http://kotaku.com/5407404/spike-video-game-awards-nominees-announced

The nominee list, from Kotaku:

(I have highlighted contenders that I myself find questionable.)


GAME OF THE YEAR
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

STUDIO OF THE YEAR
Infinity Ward
Naughty Dog
Rocksteady Studios
Valve

BEST SHOOTER
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST RPG
Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
Demon's Souls (Atlus / FromSoftware)
Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)

BEST FIGHTING GAME
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Aksys Games / Arc System Works)
Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny (NAMCO BANDAI Games / Project Soul)
Street Fighter IV (Capcom / Capcom/Dimps)
Tekken 6 (NAMCO BANDAI Games)

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME
EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ / Yuke's Media Creations)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST HANDHELD GAME
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar Games / Rockstar Leeds)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo / AlphaDream)
Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box (Nintendo / Level-5)
Scribblenauts (Warner Bros. Interactive / 5th Cell)

BEST GRAPHICS
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST GAME BASED ON A MOVIE OR TV SHOW
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari / Starbreeze AB)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

BEST MUSIC GAME
DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
LEGO Rock Band (MTV Games – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Traveler's Tales Games - Harmonix)
The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)

BEST DRIVING GAME
Dirt 2 (Codemasters)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Gran Turismo (PSP) (Sony Computer Entertainment / Polyphony Digital)
Need for Speed SHIFT (Electronic Arts / Slightly Mad Studios)

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME
FIFA Soccer 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)
Madden NFL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Tiburon)
NBA 2K10 (2K Sports / Visual Concepts)
NHL 10 (Electronic Arts / EA Canada)

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
DJ Hero (Activision Publishing / FreeStyleGames)
Guitar Hero 5 (Activision Publishing / Neversoft Entertainment)
The Beatles: Rock Band (MTV Games / Harmonix)

BEST XBOX 360 GAME
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment / Rocksteady Studios)
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft Game Studios / Turn 10)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST Wii GAME
MadWorld (SEGA / Platinum Games)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
Punch-Out!! (Nintendo / Next Level Games)
Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)

BEST PS3 GAME
inFAMOUS (Sony Computer Entertainment / Sucker Punch)
Killzone 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment / Guerrilla Games)
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Sony Computer Entertainment / Insomniac Games)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST PC GAME
Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts / The Sims Studio)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Montreal)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment / Naughty Dog)

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME
Borderlands (2K Games / Gearbox Software)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Publishing / Infinity Ward)
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft Game Studios / Bungie)
Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE
Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari)
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing)
Samuel L. Jackson as Afro Samurai / Ninja Ninja in Afro Samurai (Surge)
Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Activision Publishing)
Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE
Eliza Dushku as Rubi Malone in WET (Bethesda Softworks)
Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman in Assassin's Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen / Activision Publishing)
Tricia Helfer as Dare (Halo 3: ODST / Microsoft Game Studios)

BEST CAST
Brütal Legend (Electronic Arts / Double Fine Productions)
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (D3 Publisher / Vicious Cycle)
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari / Terminal Reality)
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! (Microsoft / DoubleSix)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Publishing / Raven Software)

BEST VOICE
Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Jack Black as Eddie Riggs (Brütal Legend / Electronic Arts)
Mark Hamill as The Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Nolan North as Nathan Drake in UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves (Sony Computer Entertainment)

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Battlefield 1943 (Electronic Arts / DICE)
Fat Princess (Sony Computer Entertainment / Titan Studios)
Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games)
Shadow Complex (Microsoft Game Studios / Chair Entertainment)

BEST DLC
Fallout 3 – Broken Steel (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Fallout 3 – Point Lookout (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda Game Studios)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (Rockstar Games / Rockstar North)

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME FUELED BY DEW
‘Splosion Man (Twisted Pixel)
Flower (ThatGameCompany)
Osmos (Hemisphere Games)
Trials HD (RedLynx)

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Bioshock 2 (2K Games / 2K Marin)
God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment / SCE Studios Santa Monica)
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts / BioWare)
Starcraft II (Blizzard Entertainment)

Ghostbusters for best movie/tv show game? Everything that I've heard about it says otherwise! I myself haven't heard a single word of praise.

