2005 1UP.com Game Award Winners Announced

The winners of the 1UP Awards, the Ziff Davis-owned consumer website's reader-driven end-of-year prizes, were announced in a ceremony on February 8th, and the results have been posted on the site. Though most categories had upwards of ten nominees, with a whopping 23 games up for Game of the Year, each category had only one named winner with no runners-up listed. Game of the Year went to Capcom's horror action title Resident Evil 4, which saw release twice during 2005: once as a GameCube original in January, and again as a value-added PlayStation 2 port in October. RE4 was also the only game to win more than one category, picking up an additional prize for Best Action Game. Most Innovative went to Nintendogs, the voice- and stylus-driven virtual pet sim from Nintendo. Shadow of the Colossus, nominated in several categories including Game of the Year and Most Innovative, took the prize for Best Adventure Game, while Square Enix's Dragon Quest VIII got Best Role Playing Game for its triumphant return to the U.S. In more action-oriented categories, Best Shooter went to Call of Duty 2, and Soul Calibur III won Best Fighting/Wrestling Game. "Our editors had no problem choosing the top contenders, but we believe it's up to the gamers to choose the absolute best in each category," said 1UP.com editor-in-chief Sam Kennedy. "They've chosen the titles that gamers themselves most enjoy playing. We're proud to see that the 1UP Awards reflect the voice of the gaming community." A full list of the winners is available at 1UP's official Awards page.