjoyable name, the BAFTAs*, have come and gone, leaving Nintendo ordering a new trophy case for Wii Sports. Their flagship title took home six awards, more than any other game. In fact, the only category in which Wii Sports was nominated, but didn't win was Best Game, which went to Bioshock.The other big winner that Wii fans should be happy about is actually a PS2 game (for now). Clover Studio's brilliant Okami was awarded in the categories of Artistic Achievement and Original Score, both of which are well-deserved. We can gladly concede those categories to Okami over Wii Sports without much controversy.Check after the break for the full list of nominees and winners!*British Academy of Film and Television Arts; we didn't know without looking, either.
Shigeru Miyamoto is a man -- and how!
True story: Shigeru Miyamoto is so manly, he doesn't sleep on a mattress like us mortals, but a specially constructed plinth, fashioned exclusively from glass shards and exposed six-inch nails. Also, when he's bored, he wrestles prides of lions. For fun. When (after several weeks) he tires and grows hungry, he chows down on some of the sharks he's killed with his bare hands. Another time, he once freed a trapped kitten from beneath an overturned tanker truck by lifting the vehicle himself with a single finger -- whilst working out.And we presume that's why AskMen.com deem our Shiggy to be the 19th manliest man of 2007. That, and a bunch of other stuff about video games.
Miyamoto makes off with Economist award
Apologies to hasty readers who initially saw that as "Miyamoto makes out with Economist award." That isn't to say Nintendo's revered game designer is ungrateful to be in the company of an "Innovation Award for Consumer Goods," but his joy isn't likely to extend beyond a hearty smile, tinged with concern over just how many of these things that mantelpiece can support.The UK publication announced its recognition of Shigeru Miyamoto's contribution to society at a ceremony held at London's Science Museum, reports MCV. Tom Standage, business editor at The Economist, added that when it comes to video games, Mario and his maker are quite unavoidable. "No one is more identified with modern video games than Shigeru Miyamoto," he said. "His pioneering vision and creativity truly created a new category of entertainment."You won't catch us arguing with that. ('Specially not with the comments section activated.)[Via DS Fanboy]
iPhone wins awards, will win a lot more before 2008
We're getting closer and closer to the end of the year, and that means it's almost time for everyone to announce their "best tech product of the year" awards. Gadget website T3 has gotten an early start, and not surprisingly, Apple walked all over everyone else, with the iPhone grabbing tons of awards, and iTunes and the MacBook Pro picking up a few more.Which means: get ready, because the iPhone is going to pretty much win every award imaginable for 2007. What else came out this year that came even close to moving gadget technology ahead? As predicted, it sold tons of units, captured the nation's imagination at launch, singlehandedly pushed cell phones ahead light years (even while bringing some harsh light to Apple's closed architecture policy), and just generally changed the world of gadgets. Is there any other product released in 2007 that could really be called "Gadget of the Year"?I'd think not. The Wii is awesome and all, but my guess is as these end of the year awards come out, even Nintendo's little marvel of an input device demo won't hold a candle to Apple's communications device. Thanks, Charles B!
Macworld Editors' and Readers' Choice awards voting begins
Macworld has announced that they're looking for nominations and votes for their fourth annual Reader's Choice awards-- they're asking interested parties to drop a note over on this forum thread in the categories of Apple Product of the Year, Third Party Hardware and Software of the Year, and Mac Gem of the Year (an under-$50 software out there that deserves more recognition than it usually gets).As I suspected, there's no question about Apple Product of the Year: it's definitely the Hi-Fi. Wait, no, I mean it's definitely the iPhone. Duh. And the rest of the votes are literally all over the place, from Parallels, Adobe's suites, and even Leopard (despite not actually being from a third party, but maybe it's just that good) to smaller stuff like Panic's Coda and Gus Mueller's Acorn. I gotta say good luck to Macworld's editors-- they're going to need it to come up with some good award winners from that mess.But they've got time-- the awards probably won't drop until mid-December. And by then, we'll all have used Leopard enough to know that it is the software product of the year, third-party or otherwise.