LEGO Rock Band for best music game? There's no difference gameplay-wise from Rock Band 2! It only differs with graphics.

DJ Hero, Guitar Hero 5, and The Beatles: Rock Band for Best Soundtrack? Music games of course have the most diverse selection of songs of any genre; it's kind of a duh they have good soundtracks. Why are they even considered?

Best Independent game fueled by Dew? If you ask me, this is a very poor advertisement for Mountain Dew.

The ones you've highlighted all make sense and are good nominees. especially the Dj hero soundtrack and ghostbusters things

I am surprised KZ2 wasn't nominated for GotY), it is in the top 5 games I have played this year. I realize it was nominated for best shooter but I doubt it will win now. Also, how can Henry Hatsworth not be nominated for best handheld, it was definitely the best handheld game of the year. The Conduit should have been nominated for Wii game, it is definately better than Wii Sports Resort.

I think the awards will go as follows(I am only including games I have played).


GAME OF THE YEAR - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
STUDIO OF THE YEAR - Infinity Ward
BEST SHOOTER - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
BEST RPG - Borderlands
BEST FIGHTING GAME - Street Fighter IV
BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
BEST HANDHELD GAME - Scribblenauts
BEST GRAPHICS - Killzone 2
BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME - Batman: Arkham Asylum
BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME - NHL 10
BEST SOUNDTRACK The Beatles: Rock Band(because it is the Beatles)
BEST XBOX 360 GAME - Batman: Arkham Asylum
BEST Wii GAME - New Super Mario Bros. Wii
BEST PS3 GAME - Killzone 2
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
BEST CAST - Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
BEST VOICE -Mark Hamill as The Joker
BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME - Fat Princess
BEST DLC - Broken Steel
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME - Mass Effect 2

My only worry is about L4D2 and AC 2, the nominations were made public today, but when were they finalized? My point is where those two games added simply because they seemed like sure fire hits and Spike didn't want to leave them out?

Several disappointments. First, no Killzone 2 for GOTY? Come on.....
Second, I thought that RPG's would have a better performance, I mean Demon's Souls isn't even in the running for best PS3 game.
Third, a Transformers game? up for an award? Naaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh.......

IM finding it HILARIOUS that MW 2 is in the GOTY list, but NOT on ANY list for a specific platform.

I spit on them for not nominating Demon's Souls as a best PS3 game. All of the other problems I have with the list I'll overlook, as that's mostly a big matter of taste but... seriously, Demon's Souls.

I'm amused that Batman is a nominee for best 360 game.

Have you played Ghostbusters: The Video Game? I'm guessing not. Not only was is a great movie-inspired game, but overall was well-made, fun, and solid. It totally deserves to be in that category.

I do agree that the "Best Game Fueled by Dew" category is dumb. Shameless and silly. Besides, Flower or Osmos aren't games I'd think you'd want to play when hopped up on Dew.

Demon's Souls gets snubbed for best PS3 game and GotY = I cease caring about these awards.

Honestly, I agree with Kiljoy, it looks like they just grabbed the obvious hits of the year.

Demon's Souls is too "niche" to be nominated for GotY from this kind of awards show. It's stupid and I don't agree with it, as Demon's Souls really should be a nominee for GotY, or at the very least for best PS3 game. But that's just the way it rolls. Demon's Souls will always be my GotY <3

MW2 will win every single award Its up for. I bet money on that. IW will obviously be Studio of the Year, Borderlands is best RPG, Tekken 6 will win the fighter award because it is the newest on the list(even though SFIV should win). FN4 for best Individual sport, Wolverine will win best TV/Movie Game. DJ Hero for best Music Game because its an original concept. Shadow Complex for best DL game just because it's developed by Epic.
And that children, is why award shows suck.

