Golden Joystick Awards Dished Out

Drinking shame accompanies annual event.

The Golden Joystick Awards for 2004 were handed out by Future Publishing at an award ceremony held on Friday at the Park Lane Hotel. The event, which was hosted by Little Britain's Matt Lucas, was the culmination of a yearlong voting process that saw 200,000 readers singling out their favourite favourites.

EA's Burnout 3 was among the winners.

The results were an accurate reflection of an industry that is seeing top quality games released on a regular basis. Few games or publishers dominated, with the awards instead going out to a number of best-selling and critically acclaimed titles.

"The Golden Joystick Awards 2004 really surpassed our expectations," said Future Publishing's Mia Roberts.

"We've had a record number of consumers voting...for their favourite games, a brilliant host in the form of Matt Lucas, and a great day honouring the very best the medium has to offer."

The full results of the Golden Joystick Awards are presented below.

• PlayStation 2 Game of the Year: Burnout 3: Takedown (EA)
  Runners-up: Pro Evolution Soccer 3 (Konami); Spider-Man 2 (Activision)

• GameCube Game of the Year: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Nintendo)
  Runners-up: MGS: Twin Snakes (Konami); Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Nintendo)

• Handheld Game of the Year: Sonic Advance 3 (THQ)
  Runners-up: Metroid Zero Mission (Nintendo); Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga (Nintendo)

• Xbox Game of the Year Sponsored by Sonopress: Fable (Microsoft)
  Runners-up: Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Ubisoft), GTA: Double Pack (Rockstar)

• PC Game of the Year Sponsored by PC Retail: Doom 3 (Activision)
  Runners-up: X2: The Threat (Deep Silver); Far Cry (Ubisoft)

• Online Game of the Year: Battlefield Vietnam (EA)
  Runners-up: Burnout 3: Takedown (EA); Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (Valve)

• Publisher of the Year Sponsored by Macrovision: EA
  Runners-up: THQ, Ubisoft

• Retailer of the Year Sponsored by EA: Amazon.co.uk
  Runners-up: GAME; Play.com

• Hardware of the Year: GBA SP NES Classic Edition
  Runners-up: Creative Labs Gigaworks S750; GBA Wireless Adapter

• Unsung Hero Game of the Year (Editors' Award): Chronicles Of Riddick (VU Games)
  Runners-up: The Suffering (Midway); Mashed (Empire)

• Game of the Year (Editors' Award): Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (Konami)
  Runners-up: Zelda: Four Swords (Nintendo); Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising (NovaLogic)

• Hall of Fame - Industry Personality of the Year: Warren Spector (Ion Storm)
  

• Radio One Colin & Edith Show Most Wanted Game For Xmas: GTA San Andreas (Rockstar Games)
  Runners-up: Half-Life 2 (VU Games); Halo 2 (Microsoft)

• Most Wanted Game For 2005: The Legend Of Zelda (Nintendo)
  Runners-up: Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater (Konami); Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)

• Ultimate Game Of The Year: Doom 3 (Activision)
  Runners-up: Fable (Microsoft); Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (Konami)

• The Sun Ultimate Gaming Hero: Sonic The Hedgehog (Sega)
  Runners-up: Master Chief (Halo 2, Microsoft); Lara Croft (Tomb Raider, Eidos)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games