BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins Crowned In First Canadian Videogame Awards

Vancouver inaugurated its very first Canadian Videogame Awards by crowning BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins Game of the Year, one of two nods the RPG received. At the Vancouver Convention Center ceremony, held ahead of GDC Canada, which starts today at the same location, the game beat out Assassin's Creed II, Dawn of War II, FIFA 10 and Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes for the award, and also won in the Best Writing category. Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed II took home three awards, in the Best Console, Best Game Design and Best Visual Arts categories. It also shared the Best Technology award with Radical Entertainment's Prototype. The Canadian Videogame Awards are produced by the Digital Media and Wireless Association of British Columbia -- or DigiBC -- and its partners, including Reboot Communications (who also co-produce GDC Canada) and Greedy Productions. "This first event was an excellent showcase of the amazing talent of our videogame developers in Canada," says DigiBC president Michael Bidu. The winners in each category are as follows: Game of the Year: Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts/BioWare) Best Console: Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal) Best Handheld Game: Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (Capybara Games) Best Downloadable Game: Critter Crunch (Capybara Games) Best Audio: Dawn of War II (THQ/Relic) Best Game Design: Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal) Best Technology: Prototype (Radical Entertainment) & Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal) Best Visual Arts: Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal) Best Writing: Dragon Age: Origins (Electronic Arts/BioWare) In-Game Cinematic: Ghostbusters: The Video Game Cinematics (Rainmaker) Most Promising Game: ModNation Racer (United Front Games) Awards sponsors this year included Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation and the Georgia Straight, in addition to television network G4, which will premiere the awards on G4 Canada May 16. "Interactive entertainment is one of our country’s leading industries where we are clearly world-renowned, and this world-class event was a fitting way to showcase to the globe the great work done in Canadian studios coast to coast," Bidu says.