MW2 will win every single award Its up for. I bet money on that. IW will obviously be Studio of the Year, Borderlands is best RPG, Tekken 6 will win the fighter award because it is the newest on the list(even though SFIV should win). FN4 for best Individual sport, Wolverine will win best TV/Movie Game. DJ Hero for best Music Game because its an original concept. Shadow Complex for best DL game just because it's developed by Epic.
And that children, is why award shows suck.

I don't think MW2 will win for graphics, it's up against some heavy hitters. Pretty sure Uncharted 2 has that one in the bag.

Demon's Souls gets snubbed for best PS3 game and GotY = I cease caring about these awards.

Honestly, I agree with Kiljoy, it looks like they just grabbed the obvious hits of the year.

I guess there just isn't that many people that have heard of the game for it to be included.

I guess there just isn't that many people that have heard of the game for it to be included.

That's just it though, it came out to rave reviews, copies flew off the shelves to the point that by the end of the second week, they were having to print a second run to meet demand. What level of hype and success is enough? Does it have to reach Left For Dead portions before it can be considered one of the best games?

I don't think MW2 will win for graphics, it's up against some heavy hitters. Pretty sure Uncharted 2 has that one in the bag.

It's MW2, of course it will win lol

That's just it though, it came out to rave reviews, copies flew off the shelves to the point that by the end of the second week, they were having to print a second run to meet demand. What level of hype and success is enough? Does it have to reach Left For Dead portions before it can be considered one of the best games?

No, I agree with you, that was a quality game and definitely deserves an award. But if they gave it to Demon Souls people would complain and say "WTF is that?" and it's likely that the organisers don't want to have to deal with that. I know I wouldn't.

I think the real mistake here is taking Spike TV seriously.

Well, I think the Ghostbusters nomination is valid... if you exclude the Wii version. It's a totally different (and much worse in my opinion) game, the Ps3 game was very fun and with the original cast doing all of the voice acting it was a treat for anyone that loved the movies. Honestly the best game-based-on-a-movie I've played... even got my wife excited to play a game.

The rest, take 'em or leave 'em. I do agree that Demon's Souls came in too quietly to make a splash as "best PS3 game." Time will allow it to show its true worth (though my copy is still shelved until I can clear out either Borderlands or Dragon Age).

I can't stand anything Transformers anymore, those movies were so bad I never even noticed they made games for them. In a somewhat related note... I wonder if SpikeTV takes marketing dollars for exposure...

Ghostbusters was a very good game for a licensed one. It was neat and definitely deserves to be on the lists of licensed games...unless you think a Barbie game would do better?

Lego Rock Band, though we may not approve, is one of the most diverse music games we got. It doesn't just stick to rock, but branches out. As for DJ Hero, some will tell you the soundtrack is the best part of the game...and The Beatles...thou shalt not speak ill of The Beatles.

As for the indy games, I see you've highlighted the whole category. Are you mad that they put a sponsor that funds the actual awards show? All the games listed are legit indy games, so shut your face.

I understand why demons souls isn't up there for the best PS3 game, I'm not saying that it doesn't deserve to be up there but just that the ones up there make sense for being the picks. Yes Demon's Souls is a fantastic game, but its very hardcore and not for the masses. And lets face it, the more people you can appeal to the better off in situations such as this. They only have 4 picks and the ones that are up there definitely deserve to be.

Question though, why is BM:AA up there for best 360 game? That is multiplatform, isn't it?

And I will be severely disappointed if Origins wins over CoR:AoDA for best movie game. The wolverine game, while a good movie game, is just a solid (regular) game at best. Assault on Dark Athena is an all around ****ing astounding game. It has two campaigns, both fairly lengthy, very diverse gameplay ranging from stealth and (very good) melee to full blown action and (very good) gun play. It has great audio and not to mention the graphics are amazing, where as in wolverine they are just meh.

