Capcom Criticizes 'Pay To Play' AIAS Awards

Major publisher Capcom has issued a statement sharply criticizing the 'pay to play' policy for the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' upcoming awards, after the company's Dead Rising and Okami did not make the Academy's recently announced 2006 nomination list. Capcom's statement isn't the first time the company has voiced its displeasure at the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences nominations, after Resident Evil 4 was notably absent from the 2005 nomination list, apparently for similar reasons. The company points out in its official statement, fully released on its public forum, that at that time, consumer site GameSpot received word from an AIAS representative that Resident Evil 4 was a popular write-in choice, but that Capcom 'chose not to play,' that is, did not join the AIAS. "Upon seeing the results of the write-in votes," a Capcom representative wrote, "Capcom Entertainment was contacted by the AIAS and told that the game would still not be eligible for any awards unless the company joined the organization. Our company was told, in essence, 'Pay to play,' a sentiment echoed in the quote from the AIAS representative." "A rule stating that a publisher or developer must be a member of the organization in order to vote or nominate its own product or people is not unusual," the representative continues. "One need only to think back to the similarly-run Codie Awards from 2000, where the award for Best Arcade/Action/Adventure/Role-Playing Game Award ended in a tie, shared by Half-Life and Star Wars Pit Droids from Lucas Learning." Capcom then asks, "Other than these awards – which seem of dubious merit, at best – and the well-run, but expensive, DICE Summit, Capcom Entertainment remains unsure as to the value of being an AIAS member. Does our company really need to pay tens of thousands of dollars in order to present awards to our own games?" Finally, Capcom sharply concludes, "Capcom Entertainment would like to thank the gamers who have made Dead Rising and Okami so successful, the media who were similarly moved by the creativity and innovation found within the games and the teams at Capcom and Clover Studios who poured their outstanding passion, talent and creative energies into both ground-breaking games (coincidently, all things supposedly recognized by the Interactive Achievement Awards)." The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' 10th annual Interactive Achievement Awards will be held February 8th as part of the annual DICE Summit. The full list of nominees can be viewed on the AIAS' website.