PRESS RELEASE

Japan Game Awards 2008

“Amateur Division” Grand Award, Award for Excellence and Honorable
Mention Winners Chosen

The ten titles that will receive the Grand Award, Award for Excellence and Honorable Mention in the “Amateur Division” at the Japan Game Awards 2008, sponsored by the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA, Chairman: Yoichi Wada; Location: Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo) have been chosen.

The Grand Award goes to 「Variable Ball Crisis」, a game created by Team SK-III (team name) from the Niigata Computer College. Although this game mainly uses the physics calculation engine that has now become mainstream, the fact that it was developed as a simple game with a profound depth without adding any unnecessary bells and whistles was highly evaluated.
Comment made by one of the Selection Committee members:
“My impression was that the construction of the setting and the “playing comfort” have been carefully tuned, and I felt that I wanted to keep on playing this game. Games have become diversified, and yet this game has a radiance that will not get buried under the multitude of games that are available today. This is a game that I would certainly like to have users play.

Five games, 「Variable Ball Crisis」「a void」「KAKIWAKE! Pon Pon Sweets」「Clim Load!!」「Sharp shooting」and 「POP」 were chosen for the Award of Excellence, and four games, 「ETERNAL LOCUS」「Fate of  Midnight Castle」「Catch de Poi」and「PATAPATA PANEL PUZZLE NAMIPANE」 have been selected for a Honorable Mention.

Amateur Division Award Winners

Awards	Title	Platform	Position
Grand Awards	Variable Ball Crisis	PC	Niigata Computer College / Team SK-III
Award for excellence	a void	PC	Niigata Computer College / Seraphim
	Variable Ball Crisis	PC	Niigata Computer College / Team SK-III
	KAKIWAKE! Pon Pon Sweets	DS	Digital Entertainment Academy / NANANANANA-NANA
	Clim Load!!	PC	Niigata Computer College / Trigger
	Sharp shooting	Mobile	NAGOYA KOUGAKUIN COLLEGE / Mr. Ken Inagaki
	POP	PC	Niigata High Technology College / A___
Honorable Mention	ETERNAL LOCUS	PC	Digital Entertainment Academy / Moriko
	Fate of  Midnight Castle	PC	Sendai School of Digital Arts / Mr. Watanobe Takayuki
	Catch de Poi	PC	Shizuoka Professional Training College of Industrial Technology / Intentional
	PATAPATA PANEL PUZZLE NAMIPANE	DS	HAL Osaka College of Technology & Design / Marudon

　　●　Honorific titles have been omitted from the recipients' names.
　　●　The following abbreviations are used for the platforms.　DS: Nintendo DS and DS Lite,
　　　　PC: Personal Computer　　

General Information:

Japan Game Awards Office c/o CESA
Nishi-Shimbashi Annex 3F, 1-22-10 Nishi-Shimbashi,Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0003 Japan
Tel: +81-3- 3591 9151 Fax: +81-3- 3591 9152　Email: awards@cesa.or.jp

The “Amateur Division” accepted entries of original games created by amateurs, regardless of whether the game was created by a corporation, an organization, or an individual, and regardless of whether the creator or creators were students or workers The entry period was from Monday, March 17, 2008 through Monday, June 30, 2008, and a total of 232 entries were received this year. Using inventiveness, originality, game balance, programming, and graphics as the selection criteria, game industry publication editors and game creators selected 17 entries through the first-stage (VTR judging) and second-stage (trial play) screening processes. Final judging was performed by the game industry publication editors and game creators who will act as presenters and commentators on the prize-winning games at the awards ceremony. The result was that 10 games were selected to receive the Grand Award, Award for Excellence and Honorable Mention prizes.

The ten prize-winning games will be on display at the “Japan Game Awards Amateur Division Trial Play Corner” in Hall 1 of the Tokyo Game Show 2008 throughout the four-day show period to give attendees the opportunity to try the games out.

The Japan Game Awards “Amateur Division” was formed in 2007 by combining the former Indies Division of the Japan Game Awards and the CESA Student Game Awards, and this year is its second year. Through the awards made in this division, CESA hopes that by discovering new talent, nurturing that talent and supporting future game creators, we will be able to make a contribution to the development of the computer entertainment industry.

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■”Future Division “ of Japan Game Awards: 2008, To Be Awarded.　

An award ceremony for the “Future Division”, a category where members of the general public cast votes for pre-release games presented and exhibited at the Tokyo Game Show 2008 and the Japan Game Awards Selection Committee selects the final winners, will be held at the Tokyo Game Show 2008 venue as follows:


●　Future Division: Sunday, October 12, 12:30 to 13:30
　　　　 ※　The press pass of "Tokyo Game Show 2008" is necessary for the coverage. Please present
　　　　　　　the press pass at the event entrance.