Bottom line though, Origins is super repetitive where Dark Athena is diverse and fresh.

Brutal legend should definitely win best soundtrack, It seems like a music game winning best soundtrack is slightly unfair..

Ghostbusters wasn't that good, Yes it was good for movie game but it still sucked.. It was buggy, Froze on me at least twice and it was pretty repetitive... I can't think of any better movie/tv show games except marvel ultimate alliance 2, Which was good (Because i'm a marvel fan) but it wasn't great...

360 had a terrible first party showing this year. Thus B:AA is on the list, even though the game played better on the ps3 version.

This was the year for the PS3 though..... and Latin Legacy, I could care less about any "Sales stats or gross profit margins" of the consoles.

Ps3 had some huge hits this year. And for the first time, I have logged in more hours playing the ps3 (not including movies) then the 360.

My GOTY is still Uncharted 2. But will probibly fall prey to MW2 in the catagory. Uncharted 2 will then win any other award that was mentioned. The beat the dead horse game will be ODST. The game just fell flat on its face. And the award nominees are showing it.

Question though, why is BM:AA up there for best 360 game? That is multiplatform, isn't it?
Because it isn't necessarily one of the beat PS3 games, even if it's one of the best 360 games.

Its a rhetorical question guys ;) I know their reasoning for it being there, my point is that its dumb. They should have exclusives, even if they aren't the best in the market. They shouldn't have to modify a category to make it work, if the 360 only has 3 good titles for GotY then so be it.

Even though I haven't played it, I feel like they could have sneaked Halo Wars in there.

And, if we aren't going with just exclusives, BM:AA still shouldn't be up there. There are plenty of other MP games that deserve to be up there (not saying its not a great game or anything).

Ghaa, F trying to understand why they picked what titles they picked.

Lego Rock Band is a better rhythm game than GH5.

I ezpect to see uncharted sweep these awards, though I'm shocked it wasn't nominated for any acting awards. I thought that was one of the best parts...

Also no MLB 09: The Show nominations? FOR SHAME!

basically, for me, Uncharted 2 wins in every one of it's nominations, and every area which does not include Uncharted 2, is of no consequence

I'm not bugged about Demon's Souls not being up for GOTY, reason being I knew it wouldn't be. No matter how good it is it would never be up there because this is a mainstream award show, and Demon's Souls is just not big enough. I am annoyed that ti wasn't up for best PS3 game, it deserved that no matter how niche it is. We all know Spike award shows cater to the mainstream, but it's still saddening to see how obvious it is.

MW2 will probably win everything it's nominated for, except for graphics and maybe OST. Though personally, out of all those nominated for GotY I think Uncharted 2 should win because it's so much better of a sequel to Uncharted 1.

Spike TV is a crap rewards show anyway, the only thing they've done that I truly agree with is giving Bioshock GotY back in 2007.

Demon Souls is good, but I wouldn't have put it up there for the simple fact that it's frustrating as all hell. I mean...it might have sold well, but it is a very small percent of the gaming market that will be willing to put up with the constant repetition and mind numbing difficulty. Or at least that's why I wouldn't have done it. Spike probably has some dumb nonsensical reason.

People keep saying that Demon's Souls is niche and a big minority, but I just don't see it.

In the first week, DS sold 105k copies, over it's first six weeks, it's sold 250k.

inFamous sold 179k it's first week, 373k over it's first six weeks. Compare the marketing for the two.

Does inFamous have more mainstream appeal? Absolutely. That's why I was stunned to see the sales so close.

So either Demon's Souls is just that damn good or it's not as niche as people, myself included, think.

*Sales figures from VGChartz. Are they accurate? Debatable but it's the only sales figures I could find.

MW2 will probably win in every category. Yes including best driving, that snowmobile level was awesome